Badasses Of the Multiverse Book 5: “The Gambling Man.”

Volume 2: “Total Badass.”

Chapter 02: “River's Journey.”

By Paul Cousins.

Copyright Disclaimer: All copyrighted places, characters, items, and events, within the story, are held by their current owners. No profit is being made on this work of fiction.

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Reality: Lee's Reality. Date: The morning after Lee escaped into the multiverse. Place De La Plata Podrido, the living penthouse of Daiyu Palace Casino. Time: Mid-morning.

River Tam was currently sitting on the couch, with the TV off, thinking to herself, about her life, and what she was going to do now.

While, River had already had breakfast, she was still wearing her pink sleeping gown, and she barefoot on the short red carpet of the large living room rug.

Presently, River decided to stretch her legs.

River got up from her couch and looked out from the one of the living room windows, across from the hallway door to the room. With that window facing towards the city scape of the island, passed the outdoor patio of the apartment. The window was a three feet wide, six feet high, tinted window, with curtains on it. Though, the curtains were pulled open, to the sides. Also, the window was sealed shut, and like all the windows in the penthouse, it was not designed to be opened.

River thought, 'Yesterday was a roller coaster ride. Fortunately, it ended well for myself. And Lee, for the moment... Well, whatever counts of a moment, when one deals with time travel, across multiple realities.'

'Still, what about Lee? One of the most badass collections of people how found out that Lee is the writer, and as such they are after Lee's ass. And they do not even have a clue as who the real Lee is.'

'For example, upstairs, Lee is not male. Lee is a closet male to female transsexual. That is why I think of Lee as a her. And I do not her hold gender problems against her.'

'Especially, given she does not hold much against me tricking her into thinking I was someone else. And a man at that. While I also read her mind without her permission. Lee is clearly a better person than most. And she has not control over what she thinks on those issues. Though, she handles her problems own well.'

'Given Lee's overall situation in life, staying in the closet was the wisest coarse of action. And to that end, while she does not wear female clothing, because those dresses would not look good on her. And she loathes wearing men's suits. She only wears a suit when she has to. Lee prefers to wear gender neutral clothing when she can.'

'This is why she was so interested in writing about the gender bending genre. It helps to keep her sane. And her gender problems are also why a small part of her hates and envies those she wrote about. But, on a small part. The rest of her prefer to be polite about the situation.'

'And to think that all this started a few months ago, not counting the time loop. Well, at least a few months for myself, and my family and friends.'

'It all started during a cookout at the Lowe family's residence, in Tharsis City, on Mars, in the Cowboy Bebop reality.'

'This was where my friends and I first found about about the stories, and the writer.;

'Though, during the talent contest, at the Devil's Hotel, Chang and I were not completely honest with Revy and the others, about how we found out about the writer and the stories. In all honesty, it involved two Lowe family cookouts.'

'During the first cookout, Balalaika was the one to tell us about the stories and the writer. The reason why she was at the cookout was that B and the Lowe family members were good friends.'

'It seems that Balalaika and B decided to make it sound like only Balalaika knew, to prevent any problems that B might have with us, and the Lowe family.'

'The next time Chang and I could talk in private, I told him all this. We agreed not to tell the others about B knowing more than she let on, because we respect B's relationship with us and the Lowe family, as well.'

'And I was surprised by the way Balalaika told us. She did so in a matter of fact manner, with a straight face. She gave us the basics. Including the way Revy and their friends flushed out, with Scorpius' broadcasts of the message. We want the writer.'

'When Balalaika was finished with her explanation, she then gave us CD copies of the stories.'

'Though, I did read Balalaika's minds. She thought she could hide her thoughts by thinking in the russian language. But, she did not count on me knowing russian.'

'In the Verse, while a number of older languages are taught. They are rarely used. Much like Latin is treated in the twenty-first century. And many languages that have fallen to the wayside.'

'With the three main languages in the Verse being english, chinese, and a mix of the two, along with a few other languages mixed with the third language.'

'This was not the case for other realities, such as the Cowboy Bebop reality. While english and chinese are the main languages of that reality. Many other languages are still spoke and used, in that reality.'

'Since we came to the Cowboy Bebop reality, I had fun learning a number languages. Such knowledge helps me keep straight what my thoughts are, and what other people's thoughts are.'

'And Ed Lowe was in a good teacher on a number of the languages. Though, since the Lowe family and B, are so close to Balalaika and Hotel Moscow. I found someone else to discreetly teach me russian.'

'I learned that Revy told Balalaika and B about the stories and the writer. With Rock later talking to the two women, to smooth out the situation for Revy said to them. Rock and the two women came to an arrangement, where they, and Hotel Moscow would not become directly involved with hunting down the writer, and instead, Revy, Rock, and their group would personally hunt down the writer.'

'Still, the reason why Balalaika told us was that she wanted to stir the pot a bit. She did not want Revy and her friends to have all the fun. But, by the same token, she did not want to directly involve herself, or Hotel Moscow, just yet. So, she baited us, and had us do the job, while she stood back and watched. All in the hopes that she could come in and benefit from the situation.'

'And we all eventually took the bait, just as she expected us to.'

'Incidentally, I also learned from Balalaika's mind, on how Revy and the others learned of the stories, and the writer, in the first place.'

'It began with the trio sisters, Mikoto, Nodoka, and Yurika.'

'Now, like Lee's stories, the cause and effect of the situation becomes debatable. That the only explanation that could be used, were time stable loops that were tied together.'

'For the sisters, a few months after the events of book four, They were bored one day, and they were playing a reality tracking device, much like Dutch used in the Devil's Hotel bar.'

'They noticed that one reality, out of the way of the other realities that they and their friends usually traveled to, had received a lot of reality traveling traffic over the course of a number of years.'

'Later, I realized that reality traveling traffic was our future selves... Well past selves, now. Or present self, considering the reality travel is still going, with more travel to come in the future.'

'It can get confusing with tense issues, when it comes to time travel. I guess is all comes down to the point of view of the person comment on the issue.'

'Anyway, the trio sisters when to this reality, a few months before the travel picked up. Actually, they went to this very island town.'

'Still, they could not find any reason for that level of traveling.'

'So, they decided to check the internet of that reality, with a computer laptop they had. They checked into a hotel, I do not think the Devil's Hotel, it may have been this hotel, during its previous ownership.'

'They searched the news websites, with no luck. Then, on just a lark, they decided to type in all three of their parents first names. Akira, Natsuru, and Ranma. In english. Together To see if the search would bring up something interesting. And web search pulled up Lee's stories.'

'As the three teenage women started reading book one of Lee's stories, they soon realized they were reading about their own family, and themselves. After finishing reading all four books, they left this reality, for their home reality, where they told their parents.'

'Their parents, told their friends, including the Lagoon family, and is snowballed from there. With Revy eventually telling Balalaika, whom told us.'

'I do not know how everyone reacted to learning about the stories, and the writers, because Revy did not tell Balalaika. And they really have not thought much on the subject, while I have been around them, as River, or Sam. But, I have the feeling that they did not react well to this knowledge, especially, the Lagoon family.'

'Balalaika herself, reacted to the stories, and the writer, with a touch of anger, though mostly she felt curiosity about how someone could imagine, and write, such things, about her friends, and herself, that could come true. And that someone could have such control over her, so easily, with her not realizing, for a second time. Next to the Black Lagoon series, itself. Though, given she had her youth restored by the writer, along with having a lover that is loyal to her, she was not that anger.'

'And I fully agree with Melvin and Lee. Balalaika turning the rest of the members of Hotel Moscow was completely on Balalaika's own head.'

'For the rest of us, we mostly took the news with either indifference, or anger.'

'The indifference coming from most of them. With the anger most coming from Mal and Spike.'

'Chang took the news with his usual mix of indifference and humor.'

'The Lowe family members each got a good laugh over the entire situation, and they voiced their opinion that they would like to meet the writer, sometime.'

'And I took the news with curiosity. The type of curiosity I had not felt since I wanted to learn more about Chang, and how I met him, well her at the time.'

'Though, it all took us about a week to read the all four books of Lee's stories. Lee clearly does not do things in half measures. And that was a long read.'

'Though, as I read Lee stories, I was entranced that someone could create such a dynamic story, with multiple points of view, with each story having a different set of main characters, while using the same character pool, and adding new characters, while weaving all these plot lines, which intersected, into a workable storyline that made sense.'

'The mechanics of the story was a work of genius. A work that we experienced first hand, by being part of the stories.'

'And while I wanted to meet this person, and have a measure of vengeance against this person, for using us with such disregard, I still wanted to learn about the person.'

'Though, at the time, I did not realize that the writer did not realize what she had done.'

'Still, a few days after we all finished reading the stories, we had a large meeting, which even Annie and Arcee attended. My friends all agreed to do two things.'

'First, we would let Revy and the others have their shot, given they were already there, on the ground, doing the hunting.'

'The second being that none of us would tell the Lovelace family about the writer, nor the stories. We all realized that due to the writer cursing Garcia with the spring of drowned girl curse, that if the maids learned of the stories, and the writer, they would be on the warpath, with likely a lot of innocent people being killed, as they searched for the writer.'

'Though, unlike the others, I lied about the first, and I secretly took one of the reality devices that Kaylee and I built, using Chang's memories. With those devices working wonderfully. I then did my own investigation of the writer.'

'Though, during this time, when we were on Mars, after our meeting, but before I left on my investigation, Violin and Aeryn showed up. I sensed them coming from a distance, before they saw me. I know they could only be here to ask for my help in find the writer. I did not want to help them, because I was not sure what they would do to the writer, when they caught him.'

'I wanted to find the writer, by myself. And make the judgment on what to do about the writer, by myself. I did not need help to do so. And having others along would only complicate the plans I was already formulating in my mind.'

'And those two were skilled enough, and foolish enough, to try to make me do something I did not want to do.'

'Since I wanted to avoid a confrontation, I hid from them, and everyone else I knew, until they left, a few hours later. I have played the hide and seek game occasionally with my friends, over the years. Without telling them first. Which they are use too.'

'When it comes to hiding, I am nowhere near as bad about, as I use to be, when I was insane. Still, even though, doing so is a bit childish. I still in enjoy playing that game. So, me disappearing for a little while, would not be noticed by my family and friends.'

'After I sensed Aeryn and Violin had finally left, I returned to my brother, Simon, and our friends. They did not ask me why I hid. All they said was that the married couple was looking for me.'

'I guess that meant that Violin and Aeryn did not tell them why they wanted to find me. And they had not figured out why that married couple was looking for me. Or, in the case of Chang and Simon, they were just being polite, and they did not want to add fuel to the fire, by saying why they thought those two wanted to find me, to help them find the writer.'

'And with Aeryn and Violin gone, that meant I could secretly focus on finding the writer, myself.'

'But, that did not mean I was in a rush. Given reality devices also allow for time travel, along with reality and location travel, in an instant, there was no rush. I had time to secretly plan, while waiting for a lead, and an opportunity to begin my search for the writer.'

'Both the lead, the opportunity, came during the next cookout the Lowe family invited us all to.'

'During the second cookout, Balalaika and B were there, and we all talked about the stories and the writer. It was then that Balalaika gave us an update one what the she and B, from a recent conversation with Revy and Rock.'

'This conversation was when I learned a few other interesting items.'

'One was that Balalaika's members had tracked down their wayward Hotel Moscow member, to the same hotel Revy and the others were staying at. But, they lost Yuricks' trail there.'

'Given B had already requested the Lowe family and us to be on the look out for Yurick. This was not a secret to us. And at the time, we did offer to help them, if we saw Yurick. I have sense changed my mind on helping those two russians in their search, because we did not know exactly why they were looking for Yurick.

'We did not know that Balalaika had all her subordinates put through the vat process, save for Yurick, whom did not want that. With that being more an order, then a request. And Yurick then escaped from Balalaika and Hotel Moscow, and into the multiverse, for those reasons.'

'Even I did not know this, until I read Yurick, or should I say, Melvin's mind, on the matter, when I came to the Devil's Hotel restaurant and bar. During the first time I had a chance to I talk to him. And as I got to know Melvin, I have come to admire Melvin. And I am more than happy to keep his real identity a secret from everyone.'

'Though, that was when I realized that Balalaika and B had found a way to shield their thoughts from them. Though, I don't mind. I am not interested in their thoughts. And some of their thoughts are unpleasant to read.'

'Then, we learned what Yolanda and Eda had done. Balalaika told us about how Revy's group flush the writer out, and how around a month later, in response, the writer left them a baited message, sent from a Mexican island city, called Plata Podrido, the local reality calendar date of when the bait was sent, and who exactly was going after the writer.'

'And Balalaika then mentioned what Yolanda and Eda's plans were, about dealing with the bait, and trying to capture the writer. That instead of going right after the bait was sent, they went a few months into the past, to lay and trap, and try to find the writer, before the writer was expecting them. Meanwhile, Revy, Rock, and the others, would come for the bait, a few days after the writer sent the message.'

'While, at the time, I did not know exactly what the two blonds' trap was, I found the concept of Yolanda and Eda's idea to be brilliant. To set the counter trap, before the bait was even laid for the original trap.'

'In essence, do an effect before cause. As some of Lee's plots reflected, in her stories.'

'So, I decided do the same thing myself.'

'And that I would be the first one to find Lee.'

'Though, I would not go to the future to find out who the writer was. It would be too easy, and it would risk creating a paradox. I later learned from Revy and her friends, by secretly reading their minds, that they share the same opinion on this matter, as I did, on not wanting to create paradox.'

'Besides, I considered finding the writer to be challenge worthy of my genius, creativity, and skills.'

'After I had my tools ready. The first thing I did was to build a profile of the writer, from her stories. While I later was impressed to find that Lee could create workable profiles of people as well, she was not the only one that could do so.'

'And her stories did show some clues, about herself. But, not many. In the author's notes, I remembered the writer mentioning that Bob was a near polar opposite of the writer. That gave me a lot of clues right there. Were Bob was outgoing, while the writer would be home bound.'

'One major mistake that Lee made, that fortunately none of the others, after her, caught onto, was that Lee admitted to having spent time in Georgia. With Lee mentioning places in Georgia. From Savannah, to Atlanta.'

'Given Lee started her story with Akira being in Atlanta Georgia, at Georgia Technical College. Divulging this information was risky on Lee's part, and it was a major oversight by Rock, Revy, and the others, to overlook this point.'

'Though, when Lee mentioned this knowledge, Lee did have a cover story ready. That she was from Nashville, Tennessee. While that is not exactly true, from the memories I read from her mind, she had spent time, over the years, in Nashville.'

'Still, while having the cover story ready was intelligent on Lee's part, it was still one hell of a gamble for her. But then, this entire adventure has been one long gambling streak for herself.'

'And when I built my profile of the writer, long before I knew it was Lee, I noticed other clues. Such as the writer's content in the story showed at very detailed knowledge of manners, which Bob displayed, and still does. I saw this in Lee's writings, and first hand, by getting to know, Bob.'

'This showed that the writer was clearly a well mannered person.'

'Still, while I was sure that, at the time, I had no way to prove it. But, meeting Lee confirmed my beliefs. A lot of things can be said about Lee, but she is polite.'

'Further research of the stories showed that given the writer was anti-affirmative action, that it likely meant that the writer was at least physically a caucasian male of the U.S.'

'Along with this, the writer's injokes, in the stories, mostly came from the nineteen eighties, and onward, which gave me an idea of the writer's age, and date of birth, in the context of the date I was going to, for that reality.'

'Also, I noticed that the writer never went into detail about winter sports. Such a skying, and snowboarding. But instead, the writer went into detail about activities at the beach. This lead me to believe that the writer, unlike Bob, was not from the midwest states of the United States of America.'

'Instead, the writer was from a warmer climate, that the writer was not use to snow, but the writer was still from continental United States. That meant that he was either from the west coast, east coast, or coast on the Gulf of Mexico, of that nation.'

'Given the writer's firearms knowledge, and the writer's clear pro-gun ownership leanings. Along with some cultural research on the United States of that era, I eliminated the west coast, and the northern part of the east coast, as being possibles origins of the writer. That left the coast line long the southeastern part of the United States.'

'And further research on the people of the southeastern United States helped confirm my suspicions.'

'From my research about the people of that area, I learned of the term, southern hospitality. That there were those in that region that prided themselves on their manners, and civility towards others. And that is a trait that I find attractive in people.'

'I also found out that the people of the southeastern U.S. were also known to be creative, and slightly crazy. Which helped to explain some of writer's skills with her imagination.'

'After meeting Lee, and getting to know her, I got a kick out of it, when I found out I was right on all these points.'

'Though, I did not have an answer to the writer's obsession with gender bending, until later. All I was sure of was that is was not a fetish, because if it was, the writer would have written more detailed sex scenes, instead of the tame and suggestive scenes the writer wrote. With her writing being lead ups, and aftermath scenes, but not much mention concerning the sex events, themselves.'

'I also found Lee was correct, that she and Bob were very different people.'

'The only similarities they shared was that neither of them were cowards, both of them were polite, and they were willing to work to solve their problems instead of procrastinate.'

'The most surprising point about this profile was, as far as I know, I was the only one to take the time to use the writer's own writings to build a psychological and physical profile of the writer. After doing so, and personally meeting Lee, it became obvious that Lee was the writer. The profile fit Lee's personality, physical traits, and place of origin.'

'Still, with a profile, of race, sex, age, and region origin, I had an idea of who to look for.'

'The next part was the search itself, for the writer.'

'When, I first came to this reality, I made sure it was a date before Scorpius' broadcast. So, I would have time to set up my plans.'

'This was when I hit my first obstacle. I took a laptop that Ed had helped me build, and I was intent on hacking into some computer servers to get my information. But, I found this reality's basic computer defensive and offensive software to be insane. And that is not even counting what measures and countermeasures, I found government and corporate computers used.'

'While the encryption systems were respectable, the firewalls and anti-virus programs were some of the strongest I had ever run across. There were solid VPN networks. One of which the writer used, along with a fake e-mail address, to hide the writer's identity. And it worked because it seemed that the governments were spying on virtually all communications. So, anyone that try to snoop too much, beyond basic serve IP address records, would be flagged by those governments.'

'This killed my first plans. But, it just meant that I had to be a little more creative in my hacking. Also, all this surveillance helped me in a number of ways.'

'It explained why the writer went to Mexico in the first place. The writer was on the run from the writer's own government, because the writer knew that when they put two and two together, the writer would be captured, and likely never heard again.'

'Still, with the baited message, I knew the writer would figure a way in leaving her home country.'

'Also, I realized this surveillance would limit the writer's options in leaving her county.'

'Given the writer's intelligence, I was sure she knew better. And she would not take anything that she could be trapped on. That meant no airplanes, boats, trains, nor buses. The writer would likely take the easiest of transportation which the writer probably had access too, and could control. A motorized vehicle.'

' But, given how far parts of the Southeastern U.S. were to the north Mexican border, I realized that I would have to wait a few days for the writer to reach the U.S.-Mexican border.'

'Still, I used that time well. I found that while I could not hack the computers, without risk of discovery to myself, I could monitor the incoming and outgoing communications of the customs officials in both the U.S. and Mexico. This included passport information, which I could use to correlate with my profile of the writer.'

'Also, I realized that the writer would go to the most nearest border crossing from the Southeastern United states.'

'That being one of the crossing from Brownsville, Texas, to Matamoros, Tamaulipas. I also knew that the writer would likely have a passport, and use it. If the writer did not have a passport, than she likely would have not heading for the Mexican border in the first place. And she would have probably done something else.'

'So, I then ran a program on my laptop, that use the profile I built of the writer, against those that traveled back and forth, across the border checkpoints.'

'And I waited, in a small, but nice hotel suite, in Matamoros, Tamaulipas. During that time, I had to eliminate a lot of false positives. But, that was not hard. Until finally, a few days after Scorpius' broadcast, I ran across the passport approval of a person, that flagged the program I had set.'

'This person had never used his passport before. Also, given the distance to this person's home. The person would have had to travel almost day and night to get from there, to get here, right after the broadcast. Also, the person's home was within less than few hours of some nice beaches.'

'In addition, the person age, gender, race, and place of origin, fit my profile of the writer.'

'And the writer's identity was further confirmed, when a few hours later, a message came in that flagged the writer as a material witness for a crime that never happened.'

'It was then, as a woman, I used my reality device to go a few hours into the past, at the border crossing on the Matamoros side, and I looked for the writer. The writer was not hard to find. Given, the message for the writer's capture also including a picture of the writer. Where the communications for the passport request, just listed text information.'

'Though, when I went looking for the writer, I realized, in the distance that Lee had spotted me. But, I also read Lee's mind, from a distance, at she was not sure that it was me. If Lee had realized it was me, that knowledge could have ended my plans there. And it might have created a paradox, in driving Lee away from going to Plata Podrido, and leaving her bait, on the internet, in the first place.'

'So, I quickly disappeared from Lee's sight, before he suspicions were confirmed. Fortunately, given I had my hair dyed red at the time. Lee did not recognize me. And Lee still decided to head to the Devil's Hotel in De La Plata Podrido.'

'Thought, it was then that I realized I had to be more careful. That Lee was a more observant person than I realized. And this only wet my interest in learning more of what made the writer's mind tick.'

'This also meant that I need to create a false identity. My male form would be perfectly suited for that job, because Lee never really described my male form in his stories. Though, my male side, physically, is on the average side, my male form is youthful, handsome, and in good shape. And that was not the only blind spot I was going to exploit against the writer.'

'Though, for that brief time I saw Lee, from a distance, I did learn four names for the writers mind. Her new alias J.D. Lee, the city of De La Plata Podrido, the Devil's Hotel, and the Rats Nest bar.'

'And those four names were all I needed to start the next part of my plans.'

'I knew where Lee was heading. That she was tired. And that she likely need some sleep. Which I was more than happy to give her, before I met her again.'

'But, instead of going there at the same time as Lee, I decided to us my reality device to I head back a week, in the past, check the city of De La Plata Podrido out. Especially, the two places in the city that Lee thought about. The Devil's Hotel, and The Rats Nest.'

'Though, I made sure I kept my dates straight, during this time period. So, I knew when Lee would check into the Devil's Hotel. Sleep for several hours. Then, during the next day, after she woke up, after getting something to eat, and running a few errands, she would eventually make her way to the Rats Nest.'

'Though, before I went back in time, in Lee's reality, I make a few detours in the multiverse, to get a few more tools and items I would need to implement my plan.'

'It was during this time, that I created my secret identity. Though, I worked on the identity, before I actually set foot on the island of Plata Podrido.'

'Given, as a woman, I was hot, and a fair skinned redhead at the time, considering I went back to dying my hair red. Though, even in my hair natural brown, people would noticed me and talk about me. And Lee might hear about a sexy, redheaded women, being seen around the island. Again, this might have scared Lee off, creating a paradox, by leaving the city, before she left her baited message.'

'So, I worked out my identity before I went to this island city.'

'I knew that my identity had to be male. And created the proper papers and identification cards was child's play for me. And being a member of the Serenity crew, I have done this dance a few time.'

'The issue was I also had to have a personality, and look, to go with my new secret identity. And does so kind of made me feel like a super-hero. With I guess Lee being the villain. Though, a nice villain, at that. And I do have weakness for nice villains.'

'Still, when it came to coming up working false personality for myself, as male, I had yet to do it. I just never got around to pretending to be a man, in public, in my male form. A few of the others have already pretend to go in public, in their opposite genders. With them pretending to be that gender, for the night.'

'Bob has done it on a dare, a few times. On one such time, Ed when as a male, by used one of those packets of instant man powder. And they had a great time together, in public, play opposite gender roles. Of course, they have been know to go out in public, as both female. And make out like a lesbian couple. Even thought, I know for a fact that Ed does not swing that way. Though, she is attracted to Bob, no matter Bob's current gender form. And I am happy about that.'

'Given Zoe masculine personality, she can so naturally go as a man, that we teased her a little on the matter. But, not to much.'

'Inara can pulled off the pretty boy routine, so well. That it is scary for the rest of us. Especially, Mal.'

'Kaylee was always a tomboy, and playing a male is not hard for her. And Simon is such a wonderful schemer, that in his female form, he can pull off the innocent girl act very well. When they date in public, in reversed gender roles. Doing so seems to natural to them.'

'Chang reached a point that both either gender is natural for him.'

'And when it came to a Jayne... Well, one time, we all went to a bar, in Tharsis City, and Jayne decided to go in his female form, while dressed like a bad girl biker. And I admit, she looked hot in that outfit. I do not know if I could have pulled off that look so well, in my female form.'

'Also, that night, Jayne decided played the bad girl act to the hilt.'

'By the first hour, we all watched, as Jayne got over a dozen phone numbers of people. Mostly men, but a few women. With the people interested in Jayne, buying her beers, left and right. Though, Jayne careful to know how much alcohol her female form could handle. Being Bob's drinking buddy helped with that. Only few times, those two when drinking in their female forms.'

'By the second hour, we had to leave that bar, because some of the other customers were starting to fight over her. Including, a few of the women.'

'Except for Mal, whom refuses to do anything in his female form. I seem to be the only gender bender in our group, that never got around to pretending to be the opposite gender, than I original am.'

'So, I considered this attempt, in of itself, to be a fun challenge.'

'But, what would my personality be as a man. And then I remember an animated series the Lowe family showed me, years ago. How one of the craziest characters in that series was revealed to be playing one of the main straight men of the series.”

“The series was titled, Gargoyles. And there was crazy character in that series, whom was named Puck, and the straight man Puck pretended to be was Owen. Even I did not see that plot twist coming, and it was pulled off so beautifully.'

'And that character inspired me to attempt something similar.'

'I asked myself the question. Could a crazy chick, or even a former crazy chick whom was now saner, play the straight man? And get away with it? I sure as hell wanted to find out. The attempt alone would be worth it.'

'And I think I did get away with it.'

'And I had so much fun along the way, in doing so. My insanity is well known. And while I spent the last few decades reclaiming much of my sanity. Some people still assume that I am out of my mind most of the time. Which I am not. I am now saner that most people I deal with. Including Chang, and Lee.'

'All one has to do is read Lee's stories to see that Lee is a very mentally unbalanced person. And her insanity is only further confirmed by some of the stunts I have seen her successfully pull in real life.'

'And Chang is crazy because he thinks it is a good idea to set up shop in a world that knows about all of us.'

'That being said, with such an assumption about my mental state, nobody would ever expect me to attempt to literally play the straight man of this situation.'

'The disguise was simple enough. I went with a slight, modern western motif. Among the basic items for, such as socks, and men's underwear, I wore a dark plaid button up, long sleeved shirt. Brown pants, with a brown leather belt. Black cowboy boots.'

'Though, I did buy a few changes of clothing, with different clothed clothing, but all of them were the same styles, just a different color combinations.'

'For the final touches, I pulled my long hair into a ponytail, using a hair band. And I bought a face, full, red beard, that matched my dyed red hair color, to wear on my face.'

'Though, I found the fake beard to be itchy on my face, I realized it was necessary, given the way Lee wrote her rules, gender benders had problems with growing beards. So, having a beard would throw Lee off my scent. And it work like a charm.'

'Also, the itchiness was on the skin, and not my nose, so I did not have to worry to much about sneeze, and changing back into a woman in front of other people. Though, that was still a danger, and I always kept myself aware of that possibility. As such, I was careful not to sneeze.'

'Then, it came time to choose an alias. I want to pick a name that I would naturally be comfortable with. So, after an hour of thinking, I decided to go with, Sam. And Lee later correctly guessed that the reason I went with, Sam, was because Sam rhymed with my family name, Tam.'

'Once I was in my male form, with my new clothing, fake beard, fake ideas, and some small bars of gold I had, I returned to Lee's reality, in Mexico, a week before Lee arrived in Plata Podrido.'

'Though, I did have some minor difficulty in finding Plata Podrido. I did found it interesting that the island city of Plata Podrido was not on any of the global maps of this world. But, once I got directions, reaching Plata Podrido was not difficult.'

'And I found that the history, I uncovered about this island, is very colorful. Still, when I finally came to this city, I found this town to be a pleasant place visit. It was rough around the edges, but nothing compared to some of the places I have been to.'

'When, I got to the island, I decided to buy a car, from someone that did not ask question. A gray, four door car. I did not bring one of my personal cars with me, because one of the other people after Lee, might recognize one of my cars.'

'Still, I found the car I bought easy to drive around in. Though, I choose not reveal to anyone, not even Lee, at the beginning, that as Sam, I had a car, and I knew how to drive.'

'Also, I decided that it would be best to have Lee come to me. And to do that, I needed to be at the right place, at the right time.'

'To that end, I did not go to the Devil's Hotel. That would not be the proper place for introductions. Though, I did decide to get a room there. I do find it interesting, that when I first went into that Devil's Hotel lobby, the music changed, and started playing the theme song, Secret Agent Man, by Johnny Rivers. I feel that place really does have a nice sense of humor.'

'During my first week on this island city, I establish myself as a gambler, at the Rats Nest bar. While making sure to park my car away from the bar, so no one at the bar, especially, the bartender, knew I could drive, and that I had a car.'

'I did the same at the Devil's Hotel. As I parked my car away from the Devil's Hotel parking lot. At a parking lot, a few blocked from the hotel, further into town.'

'And I did enjoy cleaning those people out of their money. Though, I was polite to the bartender there. And given my telepathy, I was able to prevent violence before it happen. Though, I did allow a few fights, to show that I was not to be messed with. But, I did not hurt anyone seriously.'

'And by doing all this those at the Rats Nest would leave me alone, and leave those I was with alone, such as, later on, the writer.'

'Then, there was the matter of whom I learned the bartenders at both the Rats Nest, and Devil's Hotel, were.'

'I found it humorous that two refugees from the same reality, and same city, had ended up in the same city, in other reality, around the same time. And while they had met each other, they had no idea they were from the same reality, and time period.'

'That the Rats Nest owner and bartender was the gender bent Bao. While, the Devil's Hotel bartender was Melvin, whom was really Yurick, the Blade, formerly of Hotel Moscow.'

'Both had their reasons for keeping their identities secret. And given both had been nice to me. After I was nice to them. I would respect those secrets, and not reveal who they to were to anyone.'

'Though, later on, I was not expecting Chang to figure out who Melvin was, on his own. And I was pleasantly surprised that all it took as a single clue from me, for Chang to figure out the Rats Nest bartender was, Bao.'

'And I hinted at about Bao, because Chang would have eventually dug some digging, and found out himself. This just saves us both time. So, we can put our time and efforts in more important areas. Such as figuring out a way to save Lee, from those after her, and that cancer that is slowly killing her.'

'Still, on how I planned to first meet with Lee. I decided to officially meet her at the Rats Nest. But, that did not mean I didn't want see her when she got to the Devil's Hotel. And I had already figured out how long it would take for Lee to reach Plata Podrido.'

'I was sure Lee would make it to the city in one piece, because I knew a month from that point in time, in this reality, the writer would leave her baited message on the internet. All I had to do was wait.'

'And, as male, I watched from a couch, in the left front corner of the hotel lobby, as Lee first walked into the lobby, with the music changing the song, Hotel California. And considering the time loop, that was a good musical selection for Lee's situation.'

'I got a much better look at Lee. As I read Lee's mind, and I realized she was going to check in, go to her room, and sleep until the next morning.'

'The next morning, I watched from a distance, in the hotel bar, as Lee ate her breakfast. I learned from reading her mind that she was going to start making plans that morning to get items, and do things, such as a hair cut, and dying her hair black, to help her. And that she was going to go to the Rats Nest, later that morning, after she finished her errands.'

'I did follow Lee some that morning. And I did so, on foot, from a distance. Because Lee was on foot.'

'But, when Lee returned to the hotel, early that afternoon, I started making my way to the Rats Nest. I walked, because I did not want the writer to know I had a car. I wanted to appear to be person on the lower end of the classes, but still be civil towards people.'

'So, I went to the Rats Nest. I sat at the large, left, far corner table in the room, that Lee and I would eventually make our unofficial table, to play poker at. And just as I finished cleaning out the people that decided to play me that afternoon, I notice Lee walking into the bar.'

'But, unlike what Lee previously looked like, Lee now looked the part of the street gambler, which from reading her mind, was her plan.'

'When Lee looked over at me, I decided it was time for us to formally introduce ourselves, so I got my money. I got up from the table, in the corner, I was sitting at. And I walked over to meet Lee.'

'And it was a wonderful meeting. It could not have gone better for both of us.'

'From reading Lee's mind, she realizes she would need help, even help from those that did not know they were helping, to pull off her con. And I was so intrigued by Lee's manners, and her mind, including her plans, that I decide to see how her actions would panned out.'

'Also, I learned from Lee's mind that my fake beard did fool her. The next part of the situation was simple. Gain Lee's trust, by inviting her to play some cards with me.'

'I let her win a few hands, and I lost a few hands, and by the time Lee was ready to leave, she had more money in her pocket than before.'

'When Lee stated she had to leave, and that she would be walking, to save on money. I offered to walk with her. She accepted. It was then that I steered the conversation and meeting to where I found out where Lee was staying, which I already knew, as the Devil's hotel. After she answered the question, I mentioned I was staying there, as well.'

'We kept each other company, as we walked back to the Devil's hotel. And that is where our friendship began.'

'When we got to the hotel, the music in the lobby change, and I had to hold in a chuckle, as I read Lee's mind about what the song, Deranged, by Coheed and Cambria, what the song was about, and where the song came from.'

'Over the course of the next few weeks, we continued meeting each other, and having fun playing cards, while talking.'

'I made sure to be the dealer of the cards. This allowed me to control how the cards would lay out. Faye wished she had my skills at cheating at cards, as the dealer. Card counting, and my fingernails, allowed me to control what card hand went were. Though, I make sure that the hands were usually incomplete, so Lee would have to work some at the game, to get better. And she did.'

'And as the dealer, I used the opportunity, to let Lee went more than she lost, so she had an income she could rely on to continue to live here.'

'And money was no problem for me. From the few gold bars I kept on me, and being a telepathy, allowed me to find who would give me the best deal on trading the gold for U.S. cash. Soon after I moved into Devil's Hotel, I learned the hotel offered a fair exchange rate for gold in both U.S. and Mexican currencies. I just got up earlier in the morning than Lee. I went down to the lobby, and I traded in a little gold for U.S. cash, as I needed.'

'Though, I made sure Lee never saw me trade in gold for cash, for it would have made her suspicious of me. Also, given the exchange rate, a few points of gold was enough money to keep me happy for several months in this city.'

'During that time, as the weeks passed, I soon realized that Lee had never really had a friend, so I decided to be a friend to her. Lee was likeable and polite, but not clingy. And while, at first, I pretended to be her friend. Due to Lee's polite nature, I slowly, genuinely became her friend.'

'Also, at that time, I read Lee's mind and I realized that Lee is just likeable and polite, but that she really is a decent person, whom unknowingly made one really big mistake. She did not even consciously realize her writings were effecting other people, in other realities, until Scorpius came on TV with that message to flush her out into the open.'

'Up until that moment, she thought of writing as just a harmless hobby that she could do, to work out her personal demons, without anyone to being harmed.'

'And Lee felt really guilt about what she had done. Her actions weighted heavily on her conscience.'

'It was then that I decided I needed to ditch my plans for revenge, and try to find a way to help Lee from suffering at the hands of Revy, Rock, and the others after her.'

'I could have given Lee my reality device then. But, I did read her stories. And running rarely works. Lee did too good a job of making Revy and the others skilled trackers and hunters. If Lee ran at that point, she would likely get caught. So, I decided to help her in other ways.'

'Then, I learned about Lee's gender problems. During our first week together, I noticed that went Lee looked at women, while she was attractive to some of them, her thoughts also reflected an envious nature as an instinctual level. Though, she only thought this, and she did not show any outward signs of being envious. It was then that I realized that Lee was a male to female transsexual. Female mind, male body.'

'And Lee was the first transsexual that I have gotten to know. And I found it an interesting experience to know someone with such a conflicting nature. Though, this nature also hurt Lee in ways even I do not want to know about. Yet, Lee did not show this pain. And at the time, I had no intention of mentioning that I knew this about her.'

'Also, Lee being a transsexual explained her obsession in so thoroughly writing about the gender bending genre.'

'Still, Lee's personal problems did not mean that I could not have fun with her, as I pretended to be slightly a wildman, as Sam.'

'While I liked being the straight man, I did not want to be a stick in the mud. Being a being a caricature of a straight man would likely get me found out. So, being a little wild, would help maintain my cover, from everyone, including Lee.'

'And as I was doing so, I could help Lee in a number of ways.'

'Along with intentionally losing money to Lee, as we played cards, I also helped Lee learn how to properly play poker. Such as how to realize one tails, how to learn other people's tails, betting low, and how to play the long game. Also, I helped her develope her poker face, for I realized she was going to need it when Revy and the others showed up. And Lee did master one hell of a poker face.'

'And by pretending to be a wildman, there were a few times those first few weeks, where Lee had to learn how to talk her way out of both of us getting our asses kicked by others. When I asked women out in on dates, in front of their boyfriends. That skill also came in handy with Lee dealt with Revy, and her more crazier friends.'

'Then, Lee did something that surprised even me. Soon after I met her, Lee asked if I would help her develop her precognitive skills at cards. I did not know that Lee was a pre-cog. But, from what I read of Lee's mind, when she talked about her skills, I realized she really had precognitive abilities.'

'So, I helped Lee, and after a few weeks of, on an off, practicing, Lee got so good that she could beat me at cards, seventy percent of the time, using her precognition, without actually looking at her cards. Which due to her precognition being on an instinctual level, I could not use my telepathy to counter it. And I found this situation to be intriguing. Which made me even more interested in Lee.'

'While I had played Annie before, at cards, with her using the force. This was different, because unlike Annie, Lee abilities were not the force, they were an innate talent that she had. Also, she was learning how to gain a measure of conscious control over her precognition. And not just at cards, but also as a way to sense danger, which I felt Lee needed, if she was to survive whom was coming for her.'

'Also, I enjoyed showing Lee some of my skills, such as when we played pool in the game room, of the Devil's Hotel. Lee considering me a pool shark, would be an understatement. And pool is all about the angles of how one strikes the cue ball, and how the cue ball, the other balls, and the walls of the table, interact with each other, in getting the specific balls into the specific holes, in the proper order. It is child's play for someone of my genius level intellect.'

'And we were both nice about the fact I outclassed her at pool. Actually, she was impress with my abilities at pool. She thought I should go professional. I was flatted by her compliment.'

'Also, I had to develop my own poker face, when Lee thought nice things about me and my abilities. So, I did not accidentally smile, when I read her thoughts. And I was not reacting to the directly actions and statements around me. Including, from Lee, herself.'

'On another matter, Lee eventually learned of a number of good places to eat at, on the island, that were in walking distance. On day, Lee took me to a food truck that served american hamburgers and french fries, along with other foods and drinks.'

'I did not even need my telepathy, as I immediately recognized the two blonds that worked at the food truck as Eda and Yolanda. And I wondered what exactly their plan to entrap the writer. And I admit, using the writer's taste in food was a good concept, and attempt. If Lee was not so polite, and cagy in her actions and statements, it might have worked.'

'Though, there was the minor issue, at the time, Lee had not yet realized whom the blond women were, because she had yet to realize that those after him could go back in time, before she sent the bait, to look for her. Though, she wrote scenes where similar things happened, she was still not fully consciously of how that could be used against her. Yet, she did later learn this, and she adjust her tactics accordingly.'

'On the other side of the coin, we were both fortunate that Eda and Yolanda did not recognized either of us. And Lee was very private about her secret. And outside of the Serenity crew, I never did so anyone we knew, my male form. And even then, only Chang had seen my male form for a prolonged amount of time. So, everything was fine for the moment.'

'And to be fair, those two women both fixed us some wonderful meals. They made some very juice hamburgers. Still, I did not best to avoid the food truck, because both of those women were very intelligent, and sharp, and they might have eventually recognized me.'

'And as I kept refining my plan, I read Lee's mind, on what she planned. I learned the exact details of how she was going to do to bait the others. As well as I learned her countermeasures.'

'To be honest, I was impressed with Lee's intelligent, foresight, planning, and preparation skills and abilities.'

'These plans included living off the grid, to avoid attention by the authorities. I quickly realized that Lee was already trying to work through all the angles she could.'

'Also, such angles included learning where all the security cameras for the hotel were, and where the blind spots were. This allowed her to leave the bait for the internet, without a camera recording catching her doing so.'

'Also, Lee wore a hat, glasses, and dyed her hair black, along with a hair cut, for a few weeks, so the video security recordings of would delete what he looked like before she wore a hat, glasses, and dyed her hair black. Though, this was also planning for the back in, so when she escape, those after her would not be have a clear photo, nor clearly see what she looked like. And that part of her plan worked beautifully.'

'A few days after Lee set the bait, someone finally took it.'

'Unfortunately, while Lee was expecting just one, two, or at most, three of the women after him, Revy and Rock brought a small army of badass women with them.'

'And from the thoughts I read from the women after Lee, most of them were out for blood. But, not all of them. Some of them were just there to support their friends. With them having no hard feeling towards the right. Such as what I learned from reading Yolanda and Sawyer's minds.'

'Speaking of telepathy, my telepathy is passive, for the most part, and because of that Harvey, inside Violin's mind, cannot tell when I am using it on Violin. Still, that being said, I have no interest, what so ever, to risk reading Scorpius' mind.'

'And I do not need line of sight for my telepathy to work. But, I consider myself fortunate that there is a limiting factor on the distance my telepathy can be used to pick up thoughts from other people's minds.'

'And when we watch those eighteen badass women walk into the hotel lobby, I felt proud of Lee, for being able to maintain her poker face. She remained as calm as ever. And she knew better than to stare at them, and risk drawing their attention towards us.'

'Also, Lee immediately began to adjust her plan of escape, which was to steal a reality device from them.'

'Though, Lee realized an interesting problem. How does a middle-aged male adult, which it was Lee physically was, approache a group of violently insane women, without the women taking the approach in all the wrong ways?'

'People say that first impressions are important, and Lee knew this to be true. That is why Lee offered Revy a lighter for Revy's cigarettes. With Lee having the light, if she ever needed to start a fire.

And fortunately, Revy accepted Lee's offer. Revy even gave Lee one of her cigarettes in return. Though, that was not a real introduction, it did get Lee on Revy's radar, in a good way.'

'Meanwhile, as Lee worked on a plan A to the problem of formally approaching the women. Her plan B was simple. Let them come to her.'

'And how Lee handled her plan B was gutsy, to say the least.'

'It was on the third night, since the women came to town. Lee and I were playing poker later, into the evening, at the Rats Nest bar. Which was not a rarity for us. When Revy, and the five Lagoon sisters literally hit the Rats Nest like a storm. And after they killed some idiots that came onto them, and then threatened them. The women turned around and threatened Lee. Beside she stopped them from stealing our money from our poker pot.'

'Lee realized that if she allowed these women to walk all over us, she would never be able to get close enough to them, to steal one of their reality devices. So, she had to at least show some courage. And she did so, in spades.'

'Though, when I saw that Lee had all five of the teenage girls pointing their weapons at her, at point blank range, I was highly tempted to step in, but I also read Lee's plan. And the plan she had created, for this very situation, was a good plan.'

'Though, I did ask Lee if she needed help with them. Lee said, no. And I pretended to be having fun with the situation, so the girls would not be sure of me. Further keeping them off balance.'

'Then, the girls started to wonder if Lee was the writer. I quickly gave Lee a false alibi of being with her for that last several months. And the girls bought. With Lee knowing better than to look a gift horse in the mouth. Also, this alibi would cover me as well, in them not mistakenly suspecting me of being the writer, either, and possibly blowing my cover.'

'And the way Lee convinced those women to stand down was brilliant.'

'Afterward, we soon left.'

'I found it touching that both, Melvin warned Lee of Revy and the others, with tell Lee who he was. Without giving details on who he, and the others were. Though, Lee already figured that out by talking to him.'

'And after we exited the Rats Nest that night, Lee warn me about Revy and the others. Though, he didn't really give any details later. Because, she was worried that she would blow her cover. Which she already did, with her know. And I was okay with the situation.'

'Though, I did find it nice that both of them would risk their cover, for someone else.'

'When we got back to the hotel, I decided to retire to my bedroom, as I thought on how I could help Lee, while figuring out how to convince Revy, Rock, and others to lay off their plans of vengeance.'

'The problem was that was easier said than done.'

'The main problem was that Revy, and few of the others, had hair trigger tempers. And they had no aversion to violence towards those whom they do not care for.'

'While I have been completely insane, before, I have never had a temper like some of these women have.'

'Though, I did find it conforming that not all of them wanted vengeance against Lee. For example, Sawyer. She held no dislike for Lee, she was just along for the ride.'

'Late the next morning, I met back with Lee. I learned from her mind, about the introductions with the women. It took all my self control not to laugh at that event.'

'And the adventures we had for the next few weeks were so much fun.'

'Along with the fun, it is was interesting to watch Lee come more skilled at thinking on on her feet.'

'I do feel sorry about tricking Lee into being designated driver for Revy, Rock, Shenhua, Sawyer, and Lotton. But, better her than me. I have seen this five all drunk before, and I would not want to be anywhere near them in that state.'

'Though, Lee made sure they did not have weapons. And if that had slipped Lee's mind, I would have made sure that was the case. Also, while these women are violent, they prefer to kill with their weapons, and when they are sober, so they can savor the act more thoroughly.'

'Besides, it was a good test, for Lee to deal with these women were completely unpredictable. And Lee passed her test with flying colors.'

'From reading their minds the next day, I was impressed with the way Lee handled herself. And that game of chicken was as brilliant, as it was insane.'

'Then, Lee got in trouble with the local mafia, and their leader. From what I read of Lee's mind, the leader's name was Paciano Del Soto. But, she was able to talk her way out trouble, and get the that mafia dissolve by the next day, including having Paciano join the priesthood.'

'She even got a car out of the deal, the next day.'

'Now, that takes skill and guile.'

'And damn, what a cool, pink convertible Lee got from that deal. That car was in pristine, like new, condition. And from Lee's memory, that car was over sixty years old.'

'I was a little leery on informing Lee I was bi-sexual. Which I am. Being a genius, and a gender bender, has allowed me to broaden my horizons.'

'And I was completely honest that my offer to sleep with her in that car.'

'It is just that given Lee's personal problems, she does not like male on male. And I could I inform her of the truth about my gender bending, without blowing my cover.'

'But, I am sure if I made the offer now, as a woman, Lee would more than likely take me up on my offer.'

'Still, Lee politely back out of it, and I, along with Rock and Revy had some fun in the car, with Lee driving.'

'Then, Lee got into the sights of the local Police Chief, Pedro Del Soto, Paciano's slightly older brother. And Lee was able to convince Pedro to keep her secret, and help her in finding a way out of this reality.'

'Ah Pedro... How do I describe you?...'

'The best way I guess is that Pedro is a badass, with enough common sense not to be a badass in the situation he finds himself in.'

'Pedro is very genre savvy. Probably more so than even Lee, or Chang. From reading Pedro's mind, the man can probably quote the Evil Overlord List by memory.'

'And Pedro is a badass of the first caliber.'

'Drop Pedro into almost any other situation, barring the super-powered badasses, such as with us, and he would likely wind up top dog. And he knows it.'

'It is just that he is outgun in this situation. And he realizes it. That being said. Pedro is intelligent. Hard working. More honest then most people would give him credit for. Fair, in a manner of speaking. He genuinely is concerned about the welfare of his city, which is why he was helping Lee. He cares about his subordinates to the point her ordered them away from the Devil's Hotel, to protect them. And he cares for the people that live in De La Plata Podrido. Which he considers to be his city.

'I was so happy to hear from Chang, that Pedro left down before Revy's group, nor the maids, got a hold of him. Pedro doesn't deserve to suffer for trying to protect his city.'

'Still, some things concerned me about Lee, and Pedro. Both of them thought that the worst case scenario, for their situation, was that their home world could get get turned to ash, by our friends, and their spaceships.'

'I wish I could have told them that those of us with cooler heads would not allow that to happen. And we would have stop things before the situation went that far. But, if I did so, it would have blown my cover.'

'Also, on a strange note, while I knew that Lee and Pedro were meeting every evening, at the Last Resort Diner. A place I had not been before. And a place I was not going to go to.'

'During the first week, after I met Lee, one evening, at the Devil's Hotel restaurant, Lee and I talk about going there for lunch the next day. And I said I might comes. But, on the day I was planning to go, I got a message from the hotel staff.'

'The message read. Greetings, R.T. You are not the only one that cares about Lee. But, it is best we carry out our own agendas separately, to increase the chances of helping Lee. Stay away from the Last Resort Diner. And good luck.'

'R.T. could only stand for, River Tam. It was clear that there was a third party in town. One that knew who I was, and was watching all of us in a way I could not sense their presence. Yet. This party wanted to help Lee, as well. Given the delicate situation Lee and I were in, I decided to just let the matter go.'

'I declined going with Lee, for lunch there. Which she did not mind. And I avoided the Last Resort Diner.'

'Then, during one morning, at breakfast, at the Devil's Hotel bar, I read from the girls' minds, that they had exhausted their leads, and they were planning to lead.'

'I had to figure a way to keep them here. And at the same time, I wanted to see how Lee would react. What her plan would be. And I knew how to do it.'

'Later that morning, Lee and I were playing poker, at our usual table, inside the Rats Nest bar.'

'After we had an interesting conversation about pirates. Lee really does know her subject material. And a conversation where I almost, but did not, revealed myself to Lee, by showing I knew chinese, by reading the chinese symbols on a strange ring Lee showed me. I let drop that I overheard the women were thinking about leaving.'

'Fortunately, beforehand, I kept a burner phone on me, in case of emergencies. Or, Lee needed a disposable phone to use. And so, when Lee came up with her plan, I was ready to do my part.'

'And it took all my willpower not to breakdown laughing at the set up for Lee's Tex-Mex message.'

'I wonder how hard Lee would have laughed if she knew that she had paid Bao to deliver the message? And how hard Bao would have laughed, if she had gotten the joke?'

'I knew that Lee was creative. But, to see her wicked sense of humor in action was just so entertaining on a whole different level.'

'And Bao was a good sport, as well. She got fifty dollars for it, she did not ask questions. But, she knew, as Lee put it, they had rolled Revy, and Revy's friends. So, she gave Lee a kiss, and she gave Lee a bottle of beer out of the deal.'

'Over the next few days, I had to avoid focusing on Rock and Revy, due to the risk of breaking out laughing at the mental images of what Rock did with herself, when she first found the images that Tex-Mex had created, on the internet.'

'Then, there was that date Lee went on with Eda. I was impressed that Lee was able to have a one night stand with Eda. Sure, Eda asked Lee on the date. But, Lee went all the way in presentation to make Eda happy. And Lee was able to close that deal. Given that I know Eda, personally, I know pleasing that blond woman is not an easy task to achieve.'

'And Lee was intelligent enough to use a condom.'

'After a few more adventures, I returned back to the Cowboy Bebop reality, to spend a few nights with Chang. With me being gone for about five minutes for those in Lee's home reality. With none of them knowing I was gone. Including Lee, nor the girls.'

'While in our bed, on the Serenity, Chang dropped the bombshell that he wanted to see this town for himself. Due to Revy and her friends being there, he wanted to spend some time in this city. And he wanted to do so with me.'

'The relationship I have with Chang has been good for both of us. And it is stable. So, I did not disagree too much for him coming to the town. I figured, if I was careful, I would be able handle the situation of him being here. And to start with, I was able to do so, with only minor problems. While maintaining my secret identity as Sam, which even Chang did not know about.'

'I considered myself lucky that I was able to convinced Chang to keep his visit secret from everyone, and for him to stay at the hotel across town, from the Devil's Hotel. This is the same hotel that Chang eventually bought, and converted into this very casino.'

'Also, I was able to give the excuse, that I got the gray car, I had been secretly using, as a way for the two of us to travel the city in. That way, if I saw Lee, or one of the girls, I can quickly get away from them. While being on foot would be more difficult. Chang was even nice enough to let me drive him around.'

'Though, given that Revy and the others had reality traveling scanning devices, I could not just use my reality device to be two places once. I could only do that every so often, without them becoming suspicious.'

'And even with my gray car, it would be difficult. Given it takes around twenty minutes to get from his casino, to the Devil's Hotel.'

'So, I had to come up with an excuse for the time I would be spending with, Lee.'

'I told Lee that my friends had a big payday, and my girlfriend had come to visit me. Though, I did wait a few days to tell, Lee. Until I felt that it was a good time to mention it. So, I had to do the little dance of heading back and forth, between Lee and Chang, until I could mention my lie to Lee. With me having to change disguises, and genders, between visiting the two of them.'

'It is fortunate that when I told Lee I would have to spend some time with other people, away from her, that Lee was polite enough to not pry into my private life, and she let me spend time with Chang. And once she realized it dealt with my love life, she was okay with my spending time with my love.'

'This respect for privacy extended to during the time loop. From what I read of Lee's mind, not once during the time loop did Lee try to pry into my personal life.'

'Lee really did want keep her friends. And this was just another example, of a long string of actions she had taken, to earn my respect to the point I want to continue to be Lee's friend.'

'Though, I had to be careful. When I went to visit Chang. I took my car. I then went somewhere private, out of town, by the beach, to change genders and clothing. While remembering to take off, and hide my beard, along with leading my long hair fall loose. Then, I had to reverse all this, before I returned to the Devil's Hotel. And I had to make sure no one caught me.'

'This became a chore, but a chore I deemed necessary.'

'Chang did eventually ask me what I was doing in town, when I was not with him. I lied, by saying that I was having fun spying on Revy. And I had to tell him I was staying at the Devil's Hotel. I even gave him the phone number to my room, so he would not leave a message at the check in desk. With the chance of Revy, someone else, or even Lee, intercepting it, and wondering why Chang was trying to contact me, as Sam.'

'That would have blow my cover, real quick.'

'Chang then asked if I had found the writer, yet. I lied again, and I said I was not looking for the writer. At the time, I was not sure which way Chang would lean when he found out about Lee. So, I kept him in the dark, during that time.'

'And Chang knew better than to push the matter. Especially, given the great sex we were having, during the time we spent together.'

'Then one morning, on the Day of the Little Angels, I got a phone call from Chang, in my suite. And he asked if I would like to go out on that day, and the next day, which was the Dead of the Day. I said, sure. But, that I would only spend a few hours with him today. Though, I would be free all day tomorrow.'

'Chang said that would be in fine with him.'

'Since I was already planning to tell Lee the girlfriend cover story, this was not that much of a problem, to add that I had a couple of dates. I would tell Lee that I was going to meet my girlfriend for a few hours today, and I would be with her for the rest of tomorrow. Though, I would still be able to spend breakfast, and tomorrow, with Lee.'

'Later that morning, as we were walking to the Rats Nest, around the time the bar would open, I spoke to Lee about myself going to see my girlfriend. Lee was very polite and understanding when I broke the news to them. She even said she hoped I would have a good time.'

'Though, from her thoughts, she was a touch disappointed that I would not be spending time with her. But, she understood.'

'Then, we ran across two young girls. A drunk six year old girl, and a teenage girl.'

'The six year old girl immediately attacked Lee, and took her off guard, to the point I had to pull her off of Lee.'

'Fortunately, the teenager quickly came to assist me, and got the six year old to calm down, with both of them soon leaving. And the teenager's excuse was honest, in that the young girl had mistaken an alcoholic beverage for fruit juice.'

'Even though I read their minds, I was still surprised by whom they were. But, given the situation, I dared not stop them from leaving.'

'As they left, I helped Lee up, and consoled her the best I could, about her being beaten up by a drunken six year old girl.'

'I also swore I would never tell a soul about the attack. And I intend to keep that promise.'

'We then headed back to the Devil's Hotel, with me helping Lee walk all the way back.'

'When we got to the front entrance, we were greeted by Violin and Aeryn, whom showed genuine concern for Lee.'

'Violin asked what happened. And Lee was very selective in her answer. Lee stated that a drunk jumped her, and didn't say anything else.'

'The two other women were satisfied with the answer, and we then passed by them, into the lobby.'

'After I got Lee to her suite, and into her bed, I made sure she would be fine, and I then left to visit Chang for a few hours.'

'When I got back to he Devil's Hotel. Lee was nowhere in sight, in the lobby. On the chance she had recovered enough to be down there, to meet me. I think went up to the third floor, and I stood by the door to the suite and did not telepathically sense her inside.'

'Given the physical state Lee was in, when I left her. I felt I needed to find her, and quickly.'

'I went back downstairs, to the lobby, and used my telepathy to find her, and I swiftly sensed she was was hotel restaurant. But, I could sense that something was off about Lee's thoughts. They were no as sharp as they usually were.'

'So, I went to check on her.'

'When I reached the hotel restaurant, I was shocked at what I saw. Lee was sitting at one of the tables, in the back of the room, with the girls sitting by him, at that table he was at, or nearby tables. All of them laughing and having fun a good time.'

'From their thoughts, I could tell they were all stoned on some type of drug. And Lee did not realize it. While, from the thoughts of some of the girls, they had clearly tricked Lee into getting stoned, without her realizing it.'

'And from what I could guess, Lee had never been stoned before, so she did not realize how stone she was. Nor, in how much danger she was in, given temporally impaired thinking and judgment.'

'Then, I started listening to what Lee was saying, and it surprised me in a pleasant way.'

'I did not know Lee could be such a philosopher. Though, now that I think about it, such skills do show up in her writings. But, Lee usually does not think this way, unless I guess she is writing. Yet, I was happy to see that she can truly be deep when she wanted to be. And I enjoyed seeing this side of her.'

'Still, the funniest and scariest part of that situation, as she talked to the girls, was she was practically telling them she was the writer. But, the philosophical examples she was giving, in doing so, went completely over their heads. On the other hand, I knew exactly what Lee was talking about.'

'I then approached the group.'

'When I reached them, I was then offered one of the pot brownies. After a quick nibble of one of the brownies, to make sure it was weed, which I then spit out, I quickly got Lee out of there, before Lee gave herself away at the writer.'

'Also, Lee was still sober enough not to mention that I had a girlfriend to the others. That would have piqued the girls' interest in me. And enticed them towards looking into my personal life, which might have blow my cover.'

'While Lee's cover was not blown there. If she had been exposed, I would have loathed to have to rescue Lee and fight our way out of there in the state Lee was in. But, I would have done so, since the girls put Lee in the position in the first place.'

'I then convinced Lee to head up to her suite, on the third story. And I escorted her suite. When we got to her suite, I stayed with her, to keep her company, for the next several hours, as she sobered up.'

'A few hours later, when Lee began to come to her senses, she was both furious with the girls for what they had done, but she was also thankful that I was there to save her.'

'And to be honest, I was upset with the girls, as well.'

'While, at the time, she realized that she could do nothing to the girls, for what they had done to her.'

'And spoke to her, in a supportive, and comforting manner, to help calm her down, and to know that I supported her.'

'Lee did thanked me for my help. And I found her gratitude to be touching.'

'As a way to help left Lee's spirits, I offered to pay for dinner, for us, as we dined in, inside Lee's hotel suite.'

'After dinner, I kept Lee company for a few hours, watching TV, and talking.

'By then, Lee had calmed down. And she clearly appreciated my company.'

'Eventually, I said good night to Lee, and left her suite, to go get some sleep in my own hotel room.

'Lee said, good night. And we both ended the day on a good note. With me looking forward to spending time with Chang, tomorrow, while I knew that Lee would be okay with me being going for more of the day. Save for the time we would spend at breakfast.'

'Of course, none of us realized that the next day would be the time loop. Which changed the course of everything, in our lives, for all three of us.'

'The next day, on November second, the Day of the Dead, we all ended up in that time loop. And by all, I mean the entire planet. Everyone on that planet was effected. I do not want to think of the type of power that would be require to achieve such a temporal feat.'

“And Lee was at the center of the storm, and she had the interest of whom ever was behind the temporal event. Because the one thing I know about the time loop, was that it was a natural phenomena. And like Chang, did not dig in who cause the time loop, because I would not want to get the attention of, let along risk upsetting someone with that kind of power.'

'And from what I remember of the time loop. Thanks to Ranma's magical lamp, and the smoke inside it. And from what I read from Lee's mind, after the time loop ended. Lee wisely used her time in that time loop.'

'Though, at the beginning of the time loop, the girl's prank of getting Lee stoned was fresh on her mind. And without worry of the consequences, Lee decided to have some fun, with some pranks against the girls were absolutely hilarious, and embarrassing, though harmless.'

'I am glad that Lee tries not to be a vindictive person. And she instead trying to be a nice person. I find that compassionate trait to be attractive in people.'

'And Lee only went after the girls directly involved with getting her stoned. She did not go after Eda, nor Yolanda. Both of whom had nothing to do with that event.'

'Though, to be honest, since the girls got their memories back of those pranks, and the cons Lee pulled later in the time loop, Lee dialed her problems with the girls all the way to eleven.'

'And speaking of those cons. After Lee worked out her pranking issues with the girls, she then started bettering herself. And she tricked the girls into teaching her several skills.'

'Also, even though, at the time, I did not remember the time loop, from day to day. Eventually, Lee decided to ask me a few questions of where she could learn how to do a few things. Such as learn spanish, and learn to fight in hand to hand combat.'

'On those days, Lee approached me, from reading Lee's mind, I realized we were in a time loop, none of us could get out of, and Lee was not the cause of. Since there was nothing we could do, I decided I would use my time productively, and help Lee. I offered to teach Lee what I could, without revealing my secret identity. Which, from reading Lee's mind, I never revealed in the time loop.'

'On the days I taught Lee, I called Chang. I said I could not make it because we are in a time loop, and that I was helping the person in the center loop to become a better person.'

'Given the strangeness in our lives, Chang did not even question the situation.'

'Also, I asked Chang not to come to the Devil's Hotel, because the person I was helping would remember Chang visiting the hotel. Chang understood the situation, and he respected my wishes.'

'And I enjoyed doing my part, in helping Lee. This Included teaching her how to fight, and teaching her to speak, read, and write, spanish.'

'Lee can now speak, read, and write, multiple languages. And she is dangerous in a number of fields of combat. Including, some unexpected ones. Such as card throwing. Shenhua, her teacher in said skill, put it best. Lee is deadly with a deck of cards. And Lee knows this.'

'Though, Lee plans include trying to prevent people from being killed.'

'And when I got my memories back, I realized that Lee made for a good, patient student. I guess when someone is in a time loop, that person will either learn patience, or go crazy, and then learn patients. Lee just became incredibly patient, without going completely crazy, first.'

'And I had a lot of fun both teaching Lee spanish, and teaching her how to kick ass. The best part was, at the time, Lee didn't realize who I really ways. And much later, when I revealed my identity, I am sure it occurred to her that it turns out that she had a top notch hand to hand combat teacher.'

'In addition, on the days that I was not helping Lee, I was with Chang, making sweet, sweet loving, in a combination of ways that only two gender benders could do it.'

'Eventually, Lee learned how to pick locks from Ranma, and she worked up the nerve to start searching the girls rooms for interesting items.'

'Unfortunately, while in the time loop, a reality device would not solve Lee's problems. From an earlier incident in the time loop, where Lee learned that a reality device not get her out of the time loop, but only reset the time loop. Along with the time loop effecting the entire planet. So, she could not just look for a reality device in one of their suites, would solve her problems.'

'Though, Lee also learned that none of them kept their reality devices in their suites.'

'But, Lee did find some interesting things. One was Natsuru's book on gender. When I read that book, I found that book to be very informative.'

'Though, the most interesting items Lee found were in Rock and Revy's suite. Those items being the five packets of instant spring of drowned girl.'

'With the packets, Lee got a taste of what it was like to physically be a woman. And she enjoyed in on so many levels.'

'And though Lee only had fun with her female form, for a week straight, in her suite. Later on, during Lee's off days. Where she just needed a break from everything. She would break and take those packets, to have fun her room, for those days.'

'Lee could not stay a woman, but with those packets, she could visit womanhood. And she only used those packet in her room. And Lee only used those packets in the privacy of her suite. Which is good, considering if the Revy and her friends found out, the situation would be even work for Lee.'

'Still, as the repeating days continued for years, Lee eventually stumbled into a situation of helping with the party in Devil's Hotel that night.'

'And gradually, Lee decided that she was going to have more and more fun during that repeating party. And after much work, Lee literally became the life of the hotel party for a number of times.'

'But, eventually, the party had to end. And Lee found a way to stop the time loops.'

'And after the time loop stopped, I learned about time loop from Lee. But, I could not read Lee's mind how, who caused the time loop, nor how it stop. And I felt that I probably did not want to know.'

'Also, I found it hilarious, after learning about it from third parties, that the last Day of the Dead, when Lee knew it would not repeat, she could not help herself, as she convinced Bao to go on a date with her, and they stole the show at the hotel party. They danced the tango for half an hour, and then left, with no one figuring it out was Lee, until she wore the same gray suit during the casino poker game, when she played me, as River.'

'And while I was not surprised that Lee learned how to dance in the time loop, I had no idea that Bao could dance so well, that people would talk about it, with envy lacing their voices.'

'But, it wasn't all fun and games. After I got my full memories restored, during our time in the time loop, I realized something in bed, last night.'

'That I had royally screwed up in the time loop, when it came to Chang.'

'And it was such an innocent question. I did not mean anything by it. It was just a simple question of curiosity.'

'When I was with him, or her, depending on what we were doing during that day. Given our activities that day, there was some randomness involved. And when we were together, I asked Chang, what he was going to do with the rest of his life? I asked Chang this question, nearly every day, in the time loop, that I was with him. Over and over again. Until the question lodge in his subconscious.'

'This is the reason, after the time loop, that Chang decided to move here, and restart his mafia organization. Because I asked that question, over and over again.'

'I do not think Chang will even realize this is the reason for his recent actions, when he gets his memories back, of the time loop, from the smoke that Ranma has. And I am not going to mention this to Chang. Because, besides that question, we had a great time together in the time loop, and I do not want to spoil the wonderful experiences that we had between us.'

'Still, Lee's adventures did not let up. And because I was with Chang for a good bit of the time, I could not help her. Though, she did manage without me.'

'First, Lee met past Rock, past Bob Lowe, and two past Revys, along with present Revy. Dealing with three Revys at once would have been a difficult situation, even for me. And Lee was about to defuse the situation without anyone being hurt, and with the everyone going their owe separate whiles. With Lee being to hide Rock and Bob from the Revys, and then work up a believable cover story, with her pictures of the three Revys at once, of her claiming she thought Revy had two twin sisters, to Rock, and the girls. And it worked.'

'Second, was where Lee was dragged into watching the Tron Legacy movie, with the women, while they all commented on the movie. Still, Lee had a good time with the girls, and the girls seemed to have like the movie.'

'I have seen that movie, and the original Tron movie. Both are good, and a fun watch. Even the animated series was pretty good.'

'Third, was Lee had a lunch date with V.T., whom was originally from the Cowboy Bebop reality, but then was hired at a reality trucker for the company, Reality Express. Though, if I don't want to know, how, or why, the Devil's Hotel is taking deliveries from Reality Express.'

'But, as time when on, it became clear to both Lee and I, that there was a lot more going on in this town, than both of us thought.'

'Fourth, was when Lee was able to help Melvin hide from the three Hotel Moscow members, whom came to the Devil's Hotel, in search of Yurick.'

'Much like I gave Lee an alibi for Revy, and the girls. Lee gave Melvin an alibi that Yurick had been there, and left. And it threw the russian women of Melvin's scent. Also, Melvin threatened to call the police, on the three women, for harassing the Hotel's staff and customers.'

'The russian women realized they had wore out their welcome, with them soon left the hotel, and this reality.'

'I realized afterward, from reading Lee and Melvin's minds, that this situation also dealt with some minor time travel. That the same members were the same women of Balalaika' organization that she had stated has lost Melvin during second cookout we had, where we discussed the matter of the writer.'

'Not that this minor temporal issue mattered in the long scheme of things. The important part was that Melvin and Lee's covers were both still safe. For the time being.'

'And I think given Melvin is only hiding from Hotel Moscow to keep his manhood, that he should be left alone. Something like that should be a personal choice.'

'Also, I admire that when Akira, Natsuru, and Ranma, found out about Melvin's secret origins, that when the confronted him, the understood the reasons for his actions, and they agreed to his identity a secret from everyone.'

'If those three can keep such a secret, and they realize the importance of such matters being a choice, maybe there is hope that Lee might be able to get out of this mess in one piece.'

'Also, they told Melvin about the stories, and Melvin got a kick out reading them. He clearly did not hate the writer for what he wrote. Instead, he found the stories to be very funny. And for the first few days after reading the stories, he had some problems keeping a straight face in front of the girls. Not that I blame him for that. I have had similar problems. But, he was able to keep it together, and not arouse the girls' suspicions.'

'But, that being said, even I could sense that trouble was on the horizon for Lee. In the form of three more women coming to Plata Podrido.'

'Those three women being Dutch, Janet, and Benny. One evening, they came to town, to move into the Devil's Hotel, and join their family, in a more direct way in hunting down the writer.'

'While those three are not the toughest people around. They are some of the savviest and most intelligent people I know, barring Ed, her sons, and myself.'

'Lee knew this. And it came as no surprise to her that she was the three ladies number one suspect for being the writer.'

'From reading Lee's mind, after the event, I learned that during lunch one day, the three of them dressed in casual, yet sexy clothing, and ambushed Lee at the food truck, belonging to Eda and Yolanda, that she went to.'

'Fortunately, by then, Lee had a pretty good cover story as to why she was on the run, in Mexico. It was bland, but believable. And she had an ace up her sleeve. She baited Eda to come out and greet the three women.'

'Lee then used her facial expressions toward Eda, for the other three women to guess that they had slept together, with Eda confirming it.'

'Lee then quickly left. As she did so, she over heard from the four women that her plan had work. That they thought nobody would be crazy enough to knowingly sleep with Eda. Even Eda admitted this. Especially, not the writer.'

'Well, they were wrong.'

'And this kept them off Lee's back for a while.'

'But, that while soon ended with Revy have a crazy idea for a beauty contest. I guess Revy liked that bikini contest that Lee wrote about in book one. And it was a funny storyline. Still, I can say, first hand, that those bikini parties Lee wrote about were fun. And I am sure Revy likes those bikini parties, as well. Considering her family loves hosting them. And they have hosted a lot more of those parties, than even Lee had hinted at their being.'

'Also, the other girls like Revy's idea for a beauty contest. And Janet decided it was a good way to flush the writer out, with Lee still her primary suspect.'

'And so, Lee got roped in being one of the judges.'

'In retrospect, Melvin and I should not have laughed in front of Lee over this. Because, she then dragged us into it, as well. And give we were laughing at her misfortune, I do not blame her for doing so. And I know Melvin felt the same way as I did.'

'Though, Melvin had enough sense, to convince the girls that he would make a better announcer, than judge.'

'Also, Lee was able set some sane ground rules, such as no violence and weapons. Along with it not being a beauty contest, but a talent contest. And the rewards would be some bottles of beer, and bragging rights.'

'And the girls were fine with her rules.'

'Still, we needed a third judge. And I was sure Lee would take care of that.'

'The night after, when the contest was held on the stage of the Hotel Bar, Lee came in with Pedro.'

'The was the first time that Pedro was introduce to the girls. And I admire the way Pedro did it. Instead of walking in like a badass, he did not wear a hat, nor sunglasses. Instead he took a more peaceful, personable approach. As a first impression, I think it worked for him.'

'Then, right before the contest started, we all realized that we had forgotten to figure out how we would score the contest. Lee came up with a good idea. Along with the one to ten scale. Have half the score, itself, would be from the talent itself. Thirty percent from their dress. And the last twenty percent were from looks.'

'That made a lot of the less sexy women very happy. Because, if gave them a shot as winning the contest. And this was not lost on Lee. She really does try to be polite when she can to the girls. That has helped her some in this situation.'

'Still, Lee, Pedro, and I, enjoyed making comments, as we score the contestants.'

'Dutch was the first on stage. She sang a good song. This set a good tone for the rest of the contest.'

'I have to give credit to all the women. They all showed skill in their talents. And their talents ranged from singing, to gymnastics, to poetry, to drawing. The trio sisters, had a coordinated talent, casing three different types of martial arts, in a row. It was quite spectacular. I quickly realized that the victor would win on technical points.'

'Then, near the end of the contest, there were two surprise guests that even caught me flatfooted.'

'Chang, in her female form, as Daiyu, and my future, female self, by a number of hours, showed up, and crashed the contest.'

'To say, I was not happy, was an understatement. And Lee, Pedro, and Melvin, immediately recognized them. And they knew I, or in this case, River, was a telepath. They swiftly cleared their minds to prevent being found out.'

'And to be honest, they were able to achieve that tactic, with moderate success. And that tactic may have worked, if I did not already know what was going on.'

'When I tried to read my counterpart's mind, the only answer I got was that she would explain later.'

'And from Chang's mind, I could tell that she did not realize who I was, as the man known as Sam.'

'Given they wanted to join contest, and to keep the contest moving, we quickly got them to join in the contest. Even though, I did not care for it. I did allow relent in letting them stay.'

'Also, I found it interesting that Eda requested to go last. And we three judges were fine with that, and I was later glad we allowed her to do so.'

'Chang choose her talent by singing a song that displayed her marvelous english speaking skills.'

'When it was my future self's turn, I honestly don't know where my talent came from.'

'Fire dancing, while playing that song.'

'I suspect I may never have the answer to that question. This is because I saw my future self choose that song, and perform the talent. And thus, I had to perform the talent, to prevent a paradox. Another case of a time stable loop, where cause and effect become debatable.'

'Later, after I met my future self, I did not even bother to ask my future self where she came up with the talent, because I already knew that she would not have an answer.'

'I admit, Chang, and my future self did do good jobs on their talents, but I was still upset with them. So, I average scores.'

'Meanwhile, Lee and Pedro wisely gave both Chang and I, as River, high scores.'

'Then, Eda came up on stage, as the last contestant, and she stole the show. She got the highest scores in the contest.'

'Her performance was a great ending to the contest, and a worthy come back from the bikini contest, back in Roanapur.'

'As Eda returned to her friends, Lee wisely suggested to Melvin, Pedro, and myself, as Sam, that it was time for us to leave.'

'We quickly left for the front hotel lobby. When we reached the lobby, Melvin quickly excused him, and he headed for his suite.'

'Pedro asked me to walk away for a minute, as he wanted to talk to Lee in private.'

'I did so. And from what I read of their minds, they were talking about me, as River, and if they think if I was onto them. They thought I was not yet onto them.'

'Oh, if only they knew the truth. That I was on their side. Given their savviness, I think they would have found it funny... Oh well, talk about lost opportunities.'

'Though, I do find it touching that Lee realized I, as River, was likely already saner than most people thought I was.'

'They also talked about why I had dyed my hair red, before I came to their reality.'

'I wish I could have just walked up to them, as Sam, and told them. But, that would have blown my cover. And I had worked to hard to do keep my cover from being discovered.'

'When they were finished, Pedro exited the building, for his car, with the intent of going to his home for the night.'

'Meanwhile, I met with Lee, as we walked towards the elevator bay.'

'We talked a little bit, and I mentioned that I was not going to bed just yet.'

'By then, we head reached the elevators, and Lee had summoned one of them.'

'Soon, the elevator doors open, and Lee walked into it. With Lee turning around to face me.'

'Lee stated that this night was likely on of the best nights of her light.'

'As the elevator doors closed, Lee then dropped the bombshell that she was dying cancer.'

'I was shocked that I had not read that from her mind. Meaning, she did not think about it.'

'It was then that I sensed myself across the room. I turned and saw my future self staring back at me, from across the hotel lobby.'

'We did not even need to speak, as we read each other's minds. We did not risk walking near each other, in case one of the girls came out of the hotel restaurant, and saw us. That would cause too many questions for myself, as both River and Sam.'

'So, we had a silent conversation from across the room.'

'Future River informed me that she was from less than a day in the future. That she went back in time, right after this meeting, to the morning of that day to be with Chang.'

'It turned out that this morning, Chang decided to meet with Revy and the others, but he wanted to talk to us, first. We convinced Chang that the crashing the talent contest was the best way to do so. And that is how my future self met my past self.'

'And the worst part is, or was, depending on my point of view in that conversation, was the fact that I had no choice but to do as she did, and go back in time, to prevent a paradox. Which is why I sometimes disliked temporal mechanics.'

'Though, my future self did tell me where to find the collapsible batons, with ignitable ends, and where I got the nice lighter from. Along with the name of the song she used. She also told me how to hide the batons in my clothing, so no one noticed I had them on me.'

'Before we parted ways, we telepathically talked about Lee dying of cancer. And what we should do about the fact that our timetable had now been greatly shortened.'

'My future self did say that she thought about our plan, and for me to up our timetable.'

'I agreed with her. But, I asked if she was any closer to figuring out how to placate the girls.'

'My future self said, no. She pointed out that she was only less than a day in the future. And that it was going to take more time than that, to come up with the answer. And I sadly had to agree with my future self.'

'So, we were still stuck in a situation of not having enough time to help Lee, before she died. And I am sure that at some level, Lee felt the same way.'

'We then left each other, my future self heading back to the hotel restaurant, to rejoined the others, while keeping Chang out of trouble. And I admit, that it was fun to just be with the girls, as myself, while having Chang with me. That being said, I still worried about Lee's wellbeing.'

'Meanwhile, I summoned one of the elevators, by punching the arrow button on the wall, to head up a few floor. When I reached my hotel suite, I pulled out my reality device, which I kept on me. I removed my fake beard. Undid my hair. I changed genders, and clothing.'

'I made sure I pulled out, and put on the same clothing I saw my future self in. I then used my reality device to head back to the morning of that day, to Chang's hotel, to meet her for breakfast.'

'Everything happened as my future self had informed me of. Chang wanted to meet the girls, I convinced him to go as a her, with us both crashing the talent contest.'

'As my future self, I was careful to keep my past self, from learning I was here, in town, until we crashed the talent contest that night. Also, I went and bought the collapsible batons, a nice lighter, and a few other things, I felt I would need for my performance.'

'That evening, as we walked enter the Devil's Hotel lobby, the music suddenly stared playing the song, Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood, played by Santa Esmeralda, from the Kill Bill Volume One movie. I found that to be a good selection for the two of us, in the situation we were in.'

'After we entered the hotel bar, and after the talk with the judges, we met up with the girls, and we talked. I was asked who the writer was. And I teased, by saying, where is the fun in that.'

'Everything then played out as it did when I was my past self. Only this time, I was my future self. At the table that I set out, with Daiyu, Rock, Revy, and a few others, I pulled out my collapsed batons and extended them.'

'Then, when my name was called by Melvin, I held my batons in my right hand, as I got up and walked on stage.'

'When I reached the stage, I even was able to find that song on the karaoke machine, and perform it, just like I had watched my future self do. Or, in this case, myself do. Since I was the one performing it at the time, while remembering watching myself perform it.'

'A few hours later, we said our goodbyes to the girls, and we made it back to the hotel, that Chang was staying at. After we were inside Chang's suite, I convinced her, to make love to me, while we were both women. And I found that rest of the evening to be a good night for both of us.'

'Though, on the matter of Chang's mental gender. Chang still mentally considers himself a man. Though, between the brainwashing of the vat process. Years being locked as a woman. With the associated problems of being a woman. And then spending literally decades being able to switch back and forth between genders. Has left Chang mentally fluid when it comes to his, or her gender at the moment. And Chang is open to sex in about any gender combination, and position I am willing to try.'

'I am not sure if Chang appreciates the situation he finds himself in. But, I sure do. And to be honest, after spending so much time as Sam. My personal mental gender has become a bit fluid. But, not seriously so. I am still a woman upstairs. Though, I am one that can appreciate what it is also like to live as a man.'

'Now, the next day was even more interesting for Lee, and I.'

'It seems that being the judges to the talent contest, from the night before, had only wet the interest of the girls, not only in Lee, but myself, as Sam.'

'The next day, was the seven way poker game, at the Rats Nest bar. When the girls decided to try a different tactic in subtly prying information from us, without it appearing they were doing so.'

'Very spy versus spy stuff.'

'While Lee and I had not problems with Rock. As a man, with some instant man powder. Molly, and Violin, showing up to want to join in our usual poker game. What was surprising was who Violin brought with her, and Chang showing up, as Daiyu.'

'By the end of our game, the entire large, corner table we usually use to play poker, was full.'

'The seven people at the table were Lee, myself, Rock, Molly, Violin, Violin's surprise guest Scorpius, and Chang, as a woman. All of them were trying to figure what made Lee and I tick, while maintaining their secret identities.'

'The irony was that we both knew who they were, but they did not know we knew who they were.'

'Also, when Chang first came in, she came to a stop at her table, and looked down at Lee. Though, she was not looking at Lee. She was looking at me. With me sitting beside Lee. Fortunately, Chang did not recognize me. And she soon turned her attention to finding a seat at the table, which was on the other side of Lee, from myself.'

'Though, at the time, Lee mistakenly believe that Chang may have figured out that she was the writer. Fortunately, Lee soon realized this was not the case.'

'Also, with Scorpius there, I did my best to tune out my telepathy, on the off chance she would figure out who I was.'

'Through the game, Lee and I kept our cool. And in the end, the five other adults eventually left the table, paid their bills, and left the bar itself.'

'But, a few minutes later, Scorpius doubled back, and she used a reality device to ambush Lee in the men's restroom. She figured out that Lee was the writer.'

'And while Scorpius wanted a piece of Lee's ass, it was in a good way. She had no intention in telling the others, and instead, she had her way with Lee.'

'I sensed when Scorpius doubled back, but it was too late for Lee. Though, I was about to barge in the men's restroom, when I sensed what Scorpius was about to do, from Lee's mind.'

'I wisely stayed in the bar room itself, while I gave them their privacy.'

'A few minutes later, Scorpius walked out of the men's restroom, with a smile of satisfaction on her lips. She the walked out the front door.'

'A minute later, Lee stumbled out of the men's restroom. She missing her hat and glasses. Along with her shirt being partly untucked.'

'Both Bao and I chuckled a little at the way Lee looked. But, on a little.'

'Lee immediately walked to the bar counter, and had a drink.'

'Bao talked to her for a minute, and I found out that Lee the sense to use a condom, just as she had. done when she slept with Eda.'

'Also, besides Lee and Scorpius, only Bao and I knew what happen between the two of them, in the men's restroom. And neither of us were going to discuss the incident with others. Because we respect Lee too much to gossip about her.'

'A little while later, we continued our poker game, to take our minds off what had just happened.'

'Later, I learned a few hours after Scorpius' had some fun with Lee, Chang headed to the Devil's Hotel, as a woman. Chang had figured out that Melvin was Yurick, the Blade, and she went to confront Melvin about it, alone. From reading both their minds, after the meeting, it seems that they came to an arrangement, and Chang agreed to keep Melvin's secret from Balalaika.'

'This made me happy on several levels. It meant that if Melvin got into trouble, Chang might help me get him out of it. Or, at the least, Chang could mitigated the situation.'

'That evening, Lee decided he wanted to get some supper at an American steakhouse in town.”

'I didn't feel like going, so Lee left to get something to eat, by herself.'

'I then left the Rats Nest as well, and I headed to visit Chang at the hotel he was staying at.'

'After which, Chang and I went out to dinner together, at an Italian restaurant. We then went back to Chang's hotel suite, to talk in private. Where he mentioned that he had bought a beach home on this island.'

'I had already learned, before the seven way poker game that day, Chang bought Pedro Del Soto's beach home, which previously belonged to Paciano Del Soto, and Pedro was selling it. And, as a man, Chang had met Pedro, and saw Lee, whom was acting at Pedro's chauffeur.'

'I found that a little funny, but I did not outward show my humor. Because, I knew Chang would wonder why I found his comments to be funny.'

'Right after learning that Chang bought the beach him, Chang dropped his bombshell. That with some gold and other treasures he had hidden, in cashes, in other parts of the multiverse, he bought the hotel we are presently in, and he was going to remodel this place into a casino.'

'I asked why he didn't think about this treasure before, in my presence. And Chang admitted that with everything else that had happened in his, or her, life, he had forgotten about it. But, he said he had recently got a hold of an old inventory manifest, of what he use to have at the Tower, and he then recalled the cashes, and where, and when, they were in the multiverse.'

'While learning this did not make me happy. I feigned support, as I asked if that was all Chang was planning to do.

'Chang admitted that he had large plans than just having a casino. That he was going back into the organized crime business. He was going to set up shop, right here. In this reality. On this island. And he was only starting with on this island. Him later expanding no just on this world, but other realities, as well.'

'That he was going to put his old organization back together. He was also going to track down and recruit a number of the people that worked for him. Including, mafia members, researchers, technicians, and scientists.'

'Though, there were exceptions. Such as Chang did not approach Shenhua, Sawyer, nor Lotton, about some jobs in his new organization. Chang could clearly see that they were happy where they were at in their lives, and Chang respected them enough not to disrupt their happiness.'

'Also, there was the silver lining to this. After I asked a few questions, on the matter, from Chang. Chang did mention that he was doing this more out of fun, than anything else. Which was good. Because that approach meant he would likely not become to serious, or violent on the matter.'

'Unfortunately, that was not the worst news. The worse news was that, behind my back, Chang had already talked to Simon, the others of our crew, the Bebop crew, Arcee, and even Annie. And they all accepted his job offers. In positions they would enjoy working at, for very nice pay and benefits. Though, even I am not sure how Chang convinced Annie, considering Annie does not like him.'

'There was nothing I could do to convince him, otherwise. And I soon found out, when I talked to my family and friends, whom had come to this reality, the next day, they told me, to my face that they supported Chang's idea. Because it would be something different, that they all could make a lot of money at doing, while having some fun.'

'While, I at the time, I could not figure out why Chang was doing this. I think he was just doing it, as a way to spice up his life, and our lives, with adventure.'

'Now, I realize that this was all my fault, because I asked Chang, during the time loop, once a day, over and over again, what he was going to do with his life.'

'So, Chang decided to do something with his life, and that something was him going back to his roots. To the job he was good at. Being a casino owner and mafia boss.'

'Chang coming to town, and setting up shop, is on my head. Not Lee's head. Fortunately, Chang do still listen to me. And he answered my questions about what he was planning to do. And he kept me in his information loop.'

'This included the fact he was only doing this for the fun of it. And the top level personal were my friends. So, they were less likely to do anything too horrible.'

'Plus, from what I knew of Pedro intelligence, abilities, and resources, Pedro had the skills and manpower to reign Chang, in a few ways.'

'If what I read from both Chang and Pedro's minds is correct, Pedro at one point, soon after the casino opened, did just that. Though, that was when Chang started to get on Lee's scent, concerning being the writer, because Chang learned from Rowan that Pedro knew the writer.'

'And I really cannot blame Chang for helping Rowan create a gender bending whorehouse. Where customers can have the option to temporally becoming the opposite gender, with out any lasting effects.'

'Even I will admit that is a brilliant idea that could net us a lot of money.'

'Though, what I also learned, from both Pedro and Lee minds, they were able to continually lose the tails sent to follow them, by Chang.'

'During the week after the talent contest, Chang bought the hotel across the island from the Devil's Hotel, and began renovating it. With his resources he could do a few months worth of work within a week.'

'For me, that week was blur, of my time spent between Lee, as Sam, and Chang, as River.

'Though, during that time. I did wonder about one comment Lee made about alcohol.'

'Lee is not a heavy drinker. He sometimes drinks Vodka, but mostly bottles of beer. And even that can be a rarity. So, I wonder where Lee learned that apply juice looks like some types of rum and whiskey. I was tempted to ask her, but I decided not to. Still, I have a feeling that Lee has lead a more colorful life than one would expect of someone with her background.'

'And Lee informing Revy of that, was a good way to get Revy off her back for a day, or so. And I agree with Lee that I hope Eda did not get into to much trouble, over the matter of how she likely pretend to drink rum and whiskey, when it truth it was apple juice. When she played cards with Revy, over money, back in Roanapur. With Revy drinking alcohol during those poker games.'

'Though, that is another matter. Back to the renovation and grand opening of Chang's new casino.'

'When the casino was ready. Which was much soon than even I had guessed it would be. I, along with my family and friends, including Revy and her group, attended the grand opening of Daiyu Palace Casino. It was a nice celebration, and we had a nice party after the opening. And the customer turned out was pretty good.'

'Though, Lee and Pedro wisely stayed away from the casino.'

'During this time, Chang requested that I give him the reality device that I had been using. I did so. I now regret that action, because doing so, prevented me from helping Lee more directly, yesterday afternoon. After we met the maids, and I revealed who I really was to her.'

'After the opening of the casino, I had to move into the casino penthouse, to live with Chang.'

'Chang stated that there was no reason for me to continue staying at the Devil's Hotel. And since I could not tell him the truth, I had no choice but to move in with him at the penthouse.'

'That meant I would spent less time with Lee. Still, I did my best to make it up to Lee. And Lee tried her best to be understanding for a situation she did not fully know about.'

'Though, I did not check out of the Devil's Hotel. Because, Lee could still leave a message with me, as Sam, there. But, I did spend more time sleeping at the casino penthouse, with Chang, than at the Devil's Hotel, as the gambling drifter, Sam.

'Things settled down for a few days, until the day before the big poker game that Lee and I were set up into playing.'

'On that morning, after Chang and I both had breakfast together. About an hour before Revy and Rock dragged Lee to the casino, Chang talked to me. He told me that I would be playing Lee in a poker. And while Chang did not realize that I was regularly playing poker with Lee, as Sam, to help Lee, he clearly meant I would play as River.'

'And I could not back out of it, because Chang said, in a polite manner, that if I did not play Lee, Annie would be the one playing Lee.'

'Having Annie go in my place honestly scared me. Up until this point, only Pedro and I, know Lee was the writer. And there was very good chance that Lee would have her cover blown, in such an open, stressful poker game.'

'And if Lee had played Annie, I knew Lee would not likely be able to keep her identity secret from Annie. My belief was proven true a few days later.'

'Speaking of secrets, the only reason I was able to keep Annie from learning I was Sam, was because she did not know that Sam even existed. If she had, with her use of the force, my cover would have been blow.'

'And I am not sure if Arcee already knew I was Sam. Clothing and fake beards mean nothing against Arcee sensors. She had already seen me as male, on more than one occasion, and she had a record of my bone structures, as both female and male. And that was like her having my fingerprints. They were one of a kind.'

'Also, some of Arcee's sensors can extend for miles around. And from the computer networks, around town, that were hook to the internet, including Chang's own casino computer system, she probably learned about Sam. Given Chang would have likely given the job to do background checks on those he was interested in to Arcee.'

'If Arcee did figure that I was, Sam, she kept that secret to herself. She always has fun keeping secrets, just like Annie and I. I respect her for that. It was part of her more playful, less violent aspect of her personality. The part I like about her. That being said, we are both good friends. We found we had a lot in common. Both of us were experimented on when we were young, and left insane. And both of us had to claw our back to sanity.'

'Anyway, during that morning conversation, Chang mentioned that Rock and Revy were bringing Lee to the casino in around an hour. And I was to wait in a room, by Chang's office, for Chang to tell me to mentally come to his office.'

'I knew when I confronted Lee, as River, it would scare the hell out of Lee. The best I could was not to compound the situation.'

'When Rock and Revy brought Lee up to the penthouse, I stayed a room away from Chang's office.'

'I admit, I did laugh at some of their thoughts during that meeting, especially some of Lee's thoughts. I could not help myself. This was one of the few times I could laugh at Lee's thoughts, without being questioned on the matter. Because, most of the time I was around Lee, I was Sam to her.'

'Then, Chang signaled for me to come into the office and ambush Lee. Instead, I just calmly walked up to Chang's office door, and stood there, looking at them.'

'Chang then gloated that I would be playing, Lee, with the four adults looking my way. Rock and Revy actually laughed at Lee's situation.'

'I just stayed quiet, as a way to not put Lee under any more pressure. And Lee was trying very hard to hide her secrets from me. And I respected her for that.'

'Though, at that point, Lee stated she would do it, she found out the time and place, and then she left the office, for the parking lot.'

'The others then asked what I was thinking. I deflected their question, and I then excused myself from the room.'

'On a side note, a few days later, when I learned about the tiger incident. That happened to Lee, right after she left Chang's office, when she reached the ground floor of the casino. I wasn't surprised that Lee handled herself that well. That tiger is a pussy cat compared to the women Lee had to deal with for months on end, barring the time loop.'

'Though, back to that morning, on the day before the casino poker game. As soon as Rock and Revy left, I started working on a plan on how to help Lee. Still, I had to play honestly, and try to win. But, that did not mean I would have to try very hard to win. Also, even without reading Lee's mind. I already realized that Lee would not use her precognition, because she knew I would be reading her mind. Lee truly does not believe in cheating.'

'And given her precognitive abilities, she is has legitimate concerns to worried she will be accused of cheating. Especially, in a casino. Also, she realize that, as River, I was a telepath, and I know when she would be using her precognition.'

'Unfortunately, Revy and Rock did not understand this fact, until after they placed the bit, and returned to the Devil's Hotel, were Ranma, Akira, and Natsuru, informed them of this. After Lee tricked those three into officially spilling the beans that I was both a genius and a telepath.'

'Later that day, in the early afternoon, after much planning on how to help Lee. I realized that I likely needed to find Lee, as Sam, and talk to her. So, I could be there as a friend and help lift her spirits.'

'I wanted to find Lee, as Sam, and help cheer her up.'

'I left the casino, in my own personal car. My gray, four door car. Not one of the black sedans the casino uses, that I know had been tailing Lee and Pedro. Which Lee would likely recognize, and ask questions about, towards me.'

'I then found somewhere private, and where I changed clothing, and genders.'

'I then headed back to the Devil's Hotel to look for Lee. I did not find her there. I then checked the Rats Nest. After that, I checked some restaurants that I knew she liked. Though, I slowly drive by the Last Resort Diner, instead of entering it. Still that was enough to sense that Lee was nowhere inside, nor near that building.'

'For a moment, I thought she might have skipped down. Not that I would blame her for that. But, there I realized that there was nowhere for Lee to run to. And all running would do would be to upset Revy, Chang, and the others. And they would find Lee eventually.'

'And I was sure that Lee realized this, as well.'

'It was then, that I remembered something that I read in Lee's mind. That during the time loops, Lee sometimes went to a secluded place on the beach, on the east side of the island, facing the gulf, to watch the surf and think.'

'And I agreed that the situation we found ourselves in required some thinking.'

'I drove over there, and I found her there, in her convertible, with the hood and side windows down, parked on the beach.'

'I got out of my car and walked over to Lee's car.'

'Lee was happy to see me, and she invited me to sit beside her in her car.'

'I did so, and we then spent most of the time just quietly enjoying each other's company.'

'Though, at the beginning of our meet there, Lee almost caught me right there and there. She asked how I found her so quickly. How I told her I did not know how to drive. And how I had a car.'

'But, I told the truth, that I went looking for her. I lied about not knowing how to drive, because I did not want to chaperon Revy and her friends. And I lied that called in a favor for the car. When it was because, if I admitted to owning the car, her next question would be why she had not seen it, until now. And that would further risk blowing my cover with Lee. Which I could not risk happening. Especially, right then and there, at such a critical moment for both of us.'

'But, what happened next, warmed my heart.'

'After being caught like that, by Lee, and answering her questions, I found it truly touching and heartwarming from Lee, was that she forgave me. And she said she understood my actions.'

'It was tempting, right then and there, to reveal to Lee that I was really River. So, she had nothing to worry about from me. That I was her friend. And I planned to always be her friend.'

'But, at that moment, Lee really needed a friend for some emotional support in this situation, and I was glad to be there for her.'

'And revealing who I was to her then and there, could have been disastrous to both of us. Lee could have reacted badly in a number of whats. With a few of those ways causing the poker game to be called off, which would have upset Chang and Revy with both of us.'

'So, I kept quiet about my identity. And we mostly stayed silent, as we sat next to each other, enjoying each others company.'

'At sunset, we parted ways, after spending a pleasant afternoon with each other.'

'The next morning, I admired how Lee prepared and presents herself, before coming to the poker game. And I admit that Lee had guts entering the casino, like she owned the place.'

'While, I still could not tell Lee that I was Sam. I did drop a view hints. Right before I was able to leave Chang and my penthouse living room, for the poker room set up for us, on the same floor I was one. From my laptop computer, I watched as Lee entered the building, from the video camera feeds. Among other things, my computer also allows me to select music for the gaming floor.'

'I selected Separate Ways, by Journey, as Lee entered the gaming floor, as a subtle hint that she was not alone, during our poker game. I think she took the hint.'

'As Lee made her way up to the front express elevator to the penthouse, I closed my laptop, put it away, and headed to the poker room on the floor. As I enter the poker room, and sat down on the far chair, at the table, to allow me to see the entrance to the door.'

'I also entered the room, just as Revy and Rock were just finishing their discussion, with Revy and Rock then leaving the room, to head back to the gaming floor.'

'I had to admit, looking around the room, Chang had done a good job in decorating the poker room for the event. And there were video cameras and microphones, in the room, for the game, that would send video feeds to the gaming floor.'

'Less than a minute later, Lee showed up, and sat down.'

'From reading Chang's mind, Chang was impressed that Lee showed up at all. Let alone looking like a professional gambler.'

'After a brief discussion between Lee and Chang. And then Lee and myself. Lee sat down in the chair, across the table, where I sat at.'

'Then, our dealer show up. And even I was blindsided by Chang's selection.'

'Faye Valentine. As crooked dealers go, Faye could be the worst, if she was ordered to do so. And I didn't need to read Faye's mind, nor Chang's mind, to know that she was Chang's ace in the hole, for making sure I won the game.'

'That upset me.'

'Still, given the situation, I was happy that Lee was able to maintain her composure.'

'Chang then helped Faye get seated. With Faye sitting down in the chair, at the table, to Lee's right side, and my left side.'

'This also allow Chang and excuse to literally stand over Lee's shoulder. Lee's right shoulder, to be exact.'

'Of course, Chang planned on staying in the poker room, during the game. Much to my embarrassment.'

'But, given Lee's intelligence and savviness, she knew of Chang's arrogance. And she knew that Chang was planning to stay in the poker room, during the game, nearby, just to screw with her head. And Lee had enough problems as it was.'

'But, Lee was not without her resources. And she already had a plan to get Chang out of the poker room.'

'Before coming to the casino, she called Pedro. And Pedro must have decided to help Lee, because a few minutes after Lee came, Pedro and several of his police officers, show up, to watch and gamble on the game.'

'The best part was, Lee knew when Chang answered his cellphone, that Pedro and his officers were already inside the gaming floor.'

'And without being informed, Lee gloated about it, and got away with gloating about it.'

'With everyone realizing that Lee called Pedro here.'

'Also, Lee knew there was too much riding on the game, for Chang to do anything to her.'

'While at the same time, Chang realized that Lee was forcing him to leave the room.'

'In all honestly, I was surprised to find that Chang found the situation to be funny. It has to have been a long time since someone had so brilliantly played him, in such an artful way. And he admired this about Lee.'

'With Chang forced to leave the room, to deal with Pedro as a distraction, that only left Faye, and myself, for Lee to deal with.'

'Faye thought Chang was upset. And Lee pointed out that Chang was not. Which Lee was correct.'

'Lee then told Faye to deal the cards. That she felt they only lady she had chance with that day was lady luck. Which meant, she felt completely alone at the table.'

'If the cameras were not recording live feeds to the rest of the building, and I could get away with it, I would have given Lee a hug at this point. For Lee was wrong. Lady luck was not the only friend she has at that moment, at that table.'

'Still, I could not. And so, the game began.'

'Lee did not waste a time, as the cards were dealt, she implemented her game plan.'

'I honestly did not see the jokes coming. And they were funny.'

'And tell those jokes so openly was just plain insane. Though, par for course for Lee's plans.'

'To my surprise, Lee was able to win the first hand of cards, by humor alone.'

'I was not sore about her winning the first hand. On the contrary, I found the entire situation very entertaining and interesting.'

'And soon after, I enjoyed getting in on the Lee's humorous act, as we had fun embarrassing and making fun of the people who put us into this situation. In front of everyone watching and listening on the gaming floor, casino restaurant, and the suites in the building'

'Then, I had to go and blow it, by asking about Eda.'

'Lee went quiet, and she only complimented, Eda. And to be fair, Eda only showed Lee, her nice side. Though, Lee did know how dangerous Eda was. But, Lee was not going to take for granted the pleasurable night she had with Eda. And I am not just talking about the sex.'

'Like any person, Lee craves company. And Eda gave that to her, for an entire night. And Lee was grateful for that.'

'As the game continued, Lee employed some of the poker game tips I taught her, as Sam. Such, as betting low, and how to play the long game.'

'Soon, we had a telepathic conversation. With me reading her mind, and my replies being yes, or no, with my eyes. Along with a few head and body gestures. We swiftly agreed to play fairly. No precognition. No mind reading... Well reading what cards Lee had. And no card counting. Which would have been boring, if I did so.'

'Still, while we had been playing casual games, every day, when I was with Lee, as Sam, for Lee this was a very serious game. Because, Lee was not sure even if she won, or lost, if she was going to walk out of the casino alive. But, there was not much I could do about that, at the time.'

'Outside of bathroom and meal breaks, we played for a number of hours, until eventually I started to get bored.'

'I decided to spice things up a bit. And to have some more fun, I started talking in spanish, showing that I at least knew that Lee was multilingual.'

'To humor me, Lee played along. I would speak in a different language, and Lee would speak in that same language. As we talked in different languages, while discussing various subjects, including politics, until Lee tired of it, she forced us back to playing our poker game.'

'While we continued playing, we gave and took about the same amounts.'

'Soon after, I decided to try to gamble big, with all my chips. But, Lee not only didn't take the bait, she folded on that hand.'

'And to be honest. Her reaction caught me off guard. Given her crazy plans and gambling motif. I thought she would go for the bet. And I was wrong.'

'Lee then said to me, that this was not a movie, and that I was not going to win, I would have to work at it.'

'And I don't fault her for her reaction, nor comment, on that matter. Though, I did win that hand, because Lee folded. Not that I really cared. I was more concerned about Lee, than the money we were playing with.'

'Then, after supper, Faye started cheating in my favor.'

'Lee was losing a lot of money, but she could not figure out why.'

'I had to figure out a way to stop this cheating. But, if I said something, it could cause problems for all of us. So, I came up with a plan to get Lee to do it. And at the same time, boost her confidence.'

'Then, on the first ten minutes break, after supper, when Lee ducked out to use the restroom, I ducked out to my personal bedroom, that I shared with Chang.'

'Given the voice difference between my female and male forms. I was unable to fake my male voice, when female, and vise versa.'

'And given I was taller and bigger in my male form, than my short, slender female form, I had slipped out of my gown, and undergarments, to change to male. I did so, and I changed my gender with a sneeze. I then opened one of my clothes drawers, and I pulled out a burner phone that I had.'

'And I made phone call to the casino.'

'I spent a minute talking to the casino operator, including using the operator's first name, and telling her that I was both River and Lee's friend.'

'Given I used the operator's real name, she believed me. And she transferred me to one of the guards' cellphones, on the penthouse floor. The guard them took her cellphone to Lee.'

'And finally, I got to speak to Lee as Sam.'

'I talked to Lee, and I boosted her confidence, by explaining to her that there was nothing to fear from me, as River. Though, I did not tell her that I was River. Still, my talk with her worked.'

'Then, I mentioned to look at Faye's hands. That it seems no one had picked up on it. And Lee clearly got the message.'

'After I hung up the phone. I did as Lee one time did. I opened the phone, took the sim card, broke it in have, then tossed the card pieces and phone into the garbage.'

Next, I changed genders, to female, and I quickly got dressed, in the clothing I had on before. After which, I swiftly headed back to the game room, in the opposite way down the hallway, from the men's and women's business restrooms.'

'I entered the poker room a few seconds after Lee did.'

'Faye joined us, and a few minutes later, and we continued our game.'

'Lee soon caught Faye cheating, and she used a good throwing card trick to do so. I then support Lee request for a new deck and a new dealer.'

'As the video feeds were cut, one of the guards came in and told Faye to leave. I knew she would not get in trouble with Chang, considering she did as Chang has instructed her to do.'

'During the private moment, I offered to split my winnings back to even, with Lee.'

'Lee declined, and she stated we had to play the game, as is.'

'Though flexible, Lee always did have a sense of fair play.'

'A few minutes later, we got a new deck and a new deal, Jetta Black.'

'I admired Jet, or now Jetta, since I knew her, as a him, before Jet had to have the vat process, due to a back reaction to the rejuvenation therapy. And Jetta is fair. And I did not have to worry about her cheating.'

'And so, the game went on. With Lee slowly making back her loses.'

'Over the next few hours, Lee not only gain back what she lost, but she slowly took what I had, until finally, later that night, I lost.'

'I was not upset, in the least, at losing. Lee beat me fairly. Even with the deck stacked against her, she won. And given everyone in the building was watching us, I could not show it, but I was proud of her.'

'The sad part was that Lee did not see a dime of that money. And even so, Lee pulled out a dollar of her own, and gave it to me, so I would not leave the table busted.'

'I found Lee small gift to be deeply touching.'

'Lee may be the only person in the multiverse, whom won a million dollars in a poker game, but came away from the gaming table a dollar poorer for the experience.'

'I calmly got up, and walked over to Lee, and whisper into her ear. 'Thank you. And I will be seeing you later, Paul.' To let her know I knew who she really was at the whole time, but I kept her identity a secret.'

'Lee then wisely got up, left the room, and the building, soon after.'

'As I watched Lee leave, Revy soon rush into the room to collect her winning, I thought it was unfair that Lee got nothing for her efforts. And so I decided I would give her something for her victory. And I had just the item in mind for a gift for her.'

'That night, and the next morning was full of fun for both Lee and I.'

'First, I spent the night having makeup sex with Chang, over losing the poker game. Well, to be honest, it was more celebratory form of loving making, dealing with Chang's brilliant planning, in that he profited off of that game, no matter the outcome. He even made more money, overall, due to my loss, from the bets on the game floor.'

'Though, the next morning, when I went over to the Devil's Hotel, as River, I joked about the makeup sex excuse with Lee, as River. And she found my comments funny, in my presence.'

'Anyway, earlier that morning, Chang and I got up, from the large bed we shared, together.'

'I was a woman at the time. And Chang was a man.'

'We got dressed and ready to face the day.'

'We then had breakfast together, in our private, penthouse dining room. With Chang having room service bring up breakfast for us.'

'Being rich does have its perks.'

'After breakfast, Chang went to work, in his office, by first going down stairs and talk to the security and pit boss on duty. He would then soon return back to his office, to do some paper work.'

'Meanwhile, I am when to our liquor cabinet to raid it.'

'I knew I wasn't going to get in trouble for doing this. But, I figured that Lee needed some type of reward for her win last night.'

'The gift I selected was a wooden box, with a sealed bottle of Ardbeg Providence in it. And I was sure that Lee would appreciate the gift.'

'I went down to garage, inside the casino, to get a car.'

'While, I kept the car I used as Sam, in a parking lot near the casino, there was to much of a risk of Lee or the others seeing me as River, in Sam's vehicle. So, I used one of Chang's many, pristine, four door, black sedans, to head to the Devil's Hotel.'

'I even arrange for a casino chauffeur, to make it look official, and to make Lee wonder if I even knew how to drive. So, as to further separate my Sam cover, from my identity as River.'

'Also, early that morning, right after Chang left, after our breakfast, I began arranging the situation, for Lee to use my gift. I changed gender, and call Lee as Sam. And I called the number of the hotel restaurant, with another burner phone I had. I reached Emily, whom gave the phone to Lee. I soon told Lee that I would meet her at the Rats Nest, at eleven AM. That set the stage, for when Lee would use her gift, I was able to give her.'

'Though, I later found out, that Lee was having her own adventure that morning.'

'Around the time I first got up from my bed, Lee was having her own fun, across town, in the Devil's Hotel lobby.'

'Later that day, I read from Lee's mind that, Revy and her friends, together, confronted Lee, with questions about what she did at the poker game the previous day.'

'In response, Lee had finally let control of her temper slip. And she stood up to Revy and her friends, that morning, for them only questioning how she won the game, instead of thanking her for winning that game. And she did such a good job that they did not hurt her, and instead, they left her along for the most part, that day.'

'Later, as River, was had my chauffeur drive me to Devil's Hotel, and wait for me, right outside the front entrance of the hotel. I walked into the lobby, with my gift in hand, and I found Lee there. Though, the girls were on the other side of the lobby.'

'They saw us, but fortunately, they did nothing but watch and listen.'

'I gave Lee her gift. We talked for a minute. Lee asked if Chang was okay with me losing. I said that was what makeup sex was for. The girls got a good laugh out of it, while Lee chuckled lightly at my joke. Also, I was happy that Lee was glad I did not get in trouble with Chang.'

'I so wanted to sit down and just talk to Lee as a person. But, I could not do so as River. So, I quickly left, to allow Lee to do what she planned to do next. I already read Lee's mind as to what she was going to do next, and I needed to hurry. So, I could be a part of what Lee was going to do next, as Sam.'

'Though later, I read Lee's mind and found that she did appreciate that gift. And Revy approach her about the bottle of alcohol. But, Lee was able to get her to shut up quickly, before Lee made a quick exit to the Rats Nest.'

'What took me so long to get to the Rats Nest was that, while Lee had directly for the Rats Nest, I had to have the chauffeur dropped me back at the casino. Because, if I requested to go directly to the Rats Nest, the chauffeur might inform Chang.'

'When we reached the casino, I snuck around to my own car, that was parked in a nearby parking lot, I drove to a private area, change clothing, and genders, put on my fake beard, tied my hair up in a ponytail in a red scrunchy, and I then headed to the Rats Nest.'

'As Sam, I made to the Rats Nest bar, just in time, before Lee was going to unseal the Ardbeg Providence.'

'I was not surprised that Lee had invited Pedro. I think Pedro was the only other person, in this city, from this reality, that would appreciate having a drink of Ardbeg Providence.'

'And given this was Bao's bar, Lee invited Bao to drink, as well. Though, at the time, neither Lee, nor Pedro realized who the bartender really was.'

'A minute later, Lee made a good toast, to life, and we all drank for the glasses that Bao had provided.'

'And while I had Ardbeg Providence before, it has always been a good label, and I was glad to share it with my friends.'

'After the four of us polished off the bottle, Pedro was still sober enough to drive, and he left to go back to work at the police station.'

'Though, before Pedro left, Lee was kind enough to give Pedro the empty bottle, as a gift to him. Which was nice of Lee. And we both knew that Pedro would appreciate such a gift.'

'The rest of the day was pleasant for Lee, and myself, until I returned to the casino, that evening. Where I went to Chang's office, to see if he wanted to have dinner with me.'

'As I opened the door to Chang's office, and I looked at Chang, I realized, from what I could read of Chang's thoughts, that Chang figured out that Lee was the writer. But, at the time, all I could get, that Chang had done, towards Lee, in response for learning she is the writer, was that he was sent a couple of people to tail Lee, starting the next day, in the morning.'

'As both of us went to dinner, down in the casino restaurant, I realized that I could not stop Chang from finding out more about Lee. All I could do was hope that I could mitigate that situation, when it happened.'

'The next day was a bad day for all of us. That was the day that the U.S. government finally caught up to Lee.'

'And I suspect what finally drew their attention to Lee was the poker game. The worst part was that Lee realized this before the poker game, and she could do nothing about it.'

'On that day, Lee was kidnapped by a U.S. snatch and grab team. This happened while she was coming back from lunch. Right after she parked her convertible by the Rats Nest bar, the team of men attempt to approach Lee. She ran way from them, and into the alleyway, behind the Rats Nest.'

'I was already in the bar, waiting for Lee, as she parked her car. By the time I sensed the danger, and I figured out what was going on, it was already too late. Lee had already run off.'

'When I got to my car, I could sense Lee was captured, and leaving the outer edge of my telepathic senses.'

'Still, since there was only one exit out of the city, I quickly drove my car towards the bridge. A few minutes later, when I got to the road leading to the bridge, I saw that Annie, and Arcee, in robot mode, had already stopped the van that Lee was kidnapped in, on its left side, and they had killed the team that had taken Lee.'

'They, were currently in the process of pulling Lee out of the van, and untying her.'

'When I saw this, I turned my car onto a nearby street, and I decide to find a place to change my gender and clothing. So, I could head back to the casino, as River, as quickly as possible. Because, I was sure, that given Chang knew Lee was the writer, and those two were sent to keep an eye on Lee, and protect her, by Chang. That those two women were probably going to directly take Lee to meet Chang after this.'

'I found a secluded place to park my car. Then to change my gender to a woman, take my fake beard off, replace my male clothing with my female clothing, and let my hair down. I then headed for the casino, as quickly as possible. Without getting into trouble, with the local police.'

'I soon made it to a nearby parking lot, by the casino. And I the made my way into the casino, from the front entrance. Given I already realized that Arcee and Annie were taking Lee up to see Chang, from the back entrance, of the auxiliary express elevator.'

'I made it to the penthouse floor of the casino, just as Lee was brought to Chang's office. But, I kept my distance, in a separate room. As I listened to their thoughts, as they talked with each other. Along with me avoiding Annie, whom was elsewhere in the penthouse, waiting for Chang to summon her.'

'Soon after the meeting began, Chang pointed out that he knew that Lee was the writer. And Lee came completely clean with Chang about being the writer, what she had done, and the time loop.'

'Though, when Chang threatened Lee with one of his pistols, something snapped inside of Lee, and from what Lee said, she was not only able to get Chang to lower his pistol, but she gave Chang a new found respect for this world.'

'What Lee said, was she pointed out how dangerous, and badass this world really was. And when Chang compared himself, and his friends, including me, to the sheer badassness of this world, he was left wanting.'

'Still, I think it was Lee's honesty towards Chang that saved her from him. That and the fact that Lee telling Chang about what she did to the girls in the time loop, had Chang laughing his ass off, and as some points, he was laughing to the point of tears, as he could barely stand up, while he could barely breath.'

'When I sensed that Lee was finally through with Chang, and she was being escort by Annie, out of the casino, I decided to see how Lee was, in person. And I met with her, in one of the penthouse hallways, as Annie took her to the front express elevator, where Lee would then got to the gaming floor, and the front entrance, where a car was waiting for her, to take her way she needed to go.'

'When I met with them, I read their minds. I could tell Annie knew what was going on, and Lee felt he was fine for the moment.'

'That made me feel good.'

'I spoke to them for a moment. I asked if Lee was okay. And she said, yes.'

'I also read from Lee's mind that she was going to get her car from the Rats Nest, and head back to her suite at the Devil's Hotel.'

'I then walked passed them, to Chang's office.'

'When I reached Chang's office. I talked to him.'

'Chang clearly knew I already knew that Lee was the writer. And he wanted to knew why I kept it a secret. And I told him my reasons. Though, I did not mention that I was Sam.'

'Chang then asked why Lee was doing all this. And why she was not hiding, instead of baiting those hunting her to come after her.'

'I told Chang the truth. That Lee was dying of cancer. Though, I sensed that Chang's mind, that he may have already also figured this out, as well.'

'Chang asked how long Lee had. I said around two months. Though, to be honest, Lee may have little longer.'

'After I informed Chang of all this, I could already tell that the gears were turning in his head, on how to use this to his advantage. Fortunately, that was usually a good thing for those he is interested in. One of the things I find attractive about Chang is that he is rarely wasteful.'

'Soon after, I left Chang, and the building. And I walked to the car I used as Sam.'

'I headed, in my car, to somewhere private.'

'I then changed back into my disguise Sam, and I changed into my male gender.'

'Next, I drove to the Devil's Hotel. After which, I quickly made my way through the lobby, and to the third floor. But, when I reached the hallway door to Lee's suite, I could sense Lee in there, and she was very upset.'

'From what I could sense, it seemed that the events of everything had all finally hit her and she emotionally broke down. First, into a fit of rage. And then to tears.'

'While Lee was having a mini-breakdown, and could really use a friend at the moment, I also realized that it would a bad idea to confront her, right now.'

'I needed to wait for Lee to calm down.'

'After leaving the hotel, and switching back my gender, to being River and I changed my clothing When I was ready, I headed back to the casino, to spent the afternoon in my penthouse home. To think on what I need to say to Lee.'

'Soon after I left, Lee finished crying, and collected herself. She then came out of her suite, she went down to the check in desk, and she paid for the damages to the room.'

'I will say that the staff in the Devil's Hotel was very understanding, and that as long as Lee paid for damages, then there were no problems.'

'About an hour after I left Lee, in the casino penthouse, I pulled out another burner phone I had, and went to my master bathroom, and lock the door.'

'I then stripped down, and changed genders. I called Devil's Hotel check in desk, and the clerk on staff gladly transferred me to Lee's suite.'

'Lee then picked up the phone, and I talked to her. She sounded better.'

'She said she needed some time alone for that day, and the day after.'

'And I agreed that Lee needed time to decompress.'

'Lee then hung up her phone.'

'After turning off my burner phone, I changed genders, back to female. Put on my clothing, and left the bathroom, to enjoy the rest of the day at the casino.'

'I really belief that Lee needed that day off. But, fate had another plans.'

'The next morning, fate decided to have Lee chaperon one of the craziest, most savvy individuals in the multiverse. The infamous, and insanity inducing private, Captain Jack Sparrow. With the only thing more surprising was whose body Jack was inhabiting.'

'It turned out that Revy was the reincarnation of Jack Sparrow. Which in retrospect, was not that surprising. They share a lot of the same personality traits.'

'That morning, the day after Lee and Chang talked, it seemed that Rock and the others decided to go on a tour of the mainland, of Mexico, for that day.'

'Though, Revy had not interest in the tour, and she stayed behind. Her plans were to get drunk early, in the hotel bar. And she had her weapons on her.'

'I don't fault for Melvin for doing what he could to talk Revy out of getting drunk.'

'Though, I am with Lee on this. He should have just suggested she see a movie, in the hotel theater, instead.'

'On the other hand, Melvin suggested that Revy try something that Melvin had learned while in this reality. Hypnosis for past life regression.'

'Revy, being the curious sort, decided to allow Melvin to do so, because she really wanted to get to know what her past lives.'

'Those two gained way more than they bargained for.'

'Half an hour later, Melvin dragged Jack, in Revy's body, up to Lee's hallway door, begging for Lee's help.'

'I will give Lee credit. Even I am not sure I would willingly accept dealing with Jack, to help a friend.'

'And it just got better and better for Lee.'

'Within five minute of Jack meeting Lee, from Revy's memories, he deduced that Lee was the writer.'

'And the reason I use the term, he, in referring to Jack, is because Jack was still pretty much a man in his mind, while inside Revy's female body. Much like Lee is female upstairs, in a male body.'

'Fortunately, when it came to Jack realizing that Lee is the writer, it seems Jack was impressed with Lee, to the point that no only did Jack offer to sleep with Lee, but he wanted to also teach Lee, like a student.'

'Even I would be tempted to take Jack up on such an offer.'

'But, since Lee did not want to wreck Revy and her family's lives, she declined Jack's offer.'

'Though, to help convinced us that Revy was not behind the wheel of that hot, redheaded, asian piece of ass... What Chang calls Revy, behind her back... Lee took Jack to a costume shop that she had used in the time loop.'

'And, at the time, Jack even correctly guessed that Lee was doing this to help convince us that Jack Sparrow was the one in charge of Revy's body.'

'Lee dropped Jack off at the door to the costume shop, and waiting for him out in the parking lot.'

'A little while, Jack came out in a costume similar to his old costume he wore in his previous life as a pirate. Only this outfit was fitted to Revy's body.'

'The best part was that Jack could still pull off that look, while in a woman's body.'

'That takes style and skill, that even I would envy.'

'Jack also holding a small bag with Revy's clothing, as Lee picked him up with her car.'

'Lee then drove Jack to the casino.'

'When they reached the casino, Lee immediately took Jack to the front express elevator bay. When they reached the elevator bay, with the two guards there, Lee stated they needed to see Chang. The guards took one look at Jack, in Revy's body, in a pirates' outfit, and they let the two of them use the express elevator.'

'Lee then escorted Jack to Chang's office.'

'As they confronted Chang, it did not take much to convince Chang that Lee was telling the truth, and this was Jack Sparrow they were dealing with.'

'Chang quickly called Annie, to find me, and for the two of us to come up to his office as soon as possible.'

'When Annie and I reached the office, they were in the middle of a very embarrassing conversation for Lee.'

'It seems that Jack had all of Revy's memories. Including Revy's memories in the time loop. And that Revy and Rock did notice that the five packets of instant spring of drowned girl they had went missing a few times.'

'It did not take a genius to figure out that Lee took them, and what she used them for.'

'But, it did take a genius to truly appreciate, in imagining, what Lee used to packets, to do with herself.'

'I honestly did not know that Lee's face could blush that deep a shade of red.'

'And given the situation, and the fact Annie had asked, I had to tell her what they were talking about. Both that Revy was the reincarnation of Jack Sparrow, and that, in a time loop, Lee raided Revy's magical packets of spring of drowned girl.'

'We all got a good laugh at Lee's embarrassing indiscretions, but we all agreed those actions, that Lee took in the time loop, would remain secret.'

'Though, I would guess that Revy and Rock had those packets for the writer, in the first place. So, the packets were used by their intended victim.'

'We then talked about sealing Jack's memories and restoring Revy's personality.'

'Though, Annie and I made it clear that it was ultimately Jack's choice.'

'Soon after, Chang sent Annie, Jack, and I, out of the room, and to a nearby spare office. So, he and Lee could talk, and come up with a workable plan for the situation. The plan on a believable story to explain why Revy came the casino? Why she was wearing a pirate outfit, that fit her? Why she would wake up in an office on the penthouse floor? And why she could not remember anything of that day's morning and afternoon?'

'Also, during that meeting, Chang made Lee an offer for his help, in exchange for her employment under him. Including the vat process, which would cure her cancer, give her a healthy body, restore some youth back to her body, and turn her physically into a woman.'

'Lee was really tempted to take Chang up on his offer. The one sticking point was not the vat process. Though, Chang did not know it, Lee would not have minded having that process done to her, while knowing beforehand the results, and drawbacks of being a woman would mean for her.'

'No. The sticking point was that Chang had yet to figure out how to placate Revy and anyone else that want revenged on Lee.'

'Should Chang have solved that problem, Lee would have gladly accepted his offer.'

'Meanwhile, as Annie Jack, and myself, walked to a nearby spare office, Jack realized was I going to read his mind, and he was nice enough to give me permission to do so.'

'From reading Jack's mind, I learned a lot about both Jack's personality, and Revy's personality, in a few ways.'

'I always wondered what Revy's potential for intelligence and cleverness was.
After meeting Jack in Revy's body, I had my answer. While Revy is nowhere a genius of my caliber, Revy, at her full potential, could keep up with me. And so, it was more a her mental childhood traumas that held her back. In other words, it was a software problem, not a hardware problem.'

'Though, Jack had Revy's memories, plus his own, he was still able to play at a high savviness level than even Chang and Lee. I can safely say, given Revy's longevity, she might someday fully overcome her childhood traumas, and become a better person, like I did.'

'That all being said, I was in agreement with Lee, that Jack needed to back into his box. Though, we all agreed that it was Jack's choice.'

'While, barring the gender differences, Jack and Revy's personality traits were almost parallel with each other. With Jack having a positive outlook on life, whereas Revy had a negative out look on life.'

'Along with their life experiences in different genders. There was one other trait that differed between Revy and Jack.'

'Revy was very monogamous. While Jack was very promiscuous.'

'We all quickly realized that if Jack, was allowed to stay Jack, he was going to cause a whole lot of problems for all of us. Including, himself.'

'Also, the resulting havoc would likely blow both Lee's cover, and my cover. Though, I doubt that Jack had the chance to realize I was Sam.'

'To add to this, Jack's personality trait to cause havoc was unparalleled. And Revy had a similar trait, though her trait was not as developed.'

'This trait to wreck havoc was made clear, earlier, when Annie and I walked in on the conversation between Lee, Chang, and Jack, dealing with the magical gender bending packets that Lee stole from Revy, and used, during the time loop.'

'Still, when we reached the nearby office. And Jack started to put the moves on Annie, while both of them were on the couch, in the office. I was not going to stop Jack and Annie from having a little fun, and risk upsetting one of the savviess people in the multiverse, and a force master, at the same time.'

'So, I quickly excuse myself, and left for a break room, next to the office we were in.'

'I still wanted to listen to their thoughts, and laugh, as they had some fun with each other.'

'The break room was on the way to the office, from Chang's office. So, I was sure they would stop by when they heard my laughing. A few minutes later, Chang and Lee did as I expect them to do so.'

'Soon, all three of us entered the other office, and we found Annie and Jack in a comprising position. Though, they were still mostly clothed at the time.'

'I have to admit, while she rarely shows it, Annie does have a nice set of breasts.'

'And the way Chang, Lee, and I found Annie and Jack, convinced Jack that he needed to go back to sleep.'

'It seemed that Jack still loved Rock.'

'And Jack knew that he stayed as Jack, then he knew his promiscuity would screw up his relationship with Rock, and the rest of their family.'

'We then learned that Chang and Lee had come up with a workable plan. Well, Lee came up with most of the plan, with Chang refining the plan a bit. All of us, even Jack agreed that it was a believable plan.'

'Chang and Lee then left the room, while Annie and I got to work, on sealing Jack's memories. We also sealed Revy's memories for entire day.'

'It took Annie and I, linking our powers, and minds, with Jack's mind, to seal Jack's memories, and bring back Revy's personality. And Jack helped us do this.'

'Even then, this seal would likely not last forever.'

'On an interesting side note. After reading Jack's mind, when I met him in Revy's body. Revy was following a fortuneteller’s suggestion. A woman that Revy and Rock met at the town festival, during the Day of Little Angel.'

'And that meeting confirmed that Lee was not the only precognitive in this reality. Which made me even more interested in this world.'

'When we finished sealing Jack's memories and persona, we left Revy asleep, on the couch of the spare office, as we returned to Chang's office, to find Chang and Lee talked about TV shows.'

'I gave them the good news.'

'Still, we all agreed that Annie and I needed to stick around the penthouse, in case, when Revy woke up, and the memories were not fully sealed, or if there was something wrong, we would be there to fix it.'

'After a brief discussion on a few things, we got to talking about movies Annie and I could watch, in my living room, while we waited for Revy to wake up.'

'Lee suggested, in thought, a comedy parody of romantic a movie, that I liked. I suggested the movie to Annie, and she liked it, as well.'

'It is so nice to have friends that appreciate a telepath's abilities.'

'And it is refreshing to know that, even though I still have some control issues on my telepathy, it seems that Chang, Lee, and Annie really do not mind me reading their minds. As long as, I keep their secrets, and I don't use those secrets against them.'

'It is a more than generous comprise on their side, towards me.'

'Annie and I then left for the penthouse living room.'

'Soon after, Lee said goodbye to Chang, and she left Chang's office, as well. Given part of the plan meant that Lee needed to be somewhere else than the casino, when Revy woke up.'

'A few hours later, as Annie and I sensed Revy coming to. We also noticed that it was Revy's personality, and not Jack's personal. And Revy was not consciously aware of any of Jack's memories.'

'We went to Chang's office and informed him of this.'

'Chang then got in touch with Rock, whom was at the Devil's Hotel, to come pick up Revy. Chang used the cover story that Lee came up with.'

'The three of us then waked outside of the other office, where Revy had been sleeping. When she fully came away, the three of us walked inside to check on her.'

'She was Revy again. And she believed our cover story. We even convinced her to keep her new pirate outfit, which she like. Which was no surprise, because deep down, she was still also Jack. And Jack had been the one to pick out that outfit, in the first place.'

'We then left her in the office, so she could change her clothing back to her usual outfit. And she then waited for Rock to arrive.'

'Rock soon picked her up, with her items, and she left for the day.'

'What I did not count on about this situation, was that Revy still wanted a drink that day.'

'From reading the various parties mind, I learned that, Revy convinced Rock, and a few of her friends, to go out for drinks that night, at the Rats Nest. Though, instead of them going there to get drink. She just wanted to have a few beers with her friends, and an atmosphere that she felt relaxed in. Which happened to be the Rats Nest, because the bar rightfully reminded her of her time at the Yellowflag, back in Roanapur, Thailand.'

'During that evening, that the Rats Nest, while Revy did not know that the bartender was Bao. She did talk to Bao.'

'While I am not sure what was talked about in their conversation. Whatever was said made Bao realize that Revy, and the others, were after Lee. But, at the time, Bao did not know why.'

'Still, given Lee was a very good customer, with the two of them already experiencing that wonderful date, together, Bao wanted to know what the hell was going on.'

'So, the next day was full of excitement for Lee and I. But, this time, not in a pleasant way.'

'The next morning, before I met Lee at the Rats Nest, Bao had tricked Lee into the back of the storage room of the Rats Nest, and she confronted him, with a pistol.'

'Lee soon told Bao everything, about what was going on. That she was the writer. What the stories she wrote were about. And a summary of everything else that Bao wanted to know.'

'To be fair, Bao took the news a quite well. She put away her gun, and she even laughed at the news that Lee was the one responsible for turning her into a woman.'

'Then, Bao played a little game, of Lee trying to guess who Bao was. And Bao gave Lee a big hint, and Lee immediately realized that the bartender was Bao.'

'Lee did immediately apologize to Bao about turning her into a woman. Bao was okay with the situation, because she also realized that Lee had changed her body into a body that was in perfect health, and far younger than she was back in Roanapur.'

'They then compared notes, on what was going on. And they had some fun in doing so.'

'Soon after, they re-entered the bar room itself. And before long, I showed up, at the bar, as Sam.'

'Lee and I then played our ongoing game of poker.'

'For lunch, Lee treated me to a meal at the local steakhouse restaurant that he took Eda too. And it was a good lunch. Though, we took her pink Cadillac. When we returned, Lee dropped me off at the Rats Nest, and she then to parked away from the Rats Nest, to prevent anyone from ambushing her, again. Or, at least allow her to spot them, before they spotted her.'

'Fortunately, it did not take her long to walk back to the Rats Nest, from where she parked her car.'

'Afterward, we continued our poker game.'

'Still, I was concerned, I could read Lee's mind, and her precognition was giving her growing sense of impending doom all day. Though, even I could could not figure out why.'

'Given Lee's precognition, this was a warning that could not be ignored.'

'Then, late that afternoon, close to sunset, we had the answer to our question, when the two Lovelace Maids, Rosarita 'Roberta' Cisneros and Fabiola Iglesias, showed up at ath Rats Nest, looking for direction to the Devil's Hotel.'

'For those that do not know, Roberta, also nicknamed the Bloodhound, it as dangerous fighter than I am. And her student, Fabiola is almost as dangerous in a fighter at Roberta is.'

'And the only reason that they would be in this town would be them searching for the writer. And the only reason they would be looking for the writer was for revenge over what the writer did to their master, Garcia Lovelace.'

'I am very happy, that Lee and Bao were able to secretly work together, on the fly, for Bao to stall the maids, while Lee figured out an escape plan for both herself, and myself.'

'After we quickly, though quietly, made our way out of the men's restroom window, to the outside, we briskly walked away from the bar, from the right side of the building, where there were no windows, and the maids would not see up leave.'

'A few minutes later, after we were a block away from the Rats Nest, and closer to Lee's pink car, Lee stopped by a payphone, and called the police station, to leave Pedro a message, that the maids were in town.'

'I admire that Lee remembered to warn her friends, as well, towards the impending danger.'

'Pedro did later get the message, and he immediately left town, with around half his police force right behind him. I will say this about Plata Podrido's police force, their intelligence, and common sense is a lot higher than most police forces. Those in the police force that knew what going on, and learned that the Lovelace maids were in town, also realized that it was best for them to get out of town very quickly. And that should not try to confront the maids.'

'And given Roberta is one of those few people I know of that can gloat, about taking a small army, and winning. I don't blame Pedro, nor his officers, from swiftly escaping town in their vehicles.'

'Though, back to Lee and I. A few seconds later, after Lee hung up the pay phone, and we started walking again, away from the Rats Nest, and we literally heard the Rats Nest explode, behind us.'

'I even turned around and saw the smoke rising, while Lee just continued walking.

'I do not know the details of how the Rats Nest blew up, but I was glad that Bao escaped unharmed.'

'Besides, Bao had the place insured. So, she will be fine.'

'Still, with the maids here, the danger level that Lee was now in the extreme. Her precognition was right on the money.'

'I think quickly returned to walking right behind Lee, as I caught up with her.'

'Given the seriousness of the situation, I did not have time to be gentle, as I came clean to her.'

'And I did drop a number of mental bombshells on her. One after another. All and in all, she took them very well.'

'While Lee had her back to me, and she was trying to convince me to runaway from her, for my own safety. With I found to be touching. Instead, I started revealing my secrets, by revealing who I was, with a sneeze, which changed me to my male form to my female form.'

'Lee immediately stopped walking, as she realized by that sneeze I was a gender bender. She then turned around, and she learned who I really was.'

'I feel that Lee laughed, because she really didn't want to cry.'

'Lee mentally realized that the fake beard trick worked on her. And she commented that she should have guess the name. Since, Sam rhymes with Tam.'

'She then requested for me to remove my fake beard, and I did so.'

'After some discussion, Lee asked why the maids would be after her.'

'And I answered her question.'

'I told Lee why the maids were after her, by reminding her what she did to Garcia'

'That news almost made Lee freak out. And this was from a person that could probably remain calm in the middle of a warzone. This is how much the maids scared Lee. And that fear was very justified.'

'I tried my best to calm her down by saying I could handle the maids.'

'Though, to be honest, I was not sure.'

'And the worst part was that I had to admit to Lee that I never really watched the Black Lagoon series. Neither the anime, nor reading the manga. I really need to do that sometime.'

'Lee then explained to me who Roberta was. And she then telepathically pulled up everything she knew about Roberta.'

'My fear immediately paled when compared to the fear that I felt, when I learned about what Roberta was really capable of. Which did not help Lee's confidence at all.'

'Then, Lee reminded me that I would not just be facing Roberta, but Fabiola as well.'

'Even I had to admit that I was outclassed.'

'I then asked if Lee felt we were still friends. And Lee answered, yes. And even given the circumstances, I was delighted with Lee's answer.'

'Lee then tried again to convince me that I should just return to Chang, and leave her to basically suffer a horrible fat.'

'Then, Lee went on about how she had been dealing with crazy chicks all the time. Which is true.'

'But, that was when I called her own her comments about crazy chicks. And I asked if she included herself in her comment.'

'While I did not say it outright, that I knew that Lee was a transsexual. I mentioned I knew about her gender problems.'

'Lee remained silent, until I push the matter, and Lee sadly revealed where her precognition came from.'

'I learned that Lee's precognition came from the fact that she would like to be anyway, but in her male body. In her current life.'

'I knew, from reading Lee's thoughts, that Lee use to have a death wish. And Lee used that death wish, in the form of repeating the term, I will die, in her mind, as a way to help her stay sane in the hell that is her life. Though, the time loop fixed that problem. Still, her dislike for her male body did explain why she had precognitive abilities in the first place.'

'I then suggested that Lee go to Chang for help.'

'Lee pointed out that Chang would not cross the maids. And I had to agree with her on that fact. Though, later I talked to Chang on the matter. And he already came up with an indirect way of dealing with the maids. By simply contacting Garcia. If the situation required us to do so.'

'Lee then mentioned Chang's offer. And we both agreed that it was a good offer for Lee. Because along with curing her cancer, she would become a women, physically.'

'Lee then went off on how hypocritical Revy and the others were. Given, they enjoy watching the suffering of others, in fiction, and how it was just human nature.'

'Though, in the end, Lee calmed down, and we decided that we needed to go our separate ways for a little while, to separately think on the best way to get Lee out of this situation. Though, we planned to meet back at Devil's Hotel, later that evening.'

'Both of us realized that it would take the maids longer to reach the hotel, because the preferred to be on foot.'

'Before we parted ways she said I was a good friend.'

'I replied that she deserved more than one good friend.'

'We then went our separate ways, as we headed back for our cars.'

'Less than an hour later, I returned to the Devil's Hotel. I did not both to put on my fake beard, because now Lee already know who I was. And Revy and her friends won't give a damn. Unless they recognized me. Still, if they did recognize me, they would think twice about approaching me, and Lee, given they knew what I was capable of.'

'At that point, I really didn't have a plan, but I was going to be there to support Lee, in whatever choice she made. And to help make sure she survived her choice.'

'I sensed that Lee was in the hotel bar.'

'As I walked in, what I saw surprised me.'

'I saw that Revy, Rock, Akira, Natsuru, and Ranma, sitting at their usual tables, near the stage.'

'And on the stage as Lee, singing very well, the song titled, Twilight Zone, by Golden Earring.'

'From the lyrics of the song Lee was singing, I could tell, that Lee was practically confessing to Revy and the others.'

'Lee was too much into the song for me to get a solid reading of her mind, as to why she was confessing, but I did sense that she saw me.'

'So, I walked over to the corner table, against the entrance wall, and wait for either Lee to finish her song, or one of the girls to go on stage and confront Lee. If the latter happened, I would move quickly to deal with the situation.'

'But, instead, the former happened. At the time, no one else in the audience realized that Lee was confessing.'

'Lee soon left the stage, and head to sit beside me.'

'I called her on why she would sing that song in front of them. Though, we did not say any names, because Revy and Rock had really sharp hearing, due to the super-soldier serum, and Natsuru enhanced Kampfer senses.'

'Lee responded that it she thought that turning herself over to the asian, meaning Revy, would be far more merciful than turning herself over that the latin, meaning Roberta.'

'And I had to agree with her on that.'

'We then talked for a minute, as we tried to come up with a solution, before Lee either left, or the maids arrived early. Then, the unexpected happened.'

'Lee saw Rock and Revy approach the bar counter.'

'And Rock pulled out her reality device, and set it by her, on the bar counter, opposite to Revy, as she dig into her pants pocket, to get the money she need for their bill for dinner.'

'It was a gold opportunity that Lee could not pass up.'

'And on the spot, Lee came up with an insane plan to get it. Though, it would require I got through a lot of pain.'

'In all fairness, I let Lee guilt trip me into doing my part, because I did not have a better plan, and the maids would show up soon. And given the fact we both knew that running, in the conventional sense, would not work with the Bloodhound, this was Lee last shot at escaping, before the maids got here.'

'Though, before I got up, we said our goodbyes, and Lee gave me her keys to her pink Cadillac. Because she would no longer need it. And I appreciated her gift.'

'Then, I got up form my chair, and I did my part. I walked up between Rock and Revy, with Lee following several feet behind. When I came to a stop, between the two woman. I said, ladies. After which, I placed a hand one butt cheek, on each woman, and I squeezed both my hands.'

'In response, after I let go of them, I let them beat the crap out of me. So, they would not noticed Lee walking by them, on her way out, with Rock's reality device. But, I was careful to slightly dodge any serious blows towards me, without them realizing it.'

'I then saw, behind Rock, as Lee quickly pocketed the reality device, turned and walked away from us, and towards the exit. Though, Lee stopped to pay for her meal. I am slightly annoyed about that. But, I am not going to hold it against her.'

'And it was Melvin that accepted Lee's payment. Which was fifty dollar bill. Lee told him to keep the change. And I read from Melvin's mind, that he realized that Lee was the writer, and he let her go. With Lee evening calling Melvin, russian, to let him know that she knew about him, all along, and still helped him.'

'Melvin found that touching, and so did I.'

'By the time, Rock and Revy realized that I was Sam, and they stopped beating on me, Lee was gone, with Rock's reality device.'

'As Rock realized what was going on, and that Lee was the writer, Revy hauled me up, and the kneed me in the groin, as a man.'

'That hurt. And the pain caused me to collapse back to the ground. I will never, ever again make fun of a man getting hit the balls.'

'While this went on, Akira, Natsuru, and Ranma realized that Lee was the write, as well. And all five women quickly exiting the restaurant, for the front lobby.'

'Still, it was too late for the women, Lee had too much of a head start. And then, after she got her luggage from at the front desk, she walked out the front door, passed a few more of the women after her, and she soon escaped into the multiverse, using Rock's reality device.'

'And if I read the women's minds correctly, Lee escaped in style. Complete with her lighting a cigarette, before she left. A cigarette that I believe Revy gave Lee at the start. Lee even pulled a full on, Usual Suspects, Keyser Soze, disappearing act, right in front of all eighteen women that had original come to the Devil's Hotel, looking for her.'

'I would have loved to have seen the look on their faces at that moment. And given they were all facing in one direction, with a reality device, that might be possible. But, even I am not crazy enough to try to see them like that.'

'Anyway, Dutch, Benny, and Janet soon showed up, and the look on most the women's faces, several seconds after Lee escaped, was still priceless.'

'Anyway, Eda and Yolanda came to the hotel, as well. The girls then returned back to the hotel restaurant, clear the room, except for me. And after we are all situated. And I was sitting in a chair, in the middle of the room, while surrounded by them, I revealed that I was River, with a sneeze. And we all talked.'

'Unfortunately, they learned about the time loop, and what Lee did during the time loop, with the help of Ranma's magical lamp and the smoke it produces. Which allowed us all to fully remember the time loop, without remember anything horrible, in our distance pasts.'

'And I will have to check on Chang getting some of that. Due to the wonder repeating day the two of us had.'

'Anyway, during the conversation, as a way to help Lee, I revealed that Lee was dying of cancer, and they learned about the time loop. Along, with them realizing all the wonderful skills that Lee had tricked them into teaching her. Including some skills I taught her, as well. And a few other skills that will come in handy for Lee, in avoiding capture.'

'Also, the maids showed up. But, nothing came of their arrival. Except they would be part of the continued hunt for Lee. And given those two were on the hunt, it was best Revy and the others went with them, to help reign them in.'

'Still, the women found out where Lee was, and where she was likely heading. Though, with Lee, that doesn't mean they will catch her.'

'Revy and a few of the others took me to the casino, and we had Chang bring all my friends there, together, in the garage, for a private meeting. There, Revy forced me to reveal what I had done, that Lee was the writer, and that Lee had escape into the multiverse.'

'After another discussion, Revy, and her friends left for the night. When they were gone, Chang talked to us, and told us that he offered a reward, of gold bars for each of my friends that went on the hunt, for the capture of Lee in a salvageable, non-cripple, non-dead condition.'

'At least, Chang still wanted Lee back in one piece. And I appreciated that. Still, Chang knew he could not allow me to leave the casino.'

'And at the end of the meeting, Chang had Zoe, and Jayne escort me to the penthouse apartment that I shared with Chang.'

'Over an hour later, Chang returned to our penthouse apartment, and we talked, and we talked in private, in our living room.'

'Chang explained that he had plans to save Lee, but at the moment, I could not be a part of those plans. And that if I got involved, it could screw up his plans, and get Lee killed.'

'I agreed with his logic, and I agreed not to go after Lee. Though, I did ask what would likely happen to Lee if she was capture.'

'Chang answered that if his employees capture Lee, that they would likely beat her up, but otherwise, bring her here unharmed. If Revy and her friends capture Lee, it would be bad, but Chang could probably talk them into turning Lee over to him.'

'If the maids got Lee, all bets were off.'

'But, Chang pointed out, that if the maids got Lee, he would bring in Garcia, to mediate the situation. And I agreed with him, that was a good idea.'

'Chang then asked if I had supper. I had not. And he ordered in some dinner for me.'

'Though, from Revy's blow to my groin, earlier that night, when I was a man. Which I made worse by changing into a woman, which spread the soreness to my lower abdomen. As such, I was in no mood for sex. Chang was understanding, and he got me a heating pad. Though, we still enjoyed each other's company, and we soon went to sleep together, in our bed, for the night.'

'The next morning, we awoke, got cleaned up, had breakfast. Then, Annie came up to the apartment, to keep me company and for Annie to have an alias to avoid the meeting with that Chang then headed downstairs for. A meeting with my friends, Revy's crew, and the maids.'

'After those people left, on their hunt for Lee, Chang then went to continue his duties for the day, of running his casino.'

'And now, I am back to the present, in the morning of the day after Lee escape. I am currently sharing my living room with my good friend, Annie. Along with my friends about to going after Lee. For them, they could be gone for days. For those still in this reality, they will be back in five minutes.'

'Though, they should be back by now. And from what Annie has told me, a few minutes ago. Annie has not sense their return with the force.'

'So, it is possible they decided to stay more parallel between the time they spent, and the time we are spending. At the moment, there is no way for me to know.'

'But, for me, either way, this is going to be a very long day. Because, I have truly enjoyed my friendship with, Lee. With us sharing our joys, hopes, and sorrows.'

'As a teenager, before I was tortured, and experimented on, I did not truly value my friendships. I had a group of friends, but in that group, I was just an overachieving queen bee whom viewed everyone else as a stepping stone for greater things. That eventually came back to bite me in the ass, in a big way.'

'At the time, I didn't even view my friendship with my brother Simon, as nothing important. I am happy that Simon thought differently. I owe him for everything, and more.'

'Speaking of which. My relationship with Chang is... Interesting. When we started, thanks to Lee writing skills, I was the dominate partner. Now, it is more of an equal relationship. And we have been together so long, and we now get alone so well, that we do care deeply for each other. And as such, I, nor Chang, hold what Lee did to us, against her.'

'All that aside, except for Annie, Lee is probably the only genuine, platonic friendship, I have ever had.'

'For those that know me. There has always been a gap. For the crew of the Serenity. And almost everyone else. It was one thing or another, that created roadblocks for my friendship.'

'For Simon, I was his broken sister. For others, it was either my insanity, which I am almost back to being completely sane. It was my genius. I was a telepath without full control of my abilities. So, I read peoples thought, whether I want to, or not. It was the fact that I was tortured, and brainwashed for a while. The fact that I am in someways a trained, walking, killing machine. Or, just that fact that in my natural female form, I am a physically a young, hot babe, that many men would lust after, and many women would be envious of.'

'While the last example doesn't bother me much. The rest does.'

'And though, I have been alternating between leaving my hair its natural brown, or dyeing it red, for several years. When I came to Lee's reality, I decided to dye my hair red, and keep it red, for a number of reasons.'

'Among other reasons, having red hair would make it harder for people to recognize in both my forms. For the public here, in my female form. And towards my friends, in my male form.'

'When it comes to the public here. While the Firefly series and Serenity movie are nowhere near as popular as the Star Wars franchise. It is known in several realities. Including, this reality.'

'And those that know my origins, know my nature color is brown. So, when other people see my red hair, it throws them for a mental loop. And I like that. Because they then do not recognize me as neither myself, nor my actress.'

'Because of this, I can walk in a crowd, in Lee's reality, and not have to worry about being recognized.'

'Still, when it comes to dying my hair red. I think Lee just made a mistake. And she thought my hair was naturally red, and she later learned that it was naturally brown. And she corrected that mistake by stating that I decided to dye my hair red. And I later just alternated between brown and red colors, for my hair.'

'I have seen a few pictures of my actress, in different forms of lighting. One could make the mistake that I have red hair. Though, I do not hold this against Lee.'

'Along with this, the idea of dyeing my hair red, is likely where she originally got the idea to dye her hair own black. And I admit that black hair does look good on her.'

'Also, dyeing my hair red do solve a few of my problems. And it prevents numerous other problems, for myself.'

'Such as, no one thinks twice about seeing a crazy redhead. I do not really understand why. Though, that seems to be the case.'

'Along with that, my gender bending ability also helped with that matter, as well. Though, I still like to present myself as female, in my day to day life.'

'But, I found all this put me in a unique situation, I had never been in before, when I disguised myself as Sam, and met with Lee.

'As Sam. With the gender bending, dyed red hair, and fake red full beard, Lee did not know who I was. And due to this, there were no boundaries between us, on how she view me, and how she treated me. As far as Lee was concerned, I was just someone that wanted a friend. And Lee, whom never had any real friends. Whom was really desperate for a friend, but no knew better than to show that desperation.'

'And even though I presented myself as male, it was a good friendship.'

'And Lee was not clingy about being my friend. She knew to be aloof, and causal about our friendship. But, she was also supportive of me, and my views. Even if she disagreed with me. And most of all, she was not judgmental. She kept giving me the benefit of the doubt. And she was genuinely kind to me. This is one of the reasons I changed my mind about her. I realize that she does not deserve revenge. A small measure of justice. Yes. But, not what Revy, Roberta, and the others wanted to do to her.'

'And this is why, I am going to do everything in my power to help, Lee.'

River attention was brought back to the present, as from across the room, Annie sensed her emotion state.

While not looking up from her book, Annie chastised River, in english, “Don't be so melodically, River. It does not become you.”

River turned from the window she was looking out, to face Annie.

River saw, across the living room, sitting on the couch was Gray Force Master Annie Skywalker. She was wearing a white blouse, gray pants, black belt, and black slippers. She was clearly relaxed, as her legs were crossed. In her right hand, she was in the middle reading a copy of the book, The Three Musketeers, in its original french text. In her left hand, she had just taken a sip from her cup of hot tea. She then set the cup back, on its coaster, on the table in front of her, by her lightsaber, which had set on the table.

River walked to a nearby chair, and sat down. She then looked at Annie, her friend, as she thought, 'After everything Annie has been through, she is neither a Sith, nor a Jedi. She is a true gray.'

Annie continued to read her book, as she said, “River. We have known each other for years. In all honestly, decades. We first truly met and got to know each other at one of the Lagoon bikini parties. I regret we did not have time to get to know each other, before we attacked Chang's tower. And neither of us had the chance to get to know each other, until long after those events. When we finally formally met at one of those parities. And we got to know each.”

River stated, in english, “Yes. I remember that event.”

Annie responded, “I know you do. Soon after that party, I freely began training you to control your telepathy. And with that control, most of your sanity returned. Everyone seems to be very happy about that. We have been good friends ever since then.”

River mentioned, “And you helped me clean out, and remove, any subliminal commands left in my mind.”

Annie stated, “That to. And it was worth the risk in doing, to give you some peace of mind.”

River said, “I know. I don't want someone to come out of the blue, and give one those commands. Which would make me try to wreck everything I have worked so hard to create. And I am eternally grateful for your help on that matter. And I am glad no one was hurt, when we did that.”

Annie responded, “As am I. I enjoy being your friend, River. You have a lot of traits that I admire. Also, we have a lot of common interests. And much to Chang's annoyance, we have shared a bed together, a few times, in both your gender forms. I must say, you truly are a skilled lover, as both a woman and a man. And Chang knows that if she, or I should say now, he, complains about such matter. He will painful regret doing so.”

River asked, “I know. And I still do not understand why do you even work for my lover? It is clear you still hate him for his part in changing you into a woman, among other things.”

Annie answered, with a wicked smile, “I have learned that revenge comes in many forms.”

River casually said, “You have been hanging around Arcee for far too long.”

Annie smile became ever so slightly wider, as she stated, “Perhaps, I have. But, she is great company once you get to know her. Still, I now realize that the Fetts had the right idea. You can get revenge on someone in so many ways. My own revenge against your boyfriend, is that I charge Chang a small fortune for my services. And since I know I am the only force master he knows that will work for him. Because you, and the rest of his friends trust me. And he also knows I won't kill him, because I like his friends, including you. But, to just add salt to the wound, I made it so that I get to pick the missions he assigns to me.”

River commented, “I can understand this. Though, keep in mind that Chang did figure out a way to temporally cancel out force use, and remotely turn off lightsabers, without damaging the items. So, if you do turn on him, he might be able to take you by surprise.”

Annie turned to the next page of her book, as she casually admitted, “Yes. I am aware of what Chang did at the end of book one of Lee's stories. I am aware it. You won't happen to know how he did that?”

River commented, “Chang has guarded those secrets well. Even I am not sure how he pulled them off. But, I do have clues. He somehow found a way to use a chemical mix to boost the force bubble abilities of a single Ysalamiri, to the point that one could cover over a small city. But, the Ysalamiri would die a few hours after it was exposed to the power boosting chemicals.”

Annie said, “I am surprised that no one has tried that in my home reality.”

River replied, “So, am I.”

Annie inquired, “And the lightsabers?”

River answered, “On the lightsabers. Chang used some sort of energy dampening feel to temporally shut down the batteries in the lightsabers. But, the dampening field did not effect firearms, nor combustion engines, like the one in Sawyer's chainsaw.”

“But, Chang found procuring and keeping Ysalamiri alive too costly. Also, he did not want to risk attracting attention in that Star Wars reality.”

Annie stated, “I guess those events would have to be from an alternate reality to my own. Considering I never heard about such an attack.” She thought, 'Though, in my case, I was the one to do such an attack, with an army of clone troopers.' She continued, “And I doubt Chang did it in any other time period than that which is close to my own. Near the end of the old republic.”

River responded, “I agree. Also, that power dampening field was expensive to build and use. In addition, that machine could only be used for a few hours, before it broke. As such, Chang felt that both of these tools were to cost ineffective to use on the long term. Not when he had other resources that could have a reasonable chance at defeating skilled force users, with far less time, effort, and resources, spent in doing so.”

Annie conceded, “I admit there are some non-force using badasses that could take me in a fight. You included.”

River replied, “Thank you. And before you ask. Chang did not share this information with anyone.”

Annie said, “Good. At least he hasn't shared the information with someone. Except for you.”

River casually asked, in a more joking manner, than serious, “You are not going to kill us, for knowing this? Are you?”

Annie joked, “Nah. You all are too entertaining to kill.”

River let out a laugh.

Annie continued, “I am making good money at my job. And you all respect me. Chang included. Besides. Any decent Star Wars fan can figure out how to do that.”

River complimented, “Good point. By the way, why did you let Chang partner you with Arcee?”

Annie smirked, while she continued to read her book. She said, “Someone has to keep an eye on Arcee. At the same time, I am helping her work through her problems She is getting better. Though, she is also another reason I don't kill Chang. Because the two of them good friends. And let us be honest. Neither of us could take down an angry Arcee.”

River admitted, “You got that right. Still, back to the original topic. You hate Chang, but you don't seem to hate Lee. Not that I am complaining. Though, I would like to know why?”

Annie turned the next page of her book, as she casually answered, “Because I realize that Chang, you, I, and the others are still responsible for our actions. That is something the others don't understand, yet you and I understand. The others want to blame Lee for all the bad, yet give him none of the credit for the good he has done in our lives. And I feel, the good he had done outweighs the bad. It is unfortunate that his own demons, in dealing with his internal gender, had corrupted his writings. But, he still clearly has a good heart.”

While River was not surprised by the revelation, she inquired, “How did you know?”

Annie kept reading her book, as shrugged. She stated, “It is kinda obvious when I read those stories. I guess it is a blind spot for the others. My theory was confirmed when we talked about that time she used those packets of instant girl. I felt no emotional shame from Lee about the actual use of packets, but only embarrassment in getting caught.”

“Also, when Lee looked at me, you, and any other woman, in my presence, I got a slight sense of a mix of anger and jealousy from Lee's emotion state. Which can only come from having such a problem. I use to have a similar emotion failings of envy and anger, while in the black suit, when I looked at healthy people. So, I knew to look for.”

River commented, “I am just glad that you are so understanding, and the others haven't figured that out about Lee.”

Annie responded, “I agree. They would get a lot of mileage on their vengeance against Lee, if they knew that about Lee. Speaking of the others. I have sensed the hearts, and emotional states of the others during all those bikini parties we had at the Lagoon island. Some of them may never admit to anyone, not even themselves, that they honestly love how their lives turned out. They love their children. And I honestly do not think any of them would willingly go back the way they were before Lee's stories.”

“I certainly wouldn't.”

River commented, “Neither would I.”

Annie stated, “Exactly. Given I have read the stories myself, I came to realize that Lee did not write everything. There are very large gaps between the written events in those stories. Such as my many love affairs.” She then stopped reading, as she looked at the cover of the book, as she added, “And the many languages I have learned since I was rescued from that vat. Even now, I still giggle when I think of one my better love affairs. My ten year whirlwind love affair with Bumi of the Avatar reality.”

River looked at her more closely, as she asked, “King Bumi, the mad genius. Even as an old guy, I can see the appeal.”

Annie corrected, “No. I am talking about retired Commander Bumi. Aang's non-bender son... Well, until a mystical incident unlocked his air bending abilities... He takes the term, late bloomer, to the extreme.”

River shrugged, as she inquired, “True. And I can see you, and that Bumi, together, as well. So, how did you two meet each other?”

Annie answered, “Well, I was traveling the multiverse, and I found myself in the Avatar reality, in the heart of Republic City. It was real fun introducing the force, and my lightsaber, to some of the more arrogant benders in the city.”

River giggled. She then replied, “I am sure that was fun.”

Annie responded, “Timeline wise, it was a few years, or more, after the Korra series ended. Bumi and I bumped into each other at a bar of all places. Even though he was older, he was so full of energy. And though I may look young, I am far older. So, I could relate to him in a number of ways. One thing lead to another and we started dating. I quickly realized that wildman persona that he puts on for everyone is just an act to help with his hard life… Well mostly. He truly is wild in bed. And you don't get promoted to commander of any military by acting childish. And though he is crazy, it is more of a creative type of crazy that Violin has.”

River commented, “That, I don't doubt.”

Annie turned the page on her book. She continued reading, as she stated, “I soon met his family and given how spiritual many of them are, it soon came out that I was not of their world. They first mistook me for an evil spirit. Given my past, I let that one slide. But, we were able to prevent anything from coming to violence.”

“After that, in private, I told Bumi the truth, that I was not from his reality. I did omit that whole meta issues of all realities being fiction, and most of my past. Still, I invited Bumi to come with me, and he took me up on my offer. But first, we both wanted to test out a few theories on benders and their powers.”

“Girl, I tell you, Bumi's family were upset when we all realized their bending abilities were really tied to their planet, and their planetary bodies, nearby. When benders left their reality, they lost their elemental bending abilities. After learning this, Bumi would not stop laughing for a full week. And given his life, I do not blame him for laughing.”

“Bumi was so use to not bending that he could do without such skills. And we both also realized that given Bumi skills and intelligence, he would have likely overshadowed his family if they had been from anywhere else in the multiverse.”

River pointed out, “I guess that is why Chang never kidnapped any of those benders. They were useless to them. I read his, or at the time, her mind, when we talked on the subject. So, what about the Avatar?”

Annie stated, “I was very careful with her. This spirit world is just a different dimensional plane of their home planet. Though, for the Avatar, physically leaving their world in a spaceship, weakened Korra greater. It seems that leaving her reality may kill an Avatar. That is not surprising, given they are connected to that area, is far deeper than average bender. Still, I like Korra. She as a good head on her shoulders, and a nice heart. If anyone was going to have god like powers there, it should be her.”

“Anyway, Bob, or should I say Lee. Or both. Had the right idea. Just get a badass, or two, that likes you, to travel the multiverse with you, and have a good time together. Bumi and I sure did. We went to some interesting places during those years. Still, as intimate as we were, I was careful not to get pregnant. That would have spoiled our fun.”

“I soon found that Bumi, like virtually all humans of his world, both non-benders and benders, have vast reservoirs of spiritual energy. It is just that most of the non-benders cannot tap into their inner power. Though, I know for a fact that a few have.”

River guessed, “Guru Pathik?”

Annie responded, “Exactly. And Guru Pathik was a non-bender. Yet, he lived for over a hundred and fifty years, and he had vast physic awareness. He was the oldest known human alive towards the end of his life. And of all people, he was the one that taught Aang how to safely enter the Avatar State. A non-bender.”

River commented, “Now, that is interesting.”

Annie agreed, “I know. I eventually told Bumi this, about his people, and he asked if I could teach him to tap into that power. It seems that bending, by itself, barely taps into that pool of personal spiritual energy. So, there was room to work with. And with being in other reality, Bumi did not have access to his airbending. So, we could completely focus on his inner spiritual powers, without risk of being interrupted with accidental bending.”

“And as I taught him, and I found that pool of energy allowed him to manifest abilities that were similar to force abilities. This worked well for both of us, because I could train him, using force techniques as a basis for his lessons. He was even able to construct his own lightsaber. I got a laugh went the color crystal he picked out was pink. That man could sometimes be really crazy.”

“Though, best of all, my training probably extended Bumi's lifespan by at least fifty years.”

River asked, “That is good. And it sounds like you loved each other. So, why didn't you marry him?”

Annie stated, “Two reasons. First, I could not stand his family. He didn't blame me for that. He can barely tolerate most of them. And he occasionally lived with them. On the other hand, Bumi, and my family got along great. My son-in-law Han, and he friend Chewy, hit it off well with Bumi. And they got into all sorts of trouble when they went out drinking.”

Annie looked up from her book and towards River. She continued, in a more sober tone of voice, “The other reason was we were both terrified of what would happen if we had children, with mixing force genes with bending genes.”

Annie smiled, as she went onto say, “Still, he returned to his world. As far as his family knew, he was gone less than a day. Though, his abilities had made him a few years physically younger, and they didn't know that the metal cylinder hooked to the side of his belt, was his pink bladed lightsaber.”

“And I occasionally visit him. He even started secretly training non-benders to use their spiritual powers. To help give non-benders a way to be more equal to benders. And it seems that benders do have a problem training to use such spiritual powers, because a lot of the same mental triggers for both bending and their spiritual powers are the same.”

“The likely reasons Bumi did not have a problem, is I trained him in another reality, to where he did not have access to his bending abilities at the time.”

And on his homeworld, he has no problems using his airbending, or his spiritual powers.

“I look forward to when it comes out that non-benders start show they have gain powers that are equal to bending, but not related to bending.”

“I know that Korra and Bumi's family not going to be happy about that. Especially, when they find out Bumi was behind it.”

“And Bumi hasn't yet shown what he can do now, outside of his bending. But, I can tell when I talk to him, there is glint in his eye that he looking forward to the looks on their faces when he does.”

River requested, “Can I join you, when you go to find out what happened there?”

While Annie was still smiling, she shrugged. She replied, “Sure. The more the merrier.”

River asked, “By the way, how do you know about the Avatar, and the Korra, series?”

Annie turned the page on her book. She continued reading her book, as she answered, “I used to babysit Nodoka, Mikoto, and Yurika when they were young. Akira, Ranma, and Natsuru trusted me. They knew my force powers allowed me to prevent the kids from pulling anything on me.”

“And the two cartoon series that I could find on hand that all three of them liked were the Avatar and Korra series. Given the girls own elemental abilities, it is kind of obvious why they liked those series. And being girls, they preferred watching the Korra series over the original Avatar series. I admit, both those series are entertaining, even for an adult to watch. Now River, how did you know about those series?”

River smirked, as she said, “Besides B, who do you think babysat Stan and Lewis, when they were younger? And given Bob and Ed's taste in fiction, what do you think I could find for them to watch, that was on hand?”

Both woman just laughed at the poetry of this situations.

As they calmed down, Annie went back to reading her book, as she commented, “Still, back to Lee. Lee is responsible for making me female, and dealing with monthly periods. But, Lee is also responsible for me being out of the black suit and physically restored in a near eternally youthful, and healthy body. With my force powers still enhancing my empowered longevity of my body. Much like that gender bending virus you have, enhanced your natural longevity.”

“So, I feel the good and the bad balances out.”

River complimented, “That is a very good way to look our situation. At first, when I was changed into a man, by Lee, the only reason I was not upset was that, before I even changed, to begin with. What that like most of the crew, except, Mal. That Bob had gone to such lengths of learning how our gender change worked, and the benefits that come with the change. And he informed us of how to control the change. And what benefits the change gave us. That this knowledge left us in a good mood.”

“That was good writing, and plotting, on Lee's part. He would not want to see me angry.”

Annie continued to read her book, as she commented, “I have never seen you angry. And I won't want to, either.”

River complimented, “Wise girl. Considering, through his stories, Lee gender bent the entire populations of the planets Ferenginar, and Oriotera, I hope Ferengi, nor the Federation that Birdy Cephon was a space cop for, ever learn of Lee, nor his stories. If they do, I think we would all be in a whole lot of more trouble than any of us can handle. And that is not even mentioning the Earth of that Marvel reality that Lee messed with in his stories.”

Annie replied, “I fully agree.”

River said, “And Bob really did not know that he was a carrier for a virus that even Star Trek Federation technology couldn't immediately cure. And he thought was purged of. It is good that the rejuvenation treatment made Ed immune to the virus, and their children did not carry the virus. Also, among the benefits of that virus, as long as I change back and forth, within three weeks, I no longer had to worry about having a period. And, as you pointed out, our aging being slowed. Which is icing on the cake.”

Annie commented, “I can see why you are happy with what Lee did to you.”

River smiled, as she said, “Yes. I admit that I am very happy with Lee. And so are the girls from my crew. And I am including Chang, in that list. You know, if you want to be a man again, and not have to use those instant man packets, we could probably get that virus from one of us, or Bob.”

“Though, you would be isolation for about six weeks, to two months, until we were sure you were not contagious. Which would not be a serious problem. And with time dilation, you would not any time here.”

“Also, learning to control one's sneezing, to the point of it being on command, is not that difficult.”

Annie looked up from her book and over at River, as she commented, “No thanks. I have finally found a measure of peace in my life, which I do not want to risk destroying with such foolishness. And I will also admit, if you were not pursuing Lee, I likely would be.”

River quickly replied, “I don't know what you mean.”

Annie deadpanned, “Sure you don't... Still, I have other thoughts on my mind.”

River inquired, “Such as?”

Annie bluntly answered, “Motherhood.”

River commented, “Now, that is a thought provoking subject.”

Annie inquired, “Very true. Do you think I would make a good parent? I know I have two children. But, I did not have a hand in raising either of them. So, it is a fair question.”

River honestly answered, “As you are now, I think you would make a fine parent.”

Annie commented, “I will take that as a compliment. Still, I screwed up once with Padme, and the twins. I do not want to make the same mistakes, again.”

River stated, “As you know, I have seen the movies. Most of what happened, that lead to you being put into that black suit, were not your fault.”

Annie sadly said, “But, some of it was.”

River pointed out, “Yes. Yet, you have clearly learned from your mistakes... Though, moving on. For women, being a parent comes down to a simple question. Do you want to have children, or not?”

Annie admitted, “I do want to have children. But, I do not want to be a single mother. And I really want to find someone to love, and be with. Though, my luck with love has not been good. Bumi was just one of the better relationships I was in. What you like to hear what about happened, when I did finally return to my home reality.”

River inquired, “Sure. Considering, you just mentioned that you had Bumi visit your family. I knew you reunited with them. But, you never did talk about what you did when you returned to you home reality. So, what happened? It is not like I have anything better to do.”

Annie answered, “That is true. And the reason I have not talked about those events were because the tale ends on a sad note, between Padme and I.”

“Long before I even met Bumi, I was fortunate that when finally returned to my reality, I located Padme, and I found that she alive and well. She did use a body double, as both Lee and Rock suspected. I am thankful towards Lee presenting that possibility.”

River flatly asked, “How? You were not pulled out of the timeline until years later. And Episode Three clearly showed Padme dying after giving childbirth and the movie later showed her funeral.”

Annie countered, “Episode Three only showed Padme passing out. And that could have been a fake body-double in the coffin at her funeral.”

River realized, as she accused, “You changed the timeline over you home reality. And with you powers and knowhow it would not be difficult to save Padme. You already come from an alternate timeline. So slightly changing the past would not be that great a challenge.”

Annie pointed out, “I can think of other points I would prefer to change in the timeline which would have prevent much pain for both myself and others.”

River responded, “No. You would have gone through hell for Padme and your children. Palpatine was likely going to rise to power no matter what you did. Or, possibly something worse could have happened. You could have secretly gone to Polis Massa before anyone else arrive. Reprogram the medical droids to slip Padme a drug after she gave birth to put her into a false death. So, she passes out after giving birth the twins, with the Jedi and Bail being fooled by the false death.”

“Then, you arrange it so when the Jedi dropped off Padme, you get to her first. You used a reality device with time dilatation to have her new identity set up with plenty of credits for her to use. You also take care of the fake body double arriving on Naboo for the funeral.”

“Padme wakes up in a fully stocked ship with a note on what has happened. You keep it brief. You state the basics in your note. That her children are fine and safe, but hidden. That it will be years before she can see them. Though, she will see them and to stay safe until then. You even arranged so you would not where she when you looked for her. Likely by her new identification you had created for her.”

“This was the only way you could have slightly changed the future without much worry of a paradox. You could have even later saved Padme's mother life from that Sith inquisitor. You did that? Didn't you?”

Annie looked away from River for a few seconds. Then, Annie turned to River. Annie stated, “An intruging theory. And both Ruwee and Jobal are fine. Anyway. After we were reunited, we soon both found that that we had changed so much that we could not longer have that type of romantic relationship. Though, at least we were able to still be friends. And I was able to achieve being on good terms with my Luke, and my Leia... Now, those were interesting introductions.”

River held back a giggle, as she said, “I bet.”

Annie went onto say, “When I returned to my home reality, I did so further along in my timeline, by around ten years after I was taken. Given I knew, to that point that both my children would be raised to be well adjusted adults, I did not want to risk screwing up their childhood anymore than I already had. By both becoming Vader, and being kidnapped.”

River commented, “I can understanding doing that.”

Annie responded, “I know. And I intentionally returned to the time that is around being parallel to Episode Four of the movies. About two weeks, before what Star Wars fans call the blockade runner scene, at the beginning of episode four. Fortunately, I later found out that both of my children's life were about the same, as if I had not left.”

“The first thing I did was locate Padme. I found it surprisingly easy. It took me less than a week to find her. I guess as Vader, I never did really search for her. Because, as Vader, the only thing I feared more that confirming her death, was confirming she still being alive. Because, then I would have to face her. And I was not sure that I had the courage to do so.”

“Fortunately, that is longer that case. And I wanted to find her. And I did. When I found her, she was healthy. Though, she was in hiding and romantically alone. She was working as a chambermaid, of all things, in a nice hotel, on one of the nice mid-rim worlds. And it took a little while to convince her that I was who I said I was, and I had changed, besides the obvious.”

River asked, “Given the gender change, along with your body and youth being restored, how did convince her that you were you?”

Annie could not help but grin mischievously, as she answered, “I told her how she liked in bed. And only Anakin Skywalker would have known those things.”

River returned Annie's grin, as she commented, “That would do it. And how did you convince her that your personality had changed, for the better, along with your body?”

Annie commented, “Once I convinced her who I was. I allowed her to literally scream and yell at me for the next two hours. About how much I was an idiot for trusting Palpatine, and not her. And how I had wrecked the lives of our entire family.”

“If I was still Vader, even though I loved her, by that point, I would have still force choked her some. Though, I did not.”

“Instead, I did nothing, but remain calm, and agreeable, towards her, throughout the entire conversation and afterward. And this convinced her that I had changed for the better. And I was no longer a rage filled monster.”

“I was still in the dog house, with her, as it were. But, that did help to the point she was going to at least give me the benefit of the doubt, that I had changed, at least some. And not just my gender.”

River replied, “I can see how that could work.”

Annie mentioned, “Also, at my request, she started to call me, Annie. Which she found funny, considering I hated that nickname, when I was younger.”

River questioned, “I can see how she would find that funny. So, what happened next?”

Annie stated, “After I found Padme. And we settled our differences. Which was not that difficult. I mentioned I knew where our children were, and they should be fine.”

“We then headed out to find our children, in a nice starship yacht that I owned. I may no longer be Vader. But, as Lee pointed out, in his stories. I still have vast wealth and resources, stashed away, in various places of my home reality, in the galaxy I am from”

“Though, by the time, Padme and I had worked out our personal situation, to the point we would work together. And that took a lot of apologizes and acts of kindness, to make up to here. Which I think, in doing so, I got off easy. It had been about three weeks after I arrived. And around that time, Padme found out that I was completely a woman.”

River asked, with mirth in her tone of voice, “How badly did she tease you, over your period?”

Annie answered, “Let me put this way. I am happy I now have control of my temper.”

River said, “I see your point.”

Annie replied, “Thank you.”

River inquired, “So, where did you find your children at?”

Annie said, “Well, in truth, I guessed as to where our children were at. And I found that I was partly correct. Since, this was not the original timeline. I was never there to stop Leia from finding Obiwan on Tatooine. She found him, they found Luke. He must have told them they were twins, because they knew so when we met them. And while they were not there, we learned that they had all been there.”

“I must say that Owen and Beru were pleasant to meet. And they have a nice home. Thought, neither I, nor Padme told them who we were. We just said we were travelers in such of Leia. Which was true. And they told us she had been here, along with Obiwan. With them then convincing Luke to leave with them. We then left them live out their lives, in peace. Though, I did later arrange quite a bit of galactic credits to go into a fund for them to use. Which they found to be very helpful.”

River complimented, “That was nice of you.”

Annie firmly said, “They should be rewarded.” Annie continued, with bitterness in her tone of voice, “Obiwan showed up, one day, out of the blue. He dumped Luke onto them, to raise. And they did their best to raise Luke to be a fine young man. They did not ask for anything of this. And still they did was needed to be done.” Annie went onto say, with sadness in her tone of voice, “Lee was right. If I had known that it was them that the droids were sold to. I would not have harmed them. Let alone killed them.”

River commented, “I can appreciate you sentiments on this matter.”

Annie mentioned, “Thank you. Also, during this time, the rebels were able to destroy the first Death Star.”

River asked, “Palaptine was still able to construct that weapon?”

Annie commented, “It was a long term project, that had been begun even before I became Vader. And while, as Lee pointed out, with me gone, Palpatine lost much of his power. He still had a fair hold on the power he had left. Unfortunately, given I was not there, most of the Moffs were not there. And they were still alive.”

River inquired, “Oh well. Now, please continue.”

Annie stated, “With pleasure. While we did not find our children on Tatooine we. We knew they had been there. And we then went to the next logical place they would be. A place they could begin their force training, in private. A place, after seeing my movies, that I knew was where Yoda hiding. The swamp planet in the Dagobah.”

“When we were in orbit of the swamp planet, I could immediately sensed where they were, on the planet. Though, Yoda also sensed me. But, he clearly did not realize who I was at the time. Also, unlike Luke in Empire Strikes Back, I was powerful enough in the force to prevent Yoda from crashing us into the swamp. I wonder how many times he used the force to have spaceships, that try to explore the planet, instead crash into the planet, never to be seen, or heard from, again?”

River commented, “Probably more than he should have.”

Annie said, “I agree. Anyway, when we landed, which was near where they were at. It was clear that Yoda had not warned the others. And when we showed up, we found Obiwan and Yoda were training the twins. As we approached them, they stopped the twins stopped their training. And Yoda and Obiwan immediately sensed who I was. Of course, they were shocked when they saw me.”

“To this day, I do not know which they found more shocking. My gender change. Or, my body and force abilities fully restored. With me more powerful than before I became Vader Also, I made no effort to keep my identities a secret from my children. Though, having Padme there helped keep the peace. And I did intentionally avoid getting into a fight with those two old geezers.”

“The reason I was not violent with those two old fools was that it was so damn fun watching as they got caught in their own lies. As they had to admit. In front of Padme and my adult children. That Anakin was not killed by Vader, but that Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader were the same person. They even confirmed that I was Anakin.”

“After those truths were settled, I did have some explaining to do about my gender change and being out of that black suit. I gave them an edited version of what happen to me. I left out the reality jumping, and the fiction as reality parts of what our adventures.”

“All I told them was that I was kidnapped, and changed in an effort to breed force users. But, I, and others, escaped before being impregnated. And we eventually defeated our kidnappers.”

“I already told Padme this, on the first day I found her. And she accepted with I said. And she was polite enough not to ask for details.

“Beside, this was close enough to the truth. And they all knew better than to ask any more questions on the subject.”

“Then, I also told them that after some thinking, and reflection, I had decided not to try kill Yoda and Obiwan. And that Palpatine needed to die. Though, I pointed out it not because he was a Sith Lord.”

“I stated that Palpatine's hold on the empire had slipped greatly. Which was true.”

“From what Padme had informed me of, this loss of power was causing much chaos in the galaxy.”

“As I mentioned, it seemed that the Emperor's power over the empire was mostly do to my iron grip, and ability to keep everyone in line, through fear. With my disappearance, Palpatine's power was greatly diminished. He even foolishly decided not to have another Sith Apprentice. Instead, he relied more on his force hands due to the fact that my disappearance proved I held the true governmental power of the empire, not him.”

“Still, I had conditions for my help. After he died, none of my family would be expected be a part of the new government, nor police that galaxy as Jedi. I wanted peace for my family. It was that comment that made Obiwan and Yoda realize that I was no longer Vader. But, neither was I still the clearly immature manchild, Anakin. Though, I let them keep calling me Anakin. And even with the gender change, I enjoyed my children calling me, father.”

“We then had our adventure. With me there, we were able to train my children more quickly in the use of the force, and lightsaber combat.”

“Though, unlike Yoda and Obiwan's mistakes. I made sure that my children passed off three of the trials. While, I was made a Jedi Knight, after only passing two of the trials.”

“I feel that was one of the points in my life that lead to my downfall. And I can understand while Yoda in the original timeline, wanted to stop Luke, from facing my counterpart on Cloud City. Given Luke had not finished his training and Yoda did not want to make the same mistake with him. Though, on the flip side, I understand, and I am proud that Luke went to help his friends, and his sister.”

“When my children were ready. And we had come up with a workable plan. We went out into the galaxy, to take down Palpatine.”

“And after many battles, we did eventually kill Palpatine and restore a measure of order to the situation. And my family came out of it alive, and mostly unharmed.”

“After Palpatine's death, and with no clear line of succession, with Padme's help, we were able to take advantage of the situation, and get the rebels and the imperials to negotiate with each other. I even used my connections to bring convince Grand Admiral Thrawn to return to Coruscant, which was the final piece of the puzzle.”

“And convincing Thrawn to support the negotiations added legitimacy to them, and kept the other Moffs in line.”

“I always did respect Thrawn for both his intellect, and his manners. He is one of the few people that could run the galaxy, without immediately resorting to mass-murder, to solve their problems.”

River spoke up, “I read the Zahn trilogy... Chang said I would likely enjoy those books, and I did. I agree that Thrawn is a good choice.”

Annie responded, “Thank you. Still, the rebels wanted to return to old senate, the imperials wanted an empire. I had to use aggressive negotiations to get them to admit the senate was too corrupt, and the empire was too... Direct. Though, I didn't force choke anyone. I think somewhere along the lines they realized I was Vader, and that made them more amendable to my terms. I knew Thrawn realized this almost immediately who I was. He has always been a very sharp individual.”

“That being said. I knew that if we got either one of those types of governments, my family would either be saddled with keeping it all together. Or, become targets by those in power. So, what we created was much different. A return to how the old republic was originally made. Not what it was, while I was alive.”

“The planets were made almost completely autonomous. With the senate only being there for simple trade negotiations, and the navy being existing for common defense. I made sure Thrawn was placed in charged of the Imperial Navy, in exchange for him leaving my family alone.”

“I wanted someone in charge that I knew would keep galaxy all together, without my family's help. And Thrawn was that individual.”

“And Thrawn also tried his best to keep his word.”

“Thrawn came to like giving the planets near autonomy when he realized that it meant he wouldn't have to deal with the imperial bureaucracy of an empire.”

“It wasn't perfect. But, both the rebels and the imperials didn't complain much after that. And it kept my family out of the line of fire. And I finally had found some peace for my family.”

“Yet, during the final battle with the Emperor, I realized some hard lessons. When Luke actually convinced emperor's hand, Mara Jade, to turn on Palpatine. It was then that I realized that I found that even with my absence from my home reality, everyone still met everyone else, and romance in some cases bloomed.”

“We even teamed up with Han and Chewy on our way to kill the Emperor. And he and Leia hit it off well. I guess some things are fated to happen... Still, why?... Why did Luke have to fall for a redhead? No offense, River.”

River giggled, as she replied, “None taken. I freely admit that I prove the rule that redheads are trouble. Even though my hair is dyed red.”

Annie let out a laugh. She said, in a slightly happy tone of voice, “I guess it doesn't matter if it is dyed, or natural, red hair.” Annie continued, in a more serious tone of voice, “Now, the part that surprised me the most, was that after everything settled down, I really didn't mind Han marrying my daughter, Leia. Usually, a father has a problems with the men their daughter's love life. But, as I got to know Han, he didn't seem that bad a person. But, I did have a problem when Luke marrying Mara. But, I kept that to myself.”

“And Padme just wanted out children to be happy.”

Annie went onto say, in a sadder tone of voice, “After everything was sorted out, I realized I had no place in my home reality. Anakin was considered long dead, and the galaxy preferred that Vader stay gone. And I had no place there as Annie Skywalker. So, I felt I had to leave my home reality, to travel the multiverse once more.”

River offered, in a warm, supportive, comforting, tone of voice, “Well, you are always welcome here.”

Annie gave River a weak smile, as she quietly said, “I know.” She continued, in a more normal tone of voice, “Though, before I left, I told Padme that I understood it was over between us and I wanted her to find someone to love. She appreciated my request. I do check on my family, now and then. For them, it is weeks. For me, it is years.”

“And Padme did find another good man to love. And I am happy for her. And though she in her forties, she was able to get pregnant twice. She and her new husband have two young children, a boy and girl, of their own. Though, I made sure her births had no complications. Which they did not. And Padme is now happy to be able to have a children to raise as her own. Padme's new family even get along with the twin, well.”

“And I am happy for her. And them.”

River complimented, in a warm tone of voice, “Thank you for tell me all this. And that is a very mature attitude to take, towards Padme's new husband and family. And I am sure you will eventually find love. And have children of your own, to raise. It will just take time, and you will have to work at it.”

Annie responded, in a calm tone of voice, “I realize that. Thank you. Fortunately, I find both men and women attractive, which doubles my chances of finding someone to love. And even if I ended up with a woman, with the resources at our disposal, we could still both have children.”

River replied, “Yes. You could.” River's lips then curled into a mischievous grin, as she teased, “Though, I thought you were not interested in such foolishness.”

Annie returned River's mischievous grin, as she joked, in a jovial tone of voice, “I heard that it is a woman's prerogative to change her mind.”

River laughed at her friend's joke.

As Annie watched as her friend laugh, she commented, “That is better. So, cheer up, and have some faith about Lee. If Lee is half as resourceful as you believe him to be, he will figure out a way to make it through this mess in one piece. All you have to do is be there on the other side, to help him recover.”

As River calmed down, she stated, “Lee is not the only one I am worried about. The girls and I trained him well. Lee is a pretty formidable fighter. He just knows better than to show off his skills. And my friends are going after him.”

Annie pointed out, “From what I sense of Lee emotional state, he really does not want to hurt anyone, over his own actions. Though, he understands the people after him live by the vendetta. Lee will likely try to avoid seriously harming them. And they want Lee alive. So, this situation is not as bad as it could be. All we have to do is help pick up the pieces, afterward.”

River smiled towards Annie, as she said, “Thank you, for pointing that out.”

Annie returned River's smile, as she happily replied, “You're welcome.” She then went back to reading her book.

Just then, River felt that her bladder was full.

River thought, 'I have to go. Fortunately, it is not immediate. Though, I might as well take care of it.”

While River stood up from her chair, Annie giggled. Annie did not look up from her book, as she stated, “We are good friends, River. I can sense you have to go. But, keep in mind I can sense you anywhere in the building. Please, do not try to do something foolish, and go after Lee. Let Chang handle this.”

River teased, “Closet pervert.”

Annie retorted, “Takes one to know one.”

River giggled, as she admitted, “Guilty as charged. Now, that I think about it, given our powers, when either of us has as a child, we are going to know when it is time to change our babies' diapers before they do.”

Annie laughed for a few seconds at River's comment. She then responded, “Yes. And any kids we have will learn quickly that they cannot fool us. Fortunately, we will also know when they tell the truth. So, they will learn to trust us. And trust, along with love, are the two holy grails that a parent seeks to achieve with their child.”

River complimented, “Those are wise words. Now, if you excuse me, I have some personal business to take care of.”

Annie just giggle a little more, at what River said.

As River turned and started walking to her bedroom she shared with Chang, and then to the master bathroom attached to the room, she thought, 'Hard to believe that Annie used to be one of the scariest, cybernetic, psychic, badass villains in all the multiverse. She is still a badass, but she is a lot nicer, and kinder, now. Having seen her mind, I can say that she is exactly the way she acts like. She is a kind, caring woman. She is proof that even the most horrible of monsters have a chance of becoming better people.'

'And Annie is likely Lee's greatest success story, in so many ways. Annie vindicates Lee for his writings. It proves that she is a good man, or woman, depending on if you judge Lee by her mind, or body. Annie is proof that Lee does not deserves serious punishment. Just a fair punishment.'

'Even Lee admits to that she needs to be punished. Just not to the extreme that the others want to put her through.'

When River made it to her and Chang's bedroom, she turned towards the entrance to the master bathroom. Which was connected to another door in the bedroom. As she thought, 'I need to decide if I am going to pee as a woman, or man. Like most women, I used to think the answer would be obvious. Go as a man. I found out, the hard way, that I was wrong.”

'When we all first changed, we all realized when we first woke up to check our genitalia between our legs. That it was no fun for those originally guys to walk into the restroom, and pee standing up, only to make a mess of themselves, and their underwear, because they were women at the time.'

'We also kept pepper in the restroom, so we could change at will. Until, we all learned to sneeze on command. That took some time.'

'Still, that was not the only lesson we had to learn. Those of us that were originally women had to learn the finer points of peeing, when we were men. When I first changed into a man, I was arrogant, and I wanted to see what it was like.'

'I walked into the stall, unzipped my pants and pulled it out. I didn't even look as I went. And I found out a few moments later that not looking was a big mistake. That men have to aim at the toilet, or they make a big mess.'

'Of all the thoughts I have read of men about them peeing, none of them thought about aiming. I figured this is because they had been aiming for so long, since they were toddlers, that it was second nature, and they didn't think about it.'

'I was extremely embarrassed about making that mess. And I was happy that I had it all cleaned up before anyone entered the restroom.'

'Then, I learned something even worse about the problems that men sometimes have when peeing. That the two small pieces of skin that make the entrance to urethra, at the end of the penis, sometimes sticks together, at random, and when I peed, the urine stream forked in two random, different directions, and neither usual didn't hit the toilet bowl.'

'The worst part was that, like many woman, I never learned to teach myself to stop peeing. I really didn't see the need to learn how. I can hold it fine, but I saw no reason to learn to stop once I started to go. And as the stream forked, I could not stop myself, until my bladder was empty. But, it seems, when I asked Simon, he admitted that he, and likely most men, had to teach themselves how to stop when they were young, because of that one reason. It was just another thing that men didn't talk about, nor really think about.'

'Still, having sex as a guy was fun. Sometimes Chang was a girl, and I was a guy at the time. Then, we reversed, with Chang as the guy, and I was the girl.'

'And we did other gender combinations, as well.'

'Yet, I learned another lesson the hard way. To not to have sex as guy on a full bladder. That the prostate will lock up after sex, making it very uncomfortable for a little while, because a guy cannot normally pee. Though, I later learned listening to running water helps relax the prostate.'

'Though, at the time, I was so desperate for relief, that I changed into a woman. But, I was intelligent enough at the time to be sitting on the toilet when I sneeze and changed into a woman. My bladder was so full, and I was so desperate, that the instant I changed into a woman, I lost control of my bladder, and peed into the toilet.'

'At that point, I realized that us woman had to learn a few intimate things about men.'

'While Jayne and Mal got some lessons on feminine hygiene, us women turned guys, had to get some lessons on to peeing as men. And how to deal with having a hard-on as a man. And mentally controlling said hard-on.'

'As a telepath, I can honestly state that I am not sure which group was more embarrassed by what we had to learn.'

'And that was not all. Kaylee was the first to bring up the subject, and we found out it was all true for all of us that were originally women, when hit with the virus. Every one of us woman that turn into a man, got the complete set of male genitalia. Complete with foreskin on the penis.'

'I asked Chang about it, and he admitted that he was surprised to have his foreskin back. He stated that because he was born in Hong Kong during the time that it was part of the British Commonwealth, he had been circumcised as a baby. Not that he minded having his foreskin back.'

'Simon confirmed that all of those originally men of the crew that had turned into women, that as female, each of them had a fully complete set of female genitalia. Including as women, on their genitalia, the clitoral hood and labia folds of skin. Even though I know that Simon himself had been circumcised as a baby. And Simon stated that when he changed back into a man, he foreskin had not grown back.'

'After having meeting between Simon, Inara, Kaylee, Chang, Zoe, and myself, we came to the conclusion that since some male and female genitalia were counterparts. With the male foreskin being the counterpart of the female clitoral hood, and possibly the top part of the labia. That we should never get circumcised as a man, because doing so would damage outward genitalia as a woman, including our clitoral hood and the top of our labia.'

'It seemed that thought, the disease that change us, if there was damage to our reproductive organs, or genitalia in one gender, before we were infect, the damage would not transfer over to the new gender. The new gender would have all the complete reproductive organs and genitalia of that gender. But, it would not regenerate the damage in the original gender form.'

'Simon was the one to confirm this, in dealing with her female form's hymen. Simon was in her female form, and broke her hymen, when she had sex with Kaylee, while Kaylee was in her male form. Later Simon changed into a man, then back into a woman. And found the hymen was still broken. So, there is no regeneration of genitalia, after the original gender bending.'

'It seem as women, the men turned women, had intact hymens was intact, until they broke it. Fortunately, gender benders to not have to break their hymen every time they turn female. That would have been an annoying, slightly painful chore, that was fortunately not the case.'

'And yes, we did tease Jayne and Mal about being technically virgins as women. Until, the finally did something about it. Which both of them did. There was no point in teasing Simon, because he was open about what he had been doing with Kaylee, in their gender forms.'

And while Jayne does not mind talking about it. Mal refused to say a word on the matter. Though, I did read his mind on the subject. And I mostly kept what I learned to myself.'

'Though, from Simon's personal experiences, Simon was sure that after the first gender change, any injury to the genitalia in one gender, translated to the equivalent body part of the other gender. This was proven when some of us became sore, from sex, in one gender, dealing with one set of genitalia, that the soreness transferred to the equivalent genitalia body parts in the other gender. And that lead to some painful experiences, where it was better to stay in one gender, or the other, until the soreness was completely gone.'

'This was further proven for me last night, when Revy kneed in the groin, as a man. And I made the mistake of changing into a woman, and having that soreness spread to my lower abdomen, as my male sexual organs, changed to large female orders, as they instantly moved up into my lower abdomen. Though, I did recover later that night.'

'On that thought, we found out something interesting. It we change from a man, while having a hard-on, to a woman, we are instantly wet, down there. Also, if we are wet down there as a woman, and changed into a man, we have a hard-on. Still, that made having swapping back and forth during sex easier. Because we didn't have to take time for the current woman to get wet, and the current man to get a hard-on. And we did not have to worry about the risk of dry sex, which is no fun, and can be painful.'

'Along that thought, Kaylee and Simon shared, with the crew, an interesting piece of information they found out while having sex. First, they figured how to time their sneezes. Next, it seemed if they were in a position, as a man and woman, where their legs were slightly intertwined, in a mirror position to their lover, while still allowing for sexual intercourse. When they timed their sneezes, they found that when they instantly changed, they went from having their penis inside the others vagina, to having a penis inside their vagina. With them carrying on having sexual intercourse without stopping.'

'This does not work in the classic position of the woman having her legs fully spread. In which case, when we stopped, we have to change positions. Then, change genders. And finally, resume what we are doing, in opposite roles.'

'And if the sneeze is ill timed, while a woman at the time change, and then into the man. All that happens is the other man is painlessly pushed out of the other man's body, as vaginal cavity is collapsed from the inside out, in an instant. We learned this also works for dildos being pushed out, as well.'

'So, there are clearly tradeoffs in everything. And peeing in either gender is a trade off. Of peeing as a woman, while not having to worry about paying attention, one has to pull down one's lower clothing, sitting, and then wipe oneself dry, afterward. Though, when a woman, I have to make sure the toilet seat is down.'

'Yet. I also finally realized why men sometimes to leave the toilet seat up. While aiming is second nature for men, when they are half asleep, their aim is not that good. They have to pay attention to everything else, while half asleep, including making sure to pee into the toilet bowl. And since they do not want to hit the toilet seat. They lift it. And being half asleep, they sometimes forget to put the toilet seat back down.'

'I had that happened to myself once. One night, when I was by myself, with a slight cold. After we all gained this gender bending ability, when one of us had a cold, or flu bug, we were quarantined, because none of us wanted to lose control of our abilities, in public.'

'So, I was stuck on the Serenity, for a few days, until I got over my cold. Which was not really a problem for me. Though, the cold was more an aggravation, than anything else. Considering, we all wanted to keep our gender changing abilities secret. So, except for our friends. I could not go out in public.'

'But, since changing genders is instant and painless, when I sneezed a few times in my sleep, changing genders back and forth, I did not wake myself. But, in the middle of the night, I was a man while sleeping. I woke up, and I had to pee. I did everything, including raise the toilet seat first, but I honestly forgot to lower toilet seat before I went back to bed.'

'Fortunately, the next more, when I got us again to pee, this time as a woman, before I sat down, I remembered that I had left the toilet seat up, myself. And I stopped myself from falling into the toilet bowl.'

'Also, Lee was right about something else she wrote about in book one. She commented in a joke that it was somewhere unsanitary to pee as a man while sitting down, because male parts sometimes brushed against the bowl of the toilet. And men do not have a choice not to sit down, when they have to go the other way. But, at least we gender benders do.'

While River walked into the bathroom, she stared down at the toilet, as she concluded her thoughts, 'I don't feel like aiming, so I will go as a woman.'

She then turned around, pulled down her lower clothing, and sat on the already lowered toilet seat, to relieve herself of her full bladder.

A few minutes later, she finished her business, washed her hands, and dried her hands on a hand towel, hanging on a bathroom wall. She then came into her bedroom and she noticed her folded laptop computer. The laptop was sitting onto the bureau that she and Chang kept their fold clothes in, under the large mirror, on the wall, that was attached to the top of the bureau.

The bureau on the wall, across from the wall their bed rested against. When facing the bureau, the entrance to the hallway was to the left of the bureau. And one of the entrances to the patio, which in this case, was a sliding glass door, was to the right of the bureau.

With the patio having a hot tub, heated pool, and out door chairs and table. Including a large umbrella on the table, that could be opened, to provide shade for those sitting at the table.

Withing the master bedroom, the sliding glass door being on the wall opposite to the door to the master bathroom.

Also, by the headboard of the large king sized bed, there a door on each side of the bed. Each of the two doors had a separate walk in closet, where they stored their hung clothing in. Among other items.

As River stared at her laptop computer, on the bureau, she remembered something that Lee had found out, and proven true.

And this realization gave River an idea. But, before she could act on her idea, she first needed to do a lot of research. Along with seeing, and reading a number of series. The first series being both the anime and manga versions of the Black Lagoon series.

To be continued.