---

Sean was awoken by a knock on the door. He looked around himself to get his bearings. TV, couch, recliner, overflowing bookshelves, looks like I fell asleep on the couch again. he thought. He'd been doing that a lot lately after work. He'd needed it today.

Shaking his head to focus his thoughts, he stood up and walked over to the door. He knew who it was before looking, but looked through the peephole anyway. Sure enough, it was his best friend Michael and Michael's girlfriend Jill. He sighed, knowing he couldn't just blow them off, and opened the door.

"Hi guys." He said wearily.

"Nice to see you too, Sean!" Michael, or Mike as Sean usually called him, said with a laugh. He was a big guy, a couple inches over six feet tall. His clean shaven face was always open and honest.

"How are you doing Sean, you look tired?" Jill asked, greeting Sean with a hug. He was even taller than Mike, so the top of her head didn't even reach his chin. Her long auburn hair brushed against his hands as he hugged her back. Her hands were stained with paint, as usual.

Sean stepped aside so they could walk in and closed the door behind them. As usual, they seated themselves on his couch and he took the recliner facing it. "I am tired." He admitted. "I had this weird dream last night and I was even more tired when I woke up than I was before I went to bed." He blushed as he remembered part of the dream.

"Judging by that blush, I bet it was an interesting one! Tell us about it?" Jill asked mischievously.

Sean groaned, but knew he might as well tell them or Jill would bug him about it relentlessly. He described the dream briefly, wincing as he told them the embarrassing bit. "So now you're getting hit on by the gay guys even in your dreams?" Mike asked with a mix of incredulity and amusement. Sean shrugged.

"You know," Mike continued, "if I didn't know you were totally in love with Erica I'd wonder about you with all these guys hitting on you!" he said, laughing.

Sean frowned. "It's not my fault!" he growled.

"Relax Sean," Jill soothed, "you know he's just kidding you."

Sean shrugged, too tired to worry about it. He knew Mike didn't mean any harm, anyway. He never did.

"So what were you doing before we got here?" Mike asked.

"Sleeping, apparently." Sean answered.

"Apparently?" Mike repeated curiously.

Shrugging, Sean replied, "I remember walking in the door and sitting down. The next thing I know you guys are knocking on the door."

"I guess you were really out of it. You need to stop having dreams like that." Mike said with concern. He was always trying to look out for Sean, ever since high school.

"I bet that's not the only reason you're tired, though." Jill stated. "You've been down ever since Erica went back to law school. You really have nothing to worry about; you two are made for each other."

"Yeah, Sean, and she'll be back before you know it. You know how fast six months can fly by." Mike added helpfully.

"I guess." Sean replied, unconvinced. He had never understood why a beautiful, intelligent woman like Erica wanted to be with him. Just being friends with Mike and Jill was a miracle, as far as he was concerned.

Jill frowned, but decided to change the subject. "Did you have a good day at work?" she asked.

"Do I ever?" Sean grumbled.

"I still think you should ditch that job. It's not worth the hassle." Mike said.

Sean shrugged, "I need the money."

Jill sighed, they'd been through this conversation many times. Sean didn't feel he was qualified for anything better. He'd been taking college classes for a few years but still didn't have a degree because he couldn't decide on a major, or a career.

"You know, if you could just decide on a major your parents would cover all your expenses." Mike reminded him. Sean's parents had made that promise a year ago, trying to motivate him to make a choice. Needless to say, it didn't work.

"Have you eaten dinner yet?" Jill asked, trying again to change the subject.

"No. I'm not hungry. I think I'll just go to bed." Sean answered and stood up.

"Oh no you don't!" Mike exclaimed, rushing over to block his path. "I know you're tired and need more sleep, but you need to eat, too. Right Jill?"

Jill nodded emphatically. "I'm not letting you skip dinner, I know you probably skipped breakfast or lunch, if not both!" she said sternly.

Sean hung his head tiredly. She was right, as usual. "What did you have in mind?" he asked in a dull voice.

"Hey, don't sound like that. We're just trying to help you." Mike said worriedly. Sean had never been the chipper type, but he'd been increasingly down lately. This was the worst he'd seen yet. He hoped it was only the tiredness talking.

"How about we go for pepperoni pizza?" Jill asked. Sean never turned down pizza, especially pepperoni.

"Okay." Sean replied. He did seem a little more animated at that. He opened the door and held it for them and followed them out.

Sean's car was nearby, the apartment complex numbered the parking spots according to apartment number. Sometimes someone took his spot, but not often. The little red Honda Civic had been a gift from his parents when he moved out here to go to college. It was showing its age, but it still ran well. Sean unlocked it and they all climbed in.

The pizza place wasn't far, so they soon arrived. Jill ordered Sean's usual, pepperoni with extra cheese and sauce. Fortunately her and Mike liked it, too.

After getting their salads they took seats in a booth and started eating. Sean only got a small salad and picked at it unenthusiastically. "Come on Sean, eat up! You'll be even worse off tomorrow if you don't eat well." Jill admonished. Sean grumbled, but ate.

"So what classes are you taking this semester Sean?" Mike asked when Sean finished his salad.

"Just Astronomy and Archery." He answered with a shrug.

Mike laughed, "That's an interesting mix. How are you liking Archery?"

"It's fun." He said with a small smile.

Just then the pizza arrived and they dug in. Jill only had a couple of slices. "How about Astronomy?" she asked when she finished eating.

"It's hard, but really interesting." He replied.

The pizza didn't last long, Mike and Sean were both good eaters, at least when it came to pizza. They talked for a while, and Sean seemed to be a little more cheerful by the time they left.

Mike and Jill said goodbye to Sean at his door and walked over to their apartment two buildings over "What do you think, Mike?" Jill asked as they walked arm in arm.

"I'm worried, Jill. Sean's always been the quiet, reserved type, but he's never been this bad. I just hope getting a good night's sleep will help." He answered.

"I wish Erica could come back sooner, she can always cheer him up." Jill replied. Mike nodded.

---

 
The first thing Sean did when he got back in his apartment was load up his computer. He was feeling a need to talk to Erica. They kept in touch by IM every night.

SeanDreamer has logged on
Erica378 has logged on
<SeanDreamer>: Hi Erica, how was your day?
<Erica378>: Hi Sean, it was grueling as always. How about you?
<SeanDreamer>: The same. Mike and Jill just left, we went out for pizza.
<Erica378>: I'm glad you've got them to keep you company. I miss you.
<SeanDreamer>: Yeah, they're great. I miss you more!
<Erica378>: How's that job of yours?
<SeanDreamer>: Ugh, horrible! I had to spend an hour trying to explain to one guy why his computer wouldn't work if he didn't plug it in!
<Erica378>: LOL! I know you hate that job, but you come up with some funny stories because of it!
<SeanDreamer>: Yeah, like that guy who thought he could 'boot up' his computer by propping it up on his boots! ;)
<Erica378>: Yeah, that was hilarious! :)
<SeanDreamer>: I had the weirdest dream last night. I woke up even more tired than when I went to sleep.
<Erica378>: Really? Maybe you'd better get to bed, then. I don't want you wearing yourself out. That's my job! ;)
<SeanDreamer>: LOL! Yeah, I am pretty tired. Talk to you tomorrow?
<Erica378>: Of course! Sleep well. I love you!
<SeanDreamer>: I love you more!
Erica378 has logged off
SeanDreamer has logged off

Sean yawned as he shut down his computer. After he changed and brushed his teeth he climbed into bed. Something fell out of his blankets when he did, but he didn't notice it. It was a large white feather. It drifted slowly down as feathers do and slid under Sean's bed.

---

 To Be Continued…
 

---

« Dreamwalker - First Dream »

---

Once again Sean woke even more tired than when he went to sleep. What a dream! he thought. He dragged himself into the bathroom, hoping a cold shower would wake him up. It helped a little, but not much. After getting dressed he stumbled into the kitchen and made himself breakfast. He also brewed up some tea. He didn't normally drink it, but he figured he needed the caffeine!

By the time he was done with his breakfast and tea it was time for work. I hope I can stay awake through the day!

Work was miserable. He seemed to be getting all the most idiotic, computer illiterate customers today! He was in danger of falling asleep while talking to them. He'd never been happier to see the end of a work day in his life.

He picked up another tea at Starbucks on his way home, just to stay awake for the drive. When he got there Mike and Jill were waiting for him. "What's up guys?" he asked.

Jill took one look at him and exclaimed, "Are you alright?!"

He smiled weakly. "I had another one of those dreams. I've been running on caffeine all day."

She frowned, "We've got to get some real food in you or you're going to be sick! Come on, I made lasagna. I know how much you like it." she said, grabbing him by the arm and dragging him towards their apartment. Mike followed, bemused.

Jill hustled Sean into their apartment and onto a seat at the table in the kitchen. Mike carried over the lasagna while Jill retrieved plates, forks, and knives. She cut out a large piece of lasagna for Sean and set it on a plate in front of him. "Now you're going to eat all of that, and maybe another piece, too, right?" she demanded more than asked.

Sean nodded, he knew better than to argue with Jill when she was like this. Besides, he did really like lasagna.

Sean did have a second piece. Jill's cooking always met with Sean's approval, especially her lasagna.

"So how's Erica doing?" Jill asked, knowing invoking that name would get his instant attention.

Sean smiled just thinking about her, "She's doing alright. They're keeping her really busy, but you know Erica. If she sets her sights on something, it gets done!"

Jill and Mike laughed. "Yeah, that's Erica for you. That girl could end wars by will power alone!" Mike said with a chuckle.

"Yes, and she's set her sights on you." Jill said pointedly to Sean. He blushed and looked away. Anything even remotely resembling a compliment tended to have that affect on him.

"You're a lucky guy Sean! Not that I could keep up with Erica myself. I'm much happier with my flighty artist!" Mike said, pulling Jill into his lap.

"Who are you calling flighty?" Jill asked archly, slapping Mike on the arm. Sean laughed at their antics, they were always doing stuff like that.

"Sean, we were thinking…" Mike began.

"Uh-oh!" Sean interrupted with a laugh.

Mike frowned and continued, "We don't want you spending so much time by yourself. How about you come over here after work everyday? We can hang out and talk for a while and keep you company."

"And before you object, you can help with making dinner if that makes you feel better." Jill suggested, knowing that Sean liked to cook and was very good at it.

Sean agreed. "OK, but right now I want to get back and IM Erica and then go to bed."

"Sure, good night Sean." Mike replied.

"We'll see you here tomorrow." Jill reminded him and hugged him before he left.

"I hope spending more time with us helps him, he's really washed out." Mike said after Sean left.

"Me too. He's such a sweet guy, but he has no sense of self worth without Erica. I wish I knew why." Jill mused.

"He wasn't exactly well liked at school. His parents told me he came home with scrapes and bruises all the time before he met me. Even a broken bone a couple of times. He usually said it was an accident, but we know better. I wish I'd been there for him all along." Mike said with regret.

"Don't beat yourself up, you kept him safe all through high school. Who knows how bad it would have been without you. I worry that he would have killed himself a long time ago without you and Erica." Jill replied sadly.

Mike wanted to argue with that, but he knew Jill was right. "I guess so. I wish Erica could be here for him now. Not that I blame her, she's doing what she needs to do, but he needs her. Despite what I said to Sean, these six months are going to drag by really slowly for him."

"I'm afraid you're right." Jill agreed as they snuggled up on the couch for some TV.

---

 
Sean felt a little better after his talk with Mike and Jill. He had been kind of lonely lately. He walked back to his apartment and let himself in. After locking up and getting ready for bed he got back on his computer.

SeanDreamer has logged on
Erica378 has logged on
<SeanDreamer>: Hi Erica, how are you?
<Erica378>: Not bad Sean, how about you?
<SeanDreamer>: I had another of those weird dreams last night. Caffeine's the only thing that kept me going all day.
<Erica378>: You need to stop having those dreams. That's an order! ;)
<SeanDreamer>: An order I'll gladly follow if I can! Mike and Jill met me at my door and dragged me over to their place for lasagna.
<Erica378>: Those two are such good friends, I'll have to remember to thank them for taking care of my baby!
<SeanDreamer>: They are great, aren't they? They want me to go straight over to their place after work everyday.
<Erica378>: I hope you said yes.
<SeanDreamer>: Yeah, I did. Jill's going to let me help out with dinner.
<Erica378>: I miss your cooking! :(
<SeanDreamer>: I miss you so much!
<Erica378>: Me too! I love you!
<SeanDreamer>: I love you more!
<Erica378>: I'd better go now and let you get some sleep.
<SeanDreamer>: I am exhausted. Tomorrow?
<Erica378>: Of course! Talk to you then.
<SeanDreamer>: Talk to you tomorrow!
Erica378 has logged off
SeanDreamer has logged off

Sean shut off his computer and dragged himself heavily over to his bed and flopped in. The movement caused the feather to flutter under his bed, but it remained hidden.

---

 To Be Continued…
 

---

« Dreamwalker - Second Dream »

---

Sean awoke slowly. He didn't feel quite so tired today, even though he had another of those dreams. He still didn't feel like he got a full nights sleep, though. He dragged himself out of bed and got ready for work. He decided to have tea again, even though he felt more awake. After breakfast and tea he left for work.

Things were better at work. He only had one customer come up to him with a truly stupid question. He even had one customer who knew exactly what they wanted! That astonishing event lifted his spirits a bit.

His drive home was a lot easier today and he began to think his problems with sleep were coming to a close. After parking his car he walked over to Mike and Jill's, as agreed.

"Hi guys." He said when Mike opened the door and let him in.

"You need to quit knocking, Sean, and just come in. You're like family!" Jill admonished after hugging Sean.

"Yeah, Sean, our home is your home." Mike agreed warmly.

Sean didn't know how to respond to that, except by blushing and examining his shoes. "Thanks guys." He mumbled.

"So, what's for dinner?" Jill asked. Sean already knew what he wanted to cook, so he got straight to it with Jill's help. Mike sat back and watched, he'd been banned from cooking duty long ago.

"It doesn't really have a name." Sean said as they worked. "I just threw a bunch of stuff together once and liked it, so I make it every now and then. It has the advantage of making a lot, so I can freeze the leftovers and heat them up on days when I don't feel like cooking something." Sean explained.

"Mmm, smells great! Can we get some of these leftovers?" Jill asked hopefully.

Sean shrugged. "It's your ingredients I'm cooking with." He pointed out.

Jill smiled happily. He would never admit it, but he was a better cook than Jill, and more adventurous. Jill mostly cooked simple things, or with recipes. She'd never seen Sean cook with a recipe once.

They were soon digging into Sean's concoction, as he called it. "This is good stuff!" Mike said appreciatively.

"Mmhm!" Jill agreed.

"So how are things going at the gym?" Sean asked, uncomfortable as always with the praise.

"About the same as usual." Mike replied. "I'm teaching two martial arts classes right now, as well as a women's self defense class."

"Mike insisted I join that one." Jill said.

Mike shrugged, "Every woman should learn some basic self defense, I think."

"So what are you doing this weekend?" Jill asked.

"Other than going to my classes and doing my homework, not much." Sean replied with a shrug.

"Why don't you come over here after your classes? You can do your homework here and then we can do something." Jill suggested.

"I do my homework on my computer. But you can come over if you want." Sean replied. "I've been meaning to give these to you anyway." He rummaged in his pockets and came up with two new keys.

"What are those?" Mike asked.

"Keys to my apartment. That way you can come over any time. Like you said, family." Sean shrugged awkwardly.

Jill squealed and hugged Sean. "Thanks Sean! We'll get a key for our place made up for you. I should have done that sooner."

"Yeah, thanks Sean! I should have thought of that." Mike agreed.

They finished eating and cleaned up. Jill was ecstatic about the amount of leftovers that were left and froze them for later.

"When will you get home from your classes?" Mike asked.

"About one o'clock." Sean answered.

"We'll be there a little after that, then." Mike replied.

"So how's the dream situation?" Jill asked as they settled on the couch in the living room.

"I did have another of those dreams last night, but I wasn't as tired as the last couple of days. I still didn't feel like I got a full night of sleep, though." Sean replied.

"Hopefully you'll get plenty of rest tonight. I'd hate to be nearby during your archery class if you don't!" Mike said.

"I think it's going away, whatever it is. I'm sure I'll be alright tomorrow." Sean replied.

They discussed what they might do after Sean's classes and homework the next day for a while. Sean decided it was getting late and he should go call in on Erica and go to bed.

"I'll see you tomorrow afternoon." He called as he walked towards the door.

"See you then!" Mike agreed.

Jill ran over and gave him a hug before saying, "Have a good night!"

After he left Mike said, "He does seem better today. Maybe he'll be alright after all."

"I sure hope so." Jill replied worriedly.

---

 
Sean walked home and let himself in. Soon he was back on the computer talking to Erica.

SeanDreamer has logged on
Erica378 has logged on
<SeanDreamer>: Hi Erica, how are you?
<Erica378>: Not bad, how about you?
<SeanDreamer>: Better. I had another of those weird dreams, but I don't feel as tired this time.
<Erica378>: That's good to hear! How was work?
<SeanDreamer>: Not bad. I even had a customer who asked intelligent questions for once!
<Erica378>: LOL! That's unusual for you! How was dinner?
<SeanDreamer>: I made that concoction of mine. They seemed to like it OK.
<Erica378>: Hmm, translated from Sean speak that means they loved it, as they should! You never give yourself enough credit.
<SeanDreamer>: What are you doing for the weekend?
<Erica378>: Changing the subject as usual I see! A couple of friends and I are going to study together. Sounds fun, huh? ;)
<SeanDreamer>: Oh yeah, fun! Mike and Jill are coming over after I get back from classes tomorrow. We haven't decided what we're gong to do yet, though.
<Erica378>: Sounds better than what I have planned.
<SeanDreamer>: I guess so.
<Erica378>: I miss you.
<SeanDreamer>: I miss you more!
<Erica378>: I'd better let you get some sleep so you don't shoot someone tomorrow! ;)
<SeanDreamer>: LOL! Okay, have a good night!
<Erica378>: You too! I love you!
<SeanDreamer>: I love you more!
<Erica378>: Talk to you tomorrow!
<SeanDreamer>: Tomorrow!
Erica378 has logged out
SeanDreamer has logged out

By the time he'd turned off his computer Sean's fatigue was catching up with him. After a quick trip to the bathroom he crawled in bed. The feather fluttered again, this time landing in plain sight, but the lights were off.

---

 To Be Continued…
 

---

« Dreamwalker - Third Dream »

---

Sean grumbled as he woke up. He was getting tired of these dreams that seemed so real and sapped his energy. He was feeling exhausted again, worse than the previous day! Just when he thought that things were getting better.

As he struggled with the blankets he encountered something hard in the bed next to him. Pulling the blankets back he found a sword! Not just any sword, either, but the exact same sword, still in its scabbard, as he'd had in his dream! What the hell?! he thought. He pinched himself, but he certainly seemed to be awake. And this was his bedroom, just with the addition of a sword.

He wasn't entirely awake yet and was still wrestling with the concept of a sword in his bed as he put his feet down on the floor. What's that? he thought as he felt something under his foot. He lifted his foot up and there on the floor was a large white feather. It was at least a foot long. Sean scratched his head as he thought about where it could have come from. Then he remembered; it looked just like the one from his first dream three days ago!

He was instantly awake at this realization and looked back at the bed. The sword was still there, too. He began to wonder if they were dreams at all. But if not dreams, what were they?

Sean remembered his classes started in an hour, so he put the feather on the bed next to the sword and covered them both with the blankets so they wouldn't distract him as he got dressed. It didn't help much.

With many wondering glances back at the bed Sean finally managed to get himself ready for class. He was running late, so he skipped breakfast and hurried out.

He didn't really hear anything his astronomy teacher said during class and almost missed the homework assignment entirely. Archery was worse. He was so distracted he nearly shot himself in the foot twice, and nearly shot someone else while they were retrieving their arrows. The instructor told him to put his bow away and sit the rest of the class out.

He sat dejectedly through the rest of class and continued to think about the objects hidden under his blankets. When class ended he was glad to leave and hurried back to his apartment.

He nearly ran into his room to check to see if they were real, but he was afraid of the answer either way. Instead he sat down at his computer to try and do his homework. He couldn't focus, of course, and just stared at the screen. Finally he gave it up and decided to read. Somehow he managed to lose himself in the book and forget his troubles for a little while.

Sean didn't even notice the door opening as Mike and Jill stepped in. "Hey Sean, what's up…what the hell?!" Mike exclaimed in shock.

Sean looked up in surprise at Mike. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"What do you mean, what's wrong?! Look!" Mike yelled.

Sean looked where Mike was pointing and gasped, "What is that?!"

There was what could only be described as a hole in mid air right next to Sean. It was very irregularly shaped. Instead of seeing the other side of the room when he looked through it, he saw an oddly familiar castle. He stared in shock and his book fell from his slack grasp.

Suddenly it disappeared. "Wow, that was weird!" he said.

"What was that?" Mike demanded.

Sean shrugged, "How should I know?"

Jill glanced down at Sean's book. It had landed cover up and the illustration was a castle, just like she'd seen through the hole. No, it couldn't be… she thought.

"So, uh, weren't we going to see that movie?" Sean asked.

"Wait, you want to just go see the movie after what we just saw?" Mike asked in shock.

"What did we see?" Sean asked.

"What do you mean?" Jill asked, perplexed.

"It was obviously a mirage. A really weird one, but just a trick of the light. No point getting all excited about it." Sean replied.

Mike and Jill gaped at him at a total loss for words. Eventually Jill found her voice and said, "You really believe that?"

Shrugging, Sean said, "Sure, why not? It's certainly a lot more believable than any other explanation I could think of."

Jill liked that explanation a lot better than what she'd been thinking, so she eventually accepted it. "You're right; we should go see the movie like we planned. Get that weirdness out of our heads." She said. Mike looked ready to argue for a moment, but with one look from Jill he dropped it.

The theater was close by so they walked there. Sean grumbled about the price of tickets while they waited in line. The science fiction movie they'd chosen had been out for a few weeks so they had no trouble getting good seats. They all tried to get into the movie and forget the strange sight at Sean's apartment. They were mostly successful.

As they were walking home after the movie Mike asked, "So what did you two think of the movie?"

"It was okay." Sean replied.

"The special effects were impressive, but it lacked depth." Jill said.

Mike grimaced, "Yeah. That one ship was pretty cool though."

"How do you feel about Chinese?" Jill asked.

"Fine with me." Sean replied. Mike nodded his agreement.

The nearest Chinese restaurant was several miles away, so they walked back to the apartment complex and drove over in Mike's hybrid. It was always a tight fit for Sean, but Mike was very environmentally conscious and wouldn't think of getting something bigger.

They talked about their day over dinner and Sean tried not to let on how useless he'd been in his classes. Jill was all excited about a new painting she was working on and carried most of the conversation on her own.

After dinner they returned to Mike and Jill's apartment. "Hey, how about we go miniature golfing tomorrow?" Mike suggested. He loved the game and was always trying to get Jill and Sean to go.

"I don't mind," Sean began, "but I don't know when I'll get up. I've been so tired lately I'm likely to sleep in a while."

"You should, you look beat! Why don't you come around whenever you're ready?" Jill suggested.

"Okay." Sean replied and looked at his watch. "It's almost time for my nightly talk with Erica, I'd better go."

Mike said goodbye and Jill hugged him and he walked back to his apartment.

"So, do you really buy his explanation for what happened in his apartment?" Jill asked Mike after he left.

Mike sighed and said, "I was hoping you'd let that go. Look, it was weird and unnerving, why dwell on it?"

Jill dropped it knowing that Mike wasn't ready to deal with it yet, but she was certain there was more to it than Sean was letting on. Whether he knew that or not she wasn't sure.

---

 
Sean quickly got ready for bed after locking up and logged onto the computer. He had a quick chat with Erica, but didn't say a word about the strange events of the day.

Afterwards he pulled back his blankets to reveal the feather and sword. He'd hoped they wouldn't be there; that he was just imagining things like he told Jill and Mike about the castle earlier. He wasn't that lucky, however, and found both right where he left them. With a sigh he picked them up and put them on the shelf in his closet. Closing the door firmly behind him he crawled into bed and slept.

---

 To Be Continued…
 

---

« Dreamwalker - Fourth Dream »

---

Sean didn't awaken until nearly noon. When he did he felt more alive than he had in weeks. He couldn't remember any dreams and he felt completely refreshed. He took a quick shower and got dressed, and then cooked up pancakes for breakfast. Slathering on butter and peanut butter and pouring maple syrup all over it he dug in with a will. He was unusually hungry and had to mix up more batter to make enough.

After cleaning up he walked over to Jill and Mike's apartment. He started to knock, then remembered their insistence that he come and go freely and opened the door. Mike was doing some kind of exercises in the living room and Jill was sitting in the kitchen finishing off a sandwich. "Hey guys, hope I'm not too late." He said.

Mike stopped what he was doing and looked over at Sean with a smile. "Nah, you're not too late! We've got plenty of time. Have a seat and I'll get ready to go." He replied.

Jill waved from the kitchen and quickly polished off her sandwich. Sean sat on the couch and Jill soon joined him. "How are you this morning?" she asked with some concern.

Sean smiled and replied, "Much better! No strange dreams and I slept like a baby!"

Jill smiled in relief. "I'm glad to hear that. I was starting to worry about you." She said.

They heard the shower turn on. "Sounds like we've got a little time before Mike's ready." Sean noted.

"Would you like something to eat?" Jill asked.

Sean shook his head. "No, I just ate a couple stacks of pancakes. I'm fine."

"A couple stacks?! You must have been hungry!" Jill exclaimed.

Sean shrugged. "Yeah, I don't normally eat that much. Guess I needed the calories to help me recover from the last few days."

They heard the bathroom door open and Mike walked out of the bathroom and into his and Jill's bedroom stark naked. "I wish he wouldn't do that when I'm here." Sean groaned, looking away.

"I wish he wouldn't do it at all!" Jill laughed.

"I wouldn't have thought it would bother you." Sean said curiously.

Jill shrugged and said, "I'm just not as comfortable with casual nudity as he is. Besides, if he didn't do it all the time, he wouldn't do it when we have company. I'm surprised it bothers you, though. Didn't you see that sort of thing a lot in high school?"

"Not really. Everyone but Mike assumed I was gay and they banished me to the farthest corner of the locker room. I didn't take any more PE classes than I had to, so I only really had to deal with the locker room a couple of years. I guess I'm not comfortable with casual nudity, either." Sean replied.

A few minutes later Mike returned fully dressed and they left for the miniature golf course. The nearest one was about a thirty minute drive, so Sean had brought a book. He read in the back seat while Jill and Mike talked in the front.

Halfway there Mike noticed something in the rear view mirror. He took a closer look and thought he saw a forest through a small hole in the air next to Sean. He jerked the wheel a little but managed to not alert his passengers. He kept one eye on the hole as he drove. It seemed to grow over time, but it disappeared shortly after they arrived and Sean put his book down. Mike decided not to tell the others as he was afraid he was loosing his mind.

The three friends had an enjoyable round of miniature golf and Mike trounced Jill and Sean ruthlessly. Sean didn't seem bothered, even though Jill beat him handily as well. He'd never been very competitive.

It was only three o'clock when they finished so they decided to give it another round. This time it was a closer competition between Jill and Mike, but Mike still won. Sean was trounced again, but didn't mind.

After the second round they decided to get some fried chicken and take it back to Sean's apartment. On the way back Sean was reading again. Mike moved the mirror so he couldn't see the area next to Sean and concentrated on the road. The change in the mirror's orientation allowed Jill to see it when a new hole formed, though. She was shocked to see it and wondered what it could mean, but said nothing.

When they got back to Sean's place they set up in the living room with the chicken and watched a movie. It was fantasy and Sean found himself thoroughly enthralled by it. Mike was, too, but Jill was not so distracted that she didn't see the hole in the air appear next to Sean to reveal a scene right from the movie. She began to think she knew what was going on, crazy though it sounded. She decided not to say anything about it, yet.

After the movie it was time for Sean's daily chat with Erica, so Mike and Jill returned to their own apartment. "You saw it, didn't you?" Jill asked Mike as they were sitting down on their living room couch.

"Uh, what do you mean?" Mike asked nervously.

"C'mon Mike, there's a reason you turned that mirror away from yourself. You didn't want to see it again, did you?" Jill countered.

"See what?" Mike asked, trying to act innocent and failing miserably.

"The same thing we saw yesterday! I saw it on the way back from miniature golf, and again while we were watching the movie. You saw it on the way to miniature golf. That's four times so far that this has happened!" Jill answered.

"You saw it during the movie, too?!" Mike exclaimed, forgetting that he was pretending not to have seen anything at all.

Jill just nodded, "Yes, I saw it then too. I know it's crazy, but I think Sean is somehow causing it! And I don't think he's aware of it."

"But what is it, or are we just losing our minds?" Mike asked worriedly.

"There's no point questioning our sanity on this, we both saw the same thing. Even Sean saw it yesterday! If we're crazy, then so is he. So let's just assume we're not crazy and try and figure this out." Jill answered.

"Okay, well it's only happened near Sean, and only when he's reading a book or watching a movie. I guess that's something." Mike said thoughtfully.

"That's more like it!" Jill said happily. "It also didn't happen, I think anyway, when we went to the theater. Why would that be?"

Mike thought that one over for a moment. "Maybe it has something to do with his level of concentration? He wasn't too impressed with the movie at the theater, but he was totally into the movie we watched here. And he was very involved in his book, too. Maybe it has to be a story he really likes or something?" he suggested.

Jill nodded. "That's a good start." She agreed. They continued to discuss possibilities, but had to admit that without further experimentation they weren't likely to come up with any answers. They also agreed that getting Sean to see what was happening was necessary for that.

---

 
Sean chatted with Erica for over an hour before logging off for the night. He still didn't talk about the strange things that had happened, but he wasn't as ignorant as Jill and Mike thought. He was aware it had happened again, multiple times. He never saw it, but he felt it. It was confusing and terrifying him, so he tried to ignore it. Just as he ignored the sword and feather.

He couldn't help taking a peak to make sure they were still there in his closet. Seeing them tucked away in his closet he wondered what was going on, and if the holes in the air and the strange artifacts were somehow connected. Shaking his head he resolutely closed the door and went to bed.

---

 To Be Continued…

---

Sean was relieved to again wake without any strange dreams or extreme fatigue. In fact, he felt as good as he ever had. After getting ready for work he made himself a large plate of bacon and eggs. He polished that off quickly and after washing up he was off to work.

Sean was feeling so much better, and having such a pleasant work day, that he noticed the taunts of his coworkers more than usual. They made him feel like he was back in high school, which was one of the reasons he hated his job. Even when everything else was going well, he still had to deal with all the taunting over his supposed homosexuality.

John Green was the worst of the lot. He was a big, strong ex-jock who felt that Sean wasn't a real man. He was always calling Sean 'girly boy', 'fag', and other less kind things. Sean ignored him as best he could and continued with his work.

Once his work day was finally over Sean gratefully clocked out and drove home. Once he'd parked his car he made the short walk over to Jill and Mike's apartment. It was getting cold enough for him to regret not wearing a jacket so he was quick to get inside.

"Hey Sean, how was your day?" Mike greeted him. He was playing tennis on his Wii. Unlike Sean he didn't have much use for video games unless they involved lots of movement.

"Okay. How about you?" he replied as he flopped onto the couch. He made sure to keep a healthy distance between him and Mike so he didn't get swatted with the Wii remote.

"Fine. Jill's really involved in her latest project, do you want to make dinner or shall we go out?" he asked just after smashing a serve into the far corner of the court from his opponent.

"I'll make it." Sean replied. He dragged himself off of the couch and into the kitchen. He didn't feel like doing anything complicated so he just made spaghetti.

When Sean told him dinner was ready Mike went back to drag Jill out of her studio. When they came out Jill was covered in splotches of different colored paint. Sean raised an inquiring eyebrow at Mike. "She washed, I swear!" he said. Sean shook his head and turned off the stove before sitting down to eat.

They chatted a little about their day during dinner, but mostly they concentrated on eating. Sean felt a tension in the air he didn't want to think about.

After dinner they all moved to the living room with Mike and Jill on the couch and Sean in the recliner as usual. "Sean, we need to talk." Jill said hesitantly once they were all settled.

"About what?" Sean asked nervously. He knew what, but he was hoping his friends either hadn't noticed, or had disregarded it.

"About what we saw over the weekend." Jill replied.

"What are you talking about?" Sean tried to bluff futilely.

"How about what we saw on Saturday." Mike said.

"That was just an illusion." Sean protested lamely.

"We know it wasn't, Sean, and we saw it again on Sunday." Mike replied.

"Well, maybe you should get your eyes checked?" Sean said weakly.

Jill frowned at Sean's reaction. "You saw it too, didn't you?"

"No, I didn't see anything out of the ordinary on Sunday." Sean said forcefully. No lie, there, I didn't dare look! he thought.

"Maybe you didn't see it, but you were aware of it, weren't you?" Jill asked suspiciously.

"Why are you harping on this?" Sean asked.

"Why are you trying to pretend it didn't happen?" Jill replied.

"Because it's crazy!" Sean snapped.

"You're really scared, aren't you?" Jill said softly.

"Wouldn't you be if your dreams weren't dreams?!" Sean demanded angrily. His friends had rarely seen him this angry.

"What are you talking about?" Mike asked, confused. He hadn't followed all of Jill's reasoning, let alone Sean's.

"Wait right here!" Sean growled through gritted teeth. He stormed out of the apartment and returned shortly carrying a large white feather. "This is what I'm talking about!" He yelled, shoving the feather at Mike.

Mike examined the feather curiously. It was larger than any feather he had ever seen. "Where'd you get this from, an ostrich?" he asked.

"No, I got it from a man with wings!" Sean growled.

Jill's eyes opened wide in surprise. "Are you saying those dreams you've been having are real?!" she asked in shock.

All the anger seemed to flow out of Sean like a punctured balloon and he slumped back into the recliner. "I don't know." He admitted. "I just know I found that in my room Saturday morning. After I found the sword."

"Sword?!" Mike said. "What sword?"

Sean waved weakly at the door. "It's in my bedroom closet on the shelf. I found it next to me on my bed when I woke up Saturday morning. It's identical to the one I took from a dead prison guard in my 'dream'." He replied.

Mike stood and walked over to Sean's apartment and let himself in. Walking into Sean's bedroom he saw the closet door was still open and the sword was sitting there in its' scabbard. He picked it up and carried it back to his apartment. "This it?" he asked Sean. Sean nodded and he drew the sword from its sheath to take a look at it. It wasn't anything fancy. Just a plain short sword with a few notches and scratches along its length. "This looks like it's seen some use." He noted.

"This is even more serious than I thought." Jill mused. "I thought you were somehow creating those images from your subconscious, but that wouldn't explain a solid object like that sword. Now I'm wondering if you were actually there!"

"What do you mean Jill?" Mike asked, looking up from his examination of the sword.

"Well, what if Sean dreamed those places, and then somehow went there in his sleep." Jill explained. "You said your dreams always started with you waking up, right?" she asked Sean, who nodded. "What if you were actually waking up? Then after everything that happened you fell asleep again and traveled back to your bed in your sleep. Kind of a dimensional sleep walking."

"Dimensional?" Sean asked.

Jill shrugged. "How else do you explain it? You somehow tapped into another world in your sleep and traveled there and back again. I'm guessing those things we saw were doorways to worlds like the ones in your book and in that movie."

Mike dropped down into the couch next to Jill. "Wow, that's some theory! But it does fit what we know so far. Maybe we should test it?" he suggested.

"Test it? How do you suggest we do that?" Sean asked wearily.

"You read your book and one of us will try to walk through the doorway that appears." Mike answered.

"That sounds pretty dangerous, Mike." Jill said.

"Okay, then we'll all go." Mike countered.

"What if we can't get back?" Sean asked fearfully.

"Well, you came back on your own when you fell asleep before. Maybe if we just hold onto you while you sleep we'll all be transported back here?" Jill answered.

"That settles that. Now all we need is some way for me to carry this sword!" Mike announced.

"Why do you need the sword?" Jill asked.

"The book Sean's been reading is fantasy. One of us aught to have a sword. And I'm the one best suited to use it." Mike explained.

"If we're going to be ready for a fight, then I'm getting my bow." Sean announced. Jill followed him to his apartment and helped him carry his book, bow, arrows, and related gear back to her apartment. Once there Sean strapped on his arm guard and quiver.

"Okay, I'm ready to go." He announced. Jill held up his book. "Oh yeah, I forgot about that." He said and took the book. Mike meanwhile had run a piece of rope through his belt loops and tied the scabbard to it. He slid the sword home and tested to make sure it wouldn't fall off.

"What about me?" Jill asked. "Shouldn't I be armed, too?"

Mike looked thoughtful and then walked over to the spare bedroom and rummaged around in his camping gear. "Ah, here we go!" he announced happily as he returned with a sheathed hunting knife. He handed it to Jill who attached it to a belt loop on her jeans.

"I guess that's better than nothing." Jill said looking down at the blade. It was about six inches long.

"You know," Sean began, holding up his book, "we're probably just going to walk through some trick of the light and all feel pretty stupid about this."

Mike shrugged. "I'd rather feel stupid than let you keep sleep walking through other worlds and get yourself killed. Better we get a handle on this now, even if we're all just hallucinating because of mold in the walls or something." Jill nodded, so Sean opened his book and began reading.

In moments a hole opened up beside him and a forest became visible through it. Soon it had grown large enough to walk through. Jill grabbed Mike's and Sean's hands and prodded Sean forward. Then they stepped through the hole.

---

 To Be Continued…

---

Mike half expected Sean to be right; to find themselves on the other side of an optical illusion. That was not the case.

They now found themselves in a forest of gargantuan trees. They looked behind them and there was a hole showing Mike and Jill's apartment. "Well, either we've really lost it, or this is no illusion." Mike said in awe.

"No, this is real." Jill agreed. She looked around and saw only trees in every direction. There were no signs of civilization at all. "Where are we?" she wondered aloud.

"Veltare forest, according to the book." Sean replied. "The main characters take refuge here when they're chased by bandits."

"Are those the main characters, or the bandits?" Mike asked in alarm, as he pointed to a group of people running through the forest. His question was answered when several armed men came into view, hot on their trail. "Never mind."

"Uh, I think we'd better get back through the portal." Sean suggested fearfully.

"Why?" Jill asked. The bandits were nowhere near them.

"Well, the main characters get away from the bandits by blasting them with powerful magic that they really don't know how to control. They end up destroying half the forest. I don't think we want to be here for that." Sean replied. Mike and Jill looked at him in surprise and then grabbed his hands and they all jumped back through the portal.

Back in Mike and Jill's apartment, Sean quickly dropped the book on the floor hoping that would close the portal. It did, but not before a blast of hot air shot out of it and knocked them all down.

"What was that?" Mike groaned as he tried to extricate himself from the tangle of limbs.

"That was probably just the very edge of the blast I was talking about." Sean replied.

"I told you it'd be dangerous. It's a good thing Sean knows that book so well!" Jill said.

"Yeah, if we do that again lets pick a story that's a little less violent." Mike agreed.

"And why would we do that again?" Sean groaned as he took off his quiver and set it and his bow down next to the recliner. After sitting down he said, "I don't know why I let you guys talk me into that, but we're not doing it again!"

"But what if you start dream walking again?" Jill asked.

"I haven't the last two nights, why should I now?" Sean replied.

"If you don't have control of this…whatever it is, you might. Wouldn't you rather have control over it so it doesn't control your life?" Jill asked pointedly.

"She's got a point Sean. It might be more dangerous to leave it alone than to explore it." Mike agreed.

Sean shook his head wearily. "You two are going to be the death of me. But not tonight! I'm going to go home, talk to Erica, and crash."

Mike nodded. "That's probably a good idea. We can try again tomorrow. Jill and I will work on coming up with a better book to use."

Sean just groaned and collected his book and archery gear. Jill gave him a hug and they said goodbye to their friend.

"Do you really think this is a good idea?" Mike asked after he'd left.

"Yes. I think his ability is developing still. First he was doing it in his sleep, now he does it when he reads or watches a movie. Who knows what will happen next? If he doesn't get control of it now, he may never." Jill answered.

"That's assuming he can get control of it." Mike pointed out.

"I'd rather assume that he can. It's bad enough he's developed this strange ability." Jill replied.

"I wonder where it came from." Mike mused.

Jill shrugged, "I doubt we'll ever know. It's not like there are experts on mystical phenomenon out there we can consult." She said with a laugh.

---

 
Sean was glad to be back in his apartment. He dumped his archery gear in the closet and dropped his book on the kitchen table. Booting up his computer he thought about everything that had happened. He was surprised that Mike and Jill weren't running away from him after that trip. Why are they sticking around when it's obviously dangerous to do so? he thought as he logged onto his IM.

SeanDreamer has logged on
Erica378 has logged on
<SeanDreamer>: How are you?
<Erica378>: Okay. The work load is insane, but with my study group I'm keeping up. How about you?
<SeanDreamer>: Nothing new. Had dinner with Mike and Jill again.
<Erica378>: Good. I don't want you hiding away by yourself all the time!
<SeanDreamer>: I won't! ;P
<Erica378>: I love you!
<SeanDreamer>: I love you, too!
<Erica378>: How are your classes going?
<SeanDreamer>: Okay.
<Erica378>: Argh! Getting details out of you is like pulling teeth!
<SeanDreamer>: Now that you mention it, I haven't finished my homework yet.
<Erica378>: Really? That's unusual for you.
<SeanDreamer>: Mike and Jill did keep me pretty busy over the weekend.
<Erica378>: True. Make sure you get it done!
<SeanDreamer>: Will do.
<Erica378>: I'd better go. I'll talk to you tomorrow!
<SeanDreamer>: Tomorrow then. Bye!
<Erica378>: Bye!
SeanDreamer has logged out
Erica378 has logged out

Sean sighed as he turned off his computer. He hated lying to Erica like that, but she would never believe the stuff that was happening. If she couldn't see it or touch it, it wasn't real to her.

After taking a quick shower Sean grabbed his book and climbed into bed. He figured he'd need the help relaxing to get to sleep tonight. He was just getting into the book when a portal appeared next to his bed. In it he could see the blasted forest and the heroes of the story camped out in it. He gazed in wonder at this scene of devastation. The elf of the group, Kelna, seemed to be looking right at him. She strung her bow and knocked an arrow as she approached the portal. Sean stared in shock and couldn't move. Kelna drew her bow back and fired and Sean dropped the book as he fell off the bed trying to get away from it.

When he stuck his head back over the bed the portal was gone. Sighing in relief, he climbed back into bed and carefully put his book aside. No more night time reading for me! he thought. Once settled back under the covers he turned over to turn off the light and stopped with a shiver of dread. An arrow was imbedded in the wall right next to him! If he hadn't fallen out of bed it would have skewered him. After several tries he managed to yank the arrow out of the wall and tossed it across the room. He lay there nearly hyperventilating for several minutes before he turned off the light.

Sean got very little sleep that night, as the sight of that arrow flying right at him played over and over again in his mind.

---

 To Be Continued…

---

Sean nearly tripped over the arrow in the morning on his way to the bathroom. He picked it up and put it in his closet where the sword and feather had been (He'd left them both at Mike and Jill's). He contemplated putting it in his quiver with his practice arrows, but figured his archery instructor might be a bit upset to see a broad head arrow where they were only supposed to use target arrows.

After his usual morning routine he headed off to work. For reasons beyond his understanding, his coworkers were being especially abusive. He was even shoved a couple of times. He was beginning to worry by the time his shift was over and hurried out to his car as quickly as he could. He sighed in relief once he was safely locked in his car and drove to the grocery store to pick up some things for dinner.

After that side trip he returned home and carried the groceries over to Mike and Jill's. When he opened the door he found Mike and Jill sitting on the floor amidst piles of books. "What's going on?" he asked.

Jill didn't look up from the book she was examining when she answered, "We're trying to decide where to go next." Sean felt a shiver of fear at that and nearly dropped the bag of groceries.

"You okay Sean?" Mike asked, who had looked up. "You look kind of pale."

Jill looked up at that and examined Sean's face. "Did something happen after you left last night?" she asked.

Sean sat on the couch with the bag on the floor between his feet. "Yeah, something did." He admitted.

"What?" Mike and Jill asked in almost perfect unison. They grinned at each other momentarily before turning their attention back to Sean.

"I was reading in bed, the same book. A portal opened up next to my bed and one of the characters from the book tried to shoot me with an arrow." Sean replied.

Mike frowned in thought. "Can an arrow even pass through the portal?" he asked curiously.

"The hole in my wall would seem to indicate it can." Sean replied dryly.

"Were you hurt?" Jill asked worriedly, jumping to her feet as she said it and looking Sean over.

"No, I rolled off the bed just in time." Sean replied.

"I really don't think you should read in bed anymore, Sean." Mike said with concern.

"I already figured that out." Sean replied wearily. "I really don't think this is a good idea."

"But that's exactly why we need to do this!" Jill pointed out. Sean sighed in defeat.

"Try to find something safe and peaceful, then, while I make dinner." Sean said as he grabbed the bag and stood up.

Jill smiled thankfully at him, she had completely forgotten about dinner. "What do you think about this one Mike?" she asked holding up a small paperback book.

Mike took the book and read the synopsis on the back. "I don't know, Jill, going to a romance novel world could be pretty embarrassing." Mike said doubtfully.

Jill sighed and put the book in the 'no' pile and picked up another. They'd been at this ever since Mike got home from work. They'd split the books into 'way too dangerous' and 'maybe' piles and were now whittling down the 'maybe' pile.

"How about this one?" Mike asked, holding out a hardbound book.

Jill didn't have to read the synopsis to know this book was unacceptable. "Mike, it's got space ships blasting each other into oblivion right on the cover! Why would you even consider it?" she asked exasperatedly.

Mike shrugged, "I just thought it would be cool to go into space." He replied.

Jill rolled her eyes. "Men!" she muttered, while placing that book firmly on the 'way too dangerous' pile.

They still hadn't decided on a book when Sean called out that dinner was ready. They carefully extricated themselves from the piles of books and made their way to the kitchen.

"Hmm, something smells good!" Mike said as he sat down. "Nice to have a proper cook for once!" he said with a grin and just managed to dodge the slap Jill was aiming at his arm.

"No fighting at the table, children." Sean admonished with a grin.

"Yes, Mommy!" they said in unison. Sean rolled his eyes and set their dinner on the table.

After dinner they all sat down with the books again. Sean took a look at the 'way too dangerous' pile and shuddered. I'm glad we're not going to use any of those! he thought.

"How about this one?" Mike asked, holding out a manga. It was titled Imadoki! by Yuu Watase. "There doesn't seem to be any danger in it."

"Oh, yeah, that's a good one. Yuu Watase is one of my favorites!" Sean agreed.

"That could work." Jill agreed. "It's been a while since I read that, but I don't remember anything dangerous. We'll stick out like a sore thumb in an exclusive Japanese high school, though." Jill pointed out.

"That's a whole lot better than being in a forest that's about to get nuked." Mike countered.

"Well, yeah, that's true. Do you want to give this one a try, Sean?" she asked.

"Not really, you know I don't want to do this. But if we're going to, this is a good choice." Sean replied.

"Shall we get started then?" Mike suggested, handing the book to Sean. Jill nodded encouragingly at Sean.

"If you insist." Sean said with a sigh. He opened the book and started reading. The portal appeared almost instantly.

"Let's go." Jill said, taking a hold of Sean's hand. Reaching back for Mike's, she nudged Sean towards the portal. With another sigh Sean stepped through, followed by his friends.

On the other side of the portal they found themselves on the grounds of a school. The gates were closed, but there were two teenagers there talking by a lone daffodil. "They look a lot different in real life." Sean noted.

"I was wondering if everyone would look like anime characters or something. But they look just like any other Japanese teenagers." Jill agreed.

"That would have been weird." Mike said. "I'm glad they look normal."

"So now what?" Sean asked.

"We have a little experiment we want to try. Mike will go through the portal on his own, and then we'll follow with me still holding your hand. This way we'll find out if physical contact is required for us to use the portal or not." Jill replied.

"I can already tell you it probably isn't. Remember the arrow?" Sean reminded them.

Jill nodded. "I know, but we should make sure, anyway. We need to know as much about how this works as possible."

"Alright, go on Mike." Sean replied wearily. Mike let go of Jill's hand and stepped back through the portal. They could see him on the other side, waving, then he moved aside for them. Jill and Sean stepped through and Sean closed the book and handed it back to Mike. The portal closed almost instantly.

"Well, that's one test out of the way." Mike said. "Obviously we don't have to have physical contact with you to use the portal. We've got some other tests we'd like to try, though."

"Not tonight." Sean said with a shake of his head. "It's getting late and I'm tired. I'm going to talk to Erica and go to bed."

"Did you sleep okay last night?" Jill asked worriedly.

"Would you after someone shot an arrow at you and barely missed?" Sean asked with eyebrow raised questioningly.

"Oh, guess not." Jill replied. "Well, good night Sean." She said and hugged him goodbye. Mike said good night and Sean left.

"Are you sure we should continue with these tests Jill? They're really dangerous." Mike asked.

"They're no more dangerous then letting Sean's ability remain wild. He could end up waking up in space one day if he doesn't get control of it." Jill pointed out.

"Yeah, okay. But let's be careful." Mike said. Jill nodded at that and they cuddled up on the couch to watch TV.

---

 
Sean really was exhausted. He hadn't felt so tired when he got to Mike and Jill's, but he felt totally wiped out now. He kept his chat with Erica short and climbed into bed. His gaze was drawn to the hole in the wall from the arrow and he resolutely turned off the light and turned his back on it. In moments he was asleep.

---

 To Be Continued…

---

Sean awoke refreshed and set about getting ready for another day at work. Quicker than usual, he was on his way. He felt more alive than he had in weeks, but his good mood didn't last for long.

"Hey pussy, you're looking happy, have a nice night with your boyfriend?" Kyle asked with a sneer as Sean walked in. He was one of Sean's more abusive coworkers. As Sean walked over to the time clock Kyle shoved him out of his way and walked out. That set the tone for the rest of Sean's day. Why are they suddenly so hostile? he wondered.

Once again, Sean was quick to leave when his shift was over. Kyle and a couple of his friends were standing around talking not far from the door Sean exited from. When they saw Sean they started moving his way. Sean quickened his pace and jumped in his car and locked it before they could catch up with him. They were laughing as he pulled away.

Sean only relaxed once he was home. After locking up his car he headed over to Jill and Mike's.

"Hey Sean, how's it going?" Mike greeted when Sean entered the apartment. He was seated on the couch with a small stack of books sitting next to him.

"Fine." Sean answered in a monotone. He took a seat at the kitchen table.

Mike took one look at his face and headed back to Jill's studio. "Jill, Sean's here and something's bothering him." He told her.

"Okay, I'll be right there." She replied, intent on her painting.

"What are you working on?" Mike asked curiously, trying to peer around her shoulder.

"Just a portrait." Jill replied evasively.

"A portrait of whom?" Mike asked. He couldn't quit see what she was working on from where he was standing, and he knew from experience that she would block him from getting any closer. She hated to let anyone see her work before it was finished.

"Nobody, just an image I got stuck in my head." She replied vaguely.

Jill wouldn't say any more, so Mike returned to the living room to look at the selection of books he and Jill had picked out. When he glanced in the kitchen he saw that Sean was busy working on dinner. Shrugging, he went back to his perusal.

Jill felt guilty about hiding what she was doing from Mike, but she didn't know why. She'd just gotten this image stuck in her mind since last night. She'd been working on it all day and was nearly finished. For some reason she didn't want Mike to see it, or Sean. She shrugged and got back to work.

Sean, meanwhile, was busy working on dinner. He was trying hard not to think about his problems, so he focused instead on cooking. He ended up making far too much food for just the three of them.

"Hey Mike, dinner's ready!" he called out. Mike went back and retrieved Jill, still without getting a glimpse of her mysterious portrait.

They were quiet through dinner. It wasn't until Sean was cleaning up afterwards that anyone said anything. "So what's bothering you, Sean?" Jill asked. It didn't take her long to pick up on it.

"Nothing." He mumbled as he worked.

"It's not nothing Sean. Tell us." Jill insisted.

"Just a little harassment at work." He muttered, still not looking at them.

"No, how they normally treat you at work is 'a little harassment'. For you to be this bothered it's got to have gotten worse!" Jill replied.

This got Mike's instant attention. "What happened, Sean?" he asked dangerously. If someone hurt him… he thought angrily.

Jill put a hand on Mike's arm to calm him and turned a questioning glance on Sean. "Well?"

"Okay, so it's gotten a little worse." Sean admitted sullenly.

"In what way?" Jill asked.

Sean shrugged. "They're more hostile than they used to be." He said, hoping that would satisfy them.

"Has it gotten physical?" Jill asked worriedly.

He shrugged again. "Not really."

"Exactly what is happening?" Jill asked, annoyed at his evasiveness.

With a little more prodding he finally told them about the last few days. "This sounds serious, have you talked to a supervisor or manager?" Mike asked.

Sean shook his head. "One of the worst of the lot is a supervisor; I doubt it would accomplish anything good. Weren't we going to do another of your crazy experiments?" he asked in hopes of changing the subject.

Jill and Mike both frowned, but decided to let it go for now. "I do have a book I want you two to look at." Jill said.

"You do? You've been working on that portrait all day, when did you have time to look at books?" Mike asked.

"While you were at work, of course. This was an inspired choice, I think." Jill replied and went into the living room to retrieve a book from the pile on the couch. "Here it is!" she said triumphantly and handed the book to Mike.

Sean finally finished cleaning up and walked over to see what it was. "You want to use a book on Greek and Roman gods?!" he asked in shock.

Jill shrugged. "Sure, why not? We can do a little experimenting and maybe get some help at the same time. After all, a god ought to be able to figure out why you can open portals to other worlds, right?"

Mike and Sean gaped at her for a moment before Sean was able to find his voice and said, "You must be crazy! They're always depicted as being unpredictable and dangerous. We go asking around Mt. Olympus we're liable to get turned to stone or something!"

"Not if we're careful. I bet if you focus on a particular part of a book that you can control, at least to some extent, where the portal opens up. The goddess of love and beauty should be safe enough, don't you think?" she asked.

"You have a point." Mike conceded. "That would make a good test, and I wouldn't think a goddess of love would be that dangerous."

"You're kidding, right?" Sean asked hopefully. Jill shook her head. "All the gods in those myths are dangerous!" Sean protested.

"But we can always go back through the portal if we're in trouble. And I bet you can close the portal after we get there, and then open it back up whenever we need it." Jill countered.

"Are you trying to get us killed?" Sean asked wearily.

"Come on, Sean, give it a try! We can portal in somewhere safe and test your ability to open and close the portal. Then we'll come back and open a new portal to wherever Aphrodite or Venus are." Jill replied.

"Why don't we use that manga from yesterday for the first test." Mike suggested.

"That I'll do, but I won't even consider going near a god unless I'm sure I can open the portal anywhere!" Sean declared firmly.

Jill sighed, but conceded the point. "Okay, we'll do it your way."

Mike retrieved Imadoki! and handed it to Sean. He opened the portal and they all walked through, not holding hands anymore now that they knew it wasn't necessary.

"Okay, Sean, close the portal." Jill instructed.

Sean took a deep breath and then closed the book. Nothing happened at first, but then he concentrated on the portal closing, and it did!

"Now try opening the portal back to the apartment." Jill said.

Sean did as she said and the portal soon appeared. They could see the living room of Jill and Mike's apartment and the pile of books on the couch. "Alright, Sean, you did it!" Jill exclaimed.

"Now we need to know you can open the portal from different places." Mike pointed out.

Sean nodded and closed the portal. He then walked a few dozen feet away and opened it again. It appeared right next to him as it always did. "I wonder if I can make it open somewhere other than right next to me…" he wondered aloud.

"Try it!" Jill encouraged.

Sean nodded and closed the portal. Then he concentrated on the area by the gate to the school. The portal appeared right where he planned. "Satisfied?" Jill asked.

Sean seemed stunned at his success. "I…I guess so. Maybe this idea of yours will work after all."

With that Sean closed the portal and reopened it next to him. They all filed through and Sean closed the portal again. "I don't even have to drop the book to do it!" Sean breathed in awe. "I guess I'm getting better at this."

"Okay, now let's find a good place to portal in to." Jill suggested, handing the other book to Sean.

"That could take a while. Why don't I take this home with me and mark the spot, then we can go there tomorrow?" Sean suggested. Jill and Mike agreed, so Sean left with the book.

After a quick IM chat with Erica, Sean sat down to read.

---

 To Be Continued…

---

Sean spent over an hour searching through the book for a safe place to open the portal. Soon after he began a portal opened onto the Labyrinth. He managed to close that one only to have one open up near the medusa. He hastily closed that one with his eyes closed. He had several more encounters like that before he managed to find something promising. Afterwards he took his own book out to read for an experiment. To his relief he managed to read without opening any portals. Maybe Jill had it right, after all. Maybe I really can get a handle on this. he thought hopefully.

By then he was exhausted, so he climbed into bed. He fell asleep with a smile, knowing he wouldn't be having any more of those 'dreams'.

Sean awoke groggily the next morning, having stayed up later than usual with his reading and portal experimentation. He was so slow he ended up skipping breakfast just to get to work on time. At work the harassment from his coworkers continued to escalate. He was tempted to open a portal and shove them through. I wonder how Kyle would handle Jurassic Park? he wondered with a smile. That thought buoyed his spirits and helped him to shrug off the taunts of his coworkers. They seemed put off by his attitude and they lost some of their enthusiasm.

After work he returned to his apartment to pick up the mythology book and Jurassic Park, which he stashed in his car, just in case. Never know when a thirty foot T-Rex might come in handy. he chuckled to himself as he walked over to Jill and Mike's.

"Hello Mike!" he said cheerfully as he walked in. Mike was playing tennis again. "I found a promising spot in the book last night."

Mike paused his game and looked over at Sean. "You look cheerful, have a good sleep?" he asked.

"Actually, I stayed up a little late reading, but I think I've gotten a little better control of this thing. I was able to read my book for a while without opening any portals!" he said happily.

"Good! That would really suck if you could never read again without opening one of those portals. Show me what you found." Mike replied. Sean showed him the place he'd marked in the book. "That looks promising." He agreed.

"So where's Jill?" Sean asked. "Still painting?"

"No, believe it or not, she finished the portrait she's been working on and locked up the studio so I couldn't see it. She seemed exhausted afterwards, so she took a nap. She woke up about an hour ago and started putting dinner together." Mike replied.

"Doesn't Jill usually let you see her paintings once she's done with them?" Sean asked.

Mike nodded. "Yeah, she does. She's acting weird about this portrait." Mike said.

"Huh. Well, I guess we'll find out what it's about soon enough." Sean said thoughtfully.

"So how was your day?" Mike asked.

"It started out as bad as yesterday, but it got better after a while." Sean replied with an enigmatic smile.

"What's that grin for?" Mike asked curiously.

"Well, when they were bugging me I was thinking about opening a portal to Jurassic Park and pushing them through. I guess I wasn't reacting the way they expected me to after that." Sean replied.

Mike laughed. "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea! You'll have to be careful, though, or you might open a portal in public without meaning to." Mike warned.

Sean shrugged. "Like I said, I seem to have better control over that now. But you're right, I don't want anyone besides you and Jill knowing about this. There's no telling what would happen if anyone else found out." Sean agreed.

"Is that Sean I hear out there?" Jill called out from the kitchen.

"Yeah, I'm here Jill." Sean replied.

"Well get in here, you two, dinner is ready!" she called back. Sean and Mike went into the kitchen and they ate their dinner.

"Sean found a good spot to use for our trip today." Mike said while he was cleaning up the dishes. It was the only thing he was allowed to do in the kitchen after his last cooking disaster the previous year.

"Let me see?" Jill asked, holding her hand out for the book. Sean handed it over and she looked it over. "Yeah, that looks promising." She agreed.

After Mike cleaned up they went to the living room. "Do you think we should go armed again?" Mike asked as Jill handed the book back to Sean.

Jill pondered that a moment before shaking her head and replying, "No, I don't think that's a good idea. Sean can get us out in a hurry if he has to, and I don't think it would impress Venus or Aphrodite or whichever other god or goddess we encounter if we go to their home armed."

Sean nodded reluctantly. "You're probably right. I don't suppose a sword or arrow would do much damage to a god anyway."

"True." Mike agreed ruefully. "There aren't any other dangers we might encounter, though, are there?" he asked worriedly.

Sean shook his head. "No, we'll be arriving on Mt. Olympus itself. There shouldn't be anything there but the gods and goddesses. We should be ready for a quick retreat though, they're known for being unpredictable." Sean replied.

"Are we sure we're ready for this?" Mike asked, looking at Sean and Jill in turn. Sean shrugged, he'd already expressed his concern.

"I don't think the goddess of love and beauty is going to harm us, and the place Sean marked should take us right to her. We should be safe enough, especially with Sean ready to portal us out on a moment's notice." Jill replied, trying to project confidence and being fairly successful.

Sean took a deep breath and said, "Okay, let's get this over with then." He opened the book to the marked section and began reading. Mike and Jill moved closer to him so they could go through the portal quicker. The portal formed quickly and expanded to door size. With an audible gulp Sean stepped through, followed closely by his friends.

Once through the portal Sean closed it so he could open another wherever they might need it. "Stay close, just in case." He cautioned. The others nodded.

They found themselves in a clearing surrounded by trees. There was a natural spring near the center and a beautiful woman with her back to them was just finishing redressing from a dip in the spring when they arrived. Her wet hair dried as she turned to look at them. "Mortals, here?" she murmured dulcetly.

"Um, excuse me, but we were wondering if you could help us…" Jill began, only to be cut off by a screech from the woman.

"Do not speak, mortal!" she screeched. "This is Mt. Olympus, home of the gods! You do not belong here! I am Venus, and I command you to leave at once!" she demanded.

Sean backed away fearfully, which put some distance between himself and his friends. "Please, our friend needs your help…" Jill tried again.

"If you will not leave you will taste my curse!" Venus screamed. Her hands began to glow a blood red color and she began to raise them towards Jill.

"Run!" Sean screamed, opening a portal right behind his friends. Mike shoved Jill through while Sean ran to join them.

Venus pointed her glowing hands at Mike and a blast of energy shot out from them. "NO!!" Sean screamed, and jumped in front of Mike. The blast hit him full in the chest and drove him back into Mike. He felt every nerve in his body burning, and then nothing.

---

 To Be Continued…

---

Sean awoke with a groan. His whole body hurt, inside and out. Like every part of his body was bruised. "What happened?" he squeaked out. What happened to my voice?! he thought.

He was lying on Mike and Jill's couch. They'd brought chairs into the room from the kitchen table and were sitting in them next to the couch. "How do you feel Sean?" Jill asked worriedly. She looked sad.

"My whole body hurts, and my voice sounds weird." Sean replied.

"Do you notice anything else different?" Mike asked. Sean glanced at him and noticed a similar expression on his face.

"What are you getting at?" Sean asked worriedly.

"Maybe you'd better look for yourself." Jill suggested.

Sean frowned, but did as she suggested. It wasn't until that moment that he realized he was naked. He was covered with a blanket, so he pulled it up to get a look under it. His mind refused to take in what he was seeing at first. "That's me?!" he screeched.

Jill nodded. "Yes, you're a girl now." She answered sadly. Sean took another look under the blanket. His body looked tiny compared to what he was used to. There was no mistaking his new sex, even though his breasts looked rather small to him.

"This can't be real." Sean protested weakly.

"Sean, you open portals to story book worlds! Weird though this is, it's hardly unbelievable after what we've seen." Mike pointed out. He was looking away as Sean was still holding the blanket up and staring at his new body in shock.

Jill gently pulled the blanket back down. "Why don't I see if I have any clothes that will fit you." She suggested. Sean nodded numbly.

"What exactly happened?" Sean asked Mike while Jill was in their room looking through clothes.

Mike shrugged. "Venus tried to blast us, and you threw yourself in the way. Thanks for that, by the way." Mike said. He looked like he wanted to hug Sean, but wasn't sure if he should with Sean's current form and state of undress. Sean smiled weakly and waved him back. Mike went on gratefully, "You were knocked into me and we both fell through the portal. It closed up immediately after we fell through it. We think you held the book out between yourself and Venus, because it was turned to ash along with your clothes."

"So, uh, did you put me on the couch?" Sean asked. He hoped not, he was uncomfortable enough seeing his body himself, he didn't want Mike seeing it.

"Don't worry, I didn't see anything. I was knocked out when we landed. Jill put you there and covered you before I woke up." Mike reassured him. He was equally glad he hadn't seen anything as Sean.

"Here we are!" Jill called out as she walked in carrying a small pile of clothes. She put the clothes down on the chair she had been sitting on and looked thoughtfully at Mike. "Why don't you go wait in our room until I call for you." She suggested.

Mike hastily agreed and fled the room. "You didn't get me anything too girly, did you?" Sean asked, eyeing the pile of clothes wearily.

Jill laughed. "Don't worry, I picked out things that are as close to your normal clothes as I could manage." She assured him.

"Would you mind turning around?" Sean asked shyly. Jill laughed again, but agreed and turned away. Sean looked through the pile. There were several shirts and a couple of different pairs of pants, along with a pair of panties and three bras. "Why so much?" Sean asked.

"I picked things that fit differently so you'd have a better chance of finding something that fits. If everything's too small we'll have to go with a dress, though." Jill replied without turning around.

Sean shuddered at that idea and quickly pulled on the panties. They were very tight in the hips and didn't come up as far as he expected. The first bra he tried was painfully tight, even when he loosened it up. The second was okay, so he left it on. The jeans were too tight, he couldn't get them even halfway up his hips, but he was able to get the slacks on. They were also very tight and he worried about tearing them if he moved around too much. The first shirt he tried fit okay, though it was tight in the chest, so he left it on.

"Okay, you can turn around now." Sean said.

Jill turned and looked closely at the fit of her clothes. "You're bigger in the hips and chest than I am. I was afraid of that. At least you're able to get something on. Once we get you back to your place you can change. Your old clothes will probably not fit very well, but they won't be too small." Jill said.

"But they didn't look that big when I looked earlier." Sean protested, pointing at his chest.

"That's because you were lying down." Jill replied. "We'd better go get Mike now."

"Do we have to?" Sean whined. "These clothes fit rather tightly. Couldn't I get a robe or something?"

Jill rolled her eyes, "Okay, just a minute." She said and hurried out. A moment later she returned with a robe and handed it to Sean. He quickly threw it on and tied it off as loosely as he could. His body's shape was a lot less distinct, now.

"Happy?" Jill inquired.

"No, but it's better." Sean replied morosely.

Jill gave him a quick hug and started dragging him towards her room. "Come on, we need to talk to Mike."

"What's the big hurry?" Sean asked.

"You'll see." Jill replied mysteriously. She opened the bedroom door and beckoned for Mike to come out. "I need to show you two something." She said and pulled Sean along with her.

Jill dragged Sean over to a covered canvas in her studio and waited impatiently for Mike to catch up with them. "Is that the portrait you were working on the other day?" Mike asked curiously.

Jill nodded. "This image kept coming to me when I was around Sean. This is it." Jill said, and whipped the cover off the canvas.

"So what?" Sean asked perplexed. Mike gasped and kept looking between the portrait and Sean. "What?" Sean asked again, noting Mike's odd behavior.

"Just a second." Jill said and rushed over to a corner and retrieved a full length mirror. She carried it over and propped it up next to the portrait. Sean stared in shock at the mirror, seeing his new body for the first time. He was still tall and thin, but now he had feminine curves and his long brown hair had thickened and lengthened to the small of his back. Many of the changes were fairly subtle, but the net effect was a very pretty girl.

"See?" Jill asked impatiently. Sean was startled out of his contemplation of his own reflection and looked at the portrait. He looked back and forth several times, his jaw dropping open farther with every moment.

"When did you paint this?" Sean whispered.

"I started it yesterday and finished it this morning." Jill replied. Sean shook his head in wonder. The portrait was so perfect it could be another mirror, showing Sean's new face.

---

 To Be Continued…

---

"How?" Sean gasped.

Jill shook her head, "I don't know. Like I said, I kept getting this image whenever I was around you. I didn't realize it looked like your twin sister until I was almost done with it. Then when you fell through the portal and I saw what you looked like, I knew it was you I'd drawn, somehow."

"How could you possibly know what Sean was going to look like a day before Venus cursed him?" Mike asked in wonder.

"I just don't know!" Jill replied with tears in her eyes.

Mike held her and said, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. This is just so weird!"

Sean hadn't looked away from the portrait since he realized he was looking at himself. "What do I do now?" he said sadly.

"Hey, yeah, you still have work tomorrow!" Mike exclaimed.

"You're calling in sick." Jill said firmly. "The first day after you get magically transformed into a woman is no time to worry about work. Especially with the jerks you work with. That'll give us three days to try and fix this."

"Fix this?! Look at me! I'm a girl! How the hell do we fix this?!" Sean screeched.

"Woah, calm down, Sean!" Mike said.

"Look, Sean, you can open portals to pretty much anywhere. We should be able to find someplace we can go where you can be changed back!" Jill replied.

Sean stopped the tirade he was about to unleash and thought about what she'd said. "You're right! But no gods this time, let's find a wizard or something." Sean replied.

Jill laughed, "No gods!" she agreed.

Mike looked at his watch. "Sean, you'd better get home and IM Erica or she's going to worry." He said.

"At least I can talk to her as if nothing's changed." Sean said with a little smile.

"See, it's not all bad. We'll get you changed back in no time." Jill said brightly. "Mike, why don't we walk Sean home."

Mike nodded. "That's a good idea. Let's go." He said. Sean was about to protest, until he thought about going outside the way he looked now. He kept his head down as he followed Mike and Jill out. He carefully didn't look around as they walked to his apartment. He reached for his key when they got there until he remembered that the contents of his pockets had been destroyed along with his clothes.

"Uh, guys, I don't have keys anymore." Sean said softly.

"No problem, we've got our own, remember?" Mike reminded him. "I'll leave my key with you." He said as he unlocked the door. Then he dropped the key in Sean's hand.

"Do you want us to stick around for a while?" Jill asked worriedly.

Sean hurried inside and turned to close the door. "No, I'll be fine. I'll see you tomorrow." He said. Jill insisted on hugging him goodbye as she always did and they left. Sean hurriedly closed the door and locked it.

Mike and Jill walked back to their apartment and collapsed on the couch. "Well, that was a weird day." Mike commented.

Jill nodded. "I'm worried about Sean. He's been down since Erica left. Now, with the trouble he's been having at work, this ability of his to open portals, and now being turned into a girl, it might all be too much for him." She said sadly.

"Yeah, I'm worried, too. I wish Erica was here, but then maybe that would make things worse." Mike replied.

"That's a good point. As things are he can continue his relationship with Erica the same way he was before. If she were here it would change everything." Jill agreed.

"We're going to have to stick close to Sean at all times. I suggest we go over to his place first thing in the morning, early enough that he won't be up yet would be best." Mike said.

"What about your classes?" Jill asked.

Mike shrugged. "I can get someone else to cover me. Sean is more important."

Jill snuggled up close to Mike. "You're such a good friend to him. That's one of the things I love about you." She purred.

Mike blushed and stammered, "Uh, we should probably get some sleep if we're going to get over there early." He reminded her apologetically.

"Oh, yeah." Jill agreed with a frown. "We'd better go to bed then."

---

 
Sean felt a desperate need to talk to Erica, but at the same time he couldn't talk about what had happened to him. He sighed in frustration and went looking for his spare car key. He attached Mike's key to the key ring and left it by the door where he always did. Booting up his computer he logged on.

SeanDreamer has logged on
Erica378 has logged on
<SeanDreamer>: Hi Erica, how are you?
<Erica378>: Hi Sean, I'm fine. Busy, but fine. How about you.
<SeanDreamer>: Okay.
<Erica378>: Just okay?
<SeanDreamer>: The guys at work are being real jerks.
<Erica378>: You should talk to someone.
<SeanDreamer>: I'm okay. I just miss you.
<Erica378>: I miss you more!
<SeanDreamer>: Hey, that's my line! ;)
<Erica378>: LOL! Are Mike and Jill taking good care of you?
<SeanDreamer>: Yeah, they're great. They miss you, too.
<Erica378>: Tell them I miss them, too, and to keep taking good care of my baby!
<SeanDreamer>: I love you!
<Erica378>: I love you, too! I'd better get to bed, and so should you!
<SeanDreamer>: Yes, dear! ;)
<Erica378>: Goodnight, I'll talk to you tomorrow.
<SeanDreamer>: Goodnight!
Erica378 has logged off
SeanDreamer has logged off

Sean reluctantly shut down his computer and climbed into bed. He didn't bother taking his clothes off, as he really didn't want to deal with his new body. He tossed and turned for at least an hour before he finally fell asleep.

---

 
"Rise and shine!" Sean heard an annoyingly cheerful voice call out. He opened his eyes to see Jill sitting on the end of his bed, holding a plate with bacon, eggs, and hash browns on it. "Time for breakfast!"

Sean groaned, but sat up. "What are you doing here so early?" he asked grumpily.

"We decided to come over early so you don't have time to feel sorry for yourself." Jill replied with a sad smile. "Now eat up!" She handed the plate and silverware to Sean and waited patiently for Sean to eat it.

Once he'd started eating Jill went through his drawers looking for something for him to wear. "Don't you have anything but baggy T-shirts and jeans?" Jill complained.

"Just my work uniform." Sean replied between bites. Jill shook her head at that and kept digging. She didn't find anything.

"You really need to get some variety in your wardrobe." Jill chided.

"I suppose you want to get me some skirts and dresses." Sean replied bitterly.

"Hey, that was uncalled for! I was referring to your male wardrobe! Mike has a lot better selection of clothes than you do." Jill replied with a hurt expression.

Sean glanced at her and realized he'd upset her. "Sorry." He mumbled. He went back to eating.

Jill sighed and sat back down on Sean's bed. "I know this is hard on you, Sean, but try not to let it get to you. We'll find a way to change you back." She said.

"Okay." Sean sighed, setting his empty plate aside. "I'll try."

"That's the spirit!" Jill said with forced cheerfulness. She gathered up his plate and said, "Get dressed, okay?" on her way out. She made sure to close the door.

Sean sighed again and picked out clothes to wear. As usual for him, he just grabbed things blindly without paying attention beyond the fact it was a shirt or pair of pants. He dressed quickly and had to tighten his belt down to keep his pants up. He also had to roll up the bottoms of his pants. His shoes were far too big, so he walked out in just his loose socks.

"Hey Sean, how you feeling?" Mike greeted him from the kitchen table where he was eating his own breakfast.

Sean just shrugged in reply. "Don't you have to work today?" he asked curiously.

"I took the day off. Mom's going to cover for me." He replied.

"Must be nice working for your mom like that." Sean commented for the hundredth time.

"It has it's perks." Mike agreed with a grin. "Are you shorter?" he asked, noticing Sean's pants.

Sean shrugged, "I guess so."

"Hey guys, I've got an idea!" Jill called from the living room. She rushed in with a large hardbound book in her hands. "How about we go here?!" she said excitedly, pointing to a line in the open book.

"You want to go to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries?!" Sean exclaimed.

---

 To Be Continued…

---

"Sure!" Jill replied. "It makes sense. Your condition could be considered a magical malady or injury. With all the things they have to deal with there a simple gender change should be easy to undo."

"Hmm, she's got a point." Mike agreed. "You said you'd rather see a wizard or something instead of a god."

Sean groaned. "I'm not going to end up without any bones or something, am I?" He asked worriedly.

"Hey, that was someone who didn't know what they were doing. We should be dealing with experts. You'll be fixed up in no time!" Jill said with forced confidence.

"Alright, we'll give it a try." Sean replied with a sigh. "At least we won't need weapons for this trip. Not that we used them last time."

"Be glad of that, we would have been at a real disadvantage against anyone with experience or training." Mike pointed out. Sean nodded wearily and accepted the book.

"We ready to go?" he asked. They both nodded, so he started reading the section Jill pointed out and opened a portal.

The portal took them inside the hospital. Sean closed it as soon as they were all through so as not to attract any more attention than necessary. "Now what?" he asked.

Jill was just about to say something when a woman in a lime green robe walked up to them and said, "Hello, what can I do for you?"

"My friend here got transformed into a woman by Venus. We were hoping you could change him back." Jill replied, pointing at Sean.

"Really? Haven't heard that one before. Let's take a look at you." She said, looking closely at Sean. She waved a wand at him and mumbled something under her breath. She went on to perform various odd tests and fed Sean all kinds of potions.

"Well, I can find no trace of a curse on you, deary. All my spells say you have always been female. Are you sure your friend used to be male?" she asked, looking back at Jill.

"Absolutely sure. The three of us were visiting Venus, hoping she could help us with a problem Sean's been having, and she got really angry with us. She threw a curse at us, and Sean threw himself in front of Mike to save him." Jill replied.

"Hmm, very noble of you. Well, as there appears to be no curse or enchantment to revoke, I suppose I could cast a gender change spell on you." She suggested doubtfully.

"Yes, please!" Sean replied eagerly.

"Oh, very well." She replied. She waved her wand at Sean again and said something that sounded like Latin. Sean glowed for a moment, but when the glow faded Sean remained female. "Hm, that's odd. Something seems to be blocking my spell. Perhaps you are cursed, after all. I'm very sorry, but there doesn't seem to be anything we can do for you." She said sadly.

"Oh. Well, thanks for trying." Jill said disappointedly. Sean opened a new portal and the three of them returned to Sean's apartment.

"Well, that was a bust." Sean commented bitterly, throwing himself down on his couch.

"Maybe we need stronger magic to overcome a curse from a goddess." Mike suggested.

"Oh yeah, and where are we going to get that?" Sean asked. "Let me guess, another god?"

Mike shrugged. "It might be the only way. I don't like the idea, either, but surely we can find a god in one of these books that is friendly and helpful."

"No way! No more gods! Next time I'll end up a newt or something!" Sean yelled.

Mike sat down on the couch next to Sean. "Come on, Sean, we've got to try something. Unless you really want to spend the rest of your life like this."

"I do not want to be a girl for the rest of my life, and you know it!" Sean retorted angrily.

"Hey, calm down!" Mike retorted. "I'm just trying to help!"

"Yeah, you're real helpful. Like how you talked me into going to see Venus. That worked out real well!" Sean replied sarcastically.

Mike put his hand on Sean's shoulder and said, "Sean, this sucks, I know. You didn't ask for this, and you don't deserve it. But you've got to deal with it now. We'll help all we can but you need to calm down."

Sean grabbed Mike's wrist and tried to push his hand off of him. "Leave me alone, Mike!" he said without looking at him. Mike's hand suddenly left his shoulder and Sean stood and started walking to his room. A startled squeak from behind him caught his attention in spite of himself. But when he turned around, Mike wasn't there. Some stranger was sitting where Mike had been, and she was wearing clothes identical to Mike's!

"Who are you?" he asked, confused.

"Uh, Sean, I think that's Mike." Jill said softly. Sean turned to look at her and saw tears gathering in her eyes.

"Mike?" Sean repeated, looking at the girl on the couch. She nodded sadly. "How did that happen?!"

"It happened when you pushed me away." Mike replied.

"Wait, you mean I did that?!" Sean asked in shock. Mike just shrugged.

"Can…can you…fix it?" Jill stammered worriedly.

"I don't even know how I did it!" Sean exclaimed.

"Try recreating what you did." Mike suggested. He seemed to be handling this better than his friends.

Sean nodded numbly and sat back down. Mike put his hand on Sean's shoulder again and Sean grabbed his wrist and pushed him away. Then he stood and turned around. To his relief, Mike was back to his old self. "Whew! Thank gawd that worked! Are you okay Mike?" he asked.

Mike looked down at himself and smiled. "Yeah, I'm okay. Maybe you can do that for yourself?" he suggested. Sean smiled and grabbed his own wrist and pushed, but nothing happened. He tried slapping himself, pressing his hand against his chest, and anything else he could think of, to no effect.

"Maybe it only works on men." Jill said.

"Then it should work on me!" Sean growled in frustration. Then he got a gleam in his eye and strode over to Jill. He grabbed her by the wrist and pushed her backwards, nearly causing her to fall.

"Sean! Change her back!" Mike roared, as Jill had indeed become male. She was standing there, stunned, looking down to where her breasts used to be.

"Sean?" Jill stammered brokenly. Sean seemed to deflate and hurriedly grabbed Jill again and repeated the push, changing her back.

"I'm sorry, I just wanted to know if it really didn't work on women." Sean mumbled apologetically. Tears were streaking down his face and he turned and ran into his bedroom and collapsed on his bed. He wasn't there for long before Jill came in and closed the door behind her.

"Sean? It's okay, I'm not mad at you." Jill said softly. "I think I understand how you feel a little better now, in fact." She walked over to his bed and sat down, putting a hand on his back and rubbing it. He slowly got his tears under control and turned to face Jill.

"I'm sorry, Jill. I was so mad that it didn't work on me that I took it out on you." He said, still unable to look her in the eye.

Jill grabbed him and hugged him hard. "It's okay, I understand. Mike does, too. Why don't we go back out and work on solving your problem?" she suggested.

Sean reluctantly agreed and followed Jill out to the living room. Mike was sitting on the floor in front of the bookcase looking at the titles. "You two okay?" he asked worriedly. Jill and Sean nodded. "Good! I was wondering, do you think this gender changing thing is related to the spell the witch at the hospital cast, or Venus' curse?"

"It could even be a combination of the two." Jill suggested.

"But if it is, then anything we do will get twisted by the curse!" Sean lamented.

"Not if we remove the curse. How about this one." Mike said, pulling a book off the shelf. "He's supposed to be a really powerful wizard, maybe he can help us."

Sean looked at the book Mike had pulled out. "Well, he is the disciple of a goddess of magic. That might work." Sean said hopefully.

"Why don't you pop open one of your portals and we can find out?" Mike suggested.

"No way! I'm studying this book first. A lot of bad stuff happens in there, I want to make sure we go to a time and place that is safe. There's no way we would last long there otherwise." Sean replied firmly. The others nodded and Sean sat down to read.

---

 To Be Continued…

---

Mike and Jill kept themselves busy cleaning Sean's apartment while he read. "This place is never as dirty as I expect it to be." Jill noted.

"Yeah, Sean doesn't like a mess." Mike agreed.

Sean's apartment was spotless by the time he called out that he'd found a good place in the book. "We should have plenty of time." Sean said, pointing out the place in the story where he wanted to go.

"Let's go then!" Mike said. Jill nodded, so Sean opened the portal and they stepped through.

They found themselves in a room filled with all kinds of odd objects, many of which were obviously very old. In one corner a very old man with an extremely long beard was reading from a large tome. "Um, excuse me, sir, could you help us?" Mike asked anxiously. The man turned surprisingly quickly, a ball of fire appearing in his hand.

"Who are you? How did you get in here?" he demanded. He didn't seem panicked, just weary.

"Um, I'm Mike, this is Jill and Sean. Sean opened a portal here. We were hoping you could help him by removing a curse placed on him by Venus." Mike replied uncertainly. He felt overawed by the old man's presence.

"Hmph! Used to be a boy, eh? Let me see." He said, turning to Sean. He gazed at him silently for several minutes. Sean was having a hard time staying still under his gaze. "I think I see what your problem is. Unfortunately, I can't help you." He finally said.

"Are…are you sure?" Sean asked weakly.

The old man looked kindly at Sean and replied, "Yes, I'm sure. You may want to consider that this might not be a curse at all. I once spent some time as a woman. It was very educational."

"I do not want to stay this way!" Sean declared hotly.

The old mage sighed. "As you say. Is there anything else I can help you with?" he asked.

"Um, there is one thing. I seem to be able to change people's gender now. It doesn't work on me, though." Sean added sadly.

The mage nodded. "I'm not surprised. It's a side effect of your…condition. It's probably triggered by anger. If your friends will let you practice on them, you may be able to exert conscious control over it."

"What about his ability to open portals to other worlds?" Mike asked.

The old mage took another long look at Sean before replying, "Ah, I see, I think. That is most unique. This ability will only get stronger in time. You mustn't ignore or deny it, or it could destroy you. Using it, as you are, will help you greatly. Just be careful where you go!"

They all thanked the mage for his help and Sean opened the portal. Before they could step through the mage called out to them. "One more thing before you go. Traveling between worlds can have unexpected consequences for the traveler. Your friends may find themselves changed by the experience, as will you." He wouldn't say anything else on that, so they left.

"What do you think he meant?" Mike asked once they'd returned to Sean's apartment.

"I don't know, maybe it has something to do with that portrait I painted?" Jill wondered.

"You think traveling with Sean allowed you to see the future or something?" asked Mike.

Jill shrugged. "Maybe."

Sean flopped down on the couch while they were talking. "If he can't help me, who can?" he wondered aloud.

"I don't know, but from what he said using your abilities will help you. If we keep looking I'm sure we'll find something." Jill replied thoughtfully.

"I wonder how this is going to change all of us." Mike wondered. Sean glared at him and he hastily added, "Besides what it's already done to you, Sean."

"Maybe we should stop." Sean said after a long pause in the conversation. "This is too dangerous for you two. If we ever got separated you'd be stuck. I can always escape with a portal, but you can't. Maybe I should just live with it." He finished morosely.

"What about Erica?" Jill asked in shock.

Sean shrugged. "She would have left me eventually, anyway. At least she'll have a good excuse."

"Sean, there's no way you mean that!" Jill exclaimed. "You love her, I know you do!"

"Of course I do!" Sean yelled back. "But she's straight; she won't want to be with me like this!"

"Hey, don't give up so quick Sean! Erica really loves you, I'm sure that she can deal if she has to. But that's almost six months away; we still have lots of time to fix this." Mike said with a hand on Sean's shoulder.

"That's right, and we're helping you whether you like it or not!" Jill added, taking his hand in hers. "We're your friends, we're not going to abandon you. We're going to get through this together."

Tears came to Sean's eyes as he looked at his two friends. "I don't deserve you guys." He said before he started sobbing. Mike and Jill held onto him while he weeped. Eventually he stopped and they pulled back and looked at him.

"You deserve way more than us Sean!" Mike said fervently. Jill nodded emphatically. "Maybe we should take a break for lunch?" Mike suggested. Sean and Jill agreed and Sean retreated to the kitchen to make sandwiches. He insisted on making them himself, he said it would give him something else to think about.

Mike and Jill let him go and sat down on the couch together. "This is going to be really tough." Mike said. "I've never seen Sean lose it like that. He never cried in school, no matter how cruel people were to him."

Jill nodded, she'd never seen Sean cry before this, and she'd seen him treated horribly in the past. "Maybe it's the hormones?" she suggested, knowing that wasn’t the case even as she said it.

"No way. They may make it harder to keep it in, but there's no way that explains everything. He's really hurting." Mike replied.

"Yeah, I know. I think the worry over Erica is hurting him more than the gender change." Jill said.

"Could be. He's so in love with her, I could believe it." Mike replied.

Sean returned with a plate piled high with sandwiches. The three friends had a quiet lunch with no mention of Sean's problems.

"Sean, why don't we go to another world, but just for fun." Jill suggested while they were cleaning up.

"Fun?! What is fun about it?" Sean asked in astonishment.

"Well, aren't there stories you've read that you'd really like to visit? One of your favorites, maybe?" Jill suggested.

Sean thought about that as they walked back to the living room. "I would kind of like to see the Shire. I've always thought that would be interesting." He said.

"Let's do it!" Jill exclaimed, running over to the bookshelf to pull out the relevant book. "Here you go!" she said, handing it to Sean.

"What's this?" Mike asked.

"We're going to go to a world Sean wants to see, just for fun. I thought it would be good to do something fun and it would give Sean more experience at the same time." Jill replied.

Mike looked dubiously at Jill then shrugged. "Okay, I'm in." he said resignedly. Sean flipped through the book for a while before finding what he was looking for.

"Here we are!" he exclaimed. "You guys ready?"

Mike finally got a good look at the book. "We're not going to the dragon's lair, are we?" he asked worriedly.

"Of course not!" Sean scoffed. "I just want to see the Shire!" With that Sean opened the portal and immediately stepped through. Mike and Jill hurriedly followed so they wouldn't be left behind. Once they were through Sean closed the portal.

As they took stock of their surroundings Mike said, "Uh, Sean, I think you missed." They were standing just outside a small town overshadowed by a mountain. As they looked around they saw something falling from the mountain. In a moment they realized it wasn't falling, it was flying, and it was as big as a house!

"Damn, my mind must have wandered after you mentioned the dragon's lair! We've got to get out of here!" Sean exclaimed. He was just about to open the portal when he was distracted by a crowd of people fleeing the town, screaming in fear. They were headed right for Sean and his friends. Sean tore his attention away and opened a portal, but he was bowled over by the crowd before anyone could go through and it closed. Sean had been knocked out when he fell.

---

 To Be Continued…

---

Mike and Jill managed to drag Sean away before he was trampled. They tried to wake him, but he was out like a light. "Now what?" Mike asked.

"We've got to wait until he wakes up, I guess." Jill replied worriedly. They were still quite close to the town, and the flying object they'd seen was approaching it rapidly. "Is that what I think it is?"

Mike looked back at it and frowned. "I think so. We'd better move Sean farther from the town or we'll be barbecued!"

They dragged Sean as far from the town as they could and watched as the dragon attacked. They were so enthralled by this that they didn't even see the goblins approaching until almost too late.

Jill spied them first. "Mike!" she screamed, pointing out the ugly creatures. They were armed with a motley assortment of weapons.

"Shit!" Mike muttered under his breath. He left Sean with Jill and turned to face the creatures. "I wish I'd brought that sword!"

They seemed hesitant to attack, but one of them was braver than the others and tried to clobber Mike with a club. Mike caught it and kicked the goblin in the face. The goblin dropped the club and fell back. The others backed off for a moment, then charged en masse!

Mike felt despair, he knew he had no chance against so many armed opponents, no matter how unskilled they might be. Then he felt pain throughout his entire body. He blacked out for a moment, and when he came to he saw the goblins were running away in terror. Their weapons lay scattered on the ground.

"Uh, Mike, is that you?" Jill called out hesitantly. Mike turned to look at her and was surprised to see she was tiny!

"Jill? Why are you so small?" he growled. Why am I growling? he thought, confused.

"It's not me that's small, you're huge! You're a dragon!" Jill exclaimed. Mike looked down at himself and saw she was right. His scales were golden in color and he had long claws on all four feet. How he hadn't noticed his changed body before this, he didn't know.

"How?" Mike growled in wonder.

Jill shrugged. "I don't know. You were attacked by those goblins, and then you doubled over like you were in a lot of pain, and you suddenly expanded and changed to become that dragon!"

"Weird!" Mike exclaimed, feeling wings on his back flex. They were huge wings, he could see, but they didn't feel strange to him. It was like he'd always been a dragon. "Well, at least we're safe from the goblins!"

"Uh oh!" Jill said and pointed in the direction of the town. "They've just finished killing a dragon that looked an awful lot like you. I think we'd better get out of here before they think you're him!"

Mike nodded, but was unsure how they'd move Sean. Jill started dragging him, but he woke up quickly. "What's going on?" he asked groggily.

"You got knocked out by people fleeing that town. Then some goblins attacked us, and Mike somehow transformed into a dragon." Jill told him, carefully positioning herself between Sean and Mike so he wouldn't see Mike before getting the explanation.

"A dragon?! How'd that happen?" he asked in shock.

Jill shrugged. "We don't know. But he looks a lot like the dragon that was attacking the town, so I'm worried they'll think he's one and the same." Jill explained.

"Oh. Let's get out of here then." Sean said. Once he'd stood up with Jill's help he saw Mike. "Mike?! Is that really you?" he exclaimed.

Mike nodded, "Yep. Don't ask me how, though!"

Now that Sean was awake, he and Jill were able to climb onto Mike's back and they fled. Mike was able to cover a lot of territory very quickly. Soon the town was out of sight so he stopped and let his passengers off. "You two okay?" he asked.

"We're fine, Mike!" Jill replied.

"Uh, guys, I think we've got another problem." Sean said.

"What?" Jill asked.

"How is Mike going to fit through the portal?" Sean replied.

"Maybe you can make it bigger?" Mike suggested hopefully.

Sean shook his head. "Even if I can, I can't make my apartment bigger!"

"Oh!" Mike exclaimed, catching on.

"Maybe you can change back, Mike?" Jill suggested.

Mike snorted, columns of smoke jetting out of his nostrils. "I don't even know how I changed the first time!" he grumbled.

Sean got a thoughtful expression on his face and then stepped forward and slapped Mike's nose. Suddenly Mike was human again, but female! "How's that?" Sean asked smugly.

Mike rubbed his nose like it hurt. "Did you have to hit so hard?" he grumbled with a grin.

"Wimp!" Sean retorted and stuck his tongue out at him.

Jill laughed at their antics. "The question is, will he turn back to a dragon when you change him back to male?" she said.

"One way to find out!" Sean said and slapped him on the arm. Suddenly Mike was back to his old self, human and male.

"Whew, thanks Sean, I was getting worried for a while there." Mike said in relief.

"I think we should leave a visit to the Shire for another day." Jill suggested.

Sean nodded. "Yeah, I think it would be a good idea to get home now." He agreed, opening the portal. They stepped through into Sean's apartment with relief.

They all flopped down in chair or couch. "That was…interesting." Sean remarked.

"Yeah, you could say that. The weirdest part, for me anyway, was that it felt completely natural to be a dragon." Mike replied.

Jill snapped her fingers. "Hey, remember the mage said that traveling through the portals would change us. Maybe that's why you transformed, Mike!" she said excitedly.

"So, what, I'm going to become a dragon?" Mike asked worriedly.

"I don't think so. After all, you only changed when you were fighting the goblins. Why then, and not earlier? And why not here?" Jill replied.

"Another question is, why didn't I just become a female dragon when Sean slapped me?" Mike wondered aloud.

"Oh, that's easy!" Sean replied. "My ability must only work on your base form, rather than on whatever other form you're in at the time. So it made you a female human instead of a dragon."

"If that's true, it means you aren't becoming a dragon." Jill pointed out.

"That's encouraging." Mike agreed. Just then his stomach growled, loudly.

"Maybe we should go out for dinner." Jill suggested.

"No way!" Sean practically screamed. "I'm not going out like this!"

Jill sighed, "Okay. Mike, why don't you go get us something and bring it back here?" she suggested.

"Any preferences?" he asked. There weren't, so he left to get dinner.

"Why didn't you go with him?" Sean asked worriedly.

"I wanted to talk to you about something. I've been thinking about it, and even though we've got plenty of time to find a solution for you before Erica gets back, we don't have much time before you've got to be back at work. Not to mention your classes which are tomorrow!" Jill said.

Sean seemed to deflate at that. "Oh, yeah." He said morosely.

"I think you should go to your classes tomorrow as you are." Jill stated worriedly. She knew Sean wouldn't take her idea well.

"WHAT?!" Sean screamed.

"Here me out." Jill said, wincing at Sean's volume. "You can tell the college, and your boss, that you're transgendered. I've looked this up online, and there's something called the Real Life Test. Before a transgendered person can have surgery they have to live in their chosen gender for a year or more. You can say that's what you're doing, to find out if being a girl is right for you. That way, when you finally change back, you can say it wasn't right for you after all and everything can go back to the way it was."

"I'd never be able to live that down!" Sean replied angrily. "If you think the way they treat me at work now is bad, just wait to see what it would be like if I did that!"

"I know it'd be tough, Sean, but how else are you going to live? You have to work to pay your bills. Mike and I could take you in, but we couldn't pay your car payments and other bills. And you'd still want to have your apartment for when Erica gets back, I assume." Jill said.

That stopped Sean for a bit. "You're right, I guess, but it won't work! Even if things went okay with my classes, and I doubt that, work would be torture!"

"Not if you stand up for yourself. There are laws against discrimination or harassment based on gender and gender expression. They can't keep treating you like that without getting into all kinds of trouble. Besides, if you had reported them they would have gotten in trouble before!" Jill replied.

"I guess." Sean mumbled. He seemed deep in thought so Jill was hopeful that he would at least consider it.

A short while later Mike returned carrying a bag of Chinese takeout. "Hey guys, dinner's ready!" He called out. Then he saw the worried expression on Sean's and Jill's faces. "What's up?"

---

 To Be Continued…

---

Jill glanced at Sean, but it seemed obvious he wasn't going to speak. "I told Sean that I think he's going to have to go to his classes and work as he is. I suggested he say that he is transgendered and this is his real life test. Then when he changes back he can say it wasn't for him after all."

"Woah! That's pretty major, alright. I take it from the glum look on your face that you're not enthused by this idea, eh Sean?" Mike asked.

"Would you be?" Sean replied morosely.

"Well, no, I guess not. This is going to make things more difficult for you at work, I bet. But look on the bright side, that guy in your astronomy class should lay off you now!" Mike said with a laugh, trying to cheer his friend up.

"Yeah, great." Sean grumbled.

"Well, lets eat before it gets cold." Jill said.

After dinner the conversation returned to what Sean would do the next day at school. "I'll go with you if you want." Jill said helpfully.

"It's not like you can stay in the classroom the whole time." Sean pointed out.

"No, but I can help you in the office, and I can wait for you outside the classroom and keep you company between classes and afterwards." Jill replied.

"Office?" Sean repeated, confused.

"You'll have to update your name and gender with the school." Jill pointed out.

"Name? Why do I have to change my name?" Sean asked worriedly.

"Sean's not exactly a common name for a woman. Transgendered people usually change their names." Jill replied.

"You must have done a lot of research on this." Mike said.

Jill nodded. "Yes, I did. It's the best solution I could find until Sean's changed back."

"So, should Sean change his name to Shawna, or what?" Mike asked.

"That would work." Jill replied.

"Sarah." Sean said so softly that his friends weren't sure they'd heard correctly.

"Did you say Sarah?" Jill asked. Sean nodded. "Any particular reason for that name?"

Sean shrugged. "I like it, that's all. If I've got to have a female name, it should at least be one I like, right?"

"He's got a point." Mike said.

"She." Jill said pointedly. "We've got to get used to using female pronouns. Otherwise we'll make things more difficult for Sarah whenever we're around other people."

Sean grimaced when Jill referred to him as Sarah. "I really don't like this." He said petulantly.

Mike shrugged. "If you've got a better idea, I'm all ears. I've thought about this, too, but I couldn't come up with anything. I think Jill's idea is the best we're going to get."

"Getting me back to normal would be better." Sean groused.

"Sure." Mike agreed. "But we've tried that, and we're out of time. You can't just drop off the face of the world for however long it takes to find a way back to normal and then expect to go right back to the way things were. You'd lose your job and flunk your classes. And then there's Erica, and your parents. You've got to have some kind of explanation."

"I'm not telling Erica I'm transgendered!" Sean protested.

"I didn't mean you'd tell her that, you've got lots of time to get things settled before she comes home. But everyone else is right here. Maybe you can get away with not telling your parents, you don't go home much, but work and school are a different matter." Mike replied calmly.

"They'll kill me!" Sean protested in a very small voice.

"You mean at work?" Jill asked. Sean looked startled, as if he'd temporarily forgotten his friends were there, and then nodded. Jill frowned. "If you talk to your manager they should keep everyone in line. You don't have to put up with harassment."

"I'll come with you Monday, and pick you up afterwards." Mike offered.

Sean sighed in defeat. "Alright, I'll be Sarah until I can fix this."

Jill hugged her. "I know this will be difficult, but we'll help you any way we can."

"Yeah Sea…Sarah, we'll be there for you." Mike agreed.

They chatted for a little while longer until Sarah indicated it was time for her IM date with Erica. Jill promised to bring some clothes for her in the morning and she and Mike left for their own apartment.

"What a day." Mike remarked as they were walking towards their building.

"You can say that again! There's something weird going on with Sarah. I just can't put my finger on what." Jill mused.

"Weird? Like changing genders, opening portals to other worlds, and being able to change the gender of anyone but yourself?" Mike retorted sarcastically.

Jill rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean! There's something else going on, but as usual she isn't sharing."

Mike nodded thoughtfully. "Her reactions do seem a bit off. She's under a lot of stress, though." He pointed out.

"True." Jill agreed as they reached their apartment. They sat on the couch and turned on the TV, but neither of them were really paying attention.

"Do you really think this transgender thing is going to work?" Mike asked.

Jill nodded. "It has to. She looks enough like she did that she'll be recognized, I think. And there are laws about it, so they can't fire her. The hardest part will be getting Sarah to stand up for herself. She never did that as Sean, but she's going to have to now or she's going to have more problems than ever."

"I'd better go in with her when I drop her off at work on Monday, then. Make sure her coworkers don't give her any trouble." Mike said.

"That's a good idea, but remember that Sarah has to stand up for herself, too. Don't let her get too dependant on your protection, or she'll be helpless whenever you aren't around." Jill cautioned.

Mike nodded. "Good point. This isn't going to be easy for any of us, is it?"

"No." Jill said with a sigh, "It's not. It's really not fair for Sarah to have to go through this, she had enough problems before! But we'll all have to cope as best we can. The one good side to all this is that she can still talk to Erica as if nothing has changed. I think she really needs that."

---

 

Sarah wasted no time getting her computer booted up and logged in. Erica was already logged in and waiting for her.

Erica378 is logged on
SeanDreamer is logged on
<Erica378>: You're later than usual, everything OK?
<SeanDreamer>: Yeah, just got to talking with Mike and Jill and lost track of the time. Sorry!
<Erica378>: That's OK, so long as you're alright. How are you?
<SeanDreamer>: OK, how about you?
<Erica378>: I'm fine. Are you going home for Christmas?
<SeanDreamer>: I don't think so. I'll probably just stay here.
<Erica378>: Why don't you visit your parents more?
<SeanDreamer>: I keep in touch with them with email.
<Erica378>: That's not the same! You should visit them!
<SeanDreamer>: Not this year.
<Erica378>: *Sigh* OK, if you insist. I really miss you!
<SeanDreamer>: I miss you more! I can't wait for you to get back!
<Erica378>: Me too! That's the hardest thing about law school, being so far from you!
<SeanDreamer>: Same here!
<Erica378>: Well, I'd better let you get some sleep. I love you!
<SeanDreamer>: I love you more! Good night!
<Erica378>: Good night!
SeanDreamer has logged off
Erica378 has logged off

Sarah sighed in frustration. She hated lying to Erica. I hope we get me back to normal soon! This transgender thing is crazy, but I don't have any better ideas. I'm not looking forward to my classes tomorrow!

Sarah got ready for bed and climbed in. Her dread kept her awake for a long time, tossing and turning constantly, before exhaustion finally won out.

---

 To Be Continued…

---

Sean awoke suddenly and felt disoriented and confused. He looked around himself and he was still in his bedroom, but something felt wrong. Then he remembered what happened the previous night. He silently prayed it was just a dream and looked down at himself. Sighing, he saw that it wasn't. Have to remember I'm Sarah now, argh! Why me? she thought. Then she remembered that she had to go to her classes today, as a girl. Grumbling, she got up and went into the bathroom to take a shower. She undressed and looked down at her cursed body. She shuddered and hurried through her shower and threw a robe on and got started on breakfast.

Jill arrived just as Sarah finished mixing the pancake mix. "Have you eaten yet?" Sarah asked. Jill shook her head. "Want some pancakes?"

"Sure, if there's enough." Jill replied.

"I'm not that hungry, there should be plenty." Sarah said. She noticed that Jill was carrying a bag and worried about what kind of clothes she had brought while she cooked up the pancakes.

Jill watched Sarah cook and wondered if Sarah could really handle this, not that there was any real choice. Before long they were slathering on their favorite toppings and eating. Jill helped Sarah clean up afterwards. "I know you're not comfortable with this, so I thought we'd ease you into it gradually. So, no skirt today." Jill said as they worked.

"That's a relief!" Sarah said. They finished cleaning up and Jill picked up her bag and followed Sarah to her room.

"I picked out clothes based on what fit you yesterday. You're still a fair amount taller than me, so I didn't have much that would fit you. Dresses and skirts would work best, but we'll save those for later. We'll probably have to buy you some clothes of your own, though." Jill said as she pulled clothes out of her bag and laid them out on Sarah's bed.

"I'm not going to be a girl that long." Sarah said determinedly.

"Hopefully not, but you can't be sure how long it will take." Jill replied. She left Sarah alone to dress.

A few minutes later Sarah walked out. "Okay, maybe a few things would be a good idea." She admitted. The shorts Jill had left her with were very short indeed, especially on Sarah's long legs, and very tight to boot. The T-shirt was tight enough to emphasize her breasts and small waist. "I'm going to freeze in these." She grumbled, gesturing at the shorts.

"Sorry, but the only things I've got that will fit you are skirts and dresses, and even those are liable to be pretty tight. Did you shave your legs?" Jill asked, looking at Sarah's long smooth legs.

Sarah frowned. "No, I didn't. That's strange."

"It'll probably grow in soon, enjoy it while you can. How are the shoes?" Jill asked, referring to the sandals she'd brought with the clothes.

"They fit okay. I guess if I don't want to freeze to death I'll have to get some clothes after my classes." Sarah said regretfully.

Jill nodded, "It's either that or wear nothing but dresses and skirts and, like I said, they'll probably be pretty tight anyway."

Sarah nodded and picked up her backpack and keys. She stared down at the keys and then turned and held them out to Jill. "I don't have a driver's license anymore, it was destroyed with my wallet when I was cursed. I think you'd better drive."

Jill took the keys. "That could be a problem." She mused. Sarah nodded.

They climbed into Sarah's car and drove over to the college. Sarah was shaking as she climbed out of the car. "It'll be alright, Sarah, try and relax." Jill suggested.

Sarah snorted. "Yeah, right." She scoffed.

Jill sighed as she walked with Sarah to the office. This early in the morning there weren't many people around, which Jill and Sarah were both glad for. They only had to wait for one other person before they were able to talk to someone.

"How may I help you?" the woman at the desk asked.

Sarah was shaking even worse now, so Jill said, "My friend here wants to change her name on her records."

"Do you have a marriage certificate or court order?" the woman asked.

"Uh, no, we don't." Jill said uncertainly.

"Well, I can put a note in her file that she wants to go by a different name, but we can't actually change her name without one or the other." She explained.

"That's fine." Jill replied, realizing this would actually work in Sarah's favor, since she would be changing it back later anyway.

"Okay, what is your old name?" she asked.

"Sean Kinsley." Sarah said softly. She typed into her computer and brought up Sean's information.

"Hmm, that's odd. Looks like we've got you listed as male for some reason. Might as well fix that while I'm at it." She said, typing away.

Jill and Sarah glanced at each other and both decided it was easier to let her believe Sarah had always been female. "What's your new name?" she asked.

"Sarah Kinsley." Sarah replied. The woman looked up for a moment at that.

"Oh, I thought you changed your last name because of marriage, don't get many people changing their first name. Oh well." She said, still typing. After a few moments she stopped and said, "Okay, all done. You'll still need to tell your instructors about your new name, but that's quick and easy. Unless they thought you were a guy!" she said with a laugh. Sarah and Jill laughed with her weakly, knowing they would think she had been a guy, since she had been!

They thanked her and walked on towards the astronomy class. "That was easy." Jill noted.

"Yeah, too bad it won't be that easy with my classes. Maybe you should get the car going and be ready for a quick get away." Sarah joked weakly.

Jill laughed, glad that Sarah was keeping a sense of humor about this. "Don't worry, I'm sure it won't be that bad." She said hopefully.

"Here we are. Class starts in just a few minutes, so I'd better go in." Sarah said.

Jill hugged her and whispered, "Good luck!" into her ear and then watched Sarah walk into her class. I hope she can handle this! she thought.

Sarah walked in and was disappointed to see that the instructor wasn't there yet. She took her usual seat and waited. Half the class was there by the time the instructor arrived. Sarah self-consciously walked up to him. "Excuse me, Mr. Verne. I'm changing my name to Sarah. I've already taken care of it at the office but they said I had to talk to you, too." She said fearfully.

Mr. Verne, a fairly young man who was nevertheless almost completely bald, looked up at Sarah and frowned momentarily. "Oh yes, Sean, right? Yes, Sarah suits you much better. I'll make a note in my records." He said off-handedly, as if nothing unusual was going on. Sarah gaped for a moment, then thanked him and hurriedly retreated to her seat.

He took that well, I wonder if he's had transgender students before? Sarah thought as the rest of the class filed in.

A few people gave Sarah odd looks as they sat down, but no one said anything. The only person in class Sarah had ever talked to before was Jim, and only to tell him no when he asked her out. He was late, so he didn't get a chance to say anything, though his gaze turned towards her more than once during class. Each time he had a pleased smile and winked at her. Great, what's he up to now? she thought worriedly.

Class went by as it always did. She was almost surprised by how normal it was, though she felt far from normal. Once class was over she put everything back in her bag and hurried towards the door. Mr. Verne called for her to wait a moment. "Sarah, I just wanted to say that it's nice to see you not hiding yourself away anymore. Still, something a little warmer would be wise, I think." He said with a wry smile. Sarah nodded numbly and hurried out.

Jim caught up with her just as she reached Jill. "Hey, Sean, wait up!" he called out. He ran over and smiled widely at her. "I knew you would look great if you'd stop trying to look like a guy! Want to get lunch? My treat?" he asked hopefully.

Sarah rolled her eyes. "No! How many times do I have to say it?" she growled.

Jim held his hands up defensively. "Okay, okay! I'll just have to…try again later!" he finished with a grin, running off to his next class.

When Sarah turned around Jill was looking at her in shock. "What?" Sarah asked.

"Sarah, he thought you'd always been a girl!" Jill whispered.

---

 To Be Continued…

---

Sarah stared at Jill in shock. Then she smiled and laughed, "Come on Jill, there's no way he thought that!"

"He did!" Jill replied, in a whisper as they were surrounded by other students.

Sarah laughed again, "No he didn't! Come on, I've still got archery class. Lets get back to my car so I can get my bow."

Jill frowned and started to protest, but thought better of it. I guess it does sound far fetched, Sean didn't look like a girl at all. Even with his hair long. she thought.

After dropping her backpack in her car Sarah picked up her archery gear. "It is strange, though." She mused, "I can understand the woman in the office thinking I was always a girl, since I really am female right now, but Mr. Verne and Jim both acted like nothing was out of the ordinary. I just assumed Mr. Verne had experience with transgendered students and was taking it in stride, but I don't think that would explain Jim."

"Well, maybe he always thought you were a transgendered girl! That would explain it." Jill said.

Sarah nodded, "Yeah, I guess it would." She said, then frowned, "But why would he think I was transgendered before now?"

"I don't know, I certainly never got that impression from you." Jill replied. "Maybe he just wanted it to be true?"

"Why would he want it to be true?" Sarah asked, perplexed.

Jill locked up the car and they started walking towards the archery field. "Well, I read online that some guys are attracted specifically to transgendered women. Maybe he's one of those." She replied.

"Really? They prefer transgendered women to real women?" Sarah asked.

"Transgendered women are real women, Sarah! They just have a birth defect. That kind of thinking has caused them all kinds of trouble. Remember Gwen Araujo?" Jill said fiercely.

"But they can't have children!" Sarah protested.

Jill looked strangely at Sarah before replying, "Lots of women can't have children."

"But they have, you know," Sarah stammered, pointing at her groin, "what I used to have and hope to have again soon!"

Jill rolled her eyes at Sarah. "Some transgendered women do, but some don't." she said.

"They don't?!" Sarah said in shock.

Jill sighed in frustration. "Look, we're almost to the archery field, so I'll explain it later."

Sarah frowned, but agreed. They were early for the archery class, so only a few students were there yet. They didn't pay any attention to Sarah, but then she'd never talked to any of them as Sean, before.

A few minutes later the instructor arrived and opened up the equipment room. Jill nudged Sarah and they walked over to talk to him. "Uh, Mr. Green, I've changed my name…" Sarah started uneasily. She'd always felt intimidated by Mr. Green. He wasn't any taller than Sean was, but he was very muscular and had a temper.

Mr. Green turned to see who was talking to him. He looked closely at Sarah for a moment and his eyes widened as he recognized her. "Sean, is that you?" he asked. Sarah nodded. "I never would have guessed you wanted to be a girl! Damn, you even look shorter! I'm impressed, I wouldn't have thought you could pull it off, but you certainly do!" he said in amazement.

"Her name is Sarah, now." Jill said, hoping to distract him from noticing how impossible her changes really were.

"Sarah, huh? Suits you. Don't worry, I won't let anyone give you any trouble." Mr. Green said encouragingly.

"Uh, thanks, Mr. Green." Sarah said. They left him to his work and stepped away from the other students. "Wow, I never would have thought Mr. Green would react like that!" Sarah said, a little shocked at how easily he had accepted her change.

"From what you've said of him, I am too! This is turning out to be a lot easier than you thought, isn't it?" Jill said.

"Yeah. It's kind of weird, but a lot better than I expected!" Sarah agreed.

Mr. Green started the class soon after that by handing out bows to those who didn't have their own. Then they moved onto the field. Sarah had a little trouble adapting to having breasts, but she soon got the hang of it. After class Mr. Green approached Sarah.

"Much better this week, Sarah! Good luck!" he said with a smile, then turned to talk to another student.

Sarah walked back to Jill, bemused. "What did he say?" Jill asked her.

"He said that I did a lot better than last week, and wished me good luck." Sarah replied.

"What happened last week?" Jill asked curiously as they walked back to Sarah's car.

"Um, well, I was kind of distracted after finding that sword in my bed. I nearly shot myself in the foot a couple of times, and then almost shot someone who was retrieving their arrows." Sarah admitted.

"Oh, I guess I can see why you'd be distracted. You probably should have just skipped class that day." Said Jill.

"Yeah, I guess so." Sarah agreed.

"So, we still need to get you some clothes." Jill said once they were settled in Sarah's car.

"I can't spend too much money, you know." Sarah cautioned.

"I know." Jill replied. "But a thrift store should get you enough to get by for a while."

"Okay, that makes more sense than buying brand-new stuff when I'm not going to use it for long." Sarah agreed.

Jill drove them over to the nearest thrift store. She selected a few things she thought were the right size and had Sarah try them on. Now armed with the proper sizes, they looked through everything that would fit. None of the pants they had were long enough for Sarah.

"I guess you could wear them as capris." Jill said unenthusiastically.

"Forget it." Sarah said dismissively, "They look silly on me."

"You know what the alternatives are, don't you?" Jill asked.

Sarah sighed. "Yeah, I know. I either freeze to death in shorts, or wear skirts." Sarah said resignedly.

They found several skirts that were long enough to keep Sarah warm, and then moved on to tops. This was a little easier, though they couldn't find any long-sleeved tops that had sleeves that were long enough, either. "Oh well, I can still use my jacket." Sarah said.

The selection of shoes was almost non-existent. "Now for the shoe store!" Jill declared. A quick drive to the shoe store netted Sarah a pair of warm brown faux-leather boots with faux-fur trim.

"Well, that wasn't that bad, I guess." Sarah said grudgingly.

"Don't celebrate yet, Sarah, we're not done." Jill replied as she drove out of the parking lot. "We still need to find you some undergarments and socks."

"Great." Sarah said sarcastically.

"You're stretching my clothes out, so you need your own." Jill said.

"Okay, let's go, but I can't spend that much more you know." Sarah replied. Jill nodded and pulled into the Walmart parking lot.

Socks and panties were easy enough, but Jill insisted that Sarah should try on the bras to make sure they fit okay. "You probably haven't noticed since you're not used to it, but my bras really don't fit you very well. You'll be a lot more comfortable with a bra that fits properly." She explained.

After trying several different bras Jill was finally satisfied with the fit. "Feels better, doesn't it?" she asked smugly. The smile on Sarah's face was answer enough.

Sarah grumbled at the price while Jill paid it. "I hope it doesn't take me long to get a new card so I can pay you back for all this." She said.

"Just be glad Mike was able to call in the lost card for you! Losing your driver's license is going to be harder to fix." Jill replied.

"Bad enough she turns me into a girl, why did Venus have to incinerate my wallet?" Sarah groused.

Jill shrugged. They carried the bags out to Sarah's car and drove back to her apartment. Mike was waiting for them when they got there.

"What are you doing waiting out here?" Jill asked.

"I gave Sarah my key." Mike explained.

"Oh yeah, I should have another copy made." Sarah said.

"So how did things go, other than the two of you cleaning out a few stores?" Mike asked with a grin.

Jill stuck her tongue out at Mike for that remark. "It went surprisingly well, actually."

"Yeah, my teachers took it in stride, but Jim still asked me out!" Sarah complained.

"Really? I'd have thought he'd lose interest." Mike said.

"He seemed to think Sarah was always a girl." Jill said. Sarah glared at her and she added, "Or a transgendered girl."

"Huh, that's strange. Maybe that's part of Venus' curse?" Mike wondered.

Jill and Sarah glanced at each other with similar expressions of shock. "I never thought of that…" Sarah said.

---

 To Be Continued…

---

"That could explain a lot." Jill mused. She shook her head and dismissed that issue. "We can worry about that later. Right now we need to get you online and educate you!" Jill told Sarah sternly.

"What for?" Sarah complained.

"You know why! Even if you weren't posing as a transgendered woman I'd want you to learn this. Your attitude is all wrong!" Jill replied, steering Sarah to her computer and turning it on for her.

"What are you talking about?" Mike asked, following behind them with a bemused expression.

Jill grabbed Mike's arm and pulled him down onto a chair next to Sarah. "You should see this too Mike. Sarah has some odd ideas about transgendered people. I want to make sure the two of you learn about them. They get too much flack as it is." Jill replied.

Dinner was forgotten as Jill took her friends through the different sites she'd visited when learning about transgendered people in order to help Sarah. Both Mike and Sarah had thoughtful expressions when she was through. "I want both of you to look more thoroughly at those sites later, okay?" Jill asked.

They both nodded. "I had no idea they had it that bad." Mike said.

Jill nodded. "Yeah, they do. And Sarah's posing as one of them. I still think it's the best solution, but there are issues we all need to be aware of."

Sarah kept browsing the sites while Mike and Jill sat on the couch. "What was Sarah saying, anyway?" Mike asked curiously.

"She kept saying that transgendered women aren't real women. It made me so mad at first, but I realized after a while that she really didn't have any clue at all. It's strange though. She seemed more like someone who's been fed all kinds of misinformation than someone who was simply ignorant." Jill replied thoughtfully.

"Well, her parents are kind of religious, maybe she picked something up from them." Mike said.

"That could be." Jill agreed. "There's something weird going on, though. Maybe it's Venus' curse, maybe not, but some people clearly think Sarah was always a girl. I was afraid her change in height would be an issue, but they ignore it! Even the ones who didn't think she was a girl don't see anything strange about her appearance! It's great that things are going so smoothly, but I'm worried. Especially about how things will go at Sarah's job on Monday."

"Don't worry about Monday. We might break Venus' curse before then and, if we don't, I'll stick to Sarah like glue. She'll be fine." Mike assured her.

"I hope so." Jill said worriedly.

"Hey, guys, get in here!" Sarah called out excitedly. Mike and Jill exchanged curious glances and hurried over to the computer.

"What?" Mike asked.

Sarah turned around to look at them and pointed back at the screen. "I've found a great site! It was linked from one of the sites Jill showed us. It's a free story site that specializes in transgender fiction! All of the stories on the site have some kind of transgendered element, and many of them involve complete transformations!" she explained, beaming.

"Hey, that's great!" Mike exclaimed. "There should be all sorts of stories there that could help you!"

Jill looked worried, but the other two didn't notice in their excitement over Sarah's discovery. "I've just got to sort through these stories to find the ones that involve complete transformations. Once I've done that I can read them and find one that will do what I want!" Sarah said.

They left Sarah to her searching and returned to the couch. "This might be resolved pretty quickly, now." Mike said.

Jill shook her head sadly. "I don't think it's going to be that simple. We've already tried things that ought to have worked, and they didn't. I'm afraid only the power of a god or goddess is going to fix this."

Mike seemed surprised at Jill's pessimism. "Well, there are probably stories in there that involve gods." He replied.

"That could be, the hard part will be getting Sarah to use a story that involves gods. She's been avoiding them since Venus, not that I blame her." Jill said.

Jill went into the kitchen to make dinner, so Mike joined Sarah to see if she'd made any progress. "Find anything promising?" he asked.

"Maybe. There's a long list of transformation stories, so I'll have to read through them one by one." Sarah replied.

"Any way I could help?" Mike asked hopefully.

"I'll print out the story list; you can start at the bottom while I start at the top. How's that?" Sarah asked. Mike agreed, so Sarah printed the list out and gave it to him. He retrieved his laptop from his apartment and returned with it to help find a useful story.

They stopped for dinner, and then went back to it. Jill read over Mike's shoulder, or sometimes Sarah's. They didn't find anything that Sarah liked that night, but Sarah felt a lot more positive about things than she had.

While Sarah logged on to chat with Erica, Mike and Jill returned to their apartment.

The next day they were all back at it, this time Jill brought her laptop so all three of them could read. They were at it for hours before Mike found a story he thought would be good. "Hey, Sarah, how about this one?" he called out.

Sarah took a look at the story Mike pointed out. "I wonder if the author realizes she used a Star Wars quote for the title?" she mused aloud.

"Probably, it's a rather cumbersome title, otherwise." Jill replied. "What's it about?"

"These people use spirit energy to transform their bodies and do all kinds of super human stuff." Explained Mike.

"Is it violent?" Jill asked worriedly.

"Not really. There was one fight, but that's it." Mike replied.

"Sounds promising. What do you think, Sarah?" Jill asked.

Sarah had been busy reading the first part of the story while they were talking. "I haven't finished the first part yet, but it sounds good to me. I want to read it all before we go there, though, so I know what we're getting into." She replied.

"We'll keep looking while you read then." Mike said.

They broke for lunch a little while later, but Sarah still had a lot of reading to do. Jill spotted a story she thought might be useful and bookmarked it. By the time Sarah finished reading Mike and Jill had each bookmarked another story. "Okay, I'm ready to go." Sarah announced when she finished.

"That's nice, but I think we should eat first." Jill remarked, noting the time. To Jill's, and especially Mike's, surprise, Sarah opted to eat out. Mike was surprised to see that Sarah was wearing a long, flower print skirt.

"I thought you'd get nothing but pants and T-shirts." He said.

Sarah shrugged. "I would have, but they didn't have anything that fit. I'm too tall, I guess."

After a short drive they arrived at the restaurant. Sarah felt very self-conscious in the skirt, but was grateful that it was long enough to cover her legs. There was a long line to wait in, and then they were able to order and take a table.

"Maybe I won't have to give the transgender story at work." Sarah mused hopefully.

"Don't get your hopes up, Sarah. I hope it works, but we've already had a few promising ideas fail." Jill warned.

"I know." Sarah sighed. "But it would be so much better if nobody at work ever knew about this. School seems to be going well, but I know it will be an entirely different matter at work."

The food had arrived and Sarah had already finished hers when she decided to use the restroom. Jill went with her, since she hadn't used a public restroom yet. "Don't forget to sit down." Jill warned Sarah at the restroom door.

"I always do." Sarah mumbled as she headed for a stall.

"What was that?" Jill asked.

"Nothing." Sarah replied. After washing their hands they left the bathroom and nearly ran into a man leaving the men's room. "Excuse me." Sarah mumbled, not looking up.

"Sean? Is that you? Oh, this is perfect!" the man exclaimed in glee. Sarah looked up and was horrified to see it was John Green from work. "The pussy wants a pussy! I'm looking forward to work tomorrow, this should be lots of fun!" he said with an evil leer. Sarah shuddered as she watched him walk away.

"Are you okay Sarah?" Jill asked worriedly.

Sarah sagged. "It doesn't matter." She said softly.

"What are you saying; of course it matters if you're okay!" Jill exclaimed.

Sarah shook her head impatiently. "No, I meant it doesn't matter if I change back tonight or not. Everybody at work will know about me before I ever get there." She said despairingly.

---

 To Be Continued…

---

"Come on." Jill urged, guiding Sarah back to their table. She had to push Sarah down into her chair, as she was just standing there. "It's not so bad; we were already expecting to have to deal with this." Jill reminded her.

"Deal with what?" Mike asked, looking worriedly at the obviously upset Sarah.

"We ran into one of Sarah's coworkers on the way back from the restrooms. He's a real jerk." Jill explained.

"Did he recognize Sarah?" Mike asked. Jill nodded. "I see. This complicates things, doesn't it?"

"Yes and no. We were expecting to deal with this, so in that way it's not. If tonight's trip works out, though, then it complicates things some. But we knew we'd be dealing with this at some point, so it's not that different." Jill replied.

"I am so dead!" Sarah said.

"No you're not. I'll be there before and after work, and you can always change their gender if they give you trouble. That ought to get their attention!" Mike chortled.

"Let's try to save that for emergencies." Jill cautioned.

"There's no point in that trip, now." Sarah moped.

"Of course there is!" Jill admonished. "There's still Erica to consider."

That got Sarah's attention. "True, let's go give it a shot." Mike and Jill agreed, so they paid their bill and returned to Sarah's apartment. Sarah printed out the latest chapter of the story and turned to Mike and Jill. "Ready?"

They nodded, so Sarah opened the portal. They stepped through and found themselves on the sidewalk just outside an apartment building. Sarah closed the portal and looked around. "Uh, guys, I just realized something. The apartment number is never specified in the story." Sarah said apologetically.

"Will you be able to recognize the people we're looking for if you see them?" Jill asked.

"Yes, that should be easy enough. Laura's tall and athletic with red hair and green eyes, Melanie's a little shorter and slim with silver eyes and hair and porcelain white skin, and Veronica has black hair and wears Goth style clothes." Sarah replied.

"They sound pretty distinctive. If we wait here we should be able to spot them." Jill said hopefully.

They waited there for several minutes before Sarah said, "Maybe we should go back. I could try to open the portal directly into their apartment."

Mike shook his head, "I don't think that's a good idea. With their abilities, if they thought they were in danger we could get seriously hurt before we had an opportunity to explain ourselves."

Sarah sighed and they continued to wait in silence. About an hour later they saw two people who seemed to appear out of thin air. They were walking towards the apartment building, though they both looked a little flush as if they'd been exercising heavily.

"That looks like two of the people you described." Jill said.

Sarah nodded. "Looks like Laura and Melanie." She agreed. They walked over to talk to them.

"Excuse me, are you Melanie by any chance?" Mike asked the silver haired one. The pair stopped and looked at them. They both looked somewhat alarmed and confused.

"Yeah, I'm Melanie. Who are you?" she asked.

"My name's Mike, and this is my girlfriend Jill and our friend Sarah. We were hoping you could help us." Mike replied.

Melanie's eyes widened in surprise and she turned towards Sarah. "You used to be a guy?" she asked.

Sarah nodded; unsurprised that Melanie had picked that up. "Yes, and I want to change back. Can you help me?"

"We'd better take this conversation inside." The taller woman suggested. They agreed and followed them to their apartment. Inside they found a Goth woman sitting on a couch watching TV. She greeted Melanie and Laura and looked questioningly at the others.

Melanie introduced everyone while Laura retrieved chairs from the kitchen. They all sat down as Melanie said, "Sarah here wants our help to be male again."

"Again?" The Goth, Veronica, asked incredulously.

"She was cursed by Venus, she was a regular guy before that." Mike explained.

Melanie frowned. "Venus is just a myth, isn't she?" she looked at Laura questioningly.

Laura shrugged. "I would have thought so, but I wouldn't have believed what we do was possible before, either."

"She probably is a myth, here." Sarah said.

"What do you mean?" Veronica asked.

"I can open portals to other worlds." Sarah explained. "I use books to do it, somehow. I used a book on Greek and Roman myths to visit Venus."

"Yeah, right." Veronica scoffed. Sarah shrugged and opened the portal to her apartment. "What…the hell…is that!" Veronica exclaimed.

"That's one of my portals; it leads back to my apartment." Sarah replied.

"What's that you're holding?" Melanie asked curiously, noting the printout in Sarah's hands.

"Oh, uh, it's just the latest chapter in a story I found online." Sarah said cautiously.

"Is that how you got here?" Laura asked incredulously.

Sarah shrugged, "Well, yeah." She admitted.

"Does that mean we're just characters in a story?" Melanie asked worriedly.

"I don't think so." Jill said thoughtfully. "I've thought about this before, and I'm sure this world is as real as ours. After all, we're able to bring things back from the worlds we visit."

"And things that happen to us in other worlds stay with us when we return to ours." Sarah added, gesturing at herself with a grimace.

"Which is why we're here." Mike reminded them. "Can you help Sarah?"

"Let me see." Melanie said, turning to look closely at Sarah. She looked puzzled and then her eyes widened in surprise. "Woah! Your aura is really different! I've never seen anything like it! You're spirit's not just awake, it's screaming!"

"Huh?" Mike and Jill said in unison.

"When your spirit is awake, that means you're able to learn the stuff that we have." Laura explained. "Sarah's spirit is wide awake, but it's also extraordinarily powerful!"

"Yeah, if you were fully trained you could squash Ann like a bug! I didn't even think this was possible! Now I'm convinced you come from another world." Melanie said in awe.

"So that means I should be able to learn how to change my body back, right?" Sarah asked hopefully.

"We can try." Melanie said with a shrug of her shoulders, "But I don't know if it will work. Your spirit isn't just really powerful, it's alien! Your aura is totally different to that of any person I've ever seen before."

Sarah looked dejected, but she begged Melanie to give it a try. Melanie agreed and the two of them started working on getting Sarah to the point of being able to sense her own body with her spirit. While she was doing that Laura took Jill and Mike aside.

"Do you think this will work?" Jill asked hopefully.

"I don't know," Laura admitted, "but that's not what I want to talk to you two about. Your auras are just as strange as Sarah's, but in different ways. Your spirits are also awake. Very much so."

"Are we like Sarah then?" Jill asked in confusion.

Laura shook her head. "No, your spirits aren't nearly as powerful. But there is something strange going on with each of you. First off, you two have a love bond."

"Well, I know I love Jill, but what do you mean by that?" Mike asked worriedly.

Laura smiled, "Don't worry, it's nothing bad. It just means you two are deeply in love with each other. I noticed Sarah has a similar bond with someone else. The strange thing is that Mike also has a bond, of a different type, with Sarah."

"Woah, wait a minute! Sarah's been my friend for years, but I am not in love with her!" Mike exclaimed.

"That's not what I meant." Laura said. "I've never seen a bond like it, but it's not a love bond. I don't know what it is, but it's totally different."

"Oh. Well, Sarah is like a sister to me, I guess. Maybe that's what it is?" Mike said thoughtfully.

Laura shook her head. "Veronica and Melanie are like that, but they don't have a bond. It's something else, I just don't know what."

"Okay, that's weird." Mike said.

Laura shrugged again. "I wish I could explain it, but I can't. I also can't explain what your aura is doing. It seems to be…reaching out, I guess…seeking something? It's very strange, but the strands are the same color and texture as the bond between you and Sarah."

"What could that be?" Jill asked, confused.

"No idea. Your spirit is a little more straightforward, though." Laura replied.

"What do you mean?" Jill asked.

"Your aura is a lot more like ours. It's still…alien…as Melanie put it, but not as much. I think you could learn to do at least some of the things we do." Laura explained.

"Like what?" Jill asked.

"I don't know. I would have thought you could learn everything we do, but somehow I get the feeling you're a little different. Maybe just the mental stuff?" Laura speculated.

"What kind of mental stuff?" Jill asked.

"We can hear the thoughts of people around us, and feel their emotions. We can also see auras, obviously." Laura replied.

"You think I can do that?" Jill asked in shock.

"Maybe." Laura replied with a shrug. A strange looked crossed her face and she turned towards Melanie and Sarah. "Damn, it didn't work!" she muttered.

---

 To Be Continued…

---

Mike and Jill turned to see what she was talking about and saw Sarah crying on Melanie's shoulder. Jill sighed, "I tried to tell her not to get her hopes up, but I knew she would anyway." She said before walking over to comfort Sarah.

"I was really hoping this would work." Mike said sadly. "Now she'll have to go to work tomorrow as Sarah. She's had a lot of trouble from her coworkers before, it's going to be a lot worse now."

"Why did she have trouble with her coworkers?" Laura asked.

"For as long as I've known her, people always assumed she was gay. They've been calling her names and taunting her, and worse, all her life. It's been close to the point of getting physical again this last week. I wish I could be there for her all day tomorrow, but the best I can manage is to be there until she starts work and when she gets off." Mike explained.

"Does she have any abilities that would allow her to protect herself? I can't believe that the portals are the only thing she can do with such a powerful spirit." Laura asked.

"Well, the portals could be used for defense, too, though she wants to keep that ability a secret for obvious reasons. She can also change the gender of anyone with a touch, except for herself, that is." Mike replied.

"Hmm, interesting. I assume she'd rather keep that ability a secret, as well. But it could prove to be a more potent weapon than the portals in some circumstances." Laura mused.

Mike nodded and turned to see how Sarah was doing. She was now being held by Jill as Melanie looked on sadly. "We should get going, Sarah's going to need her sleep for tomorrow." He said.

Sarah calmed enough to open a portal a few minutes later. They said goodbye to Melanie and the others and stepped through into Sarah's apartment.

"I'm never going to be male again, am I?" Sarah said as she plopped down on the couch.

"Don't say that, there're still lots of possibilities." Mike replied.

"Yeah, and they'll all say the same thing." Sarah said bitterly.

"You need to talk to Erica and then get to bed." Jill said firmly.

Sarah agreed, until she saw the time. "It's too late." She said.

Jill glanced at her watch and saw how late it was. "I'm sorry Sarah, I didn't realize how late it is. She'll be in bed by now. Do you want me to stay for a while?" she asked worriedly.

Sarah shook her head sadly. "No, I'll just crash. No point in you sticking around for that."

"I guess we'd better go and let you get some sleep then." Mike said. He said goodnight to Sarah and waited while Jill hugged her goodbye and then they left.

"Take good care of Sarah tomorrow." Jill told Mike back in their apartment. He agreed and they went to bed.

Sarah didn't bother changing before flopping into bed. She fell asleep immediately.

Pounding on her bedroom door woke Sarah in the morning. "What?" she called out weakly.

"You need to get up and get ready for work Sarah!" Mike called through the door.

"Okay." Sarah replied with a sigh. Noticing the time, Sarah realized she was late getting up. She threw some clothes on and got ready as quickly as she could and left her room to find Mike waiting in the kitchen with a plate of food for her.

"You don't have much time, eat up!" he said. Sarah nodded and sat down to eat. As soon as she was finished Mike whisked her plate and silverware away and washed it off. Then he led her over to his car.

Mike drove her over and led her inside. "I want to talk to your manager before I leave." Mike said. Sarah nodded fearfully, sticking close to her friend.

Sarah pointed out the manager's office and followed meekly in his wake. She didn't want to make a scene, but she knew it was inevitable.

They were in luck, as the branch manager was in. "Excuse me, I need to talk to you about Sean Kinsley." Mike said.

George Holsteader, the branch manager, looked up from his computer at Mike. "What is the problem?" he asked.

"The problem is the way your other employees have been treating him! They've been harassing him from the start, but it's gotten even worse in the last couple of weeks. And I expect it will get even worse, now." Mike said angrily.

George seemed a little taken aback at Mike's anger but recovered quickly. "Why would you think it would get worse now?" he asked.

"Because," Mike said, stepping to the side away from Sarah and gesturing towards her, "this is Sean, and she goes by Sarah now."

George's eyes widened as he looked at Sarah. "Sean, is that really you?" he asked, amazed. Sarah nodded. "Well, I can see why you'd be worried then! Why haven't you said anything before now? John could have taken care of it for you; he is your supervisor after all."

Sarah snorted, "John's the worst of the lot!"

"Yeah," Mike agreed, "we encountered him last night at a restaurant. He insulted Sarah and was clearly looking forward to giving her more grief today!"

"Really?" George said in surprise. "This is the first I've heard of it. Nobody else has complained about John, or anyone else for that matter."

"So are you going to do something about it?" Mike demanded.

George frowned. "Of course I'm going to do something about it! I'll talk to everyone, starting with John. If you have any more problems from him, or anyone else, tell me immediately." He said to Sarah. She nodded numbly, not having expected him to take it seriously.

After that Sarah clocked in and got to work. Mike stuck around a little longer, glaring at anybody who looked like they were even thinking about saying anything about Sarah, before leaving to go teach his classes.

Her coworkers looked at her oddly as Sarah worked, but didn't say anything at first. Then John came up to her. "Hey pussy, you trying to get me in trouble?" he said angrily. "You go talking to Mr. Holsteader again and I'll make you a girl for real, got it?" He leaned in threateningly at the last making snipping motions with his hand. Sarah nodded fearfully and he stomped off.

Kyle and the others who always tormented her got into it after that. They pushed her at every opportunity and called her all sorts of names. Everyone but Sarah was called in by Mr. Holsteader over the course of the day, and they all reacted differently. Those who were the worst towards Sarah got even more abusive.

"Bob, get in here!" Mr. Holsteader yelled out just after he'd pushed Sarah into a wall. A few minutes later Bob stormed out of the building and George approached Sarah.

"Sarah, I really need to apologize." He said. "From what people have been telling me, it was even worse than your friend said. I just had to fire Bob, and I'll be looking very closely into Kyle and John's behavior as well. Have they given you any more trouble today?"

Sarah remembered what John had said and just shrugged. George's eyes narrowed and he said, "They have, haven't they? What happened?"

"Just the normal." Sarah said softly without making eye contact.

"There's more, isn't there?" George demanded. Seeing Sarah flinch he softened his tone. "Please tell me what happened Sarah."

Sarah tried to pass it off as nothing, but finally told George what John said. "He WHAT?!!" George roared. He immediately regretted it as Sarah shrank back from him and seemed to look for somewhere to hide. Everyone looked over at them, wondering what had gotten the normally calm Mr. Holsteader so angry.

He took several calming breaths before saying, "Sarah, please wait for me in my office." She nearly ran into his office. He sighed in regret over frightening her and turned to find John.

Sarah waited in George's office for nearly an hour before George returned. "I'm sorry for keeping you waiting so long, Sarah. When I confronted John he tried to deny it, but when I pressed him he got very angry and abusive. I fired him, too, but he started trashing the place. I had to call the police and have him arrested." George explained apologetically.

With wide eyes Sarah said, "He's gone, really?"

George nodded, "He's gone. If you see him here or in the parking lot, come straight here to me or Tiffany, she'll be your new supervisor." Sarah nodded happily. She didn't know Tiffany well, but she had never harassed her like the others did. "Are you okay to finish out your shift, or would you rather go home for the day?" George asked.

Sarah was sorely tempted to accept that offer, but decided that dealing with Jill would be more hassle than staying. "I'll stay." George nodded and Sarah went back to work.

The rest of the work day was surreal for Sarah. Kyle kept giving her black looks, but everyone else was leaving her alone. A few people even came up and said 'Thank you' for getting rid of Bob and John. Once her work day was over Sarah clocked out and waited by the exit for Mike. She saw Kyle and several others leave, and the next shift arrive, but still no Mike. She wondered if he was waiting for her outside, so she walked out into the parking lot to look for him. She never even saw Kyle creeping up behind her.

---

 To Be Continued…

---

"Sarah, look out behind you!" Mike yelled out. As usually happens in such situations, though, she turned to look at Mike, who was running towards her. She was caught completely by surprise when Kyle swung a brick at the back of her head. She was blinded by the pain and fell forward onto the asphalt.

"Freak!" Kyle snarled. "You got John fired, and now Tiffany's going over everything! She'll find the shortages that John covered up for me and I'll be fired, or worse! All because you wanted to wear a skirt!" Kyle was shouting by the end of his rant, kicking Sarah the whole time. He was so focused on the target of his tirade that he didn't even notice Mike until it was too late. Kyle's first awareness of Mike came with the introduction of Mike's fist to his face.

"Stay away from her!" Mike growled, putting himself between Kyle and Sarah. Kyle had staggered back from the blow but recovered quickly. He still had the brick in his hand and he threw it at Mike. Mike easily sidestepped the projectile and caught Kyle's subsequent charge with a kick to the stomach.

Kyle doubled over in pain and straightened slowly. "Why are you protecting that freak?" he growled.

"She's no freak, she's my friend!" Mike growled back.

Sarah was still conscious, but dazed from the blow to her head. She tried to stand, but became dizzy and laid back down. "Mike…what's going on?" she called out weakly.

"Just relax Sarah, you're safe now." Mike replied. Kyle thought to take advantage of the distraction and charged at Mike. Unfortunately for him, Mike wasn't distracted.

Mike easily dodged Kyle's fist and caught his arm. Letting Kyle do most of the work, he twisted and threw him onto his back. Kyle scrambled back to his feet and took another swing at Mike, only to end up on his back again.

A siren could be heard approaching, but Kyle was oblivious. He landed on his back three more times before a police officer arrived and arrested him. While Mike told the officer what had happened an ambulance arrived and a paramedic took a look at Sarah.

Sarah was still disoriented and didn't know what was happening. When the paramedics tried to put her on a gurney she struggled with them. "Mike! Mike, where are you?!" she screamed. Mike hurried over and calmed her. Once she was calmed down the paramedics were able to get her on the gurney and into the ambulance. Mike climbed in with her.

Mike called Jill on the drive to the hospital and she met him there. "What happened?" Jill asked anxiously as the paramedics took Sarah in.

"Kyle hit Sarah in the head with a brick and started ranting at her and kicking her. I think he was stealing from the store or something. Anyway, I got in between them and hit him a couple of times and threw him around a bit until the police got there. Sarah doesn't seem to know where she is, she was struggling with the paramedics until I talked to her." Mike explained worriedly.

"Is she going to be alright?" Jill asked with tears in her eyes.

Mike nodded. "I think so. The paramedics didn't seem concerned about her confusion, they said she probably had a concussion."

Jill sighed in relief and they walked into the hospital to find out how Sarah was doing. She was still being examined, so they were directed to a waiting room. Some time later, after several enquiries from Jill, they finally found out how she was doing. "She has a mild concussion and some scrapes and bruises, but that's about it." A doctor told them.

"When can she go home?" Jill asked.

"Probably tomorrow." The doctor replied, before leaving to see to his other patients.

They were allowed in to see Sarah briefly. "How are you feeling?" Jill asked when they entered the room. There was a bandage on the back of Sarah's head.

"My head hurts, but I'm okay." Sarah replied.

"I'm sorry Sarah." Mike said with his head bowed.

"For what?" Sarah asked, bewildered.

"If I'd been there on time he never would have gotten close to you." Mike replied sadly.

"It's not your fault." Sarah said. "You couldn't have known this was going to happen."

Jill wrapped an arm around Mike. "Yeah, you can't control traffic!" she chided.

"Traffic?" Sarah said.

"Yeah, he called me to tell me he had been held up by traffic. We would have called you, but you don't have a cell phone. We should really do something about that." Jill replied.

They chatted a little while longer; then Mike and Jill left so Sarah could get some sleep.

Jill returned to the hospital the next day. She brought Sarah some clothes and talked until she was released. She was warned to take it easy for a couple of days. Before Sarah could stop her Jill called her boss and told him she'd be out for two days. "Why'd you do that?" asked Sarah petulantly.

"You're taking a couple of days off to rest as your doctor ordered, and that's final!" Jill replied firmly. Sarah sighed in defeat, she knew better than to argue with Jill when she was like this.

Jill drove them both to Sarah's apartment and followed her in. "Before you get any ideas," Jill began as soon as the door was closed, "you're not opening any portals for a couple of days, either."

"Why not?!" Sarah exclaimed.

"You're supposed to be taking it easy. Besides the fact that those trips are often stressful and sometimes dangerous, we don't know how your ability works. Opening a portal could put a strain on your brain or something. So no portals, and no changing anyone's gender, got it?" Jill replied.

"What am I supposed to do for two days if I can't go to work or work on getting back to myself?" Sarah whined.

Jill shrugged. "Read more stories to find another world to visit, or just play your video games. Relax!"

Reluctantly, Sarah did just that. She decided against reading any more stories for now, she'd be too eager to visit them if she found something promising. So she spent several hours playing one of her favorite games. Jill had left once she was satisfied that Sarah was going to relax, but returned with Mike when he got back from work. Jill insisted on making dinner. "You're supposed to be relaxing, so do it!" she admonished when Sarah tried to help her. She grumbled as she returned to the living room to watch TV with Mike.

They had a nice night in, just talking and watching television for a few hours. "Remember, no portals!" Jill admonished before hugging Sarah goodbye. Once they'd left Sarah got online to talk to Erica.

SeanDreamer is logged on
Erica378 is logged on

<SeanDreamer>: Hi Erica, sorry I missed you!
<Erica378>: I've been worried about you, what happened?
<SeanDreamer>: We lost track of time Sunday after a run in with John Green from work.
<Erica378>: Ugh, that jerk? But what about last night?
<SeanDreamer>: I was in the hospital so I didn't have internet access.
<Erica378>: WHAT?!! Why were you in the hospital?! Are you alright?
<SeanDreamer>: John and Bob got fired at work yesterday. Kyle was mad about that and hit me with a brick. I don't remember it, but that's what Mike said happened.
<Erica378>: Are you alright? Why did he care about John and Bob getting fired?
<SeanDreamer>: Mike said that Kyle was ranting about getting caught by the new supervisor. I guess he was stealing or something. I'm fine, just a bump on the head.
<Erica378>: Wow, busy day, huh? You didn't work today, did you?
<SeanDreamer>: No, Jill wouldn't let me! I had to stay home and play video games. She's soo cruel! ;)
<Erica378>: LOL! Good for her! You need to take care of yourself.
<SeanDreamer>: Yes mother!
<Erica378>: ;P
<SeanDreamer>: They still keeping you busy?
<Erica378>: Ugh, are they ever!
<SeanDreamer>: I love you, even if you did leave me alone out here!
<Erica378>: I love you too, even if you do exaggerate! ;)
<SeanDreamer>: What, me? ;)
<Erica378>: Go to bed, silly, I'll talk to you tomorrow. ;p
<SeanDreamer>: Goodnight!
<Erica378>: Goodnight!
Erica378 has logged off
SeanDreamer has logged off

Sarah sighed as she shut down her computer. She missed Erica so much, but she couldn't see her again until she'd solved her problem. She thought about looking up more stories, but decided against it. Yawning, she changed for bed and crawled under the covers.

---

 To Be Continued…

---

The next day was largely the same, with Sarah staying home and playing games while Jill and Mike worked. She was just starting to get bored when they came in. After another pleasant night in Sarah had a quick chat with Erica and went to bed.

In the morning Sarah got ready for work with trepidation. She was eager to see what it was like at work without her three main tormentors, but she was also nervous about going back there after what happened. Mike was once again taking her to work, as she hadn't gotten a new driver's license yet.

"You ready?" he asked when she came out of her bedroom. She nodded, so they walked over to his car and climbed in.

"You okay?" Mike asked as he was putting on his seat belt.

Sarah shrugged. "I'm a little nervous, I guess. Monday was pretty crazy." She admitted.

Mike nodded and started the car. "Yeah, I guess it was. Even without the way it ended. If I'm late to pick you up today, stay inside, okay?"

"Sure." Sarah agreed. "I think I probably would have anyway."

When they arrived Mike insisted on going in with Sarah again. As soon as they'd entered the building Tiffany came running over. "Hey Sarah, how are you doing?" she asked.

"Fine." Sarah replied uncertainly.

"How have things been since Monday?" Mike asked.

"Busy! We've had to work overtime to make up for losing four people all at once like that. Everyone will be glad you're back Sarah, it'll take some of the pressure off of them." Tiffany replied.

Mike lingered like he had on Monday, but quickly saw that the atmosphere was completely different. A few people asked Sarah how she was, the rest just kept working. No one was showing the outright hostility that had been there previously.

"Here to make sure Sarah's safe?" Mr. Holsteader asked Mike as he walked up to him. "I don't think you have to worry about her anymore. I've made it clear to everyone that they would follow John and Bob if they gave her any trouble."

"It's like a different place, isn't it?" Mike replied.

Mr. Holsteader nodded. "I'm sorry I didn't see what was happening, but now things have really changed around here. I think everyone will benefit from it, especially once I've found replacements for those three."

"Was Kyle stealing from the store?" Mike asked curiously, remembering some of the things he'd said before being arrested.

"I think so, Tiffany's still going over the records. The way she's been frowning, I don't expect I'll like what she finds." Mr. Holsteader replied.

"I guess not. Well, looks like Sarah's in good hands here." Mike said. "I've got a judo class to teach." With that Mike left and Mr. Holsteader returned to his office.

Tiffany kept Sarah busy the rest of the day, helping her to go over the records whenever she had a break from her normal work. Sarah thought she saw Tiffany giving her odd looks when she thought Sarah wasn't looking, but she couldn't figure out what they were about.

Mike was early to pick Sarah up. He watched as she worked and was amazed at the difference. Sean had always hated his job, but Sarah almost seemed to be having fun! What a difference! I wish she'd talked to Mr. Holsteader a long time ago. he thought.

Once she'd clocked out Sarah walked with Mike back to his car. "How was it?" Mike asked.

Sarah grinned, "Great! I've never had a better day at work before! Tiffany is so much better to work with than John was."

"Somehow, that doesn't surprise me." Mike replied dryly. Sarah laughed in agreement.

Mike drove them home and they walked in to find Jill already at work on dinner. "Want some help?" Sarah asked.

"Sure." Jill agreed. Mike returned to the living room while they worked on dinner. "So how was your day?"

"Best workday ever!" Sarah replied with a grin.

Jill smiled back, "I'm glad to hear that. At least something good has come from this, right?"

Sarah nodded thoughtfully, "Yeah, I guess it has."

"So I suppose you'll want to get back to finding yourself a cure, right?" asked Jill.

Sarah nodded, "Of course! I haven't found a good story to use yet, but I will."

Jill nodded, but frowned when Sarah wasn't looking. They worked in silence after that until dinner was ready.

After dinner the three of them spent the rest of the evening reading again. They didn't find anything that night. "We'll find something soon." Mike said. He said goodnight to Sarah and Jill gave Sarah her customary goodbye hug.

Sarah was eager to talk to Erica and hurried home. She booted up her computer and logged on, but Erica was late. She started a load of laundry while she waited. Erica still wasn't on, so she got ready for bed. By the time she was ready Erica had finally logged on.

SeanDreamer has logged on
Erica378 has logged on

<SeanDreamer>: Hi Erica, everything OK?
<Erica378>: Yeah, sorry I'm late. How was work?
<SeanDreamer>: Great! Tiffany kept me busy, but it was still great!
<Erica378>: So no more harassment? No more name calling or shoving or anything?
<SeanDreamer>: Nope! It was almost fun! :)
<Erica378>: That's wonderful!
<SeanDreamer>: They still keeping you really busy?
<Erica378>: Yeah, but that's not why I was late. I was getting ready for Christmas break.
<SeanDreamer>: When are you going to your parents?
<Erica378>: Classes are over until after New Years after tomorrow, but I'll use the weekend to get ready to go and finish up my work. I'll be there Monday.
<SeanDreamer>: Tell them hi for me.
<Erica378>: Will do! Tell Mike and Jill hi for me!
<SeanDreamer>: OK! I love you!
<Erica378>: Love you, too! Bye!
<SeanDreamer>: Bye!

Erica378 has logged off
SeanDreamer has logged off

Sarah sighed as she thought about Erica going to her parents. She hadn't been back to her own parents for a couple of years, not that she minded. They were always getting on her case about college. Erica's parents were another story. They always treated Sean like their own, but without the nagging. She wondered briefly what they would think of Sarah, but she hoped they'd never have to meet her.

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts she powered down her computer and climbed into bed.

Sarah awoke refreshed in the morning and quickly got ready for the day. She checked to make sure her laundry was dry from the night before, then hurried out to meet up with Mike. He was just leaving his apartment when she got there.

"Wow, someone's up early today! Usually you're a lot slower getting up in the morning." Mike commented.

Sarah smiled, "I slept well, I guess. Ready to go?"

"Sure." Mike replied, unlocking his car. They climbed in and drove over.

"I don't think you need to come in today, Mike." Sarah said when he started to get out of the car.

"Oh, yeah, I guess that's been taken care of." Mike said with a chuckle. "Have a good day!"

"You too!" Sarah called back as she closed the car door. Mike drove off with a wave, which she returned before walking inside.

"Sarah, I'm so glad you're here!" Tiffany called out, rushing over to her. "We've got a new hire to train, can you hold down the fort while I do that?"

"Uh, sure, I guess." Sarah said uncertainly.

"Thanks!" Tiffany said with a grateful smile, rushing off again. Sarah shook her head in bemusement and clocked in. She checked in with everyone and got to work. She'd filled in for John a couple of times when he was on vacation or sick, so it wasn't completely alien to her.

Sarah saw Tiffany escorting the new girl around several times, but she was too busy to stop and talk. The day went by quickly, but Sarah felt invigorated instead of worn out.

"Everything go okay?" Tiffany asked when they met at the time clock.

"Sure. It was busy, but nothing unusual." Sarah replied while clocking out.

"Good, Tina's coming along great, so I'll be able to leave her with you on Monday." Tiffany said happily.

"Great." Sarah said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

Tiffany laughed, "Don't be like that, she's nice. I don't think you'll have any problems with her."

Sarah said goodbye to Tiffany and walked over to the entrance to wait for Mike. She caught Tiffany giving her a strange look, but Tiffany looked away and hurried out when she saw Sarah looking.

---

 
To Be Continued…

---

---

Sarah looked after Tiffany thoughtfully, wondering what the deal with her was. She shook that off and looked for Mike, just in time to see him walk in. "Hey Mike!" she called out and waved.

"Hey Sarah!" he called back, walking towards her. "Good day?"

Sarah nodded, "Yep. Really busy, but we've got one new hire so things should get a little better."

"Good. Ready to go?" he asked. Sarah nodded, so he led her out to his car. It was a quiet drive back to his apartment.

Jill was engrossed in another project when they got there, so Sarah went ahead and got dinner started. Mike sat at the kitchen table and watched.

"I've been thinking, maybe you should take that self-defense class." He said.

"You're basing that off of Kyle's attack? He would have gotten you just as easily as me in that situation!" Sarah replied indignantly. "I hope you're not suggesting I need self-defense classes because I'm a girl now!"

"Woah, not what I meant!" Mike replied with hands raised defensively. "I thought you should have taken them before, remember? I just thought you might be more willing to listen to reason now."

Sarah calmed a bit at that. "Yeah, well, if he hadn't blind-sided me, I would have been fine." She grumbled.

That comment was met with a raised eyebrow and an incredulous look from Mike, which was wasted because Sarah was intent on her work. "Really?! You think so?" he asked skeptically.

"Sure! I could have just girlified him! He would have been too preoccupied to be a threat after that." Sarah replied cheerfully. She seemed to relish the idea of turning Kyle into a girl, not that Mike blamed her.

"Then your secret would have been out." Mike pointed out.

"Not really." Sarah dismissed it with a wave. "No one would have believed he was Kyle after I girlified him, and if they did they'd think he was crazy or something. There'd have to be a video recording of it for anyone to believe it, and even then they'd probably think it was faked."

"Hmm, that's a point." Mike conceded. "I guess that ability is more useful than I thought." Mike paused a moment in thought and asked, "Is girlified even a word?"

Sarah shrugged, "Probably not, but it is now!" Mike chuckled at that.

Sarah buried herself in her work after that and Mike was surprised to notice that she was humming! He'd never heard her humming like that before. I guess getting her work situation resolved really made a difference. Too bad she didn't get things straightened out earlier. he thought.

"Hey Mike, why don't you get Jill? Dinner's almost ready." Sarah said. Mike nodded and went back to Jill's studio.

"Hey, Jill, time to get cleaned up for dinner!" he called out as he approached. It was best not to get too close before announcing his presence, he'd found, or he'd end up with a brush full of paint in the face.

"Okay, I'll be right there." Jill called out absently. Mike waited a couple of minutes before calling again. Jill had forgotten he was there and was startled. "Oh, yeah, I'll be right there." She said again. This time she closed up her paints and washed her brush. She followed him out to the kitchen and washed her hands. As usual, they still looked like she'd been finger painting.

"Hi Sarah, how was work?" Jill asked.

"Busy, but good. Are those hands really clean, or did you just run some water over them?" Sarah asked skeptically when she saw Jill's paint spattered hands.

"They're clean, really!" Jill protested. Sarah raised an eyebrow in doubt, so Jill gave them another scrubbing just to humor her. "Satisfied?"

"I suppose." Sarah conceded. "Get yourselves some bowls, dinner's ready."

They ate quietly, then went back to reading. Sarah had already dismissed several possibilities that Mike and Jill had found because they involved gods or because people tended to get transformed against their will in them. Mike was getting frustrated. "Come on, Sarah, how are we ever going to get anywhere if you veto everything?" he grumbled at one point.

"I'm not talking to any gods, end of story!" Sarah replied in annoyance. "And I'm not about to go asking for help from someone who routinely changes people against their will into forms they're not happy with!"

"What about this?" Jill asked, holding up another manga.

Sarah snorted, "No, Jusenkyo is too unreliable. Nobody ever gets what they were aiming for in that place, and I'd still need Chiisuiton water to lock myself in male form even if I did. It's almost as much of a crapshoot as your average genie wish!"

"What, I thought genie wishes were a good thing?" Mike commented.

"No Mike, they usually aren't. The genies usually interpret the wishes in whatever way amuses them. You might as well just wish for them to have fun for all the good it will do you." Sarah replied.

"That's true, I haven't read too many stories involving wishes that turned out well. Usually the best they get is to counter the other wishes with their last wish." Jill agreed.

Mike sighed. "Are you going to shoot down everything?" he said in annoyance. Jill shot him a warning glance. He grimaced but didn't say what was on his mind.

"We'll find something, just be patient." Jill suggested.

Sarah finally left to IM Erica without finding anything she was satisfied with.

"Why did you stop me?" Mike asked after Sarah left.

"You were about to say something you'd regret, that's why." Jill replied.

"How do you know that?" Mike grumbled.

"You were about to say something along the lines of, 'If I didn't know better I'd think you didn't want to change back.', right?" Jill said.

Mike frowned, "How did you know that? That's about word for word what I was thinking!"

"I just know you, that's all." Jill replied, but she wondered. How did I know? Could this be what Laura was talking about? she thought.

"What would have been so wrong with me saying that, anyway?" asked Mike.

Jill snorted, "You know what. Sarah would have been pissed!"

Mike sighed, "I guess," and dropped it.

"We're going to have to get Sarah's ID situation resolved soon, you know." Jill said a little later.

"How?" Mike asked.

"I don't know, but she needs to be able to get around on her own." Jill replied.

They discussed possibilities but came to no satisfactory conclusions that night.

---

Sarah logged on and talked to Erica, but she was tired from packing so they cut it short. Sarah wished Erica could be with her for Christmas, but realized that would just accelerate the ending of their relationship that she knew would come if she didn't get changed back.

Sarah looked through her bookcase, looking for something promising, but didn't find anything. Frustrated, she loaded the transgender fiction site and browsed. There were lots of complete transformations, but they were either restricted to male-to-female, or they were part of some infectious disease, or some other drawback. Sarah could understand why the authors wrote them that way, if transformations were common and easy, there would be no conflict for the story to revolve around. Even if someone was changed against their will it would be simple to change back. Still, she was frustrated by the limitations. The most unlimited transformation stories had all the power in the hands of one or a few people who were usually not very ethical. The last thing she wanted was to go to some wizard and end up a big breasted bimbo!

After hours of reading she was more frustrated then when she started. She gave up in disgust and went to bed, but it took her quite a while to get to sleep.

Sarah awoke late, unsurprisingly, and went slowly about the business of getting clean and dressed. After a quick breakfast of cold cereal she had grabbed her astronomy book before she remembered that the semester was over. Dropping her book back in her bag she went back to reading. She did find one story that had potential. It was more science fiction than fantasy, but Sarah figured that might be an advantage since all the magical approaches had failed.

Mike and Jill arrived while Sarah was reading the last chapters of the story. "Hi Sarah, what're you reading?" Jill said in greeting. Sarah had to wait to answer until after Jill released her from her greeting hug.

"Hi Jill, I found a science fiction story that I think could be useful." Sarah said, pointing at the monitor.

"Hmm, how does it work?" Jill asked, reading the synopsis of the story.

"A mother and her son get swapped into each other's bodies by an accident. A professor the mother knows figures out a way to duplicate the effect and switches them back. He uses it to help transgendered people after that. I think it could work." Sarah replied eagerly.

---

 
To Be Continued…
 

---

« Toil & Trouble - 2 - Training Begins »

---

Jill groaned, "Sarah, I hope you're not getting your hopes up again."

Sarah shrugged. "Maybe, but I've got to try, right?"

"I suppose so." Jill sighed.

Mike seemed confused, but shook it off. "You want to try this now?" he asked. Sarah nodded. "Okay, lets go."

Sarah printed out the last chapter of the story and stapled it together. Finding the last mention of the Professor she opened a portal to his lab and stepped through, followed closely by Mike and Jill.

"Well…that's different." Mike said upon seeing the strange contraption on the other side of the portal.

"That's it." Sarah said excitedly. Jill put a steadying hand on her shoulder.

"We need to talk to this professor, right?" Jill reminded her.

"How did you get in here?" someone called out. They turned to see an elderly man with white hair.

"Are you Professor Burton?" Sarah asked hopefully.

"I am. Who are you?" he replied.

"I'm someone who needs your help. I used to be Sean, and I need to be again." Sarah explained.

The professor quirked an eyebrow quizzically. "I take it to mean you are claiming to have been male, and want to be again?"

Sarah nodded. "Yes, will you use that machine of yours on me?"

The professors eyes narrowed suspiciously. "What do you know of this machine?"

In answer, Sarah handed the professor the printout. "That's the last chapters of a story I found online. I used it to get here. I can open portals to other worlds using books."

"You really expect me to believe that?" the professor asked incredulously as he looked over the printout. He gasped in surprise after several minutes of reading. "Where did you get this?!" he demanded.

"I already told you. Read more if you don't believe me." Sarah replied. The professor did just that, his expression going from suspicious to incredulous and finally to awestruck.

"There's no way you could have all this information! Open one of these portals for me, please." He asked eagerly.

Sarah was a little surprised at the change in the professor, but obligingly opened a portal. She didn't even realize she was doing it without the story in hand, but Jill and Mike did. Their reaction was drowned out by the professors. "Amazing! I wonder if my machine could achieve a similar result…" he mused.

Sarah closed the portal. "Uh, professor, about changing me back…?"

He looked startled and then said, "Sorry, of course I'll try, this is amazing! You understand that you must concentrate on what you want to happen, right?" Sarah nodded. "Okay, into the machine then!"

Sarah climbed into the odd contraption as instructed. The professor made sure it was set up properly and switched it on. Arcs of electricity surged over the machine and Sarah passed out.

"Is she okay?" Jill asked worriedly.

"Nothing to worry about, I've done this before!" the professor said cheerfully. He turned off the power and checked on Sarah. Frowning, he said, "She's fine, but I'm afraid it didn't work."

Jill wasn't surprised, it wasn't exactly the first time things had gone this way. Mike helped the professor get Sarah out of the device and laid out. "Why wouldn't it work?" Mike asked.

"I believe it is the will of the individual that powers and directs the effects of the machine, it simply amplifies the power of the human brain. If she wasn't concentrating, or wasn't sure she wanted to change back, either of those things could have prevented the change." The professor explained.

Mike frowned, "Well I know she wants to change back, so I guess her concentration must have slipped. Can we give it another try when she wakes up?"

The professor frowned in thought. "We should make sure of what happened first, and I'm not entirely comfortable with putting her through that twice in such a short time. It could be dangerous."

There wasn't much more to say about that, so they waited for Sarah to regain consciousness. A few minutes later she did. "Did it work?" she asked hopefully. Before anyone could answer she realized her voice still sounded female and said, "It didn't, did it?"

Jill shook her head sadly, "No, it didn't. Did something distract you at the last moment?"

Sarah frowned in thought. "No, I was concentrating on being Sean again as hard as I could."

"Are you sure that's really what you want?" The professor asked kindly.

"Of course it is, that's why I'm here!" Sarah replied angrily.

"Maybe it's Venus' curse?" Mike offered.

"What's this about a curse?" the professor asked. Jill explained. "I suppose that could be a factor. That's outside of my experience, I'm afraid. Perhaps you'd better have a talk with Venus if her curse is preventing you from changing back."

"No way!" Sarah hastily exclaimed. "I'm not dealing with gods ever again!"

The professor shrugged, "I don't know what else to tell you, then. I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help." They thanked him and he handed the printout back to Sarah. She opened the portal and they walked back through.

As soon as the portal was closed Jill said, "Sarah, do you realize that you opened the portal back without the story in your hands?"

Sarah frowned at Jill. "What are you talking about, it's right here!" she asked, holding it up.

"Not now, before when the professor asked you to demonstrate your portals. You had handed the story to him to read." Jill explained.

Sarah thought back through that sequence of events. "I…I guess you're right! I'll have to experiment on our next trip, but maybe I only need the book to open the portal there, and not back again! That would certainly make things easier. We might not even need to take the book with us!" she exclaimed excitedly.

"Lets save leaving the book behind until we're sure you can open the portal without it at will." Mike suggested.

"Okay, I guess that's a good idea." Sarah agreed, flopping onto the couch.

"You look tired, are you alright?" Jill asked, concerned.

"Well I did just get electrocuted, I think being a little tired is understandable." Sarah replied sarcastically.

"Do you want to go back home and take a nap?" she suggested.

"If you don't mind, I think I'll just curl up on the couch here." Sarah replied, fitting actions to words. Before Jill could even answer Sarah was fast asleep.

"I guess that answers that!" Jill said. She led Mike into the kitchen so they could talk without waking Sarah.

"I really think we need to convince Sarah to talk to Venus." Mike said firmly.

Jill choked on her laughter. "I don't think that's going to happen, Mike!"

"Why not? She's got to see it's the only option left!" he protested.

Jill smiled as she replied, "I don't think she wants to change back."

This time it was Mike choking on his laughter, to Jill's annoyance. "That's a good one, Jill! Sarah's been pushing constantly to get herself changed back, there's no way she's going to stay that way!" he exclaimed.

"I think she only wants to change back because of Erica. If Erica were out of the equation she would stay as she is happily, I think." Jill replied.

Mike shook his head in wonder. "I don't know where you got that idea! Trust me, Sarah's never been the least bit feminine. There's no way she's going to accept being female for the rest of her life!" He said this with such conviction that Jill began to doubt her own conclusions. She decided to let it go for now.

"How would you suggest we get her to agree to talk to Venus, then?" she asked.

Mike shrugged. "No idea. Lets find another book, though, just in case." He replied. Jill had almost forgotten that their book had been destroyed when Sarah was cursed.

"Good idea." Jill agreed with a nod. She still had her doubts about Sarah but she'd go along with her and Mike for now.

"Why don't we make up some sandwiches so Sarah can eat when she wakes up." Mike suggested, pointing out the time. Jill looked skeptically at Mike. "What, you know I can make sandwiches! I'd have starved in college if I couldn't!" he protested.

"I know, I'm just teasing!" she replied with a smirk. They got out all the ingredient they'd need and started preparing lunch. By the time they'd finished making the sandwiches and eaten their own Sarah was stirring.

"Hey guys." She said sleepily as she stumbled into the kitchen. She plopped onto the nearest chair and reached out for a sandwich. "Thanks." She mumbled around her first mouthful.

"Your welcome, but don't talk with your mouthful!" Jill complained. Sarah made sure to swallow before sticking her tongue out at her friend.

---

 
To Be Continued…

Professor Burton, and his device, are used with permission from the talented Tanya Allan's story Weird Wednesday

 

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« Sarah's Shadow - 1 - Suspicion »

---

"So what do you want to do now?" Jill asked once Sarah was finished eating.

"I…I kind of want to take a break." Sarah said hesitantly.

"What do you mean?" Mike asked.

"I'm getting frustrated with all these failed attempts. I thought we could just go somewhere for fun, without the dragons this time!" Sarah hastily assured Mike.

Mike grinned, "Wow, and here Jill had to talk you into that trip! Did you have something in mind?"

"I thought you guys should choose somewhere you want to go. After all, you've put up with a lot helping me out." Sarah replied apologetically.

Jill waved that off. "You don't have to do anything to thank us! Still, anywhere you'd like to go Mike?"

"Well…there is that one book." Mike replied. He went over to the bookshelf and retrieved it. "You nixed it when we first started looking for places to go, before Sarah got cursed, remember?"

Jill took the book and looked it over. "Oh yeah, I remember this! Sarah has pretty good control over where portals open up now, so I guess it's safe enough."

"This okay Sarah?" Mike asked hopefully.

"Of course! Anywhere in particular?" Sarah replied.

Mike thought for a moment. "How about the space station?"

"Which one?" Sarah asked archly. "They visit lots of space stations in that series."

"The one with all the strict rules, where that guy gets himself killed by arguing with the judge." Mike replied.

"Are you sure? We insult someone by accident we could get in big trouble." Sarah asked.

"You can always get us out if that happens. And we're not going to do anything to insult anyone anyway." Mike replied confidently.

Sarah shrugged and Jill handed her the book. Before long she'd found the place in the book where that station was mentioned and opened the portal. "Lets leave the book behind this time." Sarah suggested. There were no arguments, so she set the book down and they stepped through the portal.

They all stared around like tourists at the station's interior. Mike finally found his voice and said, "You know, other than a few things here and there, it's not that different from being in any other building." The others nodded their agreement and they started walking.

"That is not something you'd see in a building at home!" Jill exclaimed, pointing to a window that showed the planet below. They all crowded around the window to admire the view. Eventually they tired of the view and continued down the hall. They gazed in awe at another window where they could see a space ship docked to the station.

"That ship is huge!" Sarah exclaimed.

Mike nodded, "It looks like a freighter. I wonder what kind of cargo it carries." He mused.

"What makes you think it's a freighter?" Jill asked.

Mike shrugged, "There are no obvious weapons. No gun turrets or missile bays or anything like that. I could be wrong, but from what I remember of the book their weapons would be visible enough."

After a bit more gawking they moved on. They saw guards at an airlock they assumed led to the ship they'd just seen. They were carrying normal enough looking weapons. "I thought they'd have lasers or something." Jill remarked.

"Their weapons aren't that different from what we have now. They have lasers on their ships, but I don't remember any lasers or energy weapons that were handheld." Mike replied.

"I guess it must not be set all that far in the future." Said Jill.

"Actually, I'm pretty sure it is. There are human colonies on lots of different planets. I don't think anything in the story even takes place in our solar system." Sarah replied.

"Then why wouldn't they have energy weapons?" Jill asked, confused.

Mike shrugged, "They might, but not use them because they could cause an accidental hull breach. Not a good thing in space." Jill nodded understandingly and they moved on.

There wasn't much more to see, other than more ships that looked much like the first and their guards. They did see computer terminals that were obviously far more advanced than what they were used to. They kept exploring for another hour or so before deciding to return. Sarah had no trouble opening the portal, even though she didn't have the book with her.

"That was interesting." Jill remarked once they were back in their living room.

"You were right, Jill, this can be fun." Sarah said. Mike agreed. "Is there anywhere you want to go, Jill?" she asked.

"Let me think about that." Jill replied, taking a seat on the couch. Mike and Sarah found seats of their own and waited for Jill to decide.

Jill snapped her fingers with a grin. "I know just the thing!" she exclaimed, jumping up and rushing over to the bookshelf. After a quick scan she pulled out a paperback book. "Here it is!"

Mike held his hand out and Jill gave it to him. "Hmm, I don’t remember this one." He said thoughtfully after reading the synopsis on the back. He handed it to Sarah whose reaction was much the same.

"Neither of you have read that series? You're missing out, it's lots of fun! Want to go?" she asked excitedly. Sarah and Mike exchanged glances and shrugged.

"Sure, why not?" Mike answered. Sarah agreed.

"Anywhere in particular you want to go?" Sarah asked.

"The Magician of Information's castle! We might even get some useful information for you while we're at it." Jill replied. Sarah looked through the book for mention of the Magician of Information and opened the portal. They walked through and found themselves in a clearing of a forest of strange looking trees. There was no castle anywhere in sight.

"Did your mind stray again Sarah?" Mike asked.

Sarah shook her head. "No, this should be the right place. I don't know what happened."

Jill giggled, "Don't worry about it, he probably moved his castle. He always does stuff like that."

"Moved his castle?!" Mike exclaimed. "How could he do that, and why would he?"

"Magic, of course. He moves it so anyone who has a question for him has to find him. He doesn't want to be bothered with frivolous questions." Jill replied.

"Great. So how do we find him?" Mike groused.

Jill shrugged, "I don't know, but he doesn't want to drive away serious questions, so there will probably be a clue or something."

Sarah frowned thoughtfully. "How would he even know we were coming?" she asked.

"He's the Magician of Information, it's his job to know." Jill replied with a grin.

"Okay, so what kind of clue are we looking for?" Sarah asked. Jill shrugged, so the three of them started looking around the clearing.

All Sarah found was a cherry tree. She reached up and plucked one. She was about to eat it when Jill screamed out, "Stop! Don't eat that!"

Sarah's hand stopped just short of her mouth and she looked at Jill questioningly, "Why not?"

"It explodes!" Jill replied, running over to Sarah. She snatched the cherry from Sarah's hand and threw it away from them. Sarah stared in shock at the blackened spot on the ground after it exploded as Jill warned.

"How?" she squeaked.

"It's not a regular cherry tree, but a cherry bomb tree. It's one of the puns this world is built on." Jill explained.

"Puns?" Mike groaned, "This world is built on puns?"

"Sure, it's fun!" Jill replied with a grin.

"Fun to read about, maybe, but I'm not so sure it's fun to be here." Sarah said, still looking where the cherry exploded.

Jill shrugged, "Give it a chance. Come on, let's find that castle." They continued to search and found a trail.

"See? All we have to do is follow this trail, overcome a few obstacles, and we'll be all set." Jill said cheerfully.

Sarah and Mike followed her down the trail with trepidation. Before long a castle could be seen through the forest. The trees thinned out and finally stopped several yards from the castle wall. A moat surrounded the castle. "How do we get in?" Sarah wondered.

"There must be a drawbridge around here somewhere." Mike said. They started walking along the moat until a drawbridge came into view. The bridge was up.

"Now what?" asked Sarah.

"There's always a way, we just have to find it." Jill replied. "Look for a way to lower the drawbridge."

The drawbridge was held up by a large but rusty metal chain. There didn't appear to be any way to open it from the outside. "There's nothing here!" Mike grumbled.

"Wait, that's it!" Sarah exclaimed, running back towards the path.

Jill and Mike ran after her. "What's it?" Mike huffed when he caught up with her.

"The cherries!" Sarah replied breathlessly. Soon they were back in the clearing. They each took a couple of cherries each, being careful to leave the stems on and keep them away from each other, just in case. They hurried back to the drawbridge with them.

Sarah threw one of her cherries at the rusty chain. There was a loud bang, but the chain held. The others joined in and after all six cherries had exploded the first chain shattered. They had to return for another batch of cherries, but they made short work of the second chain. The drawbridge was down, but there was something blocking the entrance on the other side.

---

 
To Be Continued…

---

« Toil & Trouble 3 - Illuminating Experiments »

---

"What's that?" Sarah asked worriedly. A large creature was blocking the entrance to the castle. It appeared to be asleep. Mike shrugged and approached it. He looked for a way around it, but found that it just filled the archway.

"If it was just a little smaller we could probably squeeze around it." Mike grumbled as he returned to his friends. "I don't know how we're going to get around this one."

"Maybe one of us could wake it up and lead it away?" Jill suggested uncertainly.

"No way, no splitting up!" Sarah replied vehemently.

"Maybe we should just talk to it?" Jill said. "It's unlikely to move if it's job is to block our path, so it probably won't attack us."

"So long as we keep our distance, anyway." Mike added. He looked to Sarah but she just shrugged. "Okay, I'll wake it up."

Mike stepped closer and tried making noise to wake it, but that didn't work. Finally he shook it and it started to stir. Mike jumped back and waited while it stood up and looked down on them. "What do you want?" it asked ominously.

"Uh, we were just wondering if you would let us by? Please?" Mike asked cautiously.

"No. I am bound here until my service is completed. I will not let you by." It replied.

"What was your question, if you don't mind me asking?" Jill inquired.

"I don't mind. My question was where I could find a female of my kind." It replied.

"What was his answer?" Jill asked.

"He said if I guarded this door a female of my kind would appear." He said.

Jill smiled wryly, "Sarah, I think that's your cue."

Sarah looked at Jill in confusion. Jill mimed slapping something and Sarah realized what Jill was suggesting. With an audible gulp she approached the creature. He watched her curiously, obviously unafraid of her. Once she was within reach she slapped its leg. Instantly it was smaller and more lightly built than it had been.

"What have you done to me?!" she demanded.

"Magician Humphrey told you a female of your kind would appear, right? Here you are!" Jill replied triumphantly.

Mike and Sarah groaned, fearing the creature would attack them. Instead it laughed! "Here I am, indeed!" it agreed. "Thanks to you my species is saved! You may pass." With that the creature stepped out of the archway and crossed the drawbridge, disappearing into the forest.

"What just happened?" asked Mike confusedly.

"That was the second challenge. There are always three. The first was opening the drawbridge, the second was getting that creature to move. His service would last until a female of his kind appeared, so we made a female of his kind appear. Thus ending his service so he could leave, thereby leaving the entrance open for us!" Jill replied happily.

"Is that the way things normally happen around here?" Sarah asked doubtfully.

Jill shrugged, "A lot of the time, yeah. Sometimes it's more complicated. Come on, lets go inside!"

Mike shook his head at the weirdness of their situation, Sarah just sighed resignedly. Both followed Jill into the castle.

The entrance led into a passage that slowly dwindled in size until they were walking single file. After several minutes of walking the passage suddenly opened out into a huge room. The ceiling was lost in the mists filling the room, making it seem like it was open to the sky. A portcullis clanged shut behind them, making Jill jump. "What was that?!"

Mike glanced behind them and saw the barrier blocking their escape. "A portcullis. We can't go back the way we came. You two stay close to me." He said. Sarah and Jill crowded in close behind him. They slowly made their way across the room. The mist slowly cleared as they walked, until they found themselves in the center of an arena. There were several other portcullis' blocking other passages to their level of the arena, and several levels of seating above them. There was a man sitting in what looked like a throne watching them.

"Greetings, gladiators!" he boomed. His voice was unnaturally loud and shook the walls. "Today you face one of the most fearsome creatures of the land! Fight well!" With that one of the largest portcullis' opened. Smoke billowed out of it, followed by the sinuous body of a large dragon!

"Now what?" Mike asked, hoping Jill had an answer for this one.

"I…don't know. There has to be a way out, but I don't have any idea what it is!" she said, beginning to panic. Sarah wasn't far behind her in that.

Mike sighed, "Okay, you two stay back and look for a way out. I'll try to distract the dragon."

"Mike?" Jill said worriedly, unable to form a more cohesive protest.

"Hey, maybe I'll turn into a dragon again!" Mike said with a weak chuckle, hoping to calm Jill.

Jill and Sarah back away from Mike reluctantly. He stepped forward, watching the dragon carefully. It approached confidently, secure in the knowledge that these puny humans were no threat to it. Jill and Sarah moved along the edge of the arena, hoping to find a way out before Mike got fricasseed or chomped. The dragon saw them and turned towards Sarah. "No you don't!" Mike yelled, running at the dragon.

The dragon negligently knocked Mike away with its tail. Mike scrambled to his feet and ran to get between the dragon and Sarah. The dragon snorted, smoke billowing out from its nostrils. "Very well, I'll eat you first!" it growled, lunging at Mike. Mike felt pain throughout his entire body and knew the dragon was burning him alive, or eating him. But then the pain passed as quickly as it began. Confused, he opened his eyes. Strangely, the dragon seemed much smaller. Stranger still, Mike couldn't see himself at all! Am I dead? he thought.

The dragon was also confused by Mike vanishing, but disregarded that and lunged at Sarah. She screamed in fright, curling up into a ball against the arena wall. But the dragon stopped suddenly, as if it'd hit an invisible wall.

Mike looked down and saw the dragon bash against some unseen obstacle, but felt the dragon crash into his legs. He tentatively kicked out with his right foot. He saw nothing of himself, but felt his foot connect with the dragon's skull. What he saw was the dragon suddenly lifted off the ground by some unseen force and sent flying into the opposite wall.

"Mike? Was that you?" Jill called out, walking cautiously into the center of the arena.

"I…think so." Mike replied, surprised at his own booming voice.

Jill smiled, "You must have turned into an invisible giant! The dragon looks like it's unconscious, can you change back or do you need Sarah's help again?"

Mike tried to will himself back to normal, but nothing happened. "I guess I need Sarah's help. But how is she going to do that if she can't see me?" he asked worriedly.

"Don't worry, it'll be easy to find you." Jill reassured him, looking up where she guessed his head must be. Sarah walked carefully towards the center of the arena, hands out to keep from running into Mike face first.

She found what felt like his shoe after several minutes of shuffling around and slapped it, hoping the shoe wouldn't get in the way. It didn’t, and a female Mike was suddenly standing there in front of Sarah. "Well, at least your clothes didn't get destroyed when you transformed." Sarah remarked. Whatever had happened to his clothes when he became the invisible giant, they were back to normal. Unfortunately, they were extremely loose on the female Mike! Sarah quickly slapped Mike's arm, returning him to normal.

"Well done!" Boomed the man on the throne. "You've earned the right to speak to Good Magician Humphrey and ask your question!" With that the man sunk down into the floor and disappeared. Another portcullis opened up, revealing a brightly lit passageway. Shrugging, the three friends walked down the passageway and found themselves in a library filled from floor to ceiling with books. A wizened old man was sat at a desk with a giant tome on top. "About time you got here!" he grouched, "Hurry up and ask your question!"

Sarah looked at Jill and said, "You're the one who knows this place, why don't you ask it?" Mike nodded his agreement.

Jill thought about how she wanted to word her question and then said, "How can Sarah change back to the way she was before Venus cursed her?"

The magician snorted irritably, "Not a very good question! All she has to do is accept her femininity and she can change back any time she wants. Now go!"

"Go ahead and open the portal Sarah, that's all the answer we're going to get." Jill said to Sarah and Mike's surprise. Shrugging, she did so and they stepped back into their own world.

---

 
To Be Continued…

---

"Why did we leave so quickly?" Mike asked once they were back in their living room.

"The Good Magician never gives straight forward answers. He always tells you just what you need to solve the problem. There wasn't any point sticking around and arguing with him. Besides, he might have demanded a year's service from us. I think changing that creature's gender might have counted, but I didn't want to take any chances." Jill replied.

"So I have to accept that I'm female now in order to become male again?" Sarah asked incredulously.

"Sounds like it." Jill agreed.

"I don't get it, from what he said you should already be able to change back." Mike said.

Sarah took a moment to try and change back, even going so far as to slap herself in the face. "Nope, still doesn't work." She replied.

"Maybe if you stop trying to change back, you'll be able to?" Mike said. "That doesn't make any sense, though."

"No, that could be it! Maybe Sarah has to stop trying to change back and just live for a while as a girl. Then once you've really learned what it's like you'll be able to change back!" Jill said excitedly.

Mike shrugged, "I guess that could be it. It's probably best not to change back too fast, anyway. That real life test thing is supposed to give you a chance to figure out if being a girl is right for you, so it would probably look odd if you changed back too quickly."

Sarah slumped down in her chair. "I didn't think of that! So even if I figure out a way to change back tomorrow I'm stuck as a girl for a while?" she wondered aloud.

"Not stuck, but Mike's right. You don't have to go the full year, but it would look strange if you gave it up in a week." Jill said thoughtfully.

"So long as I get changed back before Erica returns, I guess I can deal with it." Sarah said begrudgingly.

"That's the spirit! Now, who's up for pizza?" asked Mike. Naturally, Sarah didn't argue with that.

They went out for pizza and stayed quite a while talking. By the time they got back it was getting late so Sarah said goodnight to her friends and went home. She went online to chat with Erica, but she wasn't on. Sarah did some cleaning up and threw a load in the washer while she waited. When she was done cleaning Erica still wasn't online, so Sarah grabbed a book and sat down to read, looking at the screen every ten minutes or so. After a couple of hours of this she finally gave up and went to bed. That's when she remembered that Erica would be packing for Christmas this weekend. She probably wore herself out and fell asleep! Maybe she'll be on tomorrow. she thought as she drifted off

Sarah awoke early the next morning. Grabbing some clothes reminded her that she'd probably need to buy more. Doing laundry every few days would get old fast, and her clothes would get worn out too quickly. She snagged a towel on the way to the bathroom and took a shower. As she was getting dressed she realized that she still didn't have any body hair at all. That's strange, I would have thought it would have grown by now. she thought, then dismissed it as unimportant.

After her shower she made herself an omelet and sat down to eat. She was almost finished when Jill came in. "Good morning!" she called out cheerfully.

"Good morning Jill. What's up?" Sarah replied.

"Not Mike, that's for sure!" Jill giggled, "I'm afraid I wore him out last night."

Sarah blushed and looked down at her breakfast. She wasn't used to Jill talking to her about things like that.

"Sorry!" Jill said with an apologetic smile. "I guess I just reacted to you like I would to my girlfriends there for a minute. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

Sarah nodded and finished her breakfast in silence. Jill sat opposite her and waited. Sarah washed her dishes and returned to the table. "So what are your plans for the day?" Jill asked.

Sarah shrugged, "No plans. The semester's over, so I don't have any homework to do. I did laundry last night while waiting for Erica. Which reminds me; I do need to get more clothes if I'm going to be like this for a while."

"Ah, shopping! Have you gotten your new ATM card yet?" Jill asked.

Sarah shook her head. "No, not yet. I guess I'll have to wait to do my shopping until I've gotten it. Maybe it'll come tomorrow."

"So what do you want to do today?" Jill asked.

"I don't know." Sarah replied.

Jill sighed, "You're as bad as Mike! How about this; do you want to stay in this world today, or not?"

"Maybe we should wait for Mike to decide what we're doing." Sarah suggested.

"You have a lot to learn about being a girl! Mike will go wherever we want to go. So answer the question!" Jill admonished.

"Well, there is another story I found online that I wouldn't mind visiting, though it could be a little dangerous." Sarah said hesitantly.

"How dangerous?" Jill replied.

"Not a lot. It's just that it's a school for mutants with super powers of various kinds, so all kinds of things can happen there." Sarah said.

"Well if it's a school I guess it should be okay. I think we should wait for Mike, though, just in case. We might need him to transform into something big and nasty again!" Jill said with a giggle.

"You're not worried about that?" Sarah asked, surprised.

"Not really. It's only happened twice, and only when we really needed it. If he transformed at work or inside the apartment I might be a little more concerned." Jill replied.

"It's a shame I can't talk to Erica about all this stuff." Sarah said wistfully.

"I know, but Erica would never believe it without seeing it. Even then she'd try to rationalize it, I think. Once she's gone with us a time or two I'm sure she'll be convinced, though." Jill said consolingly.

"So when is Mike getting up?" Sarah asked to change the subject.

"Whenever we want him to get up, of course!" Jill replied with a grin. "Do we want him to now, or later?"

Sarah thought about it and looked at the time. "If you really think he won't mind, I'd rather go do something." Sarah replied hopefully.

Jill smiled, "Don't worry, he won't mind! Guys will do a lot to keep their girlfriends happy. Just look at you; you put up with Erica insisting on going to Harvard Law even though it's on the other side of the continent!"

Sarah shrugged, "If you say so." They left Sarah's apartment and walked over to Jill and Mike's.

"Sounds like Mike got up on his own, after all." Jill commented as they walked in and heard the shower running. "Lets make him something to eat, it'll keep us busy while we wait for him." Sarah nodded and they got to work. By the time Mike showed up, fully dressed with wet hair, they had a plate ready for him.

"I could get used to this!" he said with a grin. Jill slapped his arm and told him to eat.

Once he'd finished eating and washed his plate Sarah retrieved the printout for the story world she wanted to visit where she'd left it when they arrived. "Ready to go visit a mutant school?" she asked Mike.

He shrugged, "Sure, sounds interesting. Sword or no sword?"

Sarah laughed, "A sword wouldn't do you much good if you got in a fight with one of the students!" He shrugged and waited for her to open the portal. They filed through and found themselves standing next to a building with a glass dome on it. It was very cold. "I forgot this place would be so cold at this time of the year!" Sarah complained, wrapping her arms around herself for warmth. They hurried inside the glass-domed building to get warm.

There were students sitting at tables around the room eating their breakfast. Some of them didn't look human. "Are these all mutants?" Mike asked curiously.

Sarah nodded, "All the students and a lot of the staff, too."

They were roughly shoved aside as a large, muscular boy pushed his way in rudely. "Hey, watch it!" Mike exclaimed angrily, steadying Jill who had nearly fallen over.

The boy stopped and turned towards Mike. "Stay out of my way." He said menacingly. Mike bristled at that and stepped forward, so Sarah quickly got between them. "I'll deal with you in a minute, babe." The boy said arrogantly, pushing Sarah aside.

Mike took one look at Sarah and stepped back. "I think you just made a big mistake!" he said with a grin. The boy looked confused and followed Mike's gaze to Sarah.

"How would you like to be smaller and weaker and get pushed around by big strong men?" Sarah said angrily. She didn't give him a chance to respond and slapped him in the face.

---

 
To Be Continued…

---

The boy looked shocked as he suddenly found himself a girl. His clothes were much too big and his pants fell right off. Fortunately for his modesty his shirt was big enough to act as a dress. "What did you do to me?!" she squeaked.

Sarah shrugged, "Just giving you a chance to see what it's like to get pushed around by people bigger and stronger than you." Jill was shocked that Sarah would use her power like that, but Mike seemed unconcerned. In a moment Jill's expression cleared and she smiled much as Mike was.

"Change me back, please!" the new girl begged. She was attracting a lot of attention, and knew it. She pulled her pants back up, but had to hold onto them or they'd fall off again.

Sarah pretended to think about it and then said, "I suppose I could change you back, if you apologized."

"I'm sorry, please change me back!" she begged.

"Hmm, she doesn't seem very sincere to me, what do you think Jill?" Sarah asked skeptically.

"No, she's definitely not sincere." Jill agreed.

"What do you want from me?" the girl whined.

"I want you to learn a lesson, but you don't seem interested. Maybe we should go catch a movie or something?" Sarah replied, addressing the last part to Mike and Jill.

"Sounds like a plan." Mike replied with a grin. He'd rarely seen Sarah do something like this, she was usually so withdrawn. It was probably the first time he'd seen her stand up for herself like that. Jill nodded; equally pleased with this development now that she was sure that Sarah didn't intend to leave the boy as a girl.

"Wait! Don't leave me like this!" the girl begged. In her haste to keep them from leaving she'd lost her grip on her pants and tripped over them. Sarah took pity on her and helped her up.

"Give me a good reason, and I won't." Sarah told her.

The girl looked around her and realized everyone was watching her. "Can't we do this somewhere else? If my friends see me change back from a girl they'll never let me hear the end of it!" she begged softly.

"True friends wouldn't do that. Maybe you should reconsider what type of person you hang out with." Sarah replied.

"Please?" she begged again. Sarah sighed and agreed. The four of them stepped outside, shivering in the cold.

"So, are you ready to apologize sincerely yet?" Sarah asked the girl.

She nodded energetically, "I'm sorry I pushed you guys around! Really! Please change me back!"

Sarah glanced at Jill. "What do you think, is she sincere?" she asked.

Jill got a strange look on her face and then said, "Yeah, I think she really is." She seemed shocked about something, but Sarah was already turning to look at the boy she'd changed.

"Okay, I guess I'll change you back now." She said. This time she just laid a hand on the girl's shoulder and she changed back to male. He whooped in delight and ran back into the building without a backward glance. They followed him in to get out of the cold.

They were greeted by a cheer and applause from a group that included the majority of the most inhuman looking students. Sarah smiled at them but was distracted by Jill. "Sarah, we've got trouble. He's coming back with his friends."

Sarah didn't think to ask how she knew that, as he wasn't in sight yet. "I thought he was sincerely sorry?" she asked archly.

Jill shrugged, "He was, but his friends figured out what happened and gave him a hard time. He feels like he has to get back at you in order to restore his reputation."

"How in the world do you know that?" Mike asked, confused. Jill was about to reply when the boy Sarah had changed came stomping towards them, three other students with similarly heroic proportions following on his heels.

He walked straight up to Sarah and raised his fist like he was going to strike her. Mike started to move forward but Sarah waved him off. "You do realize that if you take me on it will be as a girl, right?" Sarah asked, seemingly unconcerned. "Your pants will be down around your ankles again, right in front of your friends." Sarah continued.

He stopped and stepped back a step. One of the other students, a girl who'd make your average super model look a bit plain by comparison, stepped forward menacingly. "He may be too afraid to face you, but I'm not! Come on, let's teach this bitch a lesson!" she yelled. The other two students, both boys, seemed hesitant. She didn't notice as her hands started to glow and she fired off a blast of energy at Sarah.

Sarah managed to dodge the energy blast. Mike jumped in front of her, hoping he'd transform into something useful again. Sarah dusted herself off and smiled at the girl with the glowing hands. "Go ahead, try that again." She taunted. Jill smiled broadly at that.

The girl charged up another blast, oblivious to the portal opening up behind her. When she released the blast Sarah opened a second portal directly in front of her. She didn't know how she knew how to do this, but she linked the two portals. The girl cried out in surprise as her own blast hit her from behind. "I can turn your own attacks against you and turn your boyfriends into girlfriends. Do you really want to continue this?" Sarah asked her.

The girl let the glow subside and glanced at her cowed friends. "Cowards!" she spat, turning and striding away angrily. Her friends hurried to catch up with her. The students who had applauded before laughed at them, and then once again applauded Sarah and her friends.

"Home." Sarah muttered and opened another portal.

"Are you alright?" Jill asked worriedly.

"Home!" Sarah reiterated, striding through the portal urgently. Mike and Jill hurried to follow.

"What's the hurry Sarah?" Mike asked, before he realized that Sarah had collapsed on the floor in tears. Jill was already crouching down to comfort her. Mike was feeling somewhat lost and confused, but followed Jill's lead.

After a few minutes Sarah had calmed enough to move her onto the couch. "Shh." Jill cooed, "You're safe now." Eventually Sarah stopped crying. "Are you alright now?" Jill asked.

Sarah nodded. "Sorry about that." She said softly with her head bowed.

"About what?" Mike asked.

"Falling apart like that." Sarah replied.

"You've gone through more in the last couple of weeks than most people do in their entire lives! I'm not going to fault you because it gets to you every now and then." Mike replied.

Jill smiled at his response. "He's a sweetie, isn't he?" she said, wrapping an arm around his waist and giving him a squeeze.

Sarah finally looked up at that, smiling at them weakly. "Yeah, he's great." She agreed.

"What did you do to the girl with glowing hands, anyway?" Mike asked curiously.

Sarah shrugged and said, "I'm not sure how I did it, but I opened two portals and linked them together. So her blast passed through one portal and came out the other and hit her from behind."

"I didn't even know you could keep two portals open at the same time, let alone link them together." Mike said, impressed.

"I didn't either." Sarah admitted. "It just seemed like the thing to do at the time. I'm just glad it worked, I don't think I could have shrugged off that blast like she did."

"I'm glad it worked, too. I'm also glad you weren't really going to leave that boy there as a girl if he didn't apologize." Said Jill.

"Of course she wasn't!" Mike said in her defense.

Sarah shook her head, "No way!"

"How did you know?" Mike asked Jill, sensing there was something more to this.

Jill fidgeted a bit before saying, "You remember that conversation we had with Laura?" Mike nodded, "She was right. At first I was worried Sarah might actually leave him like that, but then I could feel that she wouldn't."

"What are you talking about?" Sarah asked, looking confused.

"When you were working with Melanie we had a chat with Laura. She said our spirits are awake, too, though not nearly as powerful as yours. She said you had some different kind of bond with Mike, and that I might be able to learn to do some of the things they could do. She said they could hear thoughts and feelings, and I think that's what happened with me today." Jill explained with a worried expression.

"WHAT?!" Sarah exclaimed in panic, looking like she was about to make a run for it.

---

 
To Be Continued…

---

"I don't have any control over it! I just pick up surface thoughts and feelings sometimes." Jill hurried to reassure Sarah. She wasn't sure why Sarah was upset, but felt that the reassurance would calm her. It did. Sarah took a deep breath and relaxed back into the couch.

"So when did this start?" Sarah asked with feigned nonchalance.

Somehow Jill knew that this wasn't a good time to push Sarah, so she let her change the subject. "I'm not sure. I think it's been going on for a while. At first I just thought it was my imagination, but this time it was too clear to be that." Jill replied.

"What was too clear?" Sarah asked cautiously.

"What I felt from that boy and his friends. I knew exactly what had happened after he got back inside and what he intended. What I felt from you wasn't as clear, though." Jill said.

Mike looked a bit lost. That there was more going on than what had been said was clear even to him, but neither Jill nor Sarah were saying anything about it. "Uh, why weren't Sarah's thoughts as clear as that kids?" Mike asked, having decided to ask Jill about it later.

"I didn't hear Sarah's thoughts at all." Jill replied. "I just got the feeling that she wasn't serious about leaving him like that. I got his thoughts loud and clear, though."

"Have you felt anything else from either of us?" Sarah asked.

"A little. I've anticipated something Mike was going to say word for word and picked up a few thoughts and feelings from him. From you I've only picked up fleeting bits like today." Jill said.

Sarah seemed relieved at this. "So I guess we know how traveling with me is changing you." She said.

"Yeah, I guess we do." Jill agreed.

"I'd like to know how it's changing me, though." Mike complained. "I know I've changed shape a couple of times, but exactly how does that work? And will I ever have any control over it?"

Sarah grinned, "Well, there's one way to find out."

"What did you have in mind?" Mike asked cautiously.

"Just a little trip." Sarah replied offhandedly.

"You want to go to another world already?" Jill asked incredulously, thinking about the state Sarah had been in when they returned.

"Sure." Sarah said with a shrug. "I even know where I want to go." She got up and stepped over to the nearest bookcase. A quick scan found the title she was looking for. "Here we are." She said, handing the book to Mike.

Mike rolled his eyes, "More dragons?" he whined theatrically.

Jill looked over his shoulder at the book. "That's not a bad choice, it's not nearly as dangerous as some."

Mike shrugged, "Okay, if you want." He said resignedly.

Sarah smiled widely as she opened the portal. She didn't even bother opening the book, and put it back in its place in the bookshelf once the portal was open. "Lets go!" she called happily, jumping through the portal. Mike rolled his eyes at Jill and they followed.

They found themselves on a dirt road. It extended off to the horizon on one side and to a castle-like building in the other direction. Trees pressed in on either side. "Now what?" Mike groused.

Sarah gestured at the building in the distance. "We'll go that way." She said. Jill shrugged at Mike and they followed Sarah up the road. They walked for almost two hours before a commotion behind them caused them to stop and turn.

Behind them a group of riders had just burst out of the cover of the trees. They all wore leather armor and were armed with swords and daggers. They drew their weapons as they turned towards them. "Uh, Sarah, they don't look too friendly." Mike warned, as Sarah had started walking towards them.

Sarah laughed, "I know!" and kept walking. Jill and Mike were both beginning to worry about Sarah's sanity and hurried after her, intent on dragging her away from the men bearing down on them.

"Hey guys!" Sarah called cheerfully to the men galloping towards them. "I want you to help out my friend Mike here." She continued, gesturing towards Mike as he caught up with her.

The riders ignored her and encircled the trio, their weapons pointing inwards. Sarah grabbed onto Jill's hand and plopped down on the dirt road, dragging Jill down with her. "Okay Mike, time to turn into something big and nasty again!" Sarah said cheerfully. Jill glanced at Sarah as if she'd completely lost her mind. Sarah grinned back at her and winked. Portals started opening up around them, fencing them in. Mike was outside this barrier. "Don't worry!" Sarah whispered to Jill. "I'll bring him into the ring if I have to."

Jill shook her head in wonder at what Sarah was doing. Opening two portals and linking them together was one thing, this was a complete wall of portals! Mike didn't seem to notice what was happening, and was taking his job of protecting Jill and Sarah seriously. He faced off against the riders in a ready stance, trying to will himself to change into something that could protect them.

Jill gasped as one of the men swung his blade at Mike, but Mike easily dodged it as he was barely within the man's reach. Another man took aim at Mike, but he rolled to avoid the swing and came back up on his feet. They crowded in closer to Mike and he backed up towards the portal barrier, still unaware it was there. He looked around helplessly, certain he was about to die. That's when he buckled from the intense pain flaring throughout his body. A moment later he was looking down on the riders, who were looking far less confident.

"See Jill, he's a dragon again!" Sarah said loudly. Mike, upon hearing this, realized what had happened and roared at the riders. They scattered in panic, riding back into the trees and disappearing from sight in moments. Sarah looked around to make sure they were all gone and lowered the portal barrier.

"How could you be so sure he would change?" Jill demanded.

"Sorry if I scared you guys, but I had it all under control, really! Besides, I figured out that the other two times Mike changed it was while protecting me. You said Laura told you he was connected to me in some way. I figured his transformations were tied to me being in danger." Sarah replied.

Jill looked thoughtfully at Mike, who was now a large bronze-skinned dragon. "Why would Mike only transform when you're in danger?" she asked jealously.

Probably because it is her ability to open portals that allowed me to gain this ability in the first place. That, and we need her alive in order to get us home. Mike thought to her. Jill was stunned to receive such a clear thought, then remembered that the dragons of this world were telepathic.

"Then why is it harder to hear her thoughts and feel her emotions than it is yours?" Jill asked. Sarah looked at her strangely, not being privy to the telepathic conversation.

Maybe it's because she's always been so withdrawn, it makes her harder to read. Besides, your ability may be needed to be able to talk to me more, if my form can't speak like this one. Mike replied.

"But you're telepathic in that form, you should be able to talk to Sarah without me." Jill countered.

Maybe, but I bet some of the forms I'll end up in can't talk at all. Mike thought.

"Okay, what's going on?" Sarah asked. Mike grinned toothily at Jill, who smiled weakly back.

"We were just having a conversation. Remember, dragons are telepathic in this world." Jill reminded her.

"Oh, yeah, that's right. I forgot about that. I guess dragons here can't talk like they do in Middle Earth." Sarah replied.

"Is this insane little experiment done now?" Jill asked. She was a little annoyed with Sarah for putting Mike in such danger.

"Not quite." Sarah replied. "Mike still needs to figure out how to change back."

And how am I supposed to do that? Mike thought with irritation to Jill.

"He wants to know how he's supposed to do that." Jill relayed.

Sarah looked thoughtful for a moment. "Well, if he thinks about me being safe, maybe that will help." Sarah suggested.

Mike sighed, which sounded very strange coming from a thirty foot long dragon. He closed his eyes and concentrated on Sarah being safe and there being no further danger. To his surprise, the familiar pain came again, and he was back in his own body. "It worked!" he exclaimed happily.

Sarah turned triumphantly to Jill. "So, insane, was it?"

---

 
To Be Continued…
 

---

« Sarah's Shadow - 2 - Shock »

---

"Yes, it was insane! Just because it worked doesn't change the fact you put all our lives in danger to do it!" Jill complained.

Sarah opened a portal and the three of them returned to their own world. "That's the only way it could be done. If Mike didn't perceive us to be in real danger he wouldn't have changed!" she replied.

"She's got a point. If it really works the way she guessed, and it sure looks like it does, this was the only way." Mike said to Jill. Then he turned to Sarah. "Why did you pick that particular place to do it, though? You couldn't know there'd be bandits on that road at that time." He asked curiously.

Sarah shrugged, "I didn't, you're right. I just figured we'd try different places until we found ourselves in a suitably dangerous situation."

"Why not something a little safer?" he asked.

Sarah smiled, "We were perfectly safe the entire time. I had a barrier of portals up around us and could have had one around you if needed."

"Really?" Mike asked with widened eyes. "You're really getting good with those portals! I didn't think they'd be good for anything but traveling to other worlds."

"I didn't, either, but they're proving to be pretty handy." Sarah agreed.

Jill flopped down onto the couch with a weary sigh. Mike joined her and she cuddled up to him with another, happier sigh. "I guess you knew what you were doing." She said grudgingly.

Sarah sat down on the opposite side of Jill from Mike and gave her a quick hug. "Sorry I worried you, Jill." She apologized.

Jill hugged her back and said, "Okay, you're forgiven, but next time I want to know what's going on ahead of time!"

"Deal!" Sarah agreed, happy to have things smoothed out between them.

"If everyone's happy again, could we get something to eat? I'm starving!" Mike whined.

"I wonder if transforming makes you hungrier." Sarah said speculatively.

"In his defense, it is about time for lunch." Jill pointed out after looking at her watch.

They debated about what to have for lunch and settled on Subway. It was right around the corner, so they walked there. "So what do you guys want to do next?" Sarah asked on the way.

"Eat!" Mike replied emphatically.

Sarah rolled her eyes, "I meant after that."

"Did you want to go to another world again?" Jill asked incredulously.

"We can if you want." Sarah replied. "But that's not what I meant."

"Oh." Jill said, "What do you want to do, Mike?"

"Ask me after I've eaten." Mike replied, opening the door for Jill and Sarah. They filed in and ordered their sandwiches.

Once Mike had wolfed down his sub they started in on him again. "Well Mike, what do you want to do?" Jill asked him.

"How about something relaxing, like a movie?" Mike asked hopefully.

"Sounds good to me." Jill agreed. Sarah nodded, so it was decided. They cleaned up and returned to Mike and Jill's apartment and put a movie on. They all relaxed on the couch to watch and Sarah fell asleep with her head on Jill's shoulder about halfway through.

"No wonder she was leaving it up to us. I guess holding all those portals must have tired her out." Jill said quietly after the movie was over.

"I guess so. Should we wake her up?" Mike whispered back.

"No, help me lay her out so I can get up." Jill replied. Mike held onto Sarah so Jill could slide out from under her then they laid her down on the couch. "Thanks."

They retreated to the kitchen so as not to wake Sarah. "Hey, I just thought of something." Jill said once they were seated. "Your clothes never get damaged when you change!"

"Hey, you're right!" Mike said in surprise. "How did I not notice that? You'd think they would have been shredded each time, but they just grow or disappear. In fact, the only time my clothes were an issue at all was when Sarah girlified me."

"Girlified?" Jill inquired with a grin.

Mike shrugged, "That's what Sarah called it."

Jill shook her head and giggled at that. "Have you noticed how differently she's been acting?"

Mike nodded. "Yeah, I think letting herself relax and not worry about the curse so much has really helped. Just imagine how tense she'd be if Erica were going to be here for Christmas, though!"

Jill shuddered at that image. "Yeah, I'm glad we don't have to deal with that! We'd be spending every spare moment traveling to any world that held out even the slightest hope of changing her back."

"Yeah. Erica being on the other side of the continent is turning out to be more helpful than hurtful." Said Mike.

"Oh, I don't know about that. If Erica had been here from the start I think things would be better." Jill replied.

"How would that make things better?" Mike asked.

"There wouldn't be any suspense for Sarah. And if she'd been here from the start she probably would have seen Sean become Sarah, so she'd have to believe it." Jill replied.

Mike shrugged, "I guess so. But then either Erica would be pushing Sarah even harder to change back, or breaking up with her." Mike pointed out.

"I don't know, Erica loves Sarah as much as Sarah loves her. I think Erica might be able to make the adjustment." Jill countered.

Mike laughed, "Yeah, right! Somehow I just can't see Erica doing that!"

They both turned upon hearing a sound from the living room and saw Sarah dash for the door and run out. "Great going, Mike!" Jill growled, running after her.

"Damn!" Mike swore under his breath, and rushed out after them. He got within sight of Sarah's apartment just in time to see Jill enter it. But when he got to the door it was closed and locked. He knocked, but there was no answer. Figuring they didn't want him around right now, he returned to his apartment.

Jill, meanwhile, was trying to entice Sarah out of her room as it was also locked. "Come on, Sarah, Mike doesn't know what he's talking about! Please come out!" she called through the door.

"Go away!" came Sarah's strained voice. With it Jill felt a faint feeling of despair and loneliness.

"Sarah, please open this door and talk to me? Please?" Jill begged. She heard movement inside and the door was unlocked, though not opened. Jill opened it and looked inside. Sarah was face down on her bed, her shoulders shaking silently. "Sarah?" she said softly, walking over slowly and sitting on the bed next to her.

"He's right, she's going to leave me the moment she sees me like this!" Sarah sobbed.

"Look, Sarah," Jill began, rubbing her back, "Mike doesn't know Erica as well as you do. Neither do I. Do you really think that she'd just run away the moment she saw you? Do you really think her feelings for you are that shallow?"

That caught Sarah's attention. "I…I guess not." She admitted. "But how could she accept me as I am?" she asked.

"I imagine she'd rather you changed back, but that doesn't mean that she couldn't deal with it if you are unable to. She might surprise you." Jill replied, hoping she was right.

"And she might not." Sarah countered sadly.

"And she might never have to see you as you are now, either." Jill pointed out.

"I guess." Sarah said, unconvinced.

"Sarah, no matter what happens, Mike and I will always be here for you. You'll never be alone, alright?" Jill said. Sarah sat up and cried on Jill's shoulder for a while. "Better now?" Jill asked when Sarah pulled away.

Sarah nodded. "Sorry I'm so much trouble." She said softly.

Jill shook her head, "You're family to us, that means you get to be as much trouble as you want, and you won't be any trouble at all." She said with a grin. Sarah chuckled and nodded weakly.

"I guess we should go find Mike." Sarah said hesitantly.

"He'll keep. I locked the door, so he knows I want him to stay out for now. We can go see him any time, or bring him back here. Or we can just talk here and you can see him tomorrow." Jill replied.

Sarah nodded and said, "I'd rather stay here, but I wouldn't mind Mike coming over."

Jill nodded and started to get up, then stopped and turned back to Sarah. "There's one thing I want to say, but I don't want you to get upset about it. Just let me say it, and then think about it, okay?" Sarah nodded. "If you want, or there's some reason you think it would be best, to stay female I'll help you with Erica any way I can and Mike and I won't have any problem with it. That's all I wanted to say, so I'll go get Mike if that's alright?" Sarah nodded weakly and watched Jill leave, wondering where that idea had come from.

---

 
To Be Continued…

---

Sarah got up and headed to the bathroom to clean up, thinking about what Jill had said before she left. Why would she think I'd want to stay female? she thought to herself as she splashed water over her face. She couldn't figure it out, so she dismissed it for now and went out into the living room to wait for Jill and Mike. She didn't have to wait long before they walked in, with Mike looking sheepishly at her.

"Uh, sorry Sarah, I shouldn't have said what I did. I'm sure you two will work it out if it comes to that." He said apologetically.

"That's okay, Mike." Sarah said, wanting to put the whole thing behind her as quickly as possible. Mike nodded thankfully and they all sat down, with Sarah in her customary spot in the recliner facing the couch.

"You feeling okay now?" Jill asked worriedly. Sarah nodded. "Good. I'm guessing you're not feeling like going out to eat right now." Sarah nodded again. "Okay, why don't you two relax and I'll make dinner." Sarah nodded again, starting to feel like a jack-in-the-box and watched as Jill walked out into the kitchen and started pulling things out of the fridge for dinner.

Sarah and Mike played video games while they waited for dinner, and all thoughts of the upset earlier were forgotten. By the time Jill called them in for dinner Sarah was smiling as she crushed Mike in one of her favorite games. Mike lost gracefully, glad to see Sarah feeling better.

They had a quiet dinner and Jill and Mike retired shortly thereafter since Sarah was looking tired again. Sarah tried getting Erica on IM, but she was late. Sarah was just about to give up when Erica finally showed up and apologized for keeping her waiting. Erica didn't have much to say, other than that she was finally finished getting ready for her trip to her parents for Christmas, and was ready to crash. They had a quick chat and signed off.

Sarah was also ready to crash and got ready for bed quickly. Turning off the light she was asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.

In the morning Sarah got ready for work and ended up having breakfast with Jill and Mike. Jill took her to work this time, so that Mike could see about reporting Sarah's driver's license missing and see if they would send a new one. They weren't sure if Sarah would be able to use it or not, but she might at least be able to use it to get a new one with her new name and picture.

Work was as hectic as it had been the previous week. Sarah was stuck with Tina, while Tiffany was training another new hire, Kris. Tiffany seemed uncomfortable around Sarah the few times they got near each other and kept giving her furtive looks. Sarah tried to ignore it and focused on helping Tina get used to the routine.

At lunch Sarah ate with Tiffany, Tina, and Kris. She was really getting uncomfortable with the odd looks Tiffany was giving her but tried to concentrate on talking to the new girls.

Jill came in to pick her up a little early, so as soon as she'd clocked out they left. "What's with her?" Jill asked, nodding towards Tiffany who was looking oddly at Sarah again.

"I don't know, she's been acting weird all day. Last week she was, too, but she's been really weird today." Sarah replied.

Jill shrugged. When they got back to Sarah's apartment she found something from her bank in the mail so she opened it right away. "I got my ATM card! Now I can pay you back for all those clothes!" Sarah said happily.

Sarah asked Jill to drive her to the bank. After withdrawing some money and paying Jill back, Sarah wanted to get some groceries. Once they'd gotten back and were putting everything away Sarah said, "How would you like some of my teriyaki chicken for Thursday?"

Jill smiled, it'd been a while since she'd had Sarah's teriyaki chicken. She always marinated it for a few days and her mix, though a little different every time, was always good! "Sure, that would be great!" Jill said happily. "I guess that's why you got all the chicken wings."

"Yep! You know how I like using the smaller pieces, they really soak up the flavor." Sarah agreed as she got the ingredients together for her marinade.

"Want me to make cookies?" Jill asked. They were both big fans of chocolate chip cookies, the more chips the better!

"Sure! I assume you guys will be at Mike's parents' house for Christmas dinner?" Sarah replied. She put the chicken wings in a pan with the sauce and covered them before putting them in the fridge to marinade.

Jill nodded, "Yeah. I wish you could come with us, but I guess we'd have a lot of explaining to do for that!"

"That's for sure! Although if anybody would be able to handle, it's Mike's parents!" Sarah agreed.

"We…could do that, you know." Jill said hesitantly. She didn't expect Sarah to agree to it, but she had to try.

"Uh uh!" Sarah replied, shaking her head. "Even if they did take it in stride, how would they react when I changed back? Better that they never see me like this in the first place."

"Just a thought." Jill said.

They worked on dinner in silence after that. Mike joined them a few minutes later and got out plates and silverware and then retreated to the kitchen table.

Over dinner Jill told Mike about their Christmas Eve plans. "Cool! It's been a while since we've had your teriyaki chicken, I miss it!" Mike said enthusiastically.

After dinner Jill reminded Sarah about her need to get more clothes. Then she volunteered Mike to help. "Hey, why do I have to go?" Mike complained.

"Somebody's got to carry everything." Jill replied sensibly. He groaned, but went along with them.

They started with the same thrift store they went to last time. Sarah founds some more skirts and tops, but still didn't find any pants that were long enough. She also found a purse, at Jill's insistence.

They were on their way to the shoe store when Sarah let out a pained hiss. "What's wrong?" Jill asked.

"I don't know, I just got this sharp pain all the sudden." Sarah replied, wincing.

"Where is it?" Jill asked.

"Below my stomach, I guess it must be in the intestines or something." Sarah replied, holding one hand over the spot that was hurting.

"I was wondering when this would happen." Jill said. At Sarah's inquisitive look she said, "It's probably just a cramp. We can pick you up some Midol while we're out, it works wonders."

Sarah was about to ask what Jill was talking about until she remembered what Midol was for. "Oh." She said in a shocked tone.

Jill nodded, "Yeah, we'll also need to get you some tampons or pads."

Mike was thoroughly confused until that point. "Oh!" he said, unconsciously echoing Sarah.

They changed direction and went to Wal Mart. They found all the supplies Sarah would need there, and then looked at shoes while they were at it. Sarah found a pair of walking shoes that were cheap enough for her budget. "I think that's about all I can afford right now." Sarah said when she saw the total.

Jill nodded and they returned to Sarah's apartment. Mike carried everything in, as Jill was helping Sarah who was in quite a bit of pain. "Figures it would be bad the first time." Jill muttered. "Lets get some of that Midol in you, then you can take a nice hot bath." Sarah nodded and let Jill lead her in.

Mike said goodnight to Sarah, as it seemed obvious she wouldn't be up to anything else that night and it was getting late anyway. Jill made sure Sarah took two Midol and prepared her bath for her. "Do you want me to stick around?" Jill asked once Sarah was safely ensconced in her bath.

Sarah sighed in relief as the heat of the water eased some of the pain. "No, I'll be okay." She replied absently. Jill gave her an awkward hug goodbye and went home.

Sarah stayed in the bath until the water started to cool. By then the Midol was doing its job and she felt much better, if a bit sleepy. She got ready for bed and went online. She chatted with Erica briefly, but they were both tired.

She said goodnight to Erica and climbed in bed and was soon fast asleep.

---

 
To Be Continued…

---

Sarah awoke in the morning feeling miserable. The first thing she did was take more Midol. Just when I was getting used to this, too… she thought.

She lingered in the shower with the water as hot as she could stand, but it didn't help much. By the time Mike came for her she'd just managed to get ready and hadn't eaten anything. "You ready to go?" Mike asked as he stepped through the door. Sarah's only answer was to pick up her new purse and nod. Mike led her out to his car and drove her to work.

"You okay?" Mike asked as Sarah was getting out of the car. Sarah nodded and closed the door. Mike said goodbye and left.

Sarah struggled through her work day, all the more so because she had to work with Kris again. She was finally getting the hang of the job by the end of the day, so Sarah was looking forward to being back to her normal job on Wednesday.

"Hi Sarah, how are you doing?" Mike greeted her when he arrived to take her home.

"Fine." Sarah replied without looking up. Mike shrugged and led her out to his car and drove her home.

When they entered the apartment they found Jill already working on dinner. "Want some help?" Sarah asked.

"Hi Sarah, no thanks, there's not much left to do. Dinner will be ready in ten minutes or so." Jill replied.

"Okay." Sarah replied, walking over to the sink and filling up a glass with water to take more Midol with. "How did women survive before Midol was invented, anyway?"

"With difficulty!" Jill replied with a laugh. "Seriously, though, it's different for each woman. Some really don't have much trouble at all."

"Lucky them." Sarah grouched.

Dinner was ready quickly and they sat down to eat. "Do you have any plans for tonight?" Jill asked Sarah.

"Well, I do need to check on the chicken and figure out what else I'm going to make on Thursday." Sarah replied.

"Why don't I help you with that, then we can do something." Jill said. Sarah agreed and they all headed over to Sarah's apartment.

"So what did you have in mind?" Sarah asked as she stirred up the chicken to make sure the sauce hadn't separated and all the chicken absorbed some of the marinade.

"Saw through me, huh?" Jill replied with a grin. "Yeah, I was hoping we could make another trip to Xanth. You guys didn't really get a chance to see it last time, we only saw the Magician's castle."

Sarah shrugged, "Fine by me. I was thinking about baking some quick bread, what do you think?" she asked, pointing out a couple of breads in a recipe book.

Jill looked at them and pointed to one, "That one looks good."

Jill and Sarah mixed up the bread and poured it into a pan. After covering it they left it in the fridge to bake Wednesday.

"Ready to go?" Sarah asked once they'd cleaned up their mess.

"In just a minute." Jill replied. She'd left a bag near the door when she came over. She slung the strap for the bag over her shoulder and pulled out the book. "I want you to use this book. I've marked the place."

Sarah took the book and looked at the marked place. "Healing spring?" she asked curiously.

Jill nodded and showed Sarah the contents of her bag. There were four two liter bottles inside. "I figured if we're going to be going to dangerous places we would benefit from having some of that water on hand to heal injuries." Jill explained.

"So that's what that's for! Good idea Jill!" Mike said. "Let me get the sword, and then we'll be ready to go."

"Don't forget that knife, while you're at it." Jill called after him. He nodded and continued out. Sarah gathered up her archery gear while he was gone.

"I hope we aren't really going to need this stuff." Jill said.

"With Mike's transforming and my portals we probably don't, but it doesn't hurt to be prepared." Sarah replied.

"True, and we know Xanth can be dangerous." Jill agreed.

Mike returned with the sword, tied on with a piece of rope again. "Ready to go?" he asked. The others nodded and Sarah opened the portal. She set the book down and they walked through.

On the other side they found themselves in a clearing of a forest. The healing spring dominated the clearing. Jill and Sarah immediately started filling the bottles with the magical water. "You going to help Mike?" Jill asked.

"I am helping, I'm making sure nothing catches us by surprise." Mike replied. Jill shrugged and got back to filling the bottles.

They'd just finished filling the first two bottles and closed them when there was a noise from the forest. Sarah set the full bottle down, picked up her bow, and set an arrow. Mike had already drawn his sword and was holding it in both hands.

Out of the forest ambled a small group of goblins. On seeing Mike and the others they charged at Mike. The first one never made it to him as an arrow sprouted in his chest. Mike parried the charge of the second and kicked it in the face, sending it sprawling. There were still six left and three of them peeled off to attack Sarah.

Seeing this, Mike felt the familiar pain of transformation. A moment later he found himself unchanged from the waist up, but with a long serpentine tail for his lower half. The sword was still in his hand so he used it to parry the attack of the one goblin unfazed by his transformation. He spun around to go after the other three goblins, knocking the remaining goblins down with his tail without realizing it.

By the time Mike made it to the other group of goblins one of them was already down with an arrow in its leg. Mike ignored him and threw himself at the other two. As before his new body was as natural as his original form, so he was able to hit both goblins at once, one with his sword and the other with his tail. The goblin he hit with his tail took one look at the changed Mike and ran off. The other goblins that could did too. The one with the arrow in its leg crawled off after them. Two were dead.

Mike watched carefully until all the living goblins were out of sight, even the injured one, before turning to check on Jill and Sarah. He found Jill holding Sarah's hair out of the way while she threw up everything she'd eaten. "Is she okay?" Mike asked worriedly.

"She's just upset, she'll be fine." Jill replied. Sarah had stopped heaving so she helped her clean herself up. Sarah had dropped her bow at some point and it was lying on the ground near the spring.

"Come on, lets fill these up." Sarah said weakly, picking up one of the empty bottles. Jill nodded and grabbed the other one and they started filling them. Mike slithered around the clearing, watching for any more intruders. There weren't any and they'd soon filled all the bottles.

Sarah grabbed her bow and opened the portal. Mike waited for Jill and Sarah to go through before following them.

Back in her apartment Sarah put her archery equipment away. Turning back to the others she noticed that Mike was still a naga. "Uh, Mike, you might want to change back before you wreck the place with that long tail of yours." She said.

"Huh?" Mike replied, accidentally knocking over the recliner with said tail. "Oh." As before he concentrated on Sarah being safe and he was able to change back. "I guess that answers one question."

"What question? We already knew you could change back on your own." Jill asked.

"I'd only done it once, though. But the question I was referring to was whether a magical form like that could survive in our world. I thought I might revert when I came through the portal, but I didn't." Mike replied.

"That's a good point, in the Xanth books magical creatures couldn't survive in Mundania. I guess our world has enough magic in it for a naga to survive." Jill said.

"Are you alright now?" Mike asked Sarah, who was lying on the couch.

"Yeah, I guess." She replied weakly. Then she saw the bloody sword in Mike's hand and ran to the bathroom to throw up again.

"I guess she's not alright, after all." Mike commented.

"Maybe you should clean up that sword." Jill suggested, looking a little green herself.

"Oh, yeah, okay." Mike went into the kitchen and cleaned off the sword. He made sure it was dry before sheathing it. He untied the rope from his waist and put the sword down on the kitchen table.

As he was walking back into the living room Jill and Sarah were returning from the bathroom. "What's that?" Jill asked, pointing at the window.

---

 
To Be Continued…
 

---

« Sarah's Shadow - 3 - Fear »

---

« Toil & Trouble 4 - A New Friend? »

---

"What's what?" Mike asked, looking at the window. He didn't see anything unusual.

Jill looked back at the window and shrugged, "I thought I saw something."

"Are you feeling okay Sarah?" Mike asked, noticing how pale she looked.

"Just tired." She replied.

"Sounds like our cue." Jill said. "Let's let her get some rest." She hugged Sarah and Mike said goodbye, then they left.

Sarah went online right away.

SeanDreamer is logged on
…
…
Erica378 is logged on

<SeanDreamer>: Hey Erica, what kept you?
<Erica378>: Hi Sean, sorry about that. My parents took me out to eat. There was a really long line so we just got home.
<SeanDreamer>: That's okay. How's the visit going?
<Erica378>: Great! A lot of the extended family is here, too. Are you doing anything for Christmas?
<SeanDreamer>: I'm making dinner for Mike and Jill Thursday. They're going to visit Mike's parents on Christmas day, so I'll be on my own.
<Erica378>: What?! You can't be alone on Christmas! Tell Mike he has to take you with him! His parents love you anyway.
<SeanDreamer>: They already have plans, but don't worry about me. Work's been really busy lately so I'll enjoy a rest day.
<Erica378>: *Sigh* You are so stubborn sometimes! What are you making for dinner Thursday, anyway?
<SeanDreamer>: Teriyaki chicken wings and coconut bread. I'll make some kind of vegetable and maybe something else. That should be enough, especially with the cookies Jill's making.
<Erica378>: Mmm, sounds good! I miss that teriyaki chicken of yours! I tried making it a couple of times, but I must have gotten the proportions wrong. It wasn't very good.
<SeanDreamer>: You probably used the wrong ingredients. Some things are okay to substitute, some aren't!
<Erica378>: So you keep telling me! That's why I like to leave the cooking to you, you're much better at it.
<SeanDreamer>: I'm having trouble staying awake, I guess I'd better go to bed.
<Erica378>: I've got a couple of relatives that are leaving early I have to say goodbye too, anyway. I love you!
<SeanDreamer>: I love you too, goodnight!
<Erica378>: Goodnight!

SeanDreamer has logged off
Erica378 has logged off

Sarah wearily turned off her computer and climbed into bed without bothering to change clothes. In moments she was sleeping deeply.

Sarah awoke feeling a little better than the previous morning. A little. After a Midol and breakfast she met up with Mike for her ride over to work. "I forgot to ask, how did things go with my driver's license?" Sarah asked once they were on their way.

"Fine, you'll have a new license in a week or two. I don't know if you'll be able to use it, though. You may have to get a new one with your new name and picture." Mike replied.

"Ugh, I hope not! That would make changing back a lot harder, I think." Sarah grumbled.

"I know, I'm hoping you don't have to do that either. On the plus side, from what that Magician said you'll be able to change back and forth at will like you can do to other people. That could make transitioning back a little easier." Mike said hopefully.

"Yeah, I guess that could help." Sarah agreed. Nothing more was said until they arrived.

"Have a nice day Sarah." Mike said as she unbuckled her seatbelt.

"Thanks, you too Mike." Sarah replied and got out of the car. She waved when he did and walked inside.

"Sarah, I'm glad to see you! Could you help Kris again today?" Tiffany said in greeting. She seemed almost normal.

"Okay." Sarah sighed. Kris was a little slow. Not mentally slow, but more like doesn't pay attention to a word you say, slow. Her day dragged on, telling Kris what she needed to do over and over again. By the end of the day she seemed to have finally picked things up well enough.

Tiffany said goodbye to Sarah as they were clocking out pleasantly enough, but there was still something off about the way she looked at her. Sarah shook it off and went looking for Mike. She didn't have to look far, as he was already looking for her. "Ready to go?" he asked. She nodded. They drove back and found Jill working on dinner again.

"Hi Sarah! Could you watch dinner for me while I work on the cookies?" she asked. Sarah nodded and took over from her at the stove. She noticed there were already a couple of batches of cookies laying out to cool. Jill soon added another and put another batch in to cook.

"After dinner we can go over to your place and get whatever we can ready for tomorrow, like the bread." Jill suggested. Sarah agreed.

"Dinner's ready." Sarah announced a few minutes later. Mike was quick to put in an appearance, but Sarah insisted he help Jill with the cookies first. Meanwhile she laid out some plates and silverware.

They made short work of their dinner and Mike got the job of cleaning up while Sarah helped Jill find places for all the cookies to cool without sticking to each other. "How many did you bake, anyway?" Sarah asked.

Jill shrugged, "About a hundred and twenty, I guess. I don't have to worry about them going to waste, Mike demolishes them." As she said this Sarah saw that Mike already had two in hand and another disappearing into his mouth.

"I see what you mean." Sarah said with a grin. They soon joined Mike in devouring some of the chocolaty goodies.

"Okay, that's enough chocolate, we've still got to get your bread baked." Jill admonished, mostly to Mike. He guiltily put down the cookie (his twelfth) he'd been about to eat and followed the girls to Sarah's apartment. The first thing Sarah did was warm up the oven. Then they agreed on what else they wanted besides chicken and bread, but it didn't require much preparation.

Once the oven was heated up Sarah put the bread in and set the timer. They watched TV while they waited for the bread to bake. "Do you want to go visit another world tonight?" Mike asked.

"Did you have something in mind?" Sarah asked curiously.

He shrugged and said, "Not really, but you seem to like it. I have to admit it can be pretty fun at times."

"Yeah, I guess it can. When I'm not afraid for my life, anyway." Sarah replied thoughtfully.

"And you don't have to be afraid for your life much anymore, with the advances you've made in using your portal powers." Jill pointed out. "Plus Mike's getting to be pretty useful, too!"

"Hey, I was always useful!" he complained.

"Yeah, but not against dragons!" Jill replied with a laugh.

That discussion was disrupted when the timer went off. Sarah checked on the bread and decided it needed a few more minutes. "Well, we'll have to wait until the bread is done before we go anywhere." She pointed out when she returned from the kitchen.

"Not done yet?" Jill asked.

"Not yet, but it won't be long." Sarah replied.

"Just long enough to pick out a book!" Mike exclaimed, looking at the books in Sarah's bookcase. Jill joined him and they debated what worlds would be best for a quick visit. Sarah left them to it and checked on the bread. She decided it was done enough and turned off the oven. She set it out to cool and returned to the living room.

"Come up with anything?" she asked.

"Yes. How about we go sight seeing?" Mike replied, handing the book in his hands to Sarah.

"I don't know, that place is pretty dangerous." Sarah said.

"Yeah, but if we go at the beginning of the book we can see some dinosaurs without having to worry about getting eaten. If we're still there when Nedry cuts the power to the security systems we'll portal out." Jill suggested.

"You guys really want to go to Jurassic Park?" Sarah asked incredulously.

"Sure, why not?" Mike replied nonchalantly.

Sarah shook her head in amazement, "You guys are really getting into this, aren't you?"

Jill and Mike grinned. "Yeah, we are!" they said in unison. Sarah groaned, but took the book. She opened the book and found the part when Grant first got to the island and opened the portal. Jill and Mike stepped through eagerly, leaving Sarah to follow behind.

They arrived within sight of the doors leading into the park proper, but they were closed. "Uh, how are we going to get in?" Mike asked.

"Sarah, can't you open two portals and link them together, one on this side of the door and one on the other?" Jill suggested. Sarah shrugged, but gave it a try. She'd never tried to open a portal somewhere that she couldn't see, except when using a book as a guide. She felt that the second portal was open, and linked, but wasn't sure it was in the right place.

"Let me check and see if I got this right." She said, stepping through the portal. The portal opened up just on the other side of the door, exactly as intended. With a grin she walked back through the portal. "It worked, come on through!" she exclaimed. Mike and Jill followed her through the linked portals and she closed them back up.

"Cool, maybe you can use that trick in our world, too." Said Mike.

Sarah's eyes widened, "Yeah, I probably can!"

---

 
To Be Continued…

---

"We'll have to experiment with that later. For now, let's go see some dinosaurs!" Mike said. Sarah and Jill agreed and they started walking down the road, looking right and left to find any dinosaurs that might be in sight.

They didn't see any dinosaurs for a while, but the different plants were interesting enough. Sarah thought she heard something behind her at one point, but didn't see anything. She was distracted from that when they came across their first dinosaurs.

"Look a bit different than in the movie." Mike commented.

"Are you really surprised?" Jill asked.

"No, I guess not." Mike answered. They continued the tour and soon came across the T-rex.

"Hey Mike, do you think you could become a T-rex?" Jill asked.

Mike shrugged, "I suppose so, but I can't control it."

"You were able to change back on your own, why not?" Jill replied.

"How am I supposed to do that?" he asked.

"Well, if Sarah being in danger is really the key, then just imagine that she is." Jill said.

Mike shrugged and tried it. Nothing happened at first, but then the now familiar pain of transformation washed over him. That wasn't as bad as before. he thought as he looked down on his tiny fore claws and beyond them to his huge feet.

"I guess you're getting better at this." Jill said.

"Wow, it works! Can you talk?" Sarah asked curiously.

Mike tried, but all that came out was an unintelligible growl. Guess not. Shall I change back now? he thought, hoping Jill would hear it.

"Might as well." Jill replied, "I think you're freaking out the T-rex anyway." The Tyrannosaurus was looking rather skittish.

"Are you guys talking telepathically again?" Sarah asked, annoyed at being left out.

Before Jill could answer Mike changed back. "Sorry, but I couldn't talk in that form any other way." Mike said apologetically.

Sarah sighed and said, "I guess I'd better get used to it. At least now we know you can change shape at will, and even pick your form. I wonder if you can use one of the other forms you've taken here?"

Mike shrugged, "Only one way to find out, I guess." With that he concentrated again, this time on the dragon form he took last time. A moment later he was a bronze dragon again. Yep, I guess I can. he projected to Jill.

"Cool! That ability is getting more useful all the time." Sarah exclaimed. Jill nodded her agreement and Mike changed back again.

"I guess we don't have to worry about dinosaurs after all." Jill remarked.

"Yeah, you could become that invisible giant again and not even the largest dinosaur would be a threat to you." Sarah agreed.

Mike shrugged, "Now that's settled, why don't we go look at more dinosaurs?" The others agreed and they continued on. Some of the dinosaurs weren't in sight, as had been the case with some of the first areas they came to, but they still managed to spot a few more. When they reached the gate they didn't bother trying to go through it and opened another portal home.

They emerged back in Sarah's apartment. Mike went straight to the couch while Sarah and Jill went to the kitchen to check on the bread. None of them noticed a shape dart out of the portal and hide just before it closed.

Sarah sliced up the bread and covered it and then stirred the chicken one more time. "Is Mike working tomorrow?" Sarah asked as she was finishing.

Jill shook her head, "No, I guess not that many people want to take martial arts classes on Christmas Eve."

"Can't blame them. I still have to work, though." Sarah complained.

"How is work going for you?" Jill asked as they returned to the living room.

"A lot better, especially since I'm done training Kris now. She was really slow to pick things up. Tina was great, though, she'll be a big help. Tiffany's even acting more normal now, and the customers are a lot nicer to me than they used to be." Sarah replied.

"Good!" Jill said happily.

Sarah looked at the clock and saw it was getting very late. "I'd better get online and see if Erica's still on!" she exclaimed worriedly.

"Okay, we'll see you tomorrow!" Jill said and hugged Sarah goodbye. Mike said goodnight and they left. Sarah booted up her computer and got online, but there was no sign of Erica.

Sarah left it on and got ready for bed, then cleaned up the kitchen, but Erica still wasn't on. I must have missed her! she thought, hoping she wouldn't be too unhappy with her about it. Then she went to bed and fell asleep immediately.

Sarah woke a little late, so she had to skip breakfast. Then she discovered that she had started bleeding, which didn't improve her mood any. The blood reminded her of the goblins she and Mike had killed, which made her feel even worse. By the time she got to work she was feeling extremely low and barely managed to hide it from Mike and her coworkers.

She found herself dealing once again with people's computer problems that were ridiculously simple or stemmed from extreme ignorance. She had to bite her tongue more than once to keep from saying something she'd regret. When Mike came to collect her she just said "Hi." And followed him out to his car without saying any more until she was home. Then all she said was that she had to get to work on dinner and she was off to her apartment.

Wonder what's eating at her? Mike thought as he walked into his apartment. He was shocked to find that Jill was sitting on the couch talking to Erica! "Erica, what are you doing here?" he exclaimed.

Erica smiled, "I'm here to surprise Sean! Is he home yet?"

Before Mike could answer Jill said, "Why don't I go check on him? We should make sure he finishes dinner before you go over there or he'll forget all about it!" she said with forced humor.

"Okay." Erica agreed. "How have you been Mike?" she asked, turning to him.

Don't tell her anything yet. Mike heard Jill in his head. This was the first time she'd managed something like that and he barely managed to conceal his surprise. "Great Erica. How about you?" he asked with as much enthusiasm as he could muster.

Jill left him to keep Erica busy and ran over to Sarah's apartment. When she arrived Sarah was just getting the chicken out of the fridge. "Sarah, you might want to wait to do that!" she said urgently.

Sarah turned and saw the worried expression on Jill's face. "What's up?" she asked worriedly.

Jill took a deep breath and said, "Erica decided to surprise you, she's here, at our apartment!"

Sarah's eyes widened until they seemed as if they'd pop out of her head. "She's here?! Now?!" she gasped. Jill nodded. "I've got to get out of here!" Before Jill knew what was happening Sarah ran into the living room and grabbed a random book off the bookshelf. She opened a portal and dropped the book absent mindedly, but Jill managed to grab her arm before she could step through.

"What are you doing?!" she exclaimed, "We've got to talk to Erica! We'll have to tell her everything, now."

"No way! I'm going to get myself changed back right now, no matter what! Let go!" Sarah yelled back, trying to wrench her arm free. Jill held on tenaciously, until Sarah slapped her. Jill suddenly let go and Sarah dived through the portal, closing it instantly behind her.

Jill was left lying on the floor where she'd fallen in surprise when she realized she was now male, again! She looked down at herself and was horrified at what she saw, all the more so because she was wearing a dress. Realizing she was stuck like this until Sarah came back, Jill ran into the bathroom in tears and locked herself in.

---

Sarah fell out of the portal onto a dirt road. She climbed to her feet and dusted herself off while looking around at her surroundings. The road continued on some ways in both directions until it was lost to sight where it turned. The road was closely bordered by old growth trees on both sides. A group of travelers were on the road, mere feet from where she'd appeared. "Who are you?!" one of them exclaimed, drawing a sword. He was wearing plate mail armor and two of the others who were similarly armored drew their own swords. Another man in chain mail armor was looking at Sarah curiously, while a man in robes seemed amused at his companion's antics.

"I…I'm Sarah. Uh, do you know where I can find a really powerful, skilled wizard around here?" she asked uncertainly.

The robed man said, "Are you looking for a teacher?"

"Uh, no, I'm looking to get a curse removed." Sarah replied.

---

 
To Be Continued…
 

---

« Sarah's Shadow - 4 - Traveling »

---

"A curse, you say? It must be a terrible curse, indeed, to need such skilled and powerful help! You're in luck, there's a wizard of the sort you describe just off this road. We're not going there, but you are welcome to travel with us until we reach the fork in the road that leads to his tower." The robed man said. His companions looked at him with anger or curiosity.

"Really? That would be great!" Sarah exclaimed, thinking that maybe she had a chance of succeeding.

"Excellent! There is one problem though." He replied ominously.

Sarah frowned, "What kind of problem?"

"There are quite a few monsters in this area. It is unlikely that we'll get to the fork in the road without being attacked. We will want you to contribute to our defense." He explained.

"Oh. Well, I guess I can help." Sarah said dubiously.

"You seem doubtful, do you not know any offensive spells?" he asked curiously.

"Um, no, not really." Sarah replied, realizing he must have seen her arrive and thought she was a wizard herself.

"Hmm, well, this should help." He said, handing a simple wooden wand to her. "This wand is charged with a fireball spell. If we are attacked, aim it where you want the blast to land and say 'vascor'. Just make sure none of us are within at least ten feet of your target before you use it!"

Sarah nodded and took the wand. It didn't seem like anything special. There were a few strange runes carved into it at the tip, but otherwise it was just a smooth wooden rod. She kept a firm grip on it and recited the word over and over in her mind to make sure she didn't forget it. Once he'd handed over the wand the group reformed and began walking again, with Sarah next to the man who gave her the wand.

As they were walking something occurred to Sarah and she asked him, "Why did you give me this wand, isn't it rather valuable?"

To Sarah's surprise he laughed! "No, not really." He began to explain, "It's an old wand and only has enough power for one or two more spells. It should be enough to help if we're attacked, though."

Sarah nodded and they continued on in silence. The sun was well on its way down when there was a series of growls and suddenly they were surrounded by several dog-like, small men wielding crude weapons. They didn't give the travelers much time to react, but they were well used to this sort of thing and the three men in plate armor met them with swords drawn.

The man in chain mail armor pulled a mace from a thong at his belt and joined in, while the other man drew a throwing knife and held it, waiting for a good opportunity. Sarah stayed at his side, not sure what to do. She soon realized they didn't need her help, as the dog-men were getting massacred! There were at least a dozen of them, but their small size and lack of skill or armor left them at a distinct disadvantage. Half of them were dead, and several injured, when a loud roar was heard from the edge of the forest and a large human-like creature came barreling out of the trees. He was carrying a large club that looked more like a tree trunk than anything else.

The dog-men scattered to avoid him, but the travelers met his charge head on. One of the fleeing dog-men was caught up with one of the swordsman when the behemoth swung his club. Both were knocked well back into the forest and out of sight. The other two swordsmen took advantage of the distraction to attack it, but their swords caused little damage to its tough hide. The man with the mace held up some kind of symbol in his other hand and chanted something that Sarah couldn't understand. A blast of energy shot out of his hand and struck the creature square in the chest. It was temporarily stunned, but it seemed to have no other effect.

The fifth man dropped his throwing dagger and chanted his own spell. Lightning shot out and struck the behemoth, causing it to cry out in pain. It tried to get to the wizard, but his friends pressed their attack and fenced him in. Sarah looked at the wizard questioningly, holding up the wand, but he shook his head. "Too close." He said. Sarah nodded and watched as he and his friend blasted the creature with more spells and the warriors continued to hack and slash at it.

They were all so focused on the large monster that they completely missed the return of three dog-men. Their first warning was when one of the warriors cried out in pain as the dagger of one of the dog-men was buried deep into his side. He fell and the last warrior was forced to split his attention between the larger monster and the three smaller ones. He was soon flying through the air with two of those dog-men from another swing of the creature's giant club. The wizard quickly finished off the last dog-man with a spell and then turned his attention back to the larger monster.

He glanced meaningfully at his friend and then blasted the creature with a spell that seemed to freeze it in place. "That won't last long, come on we've got to find the others!" he told Sarah, and all three of them fled into the forest, the injured warrior on the other spell caster's shoulder.

They soon found the other two warriors battling the remaining dog-men. There were three dead at their feet and two still fighting. They ran over behind them and laid down the injured warrior. The armored spell caster began praying over the injured man and the wizard turned back towards the direction they came from, watching for the large monster to return.

Another dog-man died before the behemoth returned. It came straight at the wizard, but was met with a column of flame from his palm. He stopped and put his arms up to protect his face from the flames, but was clearly in pain. The third warrior was just getting to his feet when a new threat appeared. This creature was cat-like, but huge! It also had strange tentacles growing from its shoulders and was strangely hard to look at. It struck one of the warriors down with one blow before he had a chance to defend himself. The cleric attacked the remaining dog-man so the warriors could concentrate on this new threat.

The dog-man seemed as afraid of the cat-like creature as anything, and was so distracted by its appearance that the cleric easily knocked it out. Meanwhile, the behemoth had recovered from the wizard's attack and charged again. This time it ran straight into a protective shield. It clawed away at it, but failed to get through to the wizard. Sarah looked on helplessly as the battle unfolded around her. Things were happening much too fast for her to contribute anything, especially since her only weapon was as dangerous for them as it was for their enemies!

The warriors were having no luck striking the monster that had so easily felled their comrade, and were hard pressed not to join him. The cleric decided to free up the wizard from the monster attacking him and erected a magical barrier of golden light between them. The wizard smiled at him and then began pelting the other beast with small magical projectiles. He didn't seem to have the same problem as the warriors hitting it, but his attacks weren't accomplishing much. The cleric joined him in blasting the cat-like monster, but his spells were equally ineffective.

The spell casters turned when they heard the roar of the behemoth, who was about to break down the barrier. "Use the wand!" the wizard shouted.

Sarah nodded and pointed the wand at the creature and yelled out, "Vascor!" A small ball of fire shot forth from the wand and struck the creature in the chest, exploding into a small firestorm. Sarah was knocked from her feet, as were the wizard, cleric, and the monster she hit with the fireball. They weren't injured, but it was. Even so, it still climbed to its feet and roared in anger and pain. The cleric held up his holy symbol and muttered another spell. Nothing seemed to happen at first, and Sarah was about ready to try the wand again, when a pillar of fire shot down from the sky and engulfed the monster. This was just too much for the behemoth and he felt to the ground, a charred corpse.

Their celebrations were short-lived, however, as both warriors cried out in pain. One fell with blood gushing from his throat. The other was holding his side with one hand while trying to continue to wield his sword with the other. His efforts were ineffectual and he soon joined his friend in death.

---

 
To Be Continued…

---

The cleric seemed exhausted from the spell that killed the other monster. The wizard fired off more magical projectiles at the remaining monster, but they were as ineffectual as before. With one bound it was at the wizards throat, killing him instantly. Sarah took a chance and fired another fireball at the creature. The explosion threw them all to the ground and Sarah's skin felt like she'd been laying out in the hot sun all day. When she regained her feet she saw that the cleric was chanting something and the creature was already back on its feet.

The cleric's chanting ended and a magical blast hit the creature in the head, stunning it. The cleric fell to his knees wearily and looked hopelessly at Sarah. 'Go' he mouthed to her, just before the creature's fangs sank into his shoulder. Sarah stared in horror for a moment, then turned and fled.

A scream of pain followed her, only to be cut short. Then she heard the pounding of the creatures paws as it chased after her. She ran frantically. The creature was quickly catching up with her and she turned and fired off another fireball while simultaneously opening a portal. The blast was more powerful than she expected and she was thrown bodily through her own portal. Her head hit something on the other side and she blacked out.

---

When Jill didn't return, Mike and Erica became worried. Mike tried to convince her to stay behind while he checked on Jill, but Erica was as stubborn as Sarah could be and refused. Sighing in resignation he'd walked with Erica over to Sarah's apartment. The door was locked, but Mike had his key and opened it. When Mike saw the book lying on the floor he knew what must have happened, though he assumed that Jill went with Sarah. As Erica went looking for Sean, Mike picked up the book and looked at the title. He didn't recognize it, so he read the synopsis on the back. Frowning, he absently set the book on the bookshelf. This is a rather dark story, by the looks of things. I hope they're alright. he thought.

"Are you in there Sean?" he heard Erica call out. He followed her voice and found her at the door to Sarah's bathroom. The door was closed and locked, but light was coming through around the edges of the door.

"Uh…Sean's not here right now." Someone called out in reply. Mike was surprised, as it didn't sound like anyone he knew.

"Who are you?" Mike asked curiously.

"Uh, hi Mike, it's uh…Jack." The person in the bathroom replied.

Mike was confused, as this person obviously knew him. It's me, Mike, Sarah changed me. he heard Jill's thoughts in his mind in her normal mental voice. His eyes widened in surprise and he realized that Sarah was in that world all by herself!

"Uh, Erica, maybe you'd better wait in Sa…Sean's room." Mike suggested hesitantly.

Erica's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "What's going on here, Mike? Who is that in the bathroom, and where is Sean? And Jill, for that matter?" she demanded.

We have to tell her, everything. Jill told him.

Great. he thought sarcastically. "Uh, Erica, I think you should sit down for this one." Mike said weakly.

Just then the bathroom door opened and Jill stepped out, wrapped in a large towel. Her dress was covered by it, so that it looked like she wasn't wearing any clothes at all. "Hi Erica, I really think you'll want to sit down for this like Mike suggested." She said in a deep voice that upset Mike to hear almost as much as it upset Jill.

Erica looked at them both suspiciously, but followed them into the living room and sat in the recliner and waited for their explanation. Mike and Jill sat on the couch, though not nearly as close as they usually would. "Okay, let's hear it." She said in a commanding tone.

Mike and Jill exchanged uncomfortable glances and Mike said, "Well, some really weird things have happened in the last three weeks. Remember those dreams Sean was having?"

Erica frowned, "Yes, I remember. What do they have to do with anything?"

"Sean wasn't dreaming. He was physically in those places he dreamed about." Mike explained. Erica was about to say something but Mike held his hand up to stop her. "Let me finish. He brought a couple of things back with him from those dreams. A very large white feather, and a sword. I think the feather's in our apartment, but the sword is here." He stood up and walked over to the closet where he had left the sword after their last adventure. He picked it up and handed it to Erica. She drew the sword part way out of the sheath and frowned at the scratches and nicks in the blade.

"I don't see how you could think this proves anything!" she said in irritation.

"Mike, show her." Jill said softly. Your naga form is small enough to use here. She's not going to believe in magic without seeing it. she added mentally.

Sighing, Mike moved to the largest open area of the room and shifted to naga form. It was difficult without having Sarah there with him, but he still managed it. Mostly by thinking of her in that other world all by herself. "This is one of the things that has changed while you've been gone. We've all gained new abilities. I can shape shift." He said, careful not to let his tail knock anything down.

Erica just sat there with her mouth gaping open in shock for several long moments. Finally, she shook herself and approached Mike. He held still while she touched his tail. "This can't be real…" she said in disbelief.

"It is. The first ability to surface was Sean's ability to open portals to other worlds. After the fourth dream he started opening them when he read a book or watched some movies. He didn't have any control over it at first, but he's become quite adept at it, now. However, one of our early trips ran us afoul of Venus. She got annoyed with us and tried to curse us. I think it was aimed at Jill, but I pushed her through the portal Sean opened and was about to follow her. If not for Sean, the curse would have hit me. He pushed me into the portal and out of the way of the curse, but it hit him instead." Mike said.

Erica looked at him worriedly, then glanced over at Jill. "You're not going to tell me that is Sean, are you?" she asked.

"No," Jill answered, "I'm Jill."

"I don't believe it." Erica replied stubbornly.

"It's true, that's Jill. The curse turned Sean into a girl. Shortly afterwards she discovered she could change anyone's gender but her own with a touch. I'm guessing she got into an argument with Jill after she told her about you being here, and Sarah changed Jill's gender and opened a portal to another world." Mike replied.

"Pretty much." Jill agreed. "She was intent on trying again to find a way back before you could see her. I tried to stop her, so she slapped me and changed me into this." she explained with disgust at her new form.

"You really expect me to believe that you're Jill, Sean's a girl, and he's in some other world trying to change back?!" Erica exclaimed incredulously.

"Is that so hard to believe, considering what you're seeing right now?" Mike asked, gesturing towards his long serpentine tail.

"It's just a trick!" Erica said dismissively. "Why are you telling me these ridiculous stories?"

She's not going to believe us until she sees Sarah for herself, and what she can do. I suggest we get dinner going as Sarah will probably be hungry. Jill thought to Mike.

Mike nodded and said, "Why don't we get dinner going? We're obviously not going to get this settled until Sean gets back." Erica nodded wearily. Jill went into the kitchen and put the chicken in the oven and put the rest of the dinner Sarah had planned on the stove.

Despite Jill's assessment, Mike used the time to try and convince Erica of the truth. She stubbornly refused to believe that Mike's naga form was real, even when she saw him change back and forth several times. I've tried to talk to her, but she's even harder to read than Sarah. Jill told him.

The meal was cooking nicely, so Jill returned to the living room to wait for Sarah. She'd been stuck in male form for a few hours by the time a portal finally opened. She sighed in relief, knowing she'd soon be herself again. Her relief was short lived, however, as Sarah flew backwards through the portal, followed by a blast of hot air and flame, and hit the wall, falling unconscious to the floor.

---

 
To Be Continued…

---

Sarah awoke with a groan. Her head felt like it was going to split open and her skin felt like it was burning! Upon opening her eyes she found she was lying on her living room floor. Looking up she saw Mike and Jill (male version) standing over her. "Uh…wha…?" she mumbled, confused.

"Are you alright?" Jill asked worriedly, kneeling down next to Sarah.

"Uh, yeah, I guess so." Sarah replied uncertainly, remembering what happened when she left.

Jill read her expression correctly. "Yes, I'm mad at you, but we can talk about that later. Right now we need to convince your girlfriend of who you are." She said with a hint of anger.

Sarah looked around and spotted Erica sitting on the couch. "Uh, hi Erica." She said worriedly. She was overjoyed to see Erica again, but at the same time wanted to run away until she'd managed to change back.

"Who are you?" Erica asked.

"I'm Sean. Sorry about this." Sarah replied with her eyes glued to the floor.

Erica's eyes widened in surprise, "Well, you certainly know something about Sean! But why would I ever believe that you're him?" she demanded.

Sarah reached out and touched Jill's knee. With a squeak of surprise Jill dropped the towel she had draped around herself and fell on her butt. "You could have warned me!" Jill complained. But she couldn't keep the grin off of her face, as she was very happy to have her own body back!

Sarah looked back at Erica and saw a stunned look on her face. "Does that help?" she asked.

"Okay, now I believe that's really Jill, but that doesn't prove anything about you." Erica replied.

"Why don't we continue this conversation over dinner?" Jill suggested. The others agreed and they all moved to the kitchen.

"Thanks for cooking dinner for me Jill." Sarah said as she checked to make sure everything was ready. It was, so she and Jill moved everything to the table.

"No problem, it gave me something to distract myself with while I waited for you to return so I could get changed back." Jill replied. There was still some anger in her voice.

"I'm sorry about that; I didn't mean to change you. I should have listened to you." Sarah said while staring at her plate.

Jill sighed, "Alright, you're forgiven. But don't ever do that again!" Sarah nodded weakly and they continued with their meal.

"Mmm, who made the chicken?" Erica asked.

"I did." Sarah replied.

Erica frowned, "So Sean taught you how?"

Sighing in frustration, Sarah replied, "No, I am Sean!"

"Right." Erica grumbled sarcastically. They ate in a strained silence after that.

Once they'd all eaten their fill Jill brought over the plate of cookies and they snacked on them.. "Why don't you tell me what's been going on, all of it." Erica said demandingly..

Jill rolled her eyes, but began telling her about Sean's dreams and their discovery of them being more than dreams. From there they explained their experiments, Sean's subsequent transformation into Sarah, and all the other experiences they'd had so far. "You've already seen what Mike and Sarah can do; I've become telepathic and empathic, though I don't have much control yet." Jill finished.

"So you can read my mind?" Erica asked with a smirk.

"No, you're harder to read than Sarah. I can sometimes get a whiff of something from her, but nothing at all from you. Mike's pretty easy, though." Jill explained.

"Well, that's convenient!" Erica replied sarcastically.

"What's it going to take to convince you?" Mike asked, annoyed at the way she was talking to Jill.

Erica thought about that for a few moments before replying, "How about you take me with you on your next trip? If this is for real that would be pretty hard to fake."

"There's something else that would be pretty hard to fake." Mike growled, gesturing at Erica.

"What do you mean?" she replied.

"Sarah could turn you into a guy! Would that convince you?" Mike answered.

"No!" Sarah exclaimed before Erica could respond.

"Sarah?" Jill said questioningly.

"I'm not turning Erica into a guy!" Sarah replied vehemently.

Erica smirked, "That's because you can't! Which is why you won't take me to another world, either." She said confidently.

Jill ignored Erica and asked Sarah, "Why not?"

"Even if you were a guy at the time, would you want Mike turned into a girl?" Sarah asked in reply.

Jill was reminded of how upset she was when Sarah accidentally changed Mike the first time. "Oh." She said softly, understanding Sarah's meaning.

Mike looked a bit confused but shrugged it off. "Come on Sarah, let's pick a book and show Erica what you can do." He said, stepping over to the bookshelf.

Sarah walked over to the bookshelf and picked up the book she'd used earlier. "Let's use this one." She said, holding it up.

Mike frowned, "Sarah, that one nearly killed you!"

"Yeah, but that's because you weren't there!" Sarah replied with a smile. "A dragon would have stopped the fight real quick."

Mike looked questioningly at Jill, who shrugged back. "Okay, I guess." Mike said. Sarah opened the portal and led Erica through, with Mike and Jill following reluctantly behind. A shadowy form slipped through behind them.

On the other side of the portal they found themselves on a dirt road. There were dead doglike men scattered about. "What happened here?" Jill asked.

"This is where the battle started when I was here earlier. It moved into the forest, but I thought it would be best to keep us on the road where Mike would have room to transform if needed." Sarah replied.

"What exactly happened here, anyway?" Mike asked as they all followed Sarah up the road.

"I was traveling with a group of adventurers. They said there was a powerful wizard just off this road and I could travel with them until we came to the trail. We were attacked and the battle moved into the trees. The dog-men were all killed, I think, along with this big humanoid monstrosity. But the cat-like monster finished off the last of the adventurers and came after me. I used a wand that their wizard gave me on it and opened a portal home." Sarah explained.

"Do you still have the wand?" Mike asked.

"No, I must have lost it when the blast knocked me through the portal." Sarah replied.

"Blast?" Jill asked.

"Yeah, the wand shot out an exploding fireball. The last blast was stronger than I expected, though." Sarah explained.

Throughout this conversation Erica had been following along in awed silence. There was no way this could be faked, but here it was! She started off the trail to feel the trees for herself. "Erica, don't leave the road! There are lots of monsters around here!" Sarah called out worriedly. Reluctantly, Erica rejoined the group.

Before long they reached a fork in the road. "This must be it!" Sarah exclaimed excitedly, pointing down the smaller fork that obviously didn't see nearly as much use. They followed Sarah down the smaller path, which soon opened out into a clearing dominated by a lone tower.

Jill shivered as they approached the tower. "I don't have a good feeling about this place." She said worriedly.

Sarah ignored her concern and knocked on the door. "Don't worry Jill, we'll be fine." She called over her shoulder.

A young man answered the door a few minutes later. He was little more than a teenager and was wearing a long brown robe. "What do you want?" he asked.

"Uh, I'm here to see the wizard who lives here." Sarah answered uncertainly.

"And why do you think my master would want to see you?" he asked arrogantly.

"I was cursed…by a goddess. I was hoping he might help me to remove it." Sarah replied.

He frowned, "Which goddess would that be?"

"Venus, the goddess of love and beauty." Sarah said.

His frown deepened, "I've never heard of a goddess named Venus."

"Well, she might not exist here, we encountered her in another world." Sarah replied.

"Really? You are planeswalkers? Please, come in!" he said, his expression suddenly welcoming. Sarah looked uncertainly at the others, but followed him into the tower.

The young man led them up a spiral staircase into a large room that was used as a laboratory. There were bookcases along one wall and shelves of bottles on another filled with various powders and liquids. A white haired man in a blood red robe was working at a table mixing various ingredients into a large bowl. "Apprentice! Who are these people? I told you I was not to be disturbed!" he yelled angrily at the young man leading them.

"They are planeswalkers, master!" the youth replied cautiously.

The old man's demeanor changed instantly. "Well, come in, come in! How can I help you?" he asked pleasantly.

---

 
To Be Continued…
 
Thanks to Puddin for posting these for me! ^_^
 

---

« Sarah's Shadow - 5 - Revelations »

---

Sarah exchanged confused glances with her friends before walking over towards the wizard. "Um, I was hoping you could remove a curse?" Sarah asked hesitantly.

"Hmm, let me take a look at you." He said, looking at each of them in turn. He started with Erica, and seemed frustrated as he moved on to Mike. Him he seemed to dismiss quickly. Jill he locked gazes with for several moments before nodding and moving on to Sarah. There he stopped in amazement. "My dear, you are a rare one!" he exclaimed.

He continued to gaze into Sarah's eyes for several minutes. Sarah began to sway as if she would pass out, and Jill suddenly cried out in pain and clutched her head in her hands. Mike was quick to react and grabbed the wizard's arm, putting himself between Sarah and the wizard. "Stop whatever you're doing!" he growled. Erica helped to steady Sarah, who seemed to be coming out of a trance.

All pretense at civility vanished from the wizard's countenance. "Gorvashnik, come!" he called out imperiously. A strange creature with bat-like wings flew towards them. "Unhand me, cretin!" he yelled at Mike. He chanted something under his breath and Mike suddenly transformed into a large wolf. The wizard seemed shocked at this and backed up several steps.

"Master?" the creature called as it approached. Jill had recovered from whatever had happened to her and looked at the wizard angrily.

"Gorvashnik, take care of the telepath!" he cried out painfully. Gorvashnik flew over to Jill but his gaze was locked into Jill's and they just stared at each other without movement except for the flapping of the creature's wings.

The wizard backed up further away from Mike, who had started growling at him once he'd recovered from the shock of his unexpected transformation. "Apprentice! Deal with this mongrel!" he yelled. His apprentice cast something at Mike and he stopped moving and stood still as a statue.

"There, now to deal with you." The wizard mumbled as he approached the still-dazed Sarah. He raised a hand towards her and began chanting, his hand glowing with dark blue energy.

"No you don't!" Erica yelled at him angrily, putting herself between him and Sarah.

"Get out of my way, wench!" he yelled back. He slammed the hand that was crackling with dark blue energy into Erica's chest. The energy vanished instantly. "What?! What did you do?!" he asked in confusion.

Erica rubbed her chest where he'd struck her. "That hurt, jerk!" she said, just before kicking him between the legs. The wizard grunted in pain and backed away hurriedly.

"Apprentice!" he gasped out, "Take care of these intruders!" He ran awkwardly towards the other end of the room while the apprentice strode forward purposefully, chanting and pointing a glowing finger at Mike.

"Vascor!" Sarah screamed, pointing at the apprentice. She'd completely forgotten that she didn't still have the wand, but the fireball formed anyway! The little bundle of sparks shot from her hand straight into the startled apprentice's chest. The resulting explosion threw everyone off their feet and filled the entire room with smoke. By the time the smoke cleared they were all back on their feet and Mike was back to normal. Jill found herself holding Gorvashnik in her arms like a kitten. He was unconscious.

"What…the hell…just happened!" Erica coughed out.

"I guess Sarah doesn't need that wand to cast fireballs anymore." Mike replied.

"Where'd the wizard go?" Sarah asked dazedly. She looked much like she had when the wizard had her entranced.

"Who cares? Let's get out of here!" Jill said.

"Wait! If we're going to find ourselves in other situations like this, I want to have some weapons of my own!" Erica said, rooting through the remains of the lab. Mike shrugged and joined her. Jill found herself steadying Sarah with one hand and holding the imp Gorvashnik with the other.

Erica and Mike searched the room as thoroughly as they could, considering its condition. The apprentice had been on the side of the room closest to the bookshelves, so most of the books were burning. The bottles had mostly been knocked off the shelves and shattered, and they had no way of knowing what was in the others. Erica did find a couple of swords and a dagger in a cabinet, along with scabbards and sword belts. One of the swords was a slim long sword. It was a simple blade with no ornamentation, but surprisingly light. The other sword was a jewel encrusted falchion with a large ruby on the pommel. It was much heavier than the long sword. The dagger looked like a match for the long sword and was incredibly lightweight.

Erica strapped on one of the sword belts and attached the scabbards for the long sword and dagger and slid them home. The falchion she handed to Mike. "This thing is way too heavy for the rest of us, but you look like you could handle it." She said. He nodded and put on the sword belt and slid the falchion home in its scabbard.

"You're right, this thing is heavy." He said.

"Are you guys done playing around, or can we get out of here now?" Jill asked anxiously. They nodded so Jill prodded Sarah. Dazedly, she opened the portal and Jill guided her through. Mike and Erica followed.

Sarah dropped onto the couch in tears the moment she got through the portal. Jill was about to go to her, but then Gorvashnik, whom she'd forgotten she was carrying, suddenly awoke and cried out in surprise. Before her eyes his scaly body sprouted pink fur, his claws shrank and blunted, and his wings grew pink feathers. What have you done to me! he wailed telepathically. Jill clutched her hands to her head, dropping him onto the floor.

"That hurt!" Jill complained to the now-furry little creature.

How do you think it feels to have fur sprouting from your body?! And why am I pink?! he replied angrily.

"How would I know?" Jill replied, mystified.

"How would you know what?" Mike asked, confused. Erica had gone straight to the couch to comfort Sarah while he was left to stare at Gorvashnik and wonder who Jill was talking to.

"How Vash became pink and fluffy." Jill said absentmindedly.

Vash? My name is Gorvashnik! the furry little creature complained.

"Vash is easier, and suits you better now that you look like a kid's stuffed animal." Jill replied.

Stuffed?! You wouldn't dare! Vash said.

"I didn't mean that kind of stuffed!" Jill replied with a laugh. She tried to picture a stuffed animal and project that image to Vash.

Oh. How strange. Are all stuffed animals cute and furry? he asked.

"I guess so. Why aren't you attacking us, anyway?" Jill asked curiously.

I…don't know. he replied in surprise.

"Would you mind clueing me in on this conversation?" Mike asked, annoyed.

"Sorry Mike. Vash somehow got changed when he came through the portal. And even before that he lost all interest in fighting with us. We were just wondering why that is." Jill replied.

Sarah? Vash said curiously, looking over at her. Seeing that Sarah was crying on Erica's shoulder Vash jumped up onto Sarah's lap and rubbed up against her, purring like the cat he resembled (albeit pink and winged). Sarah clutched him to her carefully and stroked his fur. He purred louder and leaned into the strokes and Sarah seemed to be calmed by him.

"Are you feeling better Sean?" Erica asked worriedly.

"Sean? You finally believe us?" Jill asked archly.

"How could I not, after all of that? It still seems unreal, but I can't argue with it either." Erica replied.

"Really?" Sarah asked hopefully.

"Really!" Erica assured her, pulling Sarah into a tight hug and dislodging an indignant Vash.

Hey, watch it! he whined.

"She can't hear you, you know." Jill pointed out.

Blasted humans! Why can't you people use your brains? he complained.

I am human! Jill snapped back at him.

Vash rocked back on his heels. Woah, sorree! Didn't know my new Mistress was so touchy! Vash said with laughter in his mental 'voice'.

Mistress? Jill asked curiously.

Yes. You humans killed my previous master, so I needed a new one anyway. And you're the only one who can hear me. Seems like a good arrangement to me! he replied happily.

We killed your master? I thought he escaped. Jill thought.

Nah, he's as dead as a door nail, as you people say. The only ones that got out of that tower alive are you guys, and me of course! Vash replied.

Mike was looking confusedly from the 'conversation' between Jill and Vash and the still embraced Sarah and Erica. "Will someone please tell me what's going on?" he whined.

---

 
To Be Continued…
 
Thanks to Puddin for posting these for me! ^_^

---

Jill laughed at the look on Mike's face. "Vash and I were just having a conversation, Mike. I'm afraid you're going to have to get used to it, he says I'm his Mistress now."

"Mistress?!" Mike repeated numbly. "So we're stuck with the little fuzz ball?"

Hey, watch it! Vash growled.

"Be nice Mike, we're all stuck with each other now. It's not like he asked us to kill his old master, after all." Jill said.

Uh oh, you shouldn't have said that!" Vash said, jumping onto Sarah's lap just in time for her to break down crying again. He rubbed up against her and purred loudly. She was distracted from her tears and stroked his soft feathered wings absently.

"Did I really kill someone?" Sarah said dazedly.

"You were just protecting all of us." Erica said consolingly, wrapping herself around Sarah from behind. She rocked Sarah back and forth and the motion combined with the purring of Vash lulled her to sleep.

"It's late and we've all had a long day. Why don't you two go home, you've still got to drive back to Mike's parents' tomorrow." Erica suggested.

"Are you sure? I could carry Sarah back to her bed if you want." Mike suggested.

Erica shook her head. "No, we'll be fine. I just wish you had room for Sean in your plans for tomorrow." She replied.

Mike looked at her strangely and said, "We invited Sarah along, she refused. She felt it was better for my parents not to see her until she's back to normal."

"Oh. I guess that makes sense." Erica said.

"Don't be too upset with Sarah, she hated lying to you." Jill said.

Erica nodded, "Okay, I'll try. You guys go ahead on home and we'll see you when you get back."

Mike and Jill nodded and said goodbye to Erica and left.

Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on them for you. Vash said, still curled up on Sarah's lap.

Thanks, Vash! Jill replied with relief.

---

Erica fell asleep on the couch with Sarah on her lap, and Vash on hers.

She awoke in the morning laying on the couch with Sarah half on top of her. She didn't see Vash anywhere. She felt strange laying with another woman, but knowing it was Sean. She was interrupted from her musings by a pain in her back where the dagger was digging into her, and an urgent need to use the bathroom. Somehow she managed to slide out from underneath Sarah without waking her and stumbled into the bathroom.

When she returned she unbuckled the sword belt and hung it up in the closet. Sarah was still sleeping, so she looked through the fridge to see what there was to make for breakfast. Vash startled her by rubbing up against her leg, but he was gone again before she could even get over the surprise.

Grumbling, she continued her search and decided on an omelet. She was only half finished when Sarah stumbled into the kitchen sleepily. "Good morning Sean!" Erica greeted her cheerfully.

"Good morning Erica!" Sarah replied happily, ignoring the name. "What're you making?"

"Omelet. It'll be ready in ten or fifteen minutes." Erica replied.

"Cool. Is Vash still here?" Sarah asked.

"Should be, he rubbed up against my leg earlier." Erica said.

Sarah nodded, "I thought I saw him when I got up." She said as she got out plates and forks. "What do you want to drink?" she asked as she opened the cupboard to take down two glasses.

Erica thought for a moment about what she'd seen in the fridge. "How about some Sunny Delight, I think I saw some in there." She replied.

"Okay." Sarah said, pouring two glasses. She put the juice away and sat down at the table. "Erica?" she asked worriedly.

"Hmm?" Erica replied absently while chopping up onions.

"I'm really sorry about this whole mess, and all the lies I told you." Sarah said tearfully.

"It's not your fault, and we'll fix this soon." Erica said before realizing how upset Sarah was. She put down the knife and turned to find Sarah's head on the table and her shoulders shaking with silent tears. When did Sean get so emotional? she thought as she pulled a chair around next to Sarah and sat in it. "Shhh, it's okay honey." She soothed while rubbing Sarah's back.

When Sarah had calmed some Erica drew her head up off the table and looked her in the eye while saying, "It wasn't your choice for this to happen. We'll work together to get you back to normal." Erica was mystified when Sarah broke down in tears again, but held Sarah to her until the tears had passed. "Are you alright now, honey?" she asked.

Sarah nodded, "Yeah, I'm okay. I love you Erica!" she said with all the feeling she could muster behind the words. This time it was Erica who teared up and they embraced again.

When they separated Erica wiped away her tears and said, "I'd better finish up breakfast."

Sarah watched as Erica finished cooking their breakfast. She was worried what would happen if she didn't change back soon. Erica would have to go back to law school in a little over a week. Would she start looking at other guys if she was still a girl when Erica went back?

They ate quietly and Sarah helped Erica clean up afterwards. "So what do you want to do for Christmas?" Sarah asked.

Erica frowned thoughtfully, "Well, part of my plans aren't going to work anymore…" she said, looking at Sarah meaningfully.

Confused, Sarah was about to ask what she meant. She figured it out just as she was opening her mouth to ask. "Wh…oh!" she said in embarrassment.

Erica nodded. "Yeah. But we still might be able to if we can turn you back into yourself. How about we go have a talk with that bitch that did this to you in the first place?" she suggested.

Sarah's eyes widened in panic, "No! We can't go to her!"

Erica looked strangely at Sarah and asked, "Why not?"

"She's totally unreasonable! We barely said anything and she cursed me!" Sarah replied. She was really getting worked up and Erica was concerned she'd start hyperventilating.

"Okay! Relax and breath!" Erica instructed. Sarah did as she said and slowly calmed down. "You're really afraid of her, aren't you?" she asked softly.

"Wouldn't you be? Besides, she could turn you into a guy and then I wouldn't be able to change you back!" Sarah replied with tears in her eyes.

Erica winced at that idea. "Okay, that would be bad, I agree. How about this, we could go to one of Venus' temples instead of going directly to her." She suggested.

"I…I guess that might be okay." Sarah agreed reluctantly.

"Great! Let's find a book that will take us there." Erica said.

They went through Sarah's books and finally found a book that mentioned a temple of Aphrodite. "Will this work?" Erica asked, showing the book to Sarah. Sarah read through the part Erica pointed out to her.

"I guess. It's not Venus, but maybe that's for the best." Sarah replied.

"Great, let's go!" Erica said.

"What?! We can't go without Mike and Jill! We have to wait until tomorrow." Sarah exclaimed. She had only gone without either of them once, and she'd nearly died that time!

"Don't be silly Sean! You can change anyone's gender with a touch or open portals to escape, and you can shoot fireballs! And I'll use that sword and dagger I brought back to watch your back. I'm pretty sure they're magical, considering how light weight they are." Erica chided. "We can handle a trip to a temple easily!"

Sarah was uncertain, but eventually caved in. "I guess a temple shouldn't be all that dangerous." She finally agreed. Erica strapped on the sword and dagger again while Sarah opened the portal. Neither of them noticed Vash following them through the portal until he flew up onto Sarah's shoulder. "Vash! What are you doing?!" Sarah exclaimed.

Making sure you don't get yourself killed! Mistress Jill would be unhappy with me if something happened to you. he replied primly.

Sarah nearly fell down in surprise at hearing Vash's voice in her head. "You can talk to me, too?!" she asked.

I can make myself heard to any of you but Erica. Nulls are annoying that way. Vash replied in evident annoyance at his inability to talk to Erica.

"What are you talking about Sean?" Erica asked, looking from her to Vash. Vash hissed at her.

Sarah was momentarily distracted by Vash's response to Erica. "Uh…Vash can talk to me, telepathically. Apparently you're the only one he can't do that with. I guess he's like Jill." Sarah replied.

Actually, telepathy is an innate ability for imps like me. Jill's ability is different, and more powerful. But she's inexperienced and it is still developing, so she can't read your mind or talk to you like I can yet. Vash said.

"You mean she'll be able to eventually?!" Sarah nearly yelled in her panic at this news.

---

To Be Continued…

Thanks to Puddin for posting these for me! ^_^

---

« Sarah's Shadow - 6 - Adventure »

---

There's no need to shout, I can hear your thoughts. Vash said.

How long will it be before Jill can read minds like you? Sarah thought.

I don't know, I haven't been here long enough to see how she is progressing. If you stopped hiding things from her, it wouldn't upset you so much. Vash replied.

I'm not hiding anything from her! Sarah thought indignantly.

There was a pause before Vash replied. Perhaps you hide them from yourself, as well. Why do you do that? his mental voice sounded puzzled and curious.

I don't know what you're talking about! Sarah replied in frustration.

"Are you still talking to that fur ball on your shoulder?" Erica asked in annoyance.

"Uh, yeah, sorry. Where's that temple at, anyway?" Sarah said.

Erica looked around and pointed off to their left. "I think that's it." It was a classical ancient Greek structure. As they walked past the columns they found the entire building was lit by hundreds of candles. A woman in a white robe approached them and spoke.

"Uhh…Erica, I think I've detected a flaw in this idea. You don't happen to speak ancient Greek, do you?" Sarah said after listening to the woman's incomprehensible speech.

"No, I guess I didn't think this through very well." Erica admitted.

She said she is a priestess of Aphrodite and asked if you are here to present an offering to her. Vash translated.

Can you tell me how to explain why we're here? Sarah asked.

It would be easier to ask her directly. Vash replied.

Won't she freak out if you do that? Sarah said.

We'll soon find out. he replied. Sarah looked back at the priestess and saw her eyes widen in surprise, and then fear. Okay, we should be leaving now. Vash said with some urgency.

What did you… Sarah began, but was interrupted by a scream from the priestess. She ran away, yelling something as she went. A moment later two men with short swords ran in. "Time to go!" Sarah exclaimed, opening a portal.

"What happened?" Erica asked as she drew her sword.

"Vash tried to talk to her." Sarah replied. "Let's go."

They stepped through the portal and Sarah hurriedly closed it. I don't think that was a good idea. she thought to Vash.

Agreed. Vash replied.

"That was a bust." Erica said as she sat on the couch. "How did you guys talk to Venus, before?"

"We just talked to her. Although she didn't really reply, she just got angry." Sarah replied.

"Maybe she didn't understand you either?" Erica said.

"We were able to understand her easily enough, so I'm sure she understood us." Sarah replied.

"I guess a goddess could translate languages easily enough." Erica said.

"Probably. Maybe with Jill and Vash working together we could hold a conversation without letting on that we're reading their minds to do it." Sarah suggested.

"Maybe you were right about waiting for Mike and Jill to go through any more portals." Erica said.

They spent the rest of the morning catching up. Most of the time was taken up relating the various trips Sarah had made to other worlds. They continued over lunch.

"So this Magician of Information said that you would be able to change back?" Erica asked after Sarah related their first trip to Xanth.

"Yeah. He said I had to, 'accept my femininity'. I've been a girl now for…" she thought back and added up the days, "fifteen days. I don't know how long I'll be stuck like this, but it's starting to look like it'll be a while." Sarah replied.

"You're not giving up, are you?" Erica asked with a frown.

"No, of course not! I'm just being realistic." Sarah replied. "Look at that trip to the wizard's tower. Who knows if he would have been able to help me, but we never even got that far! Elminster talked to us, but said he couldn't help us. Everywhere we go it's the same thing. The Magician of Information is the only one who held out any kind of hope at all!"

"I guess I can see where you would be discouraged. I'm not sure the Magician of Information's answer was much help, though." Erica said.

Sarah shrugged, "His answer suggested there's a chance, that's better than anyone else gave me."

"But just because your body is female doesn't mean you have to be feminine! You're still a man inside, and will be outside again. That's a useless answer!" Erica protested.

Sarah just shrugged and washed the dishes. "What do you want to do for dinner? I suppose most places will be closed today. I have some leftovers in the freezer I could heat up, or I could cook something." Sarah asked.

"Leftovers would be fine." Erica replied, then continued after a thoughtful pause, "What have you been doing about work? Was all that stuff about John and the others getting fired made up, or what?"

Sarah winced, as she'd hoped to skip the transgendered angle, at least for a while. "That was all true, but it was triggered by me going to work as a girl." She admitted.

"What?! How could you go to work like that? How would they even believe you were really Sean looking like that?" Erica exclaimed.

Sarah looked down uncertainly and mumbled, "I told them I was transgendered, and this was my real life test."

"What?" Erica asked, sounding confused.

"It's something Jill found online. When someone wants to live as the opposite gender as they were born they have to go through a real life test in order to have the surgery, and sometimes for hormones, too." Sarah explained.

"Wait, you mean you told them that you planned this?!" Erica exclaimed.

"What else was I supposed to do? Tell them I got transformed magically against my will when I was visiting a storybook world through a magical portal I create by unknown means?" Sarah asked pointedly.

"Well, no, but what are you going to do when you change back?" Erica asked.

Sarah shrugged and said, "It's a test to see if that's what's right for the person. I'll just say it wasn't right for me."

"But you look so different!" Erica protested.

"I know, but most people don't seem to notice. Those that do seem to dismiss it. I guess it's part of the curse, that everybody accepts the female me so readily. Some even think I was always female!" Sarah replied.

"You're kidding?!" Erica asked incredulously.

"Nope! You remember me mentioning Jim, the guy in my Astronomy class that kept bugging me?" Sarah replied.

"Yeah. You never did say what he was doing." Erica said.

"Oh yeah, I guess I didn't. He kept hitting on me." Sarah replied in embarrassment.

"When you were still a guy?!" Erica asked. Sarah nodded. "Did he think you were gay?"

"Apparently not. After the curse he acted as if I'd always been female and asked me out again. Some other people in my classes seemed to think I was always female, too." Sarah said.

"Why would they think that, you didn't look like a girl?" Erica said.

Sarah shrugged, "I don't know. I'm still not even sure if they really thought that, or if the curse is somehow altering their memories or something."

"That could be. It makes a lot more sense than thinking you were always female. But how will that effect things when you change back?" Erica asked.

"I suppose that depends on whether the curse is influencing their reactions or if they somehow got that idea all on their own." Sarah replied. "It's not like he was the first guy to react to me like that, after all."

"He wasn't?! How haven't I heard about this before?" Erica exclaimed.

"I'm sorry." Sarah mumbled, looking down in embarrassment. "I didn't want you to think I was gay, so I never told you. It happened a lot. Ask Mike, he's seen it dozens of times."

Erica looked shocked. After several moments of thought she quietly asked, "Have you ever gone out with one of these guys?"

"Ew!!" Sarah replied.

"So you were never interested, even now that you're a girl?" Erica asked worriedly.

"No way! I only like girls! That hasn't changed in the slightest." Sarah said vehemently.

"Are you sure?" Erica asked.

"Yes, I'm sure! Why would you think I would be interested in guys?!" Sarah said.

"Well, you are a girl now. And girls usually like guys." Erica said.

"Well as a girl, I'm a lesbian. Alright?" Sarah asked, exasperated.

"Okay." Erica replied, relieved.

"Come on, let's watch a movie or something." Sarah said, walking into the living room, and began looking through her movies. "Anything you want to see?" Erica joined her and their conversation was forgotten as they selected a movie and settled down on the couch to watch it.

---

 
To Be Continued…

---

After the movie Erica turned to Sarah and said, "You haven't told your parents about this, have you? That's why you're not going to see them for Christmas, right?"

Sarah shrugged, "I probably wouldn't have gone anyway. We don't really get along. And I'm certainly not going back now!" Sarah finished with a shudder.

Ah! So that's why you hide from yourself! Why don't you tell Erica about that?! Vash exclaimed, giving Sarah a momentary headache.

Ow! What are you talking about?! Sarah replied angrily.

*Sigh!* Why am I not surprised? You humans are entirely too good at blocking out entire portions of your psyche from yourselves. It's a wonder you don't all have multiple personalities! Vash grumbled.

What?! Sarah asked, bewildered.

I'll give you an example you'll actually listen to. Mike. He's a nice guy, right? Always considerate of others and all that? Vash sent.

Sure, what are you getting at? Sarah thought.

He's also very protective of those he cares about, like you and Jill. He'll fight to protect you without a second thought, even if it means killing someone. How is it he can hurt people, even kill them, without crippling guilt? Vash asked.

Because he's protecting someone else. What's the big deal? Sarah replied.

The 'big deal' is that you are also a kind and considerate person, though you don't show it as much. Yet hurting others causes you a great deal of guilt and pain. This is consistent with your personality, but Mike doesn't have the same issues. It's like he's two completely different people as needed. Most of you humans are like that, to at least some degree. I find it astonishing that more of you don't break down completely trying to reconcile such conflicting parts of yourselves. Vash explained.

Maybe you don't understand humans as well as you think you do. Sarah said.

Maybe. he replied, and fell silent.

"Are you talking to Vash again?! Being left out of the loop is getting really annoying." Erica griped.

"Sorry, I can't help it. If he could talk to you, I'm sure he would. He'd probably talk your ear right off, in fact. He has some weird ideas about people." Sarah said.

"Like what?" Erica asked.

"He thinks we're all one step away from going insane, or developing multiple personalities or something." Sarah replied vaguely. She faintly heard Vash grumbling, That's not what I said and you know it! but ignored him.

"That's weird." Erica agreed. "So, how are you going to deal with your parents?"

"By avoiding them until I've changed back." Sarah replied resolutely.

Erica rolled her eyes, "Oh come on! What about when they call? My parents call me every week or two!"

"My parents don't call. We don't get along, remember?" Sarah said.

"Why not?" Erica asked. "You've never explained that."

Sarah shrugged, "I'm just not what they hoped for, I guess. Not choosing a major hasn't helped any, but they've never been all that pleased with me."

"I don't know how you can be so offhand about it!" Erica said.

"I'm used to it. It's no big deal." Sarah replied.

"Yes it is! Once you're back to yourself we're going to go see them and get this straightened out!" Erica declared.

"No! You'll just make it worse!" Sarah protested. "Just leave it alone, it doesn't bother me. Really."

"But…" Erica began, but Sarah cut her off.

"No. Leave it alone." She said. Erica was surprised at how Sarah was standing up for herself, but so pleased as well that she let it drop.

"So what's in that freezer of yours?" she asked, changing the subject much to Sarah's relief.

"I've got a few containers left of the last concoction I made. Mike and Jill seemed to like it when I made it for them." Sarah replied.

"What's in it?" Erica asked.

"Oh, lots of stuff. Onions, mushrooms, tomatoes, ground turkey, peppers, garlic, celantro, rosemary, oregano, and whatever else I can find fresh that seems to fit in. And cheese, of course!" Sarah said.

"Of course! I know how much you like cheese. You used all fresh ingredients? I haven't seen you do that before." Erica said.

Sarah nodded, "Yeah, the first time I did it was mostly to see how much difference it would really make. I don't do it often though, because I'm lazy and don't like having to go shopping for each meal. Most of that stuff doesn't last long at all."

"So how much difference did it make?" Erica asked.

"Quite a bit, actually. I always thought all the fuss about fresh ingredients was exaggerated, but it was a lot better. I always make a lot because it's a lot of trouble, so I can make it last a long time." Sarah replied.

"Sounds good, let's warm it up." Erica suggested. Sarah pulled out two containers and, after adding a little more cheese, popped them in the microwave.

After dinner and a quick clean up they returned to the living room. "I'll be right back." Sarah said, and went to her room. Opening the closet she brought out a small wrapped package and returned to Erica. "Merry Christmas!" she exclaimed, holding the package out to her.

Erica's face lit up in a smile as she took the small box and unwrapped it. Her smile widened as she opened the box and found a locket with a picture of herself with Sean taken during the summer. The inscription read, "I'll always love you, S." Sarah helped Erica put it on.

"Thanks Sean, I love it!" Erica exclaimed.

"I'm glad," Sarah said with a sad smile, "I just hope it's not the last time you see that face."

Erica pulled Sarah down onto the couch and kissed her passionately. Sarah lost herself in the kiss, but the feeling of Sarah's breasts against her own reminded Erica of her situation and she pulled back awkwardly. "Sorry." She mumbled.

"Why?" Sarah asked brokenly.

"You're a girl." Erica said as if it explained everything.

"So? I love you." Sarah said with tears in her eyes.

"I love you too! It's just…I don't know!" Erica said in frustration. "Argh!" she exclaimed as Sarah ran crying from the room. She ran after her, but found the door closed and Vash standing in front of it, hissing loudly at her.

"Get out of the way Vash!" Erica said, stepping towards the door. Vash hissed again and growled, a surprisingly deep and threatening sound for such a small creature. "Why are you trying to stop me?" she said.

Vash gave her a look that somehow conveyed his annoyance with her. Then he tossed a small rock into the air and stared at it as it flew slowly towards Erica. A distortion appeared in the air and struck the stone, propelling it much quicker at Erica and striking her in the forehead.

"Ouch! What was that for?!" Erica complained.

Vash growled again, sounding more like a mountain lion than the small furry creature he was. He glanced back at Sarah's bedroom door and then at Erica with another look that promised mayhem if Erica didn't back off.

Erica slouched against the wall in defeat. "Okay, you're right, I screwed up! But he's a girl right now! Do you have any idea how uncomfortable that is for me?! It's like he's an entirely different person! He doesn't even act the same way, though some of it's an improvement." She said. Vash replied by pointing back towards the living room with one paw and hissing again.

"Okay, I get it! I'll leave him alone for a while." Erica grumbled. Vash hissed again, and Erica hurried back to the living room and plopped onto the couch. "Damn furball!" she complained with tears in her eyes.

Erica laid down on the couch and cried. I've really screwed up, haven't I? she thought, But he's a girl! I'm not into girls, am I? I never have been before! But it felt right for a moment…

A couple of hours later Mike and Jill entered the apartment to find Erica fast asleep on the couch. "Wonder what they were doing that she fell asleep so early?" Mike wondered aloud.

"Well it's not what I thought they might be doing, or she wouldn't be alone." Jill said with a frown. Vash? Are you here? she sent.

I'm here. Things have been…interesting, in your absence. They had a falling out of sorts and both fell asleep crying alone. I tried to cheer Sarah up, but I don't think I accomplished much. he replied.

What about Erica? Were you able to cheer her up any? Making her happy is usually a good route to making Sarah happy. Jill thought to him.

I can't, she's a Null. I managed to convey to her that she should let Sarah alone for a little while, but that's the best I could manage. Vash explained.

A null? What's that? Jill asked.

It's why the wizard's attack didn't do anything to her, and why we can't sense her thoughts or emotions. To magic and psionics she doesn't exist. Vash replied.

---

 
To Be Continued…

---

So she's immune to magic? Jill asked in shock.

Basically. Vash replied.

So you can't really talk to her then? Jill said.

No, I can't. And you have no idea how frustrating that is! Vash said.

So what exactly happened? Jill asked.

Vash told her everything that had happened while Mike sat in the recliner and brooded. Great! Sarah's happiness is too dependant on Erica. If Erica can't deal with this Sarah's going to fall apart! Jill said when he'd finished.

Exactly. And I suspect that Sarah would be happier if she stayed as she is. Which makes Erica's acceptance of her even more important. Vash replied.

You think so too? I've tried to suggest the idea to Sarah, but she won't even consider it! Jill said, surprised that Vash had already come to the same conclusion she had.

There's more, too… Vash said, explaining what he'd learned from Sarah that she herself seemed ignorant of.

What?! But… Jill began to respond, but was interrupted by Mike.

"Would you please let me in on this conversation?!" he growled. Jill was so surprised by his uncharacteristic anger that she completely lost her train of thought.

"Sorry Mike! Vash was just telling me what happened while we were gone." Jill said, and went on to explain everything Vash had said, except for his conclusions.

"Great!" Mike groaned. "Just what we need! Sarah was doing so well, and now we have to get Erica straightened out or she'll fall apart all over again. How are we supposed to do that?"

"I don't know. Vash doesn't have any ideas either. He says she's a Null, which means he can't read her mind or talk to her telepathically. It also means she's immune to magic." Jill said.

"I take it that means you can't read her either?" Mike asked.

"No, I can't. And I've never really understood the way she thinks. If she breaks up with Sarah now…" Jill trailed off.

"I get it, believe me! I've often worried Sarah might do herself in. It's only because of Erica that she's kept going these last few years. I don't know if we can keep her together if Erica dumps her." Mike replied tiredly.

Further conversation was delayed as Erica started to stir. Jill brought a chair in from the kitchen and sat down in it next to the couch. A few moments later Erica was blinking confusedly at them. "Huh?" she said blearily.

"Hi Erica. Vash tells me you've been doing a great job taking care of Sarah while we've been gone!" Jill said sarcastically. Erica cringed at her tone.

"I know, I screwed up. But how would you feel if Mike got turned into a girl? It's like Sean died and this strange girl took her place. She's not the same person, yet she is. She acts totally different in some ways, but exactly the same in others! I still love her, but it's so damn confusing!" Erica exclaimed in frustration.

Jill's expression softened somewhat at this tirade. "I guess it is a lot to take in all at once. But think about it from her point of view. She's been trying hard for over two weeks to get back to herself. Her overriding focus in all this has been to get back to being the man you fell in love with. Then suddenly there you are! After another failed attempt to change back, she's forced to confront you with these changes and she's terrified that you will drop her like a bad habit. And then you go and do something that looks an awful lot like doing just that!" Jill said, her own frustration building.

Erica hung her head in shame as Jill's words hammered at her. "I guess I hadn't thought about it like that. But the way Sean talks it's like he thinks he'll be like this forever!" Erica said fearfully.

Jill shrugged, "So what if she is?"

"What?!" Mike exclaimed. "You don't really think that Sarah will give up, do you?"

"Maybe, maybe not. But she needs to know we'll all be there for her no matter what. I think Mike and I have pretty well convinced her of that, but you have a lot of work to do." Jill replied, addressing her answer to Erica.

"But Sean's a girl! How can we keep our relationships as it was when he's not even male anymore?!" Erica said.

"It's scary, I know. Sarah's turned Mike into a girl a few times since that ability manifested and it scared me a lot. But if you really love her you should at least try. And the first step along those lines is to accept that, for now at least, Sean is Sarah, a girl. By insisting on referring to Sarah as Sean, and using male pronouns, you're giving the message that you can only accept Sarah as a guy. Vash has been trying to tell you that, but his communication skills are somewhat limited with you." Jill said.

"Is that why he hisses at me so much?" Erica asked.

"I've wondered at that." Mike said. "It makes sense, though. I mean, even with the Magician's answer, we don't really know for sure that Sarah will ever be able to change back."

Jill nodded, "And we also don't know if she'll really want to."

Mike and Erica both looked at Jill in shock at that pronouncement. "Are you suggesting that Sarah wants to stay as she is?!" Erica asked angrily.

"Maybe, but that's not the only consideration. Even if she still wants to change back, it may not be practical. Let's face it, even those who are willing to accept someone changing their gender isn't going to be as accommodating when she wants to change back. And if the curse has been helping Sarah to be accepted as the same person as Sean despite the substantial physical differences, removing the curse and returning Sarah to male could result in a lot of awkward questions about how he changed so much both times!" Jill explained.

"But you said she could just say it wasn't right for her and go back without any problems!" Mike protested.

Jill nodded sadly, "I thought so at the time. But the way people have accepted her so readily makes me worry about what would happen if she did try to change back. Even if the curse isn't responsible for that acceptance, it could still be a problem. I haven't said anything because Sarah was relaxing and doing so much better that I didn't want to stress her out again. But now the situation has changed."

Mike glanced at Erica when she said that, and Erica looked down in shame. "I've really screwed things up even more than I thought, haven't I? I just don't know if I can handle this." She said.

Mike stood up and strode over to the couch. Kneeling down he grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her briefly, "You will handle this! Even if you decide you can't deal with a female Sarah permanently, you'll pretend that you can! Only once Sarah is back on an even keel will you tell her, and then only while we're there to support her and in a way that is as gentle as possible! Do you understand me?!" Mike growled.

Erica drew back in shock and looked at Mike fearfully, "Are you threatening me?!" she asked fearfully.

Mike grinned mirthlessly and said, "Yes, yes I am! I'm not going to let you destroy Sarah. She's my best friend and deserves better! I hope you'll be able to accept her as she is, or that you'll be able to fake it until she changes back. But if you can't, you're going to help us hold her together until she's strong enough to know that."

"Wow Mike, I didn't know you had it in you!" Jill said admiringly. Mike smiled, a bit embarrassed by his own outburst and Jill's praise, but determined to see it through.

"I have to look out for my girls, don't I?" he replied warmly, gazing into Jill's eyes lovingly.

"You don't…you're not falling for Sarah, are you?" Erica asked weakly with a sinking feeling in her stomach.

Mike looked at the expression on Erica's face and laughed, Jill a split second behind. "No, of course not! She's like a little sister to me! She always has been." Mike explained.

Once they'd stopped laughing Jill stopped and looked at the relieved expression on Erica's face. "From the look on your face and the way you asked that, I'm guessing that you still love Sarah. You wouldn't want her to be in a relationship with someone else. Does that mean you're going to stand by her?"

Erica sighed in defeat, "You're right, I do still love her, despite her new body. It's going to be difficult, and I don't know if I can deal with it if she ends up staying female, but I'll do my best."

---

 
To Be Continued…

---

"Good!" Jill exclaimed, embracing Erica happily. Mike stepped back with a satisfied look and sat back down. "Now that that's settled, we'd better go make sure Sarah's alright."

Erica nodded and jumped to her feet, eager to make amends. Jill put a hand on her arm to stop her. "I'm not sure how Sarah would react to you right now. It might be best if we talk to her first." she said. Erica nodded reluctantly and plopped down on the couch. Jill called Mike and they went and knocked on Sarah's door.

They didn't hear any response, so Jill called through the door. There was still no reply, so Mike tried the door. It was unlocked, and they stepped inside. They found Sarah asleep on her bed, curled up in a fetal position clutching her pillow to her chest. Mike closed the door and stood there while Jill sat on the bed next to her and gently shook her awake.

Sarah was slow to wake fully and looked around her in confusion. "How are you doing Sarah?" Jill asked softly.

"Uh…okay, I guess." Sarah said, still befuddled from her sleep.

"Are you sure?" Jill asked. Sarah looked up at her, and then across at Mike still standing at the door.

Sarah clutched her pillow more tightly and shook her head, "No, I guess not." she admitted as a fresh wave of tears overtook her.

Mike stepped quickly across the room and he and Jill held Sarah while she cried. She calmed slowly and weakly said, "Sorry."

Jill shook her head with a laugh, "You've got to stop apologizing like that! There's nothing wrong with crying when you're upset."

"That's not what Da…" Sarah began, then cut herself off and said, "I mean, guys aren't supposed to cry."

Jill gave her a knowing look and said, "That's a stupid stereotype that causes a lot of trouble for no purpose! There's nothing wrong with guys crying!"

"Yeah," Mike agreed, "and if I thought Jill had rejected me, you can be sure I'd be bawling my eyes out!"

Jill looked at Mike fondly before turning back to Sarah. "He would, too. He's just a big softy at heart!" she said with a grin.

"Of course, that's why you love me!" Mike retorted with a goofy grin. Their antics had the desired effect as Sarah giggled at their exchange.

"Erica does love you; you know that right?" Jill asked her softly when the moment of levity had passed.

"Does she?" Sarah replied bitterly. "You could have fooled me."

"Hey now, don't be too hard on her." Jill said. "You've had a lot more time to get used to this than she has. She hasn't been very sensitive to your feelings on this, but this effects her almost as much as it does you."

Sarah looked skeptical, so Mike said, "Yeah, just think about how it would effect you if Erica had been the one to be changed into a guy! Wouldn't that make things hard on you, especially if you were still a guy yourself?"

Sarah shuddered at that thought. "Okay, I guess I see your point. I don't know if I could get over Erica being a guy. But is she even going to try to get over me being a girl?" Sarah said.

"She is, she just told us as much." Jill assured her. "She's having trouble with this, as you would, but she's willing to give it a try. It would be a shame if you didn't give her the opportunity."

Sarah shook her head, "I couldn't push her away. Even if she were a guy."

Jill tilted her head as she looked at Sarah and nodded thoughtfully. "I believe you wouldn't. No matter how hard it was for you. I think you two really were made for each other."

"I hope so." Sarah said in a small voice. Mike and Jill hugged her again.

"Ready to go see your girlfriend?" Mike asked with a grin. Sarah nodded uncertainly and he helped her and Jill up. They all returned to the living room with Sarah trailing behind. There was a sudden flurry of feathers and Vash was back on Sarah's shoulder.

Feeling better? he asked, though Sarah could tell he already knew the answer.

I guess so. Do you really think that Erica can deal with this, with me? Sarah asked fearfully.

I can't read her, so I don't know. But Jill told me about your bond, and has seen traces of it from time to time. She hasn't noticed any changes in it, so I have to assume that your bond is as strong as ever. If that's true, she probably will. Vash replied.

I forgot about that. I hope you're right. Sarah said with a mental sigh.

So do I. Vash replied hopefully.

Why are you so worried about my relationship with Erica, anyway? Sarah asked.

Um, well, you see, my personality is a reflection of my masters. he mumbled. Sarah was surprised to hear the embarrassment in his mental 'voice'. Parts of my personality are largely the same no matter who my master is, but not all of it. With my previous master I was devious and cruel, though I admit my heart wasn't really in the cruelty that he dished out so cavalierly. With Jill things are much different. I couldn't even conceive of doing the things he had me do now. So you have Jill to thank. She cares a lot about you, and that care carries over to me.

Sarah was distracted from replying to that interesting bit of information as she rounded the corner and saw Erica sitting on the couch tensely with tears streaming down her face. "I'm really sorry Sarah!" she said brokenly. She started to rise, but then collapsed onto the couch. Sarah hurried over to her and held her as they both cried.

"It's okay Erica, Jill pointed out how I'd feel if the situation were reversed." Sarah said when she had control of her voice back again. "This must be really hard for you. You came here hoping to surprise your boyfriend, and find a girl in his place. I hope you can forgive me."

Erica shook her head against Sarah's chest, "There you go again, taking all the credit!" she said with a weak laugh. "This is no one's fault except for Venus. But there is something I need to know. I'll cope as best I can either way, but I need to know if you want to change back to Sean." Erica said.

Sarah pulled back and looked at Erica in surprise. "Not you, too!" she exclaimed. "Everyone seems to think I want to stay this way! I really want to change back, Erica!"

"You're not just trying to change back for my benefit, are you?" Erica asked.

Sarah threw her hands up in frustration. "What is it going to take to convince all of you that I don't want to stay like this! Yes, you're part of the reason, but I'm a guy! I want to get back to being a guy! Okay?" she pleaded.

Erica couldn't keep the relieved smile from her face as she replied, "Okay! So, do you want to try and wait and see if the Magician's answer holds true, or do you want to keep trying to change back?"

Sarah looked thoughtful at that. "Our efforts along those lines haven't been too successful. Maybe we should all give it some thought instead of running off to the first world that comes to mind? In the meantime, there's nothing stopping us from visiting interesting worlds for the fun of it!"

Erica stared at Sarah in shock. "The fun of it?!" she exclaimed.

"You haven't done this much yet, but we've found it can be a lot of fun. Especially when we go to places that are safe!" Jill said.

"Yeah, we got to see a planet from orbit, along with some space ships. We also saw dinosaurs, giants, dragons, all kinds of things! When we weren't in danger for our lives it really was kind of fun." Mike agreed.

"And we're all a lot more dangerous than we were when we started." Sarah said.

"But we could be killed!" Erica protested.

Sarah shrugged, "Yeah, that's possible, but not as likely as you might think. Especially if we're careful about where we go. Mike can turn into anything he needs to, so he's pretty hard to kill. We've got healing water to treat wounds, too. I can use my portals to get away from danger, or as a shield of sorts. I can also blast things with fireballs! You have a magic sword and dagger, and are immune to magical and psionic attacks…"

Erica interrupted at that, "I'm what?!"

"Vash told us you're a Null, that's why he can't talk to you. You're immune to magic and psionics, like his telepathy. So all you have to worry about are strictly physical threats." Jill explained.

"Right." Sarah agreed with a nod, "and that just leaves Jill." She was about to go on, when she realized how vulnerable her friend really was.

Vash flew from Sarah's shoulder to Jill's and spread his wings wide. Jill has me for defense! he said proudly. Then, he tucked a claw into his fur and brought it out closed over a shiny object. He held this out over Jill's hand and dropped it. And she has this! he continued as Jill caught it. She opened her fingers and looked down on the intricately carved golden ring.

"What's this?" she asked curiously.

It belonged to my previous master. It will protect you from physical, magical, and psionic attacks. It's not foolproof, but between it and our abilities you should be at least as safe as the others. Vash explained to her.

---

 
To Be Continued…

---

"But what about you?" Jill asked.

What about me? Vash replied.

"You're more vulnerable than I am, aren't you?" Jill said as she put the ring on.

Hardly! I can fly, turn invisible, stun with mental attacks, or hit someone from a distance with a magical kinetic blast. Vash said.

"Wow, really? Okay, so we can all defend ourselves fairly well, I guess." Jill said, and relayed what Vash had said to the others.

"What's this kinetic blast?" Erica asked suspiciously.

That's how I hit you with that rock. It doesn't have any more power than a punch from Mike in human form, but it can be useful. Vash told Jill. She relayed this as well.

Mike yawned and said, "I don't know about you guys, but I'm beat!" The others agreed and Mike and Jill left with an invisible Vash on her shoulder.

This is very different! Are those big metal boxes what you call cars? Vash asked as they walked to Mike and Jill's apartment.

Yes, I forgot you don't have them where you come from. Jill replied with a mental chuckle.

I will be most interested in exploring this world. It is so different from my previous master's. Vash said, his invisible tail flicking eagerly at Jill's hair.

You make it sound like that wasn't your world. Jill said.

It wasn't, or not exactly. I come from one of the chaotic planes of that universe, so it is very different from my former master's home. But it is also very different from here. Vash replied.

Plane? Is that what they were talking about? Jill asked.

Yes. Vash replied with a chuckle, My former master and his apprentice thought that you and your friends traveled the planes of that universe. He had no idea you actually travel between universes.

Is that significant? asked Jill.

Very! They hoped to make use of Sarah's abilities for themselves, but they would have been far more anxious if they knew the full extent of them. There are many planeswalkers in that universe, but there are very few who can travel between dimensions. It takes a very special gift, or a great deal of power, to travel between dimensions. Vash explained.

A gift like Sarah's? Jill thought.

Yes, though I suspect she has the power, as well. Vash replied just as they reached the door to the apartment.

"You're very quiet." Mike said as he unlocked the door. "Are you talking to Vash again?" he asked.

"Yes, sorry." Jill said, and relayed the conversation she'd had with Vash to him.

---

Erica and Sarah exchanged anxious glances after the others left. "Um, why don't you take the bed and I'll sleep out here." Sarah said.

"Why?" Erica asked, looking confused and hurt.

"I thought you'd want to…" Sarah began, only to be silenced by Erica's finger on her lips.

"Stop right there! We slept on the couch last night together, and I didn't have any problem with that. I admit I'm having some trouble with this, but how am I ever going to get over it if we avoid each other?" Erica asked reasonably.

"Are you sure, I don't want to make you uncomfortable?" Sarah replied hesitantly.

"You'll only make me uncomfortable if you leave me all alone in your bed." Erica said. Sarah smiled and they both got ready for bed and crawled in together. Erica tried hard not to let on how weird it felt to cuddle up with Sarah in her new body and they quickly nodded off.

Sarah awoke to the smell of bacon and eggs frying. After a quick visit to the bathroom she threw on a robe and walked into the kitchen to find Erica making breakfast. "Good morning! Hungry?" Erica said cheerfully.

Sarah groaned and grumbled, "Morning people."

"I'll take that as a yes." Erica said brightly, preparing a plate for Sarah. "Eat up!" she said, putting the plate in front of Sarah.

By the time Sarah had finished eating she was fully awake. "Did you sleep okay?" she asked, wondering why Erica was up so early.

Erica nodded, "Yes, I slept fine. You were all worn out, so I decided to make you breakfast. I also wanted to give you this." Erica stepped over to the counter and pulled a wrapped box out from behind the bread box and handed it to Erica. "Merry Christmas!"

Sarah eagerly unwrapped the box and found a cell phone inside. "You've needed one of those for a while. And with the plan we've got we can call each other all we want!" Erica explained.

"Even when you're back in Massachusetts?" Sarah asked hopefully.

Erica smiled widely, "Yep, even when I'm back at school! This will be a lot better than IM, especially since we have unlimited texting to each other, too!"

Sarah grinned happily. "That's great! Thank you Erica!" she exclaimed. She went to kiss Erica, and then paused hesitantly. Erica held her arms out and Sarah gratefully sank into them.

"You know," Erica said when they came up for air, "this is one aspect I could get used to."

"What do you mean?" Sarah asked as she looked down into Erica's deep blue eyes.

"You only being a few inches taller than me instead of a full foot!" Erica replied with a laugh.

"It is nice, isn't it? Easier on my back, too." Sarah said, grinning.

"How is it easier on your back?" Erica asked.

"I don't have to bend over to kiss you!" Sarah replied, giving her a peck on the lips.

"Is that the best you can do?!" Erica demanded before putting one hand around the back of Sarah's neck and pulling her towards her.

---

Time to get up! Vash exclaimed cheerfully while laying on Jill's chest and purring.

"Uh, what?" Jill asked, confused.

The sun is up and so should you be! I want to see more of this world. Vash said.

"That's nice." Jill grumbled, rolling onto her side. Vash jumped clear and slapped Jill's face with his tail in passing.

Your mate has already been up for some time! Get up! Vash sent.

"Mike's always up early, that doesn't mean I have to get up!" Jill complained. A moment later she started getting up anyway, as she was now wide awake thanks to Vash.

Take a shower, that will wake you up! You humans seem to like to splash water on yourselves. Vash said in a tone that said he thought it was a crazy thing to do.

A wicked grin spread across Jill's face as she crawled out of bed and she grabbed hold of Vash as she made her way to the bathroom. "Why don't you join me then?" she said.

Several minutes later Mike was distracted from his reading when a soaked Vash jumped into his lap. Your mate is a cruel, cruel Mistress. he said melodramatically.

Mike smiled and carefully put his book aside where it wouldn't get wet. "I'm sure she just wanted you to be clean." He said, trying not to laugh.

This is not funny! Vash grumbled.

"It serves you right for rousting me out of bed so early!" Jill called as she walked past into the kitchen.

"First lesson for living with Jill, don't get her out of bed until she's ready!" Mike said with a chuckle.

Now you tell me! Vash said.

The smell of cooking bacon soon reached them as Jill started breakfast. A few minutes later she walked back to the bathroom and came out with a blow dryer. "I'll dry you off, Vash." She said as she plugged it into the nearest outlet to the couch.

That's the least you could do. Vash replied haughtily.

"All I did was make you take a shower! There's nothing wrong with being clean." Jill said as she turned on the dryer and started working on drying him.

I always keep myself clean! Vash exclaimed in indignation.

"Let me guess, with your tongue?" Mike said. He was gratified that Vash was speaking to both of them so he wouldn't be left out again.

Of course! That's the best way to remain clean! Vash huffed.

"Not to humans. You'd think you really were a cat, instead of an imp, with the way you go on about a little water!" Jill said.

Now that you mention it, I didn't use to bother cleaning myself much at all, in my last master's world. Perhaps whatever caused my transformation was of more than a physical nature. Vash mused.

"What caused that, anyway?" Mike asked curiously.

I don't know. I suppose it's possible that, your world having nothing similar to me in it, my body was changed to resemble an indigenous creature. Vash surmised.

"But nothing happened to me when I returned from Xanth in naga form." Mike said.

That may be because you are a shape shifter. You can change your shape to things that do not match the world you are on at any time. But then again, the reason could be something else. It could even be that I changed because of the desires of one of you. Vash said, glaring at Jill.

---

 
To Be Continued…

---

"Hey, don't look at me!" Jill protested.

Do you like cats? Vash asked suspiciously.

"You can read my mind, you know I'm allergic to cats! Come to think of it, I haven't had any trouble from you. I guess you only look kind of like a cat. Anyway, I prefer dogs to cats." Jill replied.

What about you? Vash asked, turning on Mike.

"Woah, don't blame me for this! I'm a dog person, too!" Mike said.

What about Sarah? asked Vash.

Jill looked thoughtful. "I don't know. I've never heard Sarah talk about any pets before." she said.

"She likes cats." Mike said. "She's never had any pets, but she likes how independent cats are."

So maybe this is her fault. But why pink? Vash mused.

"Well that can't be Sarah, her favorite color is blue." Mike said.

"My favorite color is purple, and Mike's is green. Maybe it's just random." Jill suggested as she finished drying Vash. "There, all dry! Happy now?"

That's better. When can we leave? I want to see more of this world. Vash replied.

"At least let us eat first!" Jill said with a smile. "Which reminds me, I'd better get back to it." She returned to the kitchen.

"What do you want to see?" Mike asked Vash.

Everything! From what I've been able to see from your minds this world is vastly different from anything I've seen before. Vash said eagerly.

"We should see if Erica and Sarah want to come along, make a day of it." Mike said.

"Sounds like a good idea. Come eat and we can go get them." Jill called out from the kitchen. They joined Jill in the kitchen and ate.

We're finished eating, let's go! Vash said impatiently.

"Let us clean up first!" Jill laughed. Vash swished his tail impatiently while Jill and Mike cleaned up and jumped up on Jill's shoulder, wrapping his tail around her neck.

Let's go! Vash said.

Jill and Mike laughed at Vash's impatience as they walked over to Sarah's apartment. As they came into sight of Sarah's door Jill snuggled up against Mike. When they got to the door Jill suddenly pulled Mike's head down and kissed him passionately, molding her body to his.

You might want to stop her before she starts ripping your clothes off. Vash told Mike wryly as Jill began unbuttoning his shirt.

Lost in the kiss, Mike was a little slow to respond. Finally he pushed Jill back and said, "What's gotten into you Jill? Not that I'm complaining, but waiting until we're inside might be a good idea."

Jill's eyes were glazed and she strained against Mike's grasp without responding. She's picking up something from inside, let me see if I can help her block it out. Vash said. Jill continued to struggle with Mike for a few moments and then stopped. The glazed look slowly faded, leaving Jill confused and embarrassed.

"What just happened?" Jill asked.

You were picking up someone else's emotions and they overrode your own. I'll have to work with you so you can control that better. Vash explained.

"You okay?" Mike said.

"Yeah, I guess so." Jill replied. "That was really intense…" she trailed off as Mike opened the door and they saw that Sarah and Erica were laying on the couch, kissing passionately. Sarah's robe had fallen almost completely off of her. Mike hurriedly turned away and Jill pulled the door closed. "Maybe we should knock while Erica's here."

"Uh, yeah, maybe." Mike said, red faced. "I guess we know whose emotions you were picking up on."

It looks like Erica's handling things better already. Vash noted dryly. Should we come back later?

"I guess so." Jill said, turning away. Just then the door opened to reveal a red faced Erica. Sarah was nowhere in sight.

"Hi guys, come on in." Erica said softly. They walked in and took seats on the couch.

Mmm, warm! Vash said, curling up on the couch next to Jill.

"So, how are you two doing?" Jill asked after an awkward pause.

"I think you already know the answer to that." Erica replied, blushing.

"Yeah, I guess we do. We've gotten used to not knocking, but we'll make sure to do so while you're here." Jill said apologetically.

"Thanks." Erica replied. "What brings you over so early?"

"Vash wants to see the sights and we thought you two might want to come along." Mike said.

"What sights?" Erica asked.

"Everything, he says. Remember, the world he's from is a lot different than this one." Jill replied.

"Oh yeah, I guess it is. Where shall we go?" Erica said.

Jill shrugged, "I don't know, anywhere should have plenty of new things for Vash to see."

"Do you have anywhere in mind Sarah?" Mike asked as she walked in. Her eyes were glued to the floor and she was blushing furiously.

"Uh…the mall?" she said.

Mike frowned, "Why the mall?"

Sarah shrugged and said, still without looking up, "There's lots of different things in the mall that should be interesting for Vash without having to do a lot of traveling. Is it a strain for you to stay invisible?" she directed this last to Vash.

Jill cocked her head to one side as if listening to something and then said, "He says he can stay invisible for a couple of hours, maybe more. Sounds like the mall is a good idea, we can leave in a hurry if Vash has trouble maintaining his invisibility."

"I suggest you pretend to be a stuffed animal if your invisibility fails." Erica said to Vash. "If you don't move it should be believable."

"Sounds like we have a plan, shall we go?" Mike asked. The others nodded so they headed out, Vash again riding invisibly on Jill's shoulder. Once they were in the car he jumped down into her lap and became visible again.

I'll save my energy for the mall. he explained to Jill when she looked at him questioningly.

"There's no reason to feel embarrassed." Erica whispered to Sarah in the backseat. "They do a lot more than make out on the couch all the time."

"I guess," Sarah said, blushing again, "but then why are you whispering?"

Erica ducked her head sheepishly. "You got me! I guess I should listen to my own advice." She said.

They soon arrived at the mall and Vash took up his invisible perch as they walked in. "Where to first?" Jill asked once they were inside the heated building.

"Let's just make a circuit of the building, just about everything here should be new to him." Sarah suggested. The others agreed and they started walking, Vash asking many questions as they went. As many of the stores were clothing stores, and Vash had no interest in clothes, they didn't go into many of the stores. Vash found Radio Shack endlessly fascinating, though.

They came across another clothing store, but Sarah stopped them from walking by. "I could use some more clothes and they're having a store closing sale, let's take a look." She said. Mike groaned, but Jill was enthusiastic and Erica curious so they all went in. The store sold only women's clothes, mostly teenage styles, but Sarah managed to find a few things she liked at very low prices.

"Why don't you get some jeans?" Erica asked as Sarah was paying.

"They don't have any tall sizes here, they'd be too short. I've run into the same problem before, I guess my legs are unusually long." Sarah replied.

"So that's why you wear skirts all the time?" Erica said. Sarah nodded and collected her bag and change.

The next store they stopped into was a camera store. Jill got someone to explain how the cameras worked to her so that Vash could hear. "She looks like she's going to fall asleep from boredom!" Sarah whispered to Erica.

Erica smiled and stifled a laugh as she said, "Yeah, but Vash seems to appreciate it, look at how Jill's hair is getting stirred up by his tail!"

Sarah giggled and she and Erica moved away so they wouldn't disturb Vash's photography lesson.

A few stores down from there they found a video game store and Vash was enthralled by all the TVs showing various games around the store. He asked many questions which mostly Sarah answered, being the biggest gaming fan of the group.

Their next stop was the store where Sarah worked. The TV displays, computers, and other electronics were riveting to Vash. Sarah thought she saw Tiffany at one point, but when she looked all she saw was a darkened part of the store. Light must have gone out. she thought, and hurried to catch up with the others.

---

 
To Be Continued…

---

After the electronics store they had to leave as Vash was having difficulty maintaining his invisibility. Your world is amazing! Vash said tiredly as they made their way back to Mike's car.

"Are you okay Vash?" Jill asked.

Yes, just tired. Some food and a nap and I'll be fine. he replied.

They picked up some burgers on the way home. Sarah and Erica ended up sharing one, as Vash devoured several by himself. "How can you eat so much being so small?" Jill asked.

I expended a lot of energy staying invisible so long, I have to replenish it somehow. Vash replied. After washing himself he settled down to sleep on the couch.

After lunch Sarah and Erica told Mike and Jill about their abortive visit to Aphrodite's temple. "I guess we're lucky we haven't run into the language problem sooner." Mike mused.

"I think we should agree not to go through any more portals without all five of us together unless it's a totally safe sight-seeing trip, and maybe even then." Jill said.

Erica sighed, "I have to agree. I thought we could solve the problem easily by visiting Venus, or one of her temples since Sarah refused, but we really need all our abilities in order to be safe."

"I wonder if Erica's magical immunity would work against Venus? If so it might be safe enough to go there." Mike said.

"All she'd have to do is open a fissure under Erica. No gods, period!" Sarah said forcefully.

"Okay, okay! So what do we want to do next?" Erica asked with an irritated look at Sarah.

"Do you have any story worlds you'd like to visit? We've already visited worlds we wanted to see, but you haven't had a chance to pick anything yet." Jill said.

"I can think of one off-hand that I'd like to see." Erica said thoughtfully. "But I don't know if you'll have it here. It's an old one, called The Skylark of Space."

"No, I don't think we've got that one. How about you Sarah?" Jill said.

"I don't have it, but it might be online." Sarah replied.

Mike turned on his computer and found it easily enough. "Yep, it's online, and for free!" he said. A quick download later and Erica started going through it, looking for where she wanted to go.

While Erica read, Mike and Jill told Sarah about their visit to Mike's parents. "Mom and Dad were disappointed you didn't come, they guessed you wouldn't be at your parents' place." Mike said.

Sarah sighed, "I wish I could have gone, but I can't yet."

"You know, an awful lot of people already know about you. If this goes on long enough, everyone may find out." Jill said.

Sarah shivered, "I hope not! I'm sure we'll fix things before it becomes more of an issue than it already is."

Jill frowned but didn't say anymore. "Do you know anything about this book?" Mike asked.

Sarah shook her head, "No, not really. I think Erica's mentioned something about it before, but I don't remember for sure."

Mike's printer started running and they all turned to see. "You found what you were looking for?" Sarah asked.

Erica nodded, "Yep! We'll get to see some interesting sights, and I'll be able to pick up something useful, too!"

"What are you planning to get?" Jill asked curiously.

"Guns." Erica said eagerly. "But it's the bullets that are really important. They have these bullets that explode on contact. The smallest one is way more powerful than anything you could get in this world, and the bigger ones are like nukes!"

The others exchanged worried glances and Jill said, "Uh, Erica, do we really want to have nuclear bomb level ammunition lying around?"

"Of course not! I just figured on getting the lowest caliber ammunition they have. I doubt we'll have any use for anything that powerful. If we do, it'll be time to use a portal to get out of there!" Erica replied.

"Do you even know how to handle a gun?" Mike asked. "I know I wouldn't want to mess with one, I'd be as likely to hit one of us as what I was aiming at."

"I know how to handle a gun. Dad insisted I have one in my apartment, just in case. He taught me how to shoot a long time ago." Erica replied.

"Won't we get in trouble if anyone sees it?" Sarah asked worriedly.

"We'll only use it in other worlds, not here. It'll stay locked up the rest of the time." Erica replied.

This sounds interesting. Are we ready to go? Vash asked, lifting his head up off the couch and looking inquiringly at Jill.

"Finished your nap, huh? Yeah, I think we're ready." Jill replied, looking at the printout Erica was removing from the printer.

"Yeah, this is probably more than we need, but this is where I want to go in at." Erica said, pointing out a passage to Sarah.

"Are we really ready to go?" Sarah asked.

"Vash, you'd better go invisible for this. The world we're going to is much like this one, with a few differences." Erica said. Vash obligingly turned invisible after flying up to Jill's shoulder and Sarah opened the portal.

They stepped through and found themselves facing four people in a strange room with various controls that told them they were on a ship of some kind. The four people looked shocked and alarmed at their entrance. "How did you get here?" one of the men exclaimed.

"Um, well, I can open portals to other places…" Sarah began, and used linked portals to demonstrate.

"Amazing!" he exclaimed in wonder. Erica went on to explain why they were there. "So you came to see the ship and get some weapons and ammunition?" he asked.

"Yes. We don't really have any way to pay for them…" Erica trailed off, wondering if they should have gotten something to offer in trade first.

"Just knowing this is possible is payment enough for me!" one man exclaimed. "What about you Martin?"

The other man, Martin, shrugged and said, "Sure, why not? We've got plenty, and your visit has certainly made this an interesting day already. Might as well get the tour out of the way first, though."

They were given the tour of the ship. It was only about forty feet long, so there wasn't that much to see inside, but the transparent hull windows meant there was a lot to see outside. When they finished the tour they were given two pistols, four magazines, and several boxes of ammunition.

"Thank you so much, this could really come in handy for us." Erica said as they were preparing to leave.

Martin waved his hand dismissively, "We've plenty, so it's no hardship for us. Besides, we're on our way home where we could make many more if we needed to. Take good care of your friends." After a round of goodbyes Sarah opened the portal and they returned.

Vash reappeared as soon as the portal closed. That was tiring! Staying invisible that long twice in one day is a bit much. Let's go somewhere where I don't have to hide next time. he said tiredly as he made his way back to the couch and lay down.

"I still can't believe your first choice was to get weapons." Mike said ruefully, putting down the boxes of ammunition he was carrying on the kitchen table.

Erica shrugged, "I want to be able to protect Sarah. A sword is fine for close up, but I'd rather stay out of sword range if I can." She was carrying both pistols and Jill had the magazines and they set them on the table next to the ammunition.

"How many bullets did they give you?" Sarah asked, looking at the heavy boxes.

"A few hundred, I think." Erica replied. She checked out the pistols in a manner that reassured Sarah that she really did know what she was doing.

"How are you going to carry all of that?" Jill asked, pointing at the pistols and magazines.

"I think I can attach some holsters to my sword belt. I can probably find something for the magazines, too. That would be a lot better than shoving them in my pockets." Erica said.

Mike shook his head in wonder and said, "Sarah, your girlfriend is Rambo!"

Sarah grinned and said, "Nah, with those magic weapons and sci-fi guns I think she's a little more dangerous than that!"

"So, did you have anywhere else you wanted to go?" Mike asked Erica.

"Well…" Erica said thoughtfully, "there is somewhere else I'd like to go…"

"This isn't going to be another shopping trip, is it?" he asked.

"Not exactly…" Erica replied evasively.

---

 
To Be Continued…
 

---

« Sarah's Shadow - 7 - Preparations »

---

"In other words, yes, right?" Mike grumbled.

"More like, it's going to require a shopping trip." Erica replied.

"What for?" Mike replied.

"Those holsters I was talking about, and some arrows for Sarah." Erica replied.

"I am getting kind of low." Sarah said. "I lost a few when we got the healing water."

"That reminds me, we'll need something to put the healing water in that we can carry with us easier, too." Erica said. "Jill, I think you should carry the healing water. You're the best protected of us, and the least armed."

"Uh, okay, I guess. Where are you planning to go?" Jill asked worriedly.

"A good old fashioned dungeon crawl!" Erica replied enthusiastically. "Sarah has the book I have in mind. Some of the bad guys get killed in a dungeon, but trip most of the traps and kill many of the monsters while they're at it. All we have to do is follow behind them and clean up what they missed. With our firepower that should be pretty easy."

Jill and Sarah exchanged worried glances. "I don't know about this…" Sarah said.

"I thought we were going to try to keep the danger to a minimum?!" Jill said.

"We are. The place is mostly cleared out by the time they die, so we won't have much to do. Sarah's fireballs could probably clear the place all by themselves." Erica replied.

"And why do we want to clear the place?" Sarah asked.

"Come on, Sarah, you know why! That place has a trove of treasure including magical items we can use." Erica chided.

"Well, if it's really mostly cleared out already, I guess it could be okay." Mike said uncertainly.

"Great! Come on Sarah, let's go shopping." Erica said, grabbing Sarah's arm and leading her out. She paused at the door and said, "Why don't you get your weapons while we're out, Mike?" Mike nodded, and Erica left.

"Mike, are you sure about this?" Jill said.

Mike shrugged, "It sounds pretty safe for us. I know it's weird to think about, but we've become pretty powerful. I should be able to handle most physical threats by turning into something bigger and stronger than whatever's attacking us. Erica can nullify magical attacks and Sarah can blast anybody from a distance, as well as shooting them. And Erica has the guns and sword now. We can do a lot of damage between us. And with that healing water we should be able to heal any injuries we do get."

"I hope you're right, but we'd better be careful just the same." Jill said.

"No argument there!" Mike agreed, and left to get the swords and knife from his apartment.

He's right you know. Vash said after the door closed behind Mike.

"Oh, you're awake now, huh? Couldn't you have woken up sooner and talked them out of this?" Jill asked archly.

Even if I had, I would have agreed with them. And if I had tried to talk them out of it, I would have been handicapped by my inability to talk to Erica. Vash replied.

"I guess so. I just don't want anyone to get hurt." Jill said with a sigh as she plopped down on the couch next to Vash. He climbed into her lap and purred as she absently stroked his feathers.

Sooner or later someone will, it's inevitable. That healing water you spoke of is a very good idea. Where did you get it? Vash asked curiously. Jill recounted their visit to Xanth. Ah, yet another world, and one with strange rules. Magic that strong is usually very costly, but it seems it is commonplace in that world. Which is fortunate for us!

"Yes. I've been meaning to get that water into smaller containers, but they need to be easy to carry, too. Some kind of canteen, maybe." Jill said.

"Erica will get something like that, I'm sure." Mike said as he stepped inside with the swords and knife in his hands. "Do you want the old sword?" he asked, holding out the sword Sarah took from the prison guard.

"Why not give me the other sword?" Jill asked, looking at the ornate falchion in Mike's hands.

"It's way too heavy!" Mike said with a chuckle. "I'll have to use it with both hands as it is! You'll probably need both hands for this one, but you can handle it."

"Let me see!" Jill demanded, holding her hands out for the falchion. With a sigh Mike handed it to her. She nearly dropped it when he let go, and he was glad it was in its sheath or the blade would have been dulled when it dropped to the floor under its own weight. "Okay, maybe it is too heavy." She admitted reluctantly, letting Mike take it back from her.

"Sorry, I'd give you the falchion if it was practical, but it's not." Mike said apologetically. Jill waved that off and took the broad sword.

"Whoa, this thing isn't all that light, either!" she exclaimed, though it didn't hit the ground like the falchion had. She hefted it a few times and set it aside. "I think I can manage it, but I'll take that knife, too." She said. Mike nodded and helped her use a rope as a makeshift sword belt and attached the scabbard for the sword to it, and then attached the sheath for the knife as well.

"How's that?" Mike asked once she had both weapons secured firmly.

Jill stood and walked a circuit around the couch before sitting back down, careful to keep the sword from hitting anything. "Not bad. I'm glad I won't be carrying that monstrosity!" she said, pointing at the falchion on Mike's belt.

Mike grunted in agreement, "Yeah, it's pretty heavy. I envy Erica, really. That long sword is really light! Then again, she's also going to be carrying two guns and extra magazines for them, as well as the dagger. So maybe it's not the great deal that it seems."

"Where'd we put that healing water, anyway?" Jill asked, realizing they were still missing something.

"I knew I forgot something!" Mike said and left again. Before long he was back with two bottles of healing water.

"Only two?" Jill asked curiously.

Mike shrugged, "If we need more than two for one trip we're doing something seriously wrong!"

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Jill agreed. They set the water on the table and Jill went to retrieve Sarah's archery gear. "Erica's sword belt is in here, too!" she called out as she dug out all the stuff Sarah would need. Mike came up beside her and retrieved the belt, complete with sword and dagger, and put them on the table. Sarah's bow, quiver of arrows, and arm guard soon joined them. "I think that's everything." She said looking at the pile.

"I don't think we need this part right now, though." Mike said, pointing at the boxes of ammunition. Jill nodded and he moved those boxes into the closet.

It's too bad I've lost most of my weapons. Vash said wistfully.

"What weapons?" Jill and Mike said simultaneously.

My claws are blunted, and my teeth and fangs are much shorter and less sharp than they used to be. More importantly, there doesn't seem to be any poison on them anymore. Vash replied.

"You used to be poisonous?!" Jill exclaimed.

Yes, I was. Now all I have is my magical attack and mental powers. They are not nearly as deadly. Vash said.

"You're dangerous enough still, I think." Jill said consolingly.

I suppose I will have to depend on your mate and friends to do the damage. Vash said regretfully.

The conversation stalled after that, and Jill and Mike started a game of tennis on the Wii. Mike was winning his third consecutive game by the time Sarah and Erica returned laden with bags.

Their arrival was followed by a flurry of preparations. Sarah took her new arrows, all broad heads, and loaded them into her quiver. She arranged the arrows as best she could so that she could find the right kind of arrow when she needed it without looking. She finally resorted to tying a small piece of thread to the practice arrows so she could tell the difference. Meanwhile, Jill and Mike filled sports bottles with healing water, along with a canteen. Sarah had bought a belt to attach a sports bottle to, and Mike and Erica were able to attach them to their sword belts. Jill just used the canteen.

Erica took the longest to get ready, as she had to secure the holsters to her sword belt and also a bag she had bought to put the extra clips in. Once she had loaded up the bag and filled the holsters they were ready to go.

You still have the ring on, right? Vash asked Jill.

"Of course, I've left it on since you gave it to me." Jill replied.

Good! There's no harm in wearing it all the time, so that would be best. he said. A last check showed that they were all ready to go and Erica handed the book she'd selected to Sarah.

"Everyone ready?" Sarah asked. Everyone nodded. "Okay, let's go." She said and opened the portal.

---

 
To Be Continued…

---

The portal opened out in front of a cliff face with an ornate stone door standing wide open. "I take it this is where they came in?" Mike said, looking at the gaping entrance.

"Yes, that should be it. Mike, you and I should go first." Erica replied, drawing her sword in her right hand and putting her left on one of her pistols.

"Yeah, I guess so." Mike agreed, drawing the falchion and stepping through the door. Erica followed close behind him and Sarah and Jill followed, with Vash riding Jill's shoulder.

There is no one I can detect nearby. Vash said to the group. He was enjoying not having to hide himself this time.

"I can't feel anybody but us, either." Jill agreed.

"At least we don't have to worry about light." Mike said, gesturing at the torches lining the hall with his chin. Erica nodded and they continued inside, noticing two dead bodies that looked well decayed just inside the door. "Are you sure we didn't arrive a really long time after this happened?" Mike asked.

Erica looked at the corpses and said, "No, those were zombies. Most of the monsters in this place are undead."

"Zombies?! Are we sure they're really dead?" Jill exclaimed, looking worriedly at the bodies.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Besides, zombies are mindless. If they were alive, or whatever you call it, they'd be attacking us already." Erica replied confidently.

Sarah shrugged when Jill looked to her and they continued on. They came across other bodies as they went, one of which seemed fresh. "What about that one?" Mike asked when he saw it.

"That was one of the bandits that came in here before us. They got killed one by one as they went into the tomb. We'll find several more before we reach the un-cleared sections." Erica said.

"He had a sword." Jill noted, looking down at her own well-used blade.

Mike looked back to see why she'd commented on that and saw her look. "We can come back for it after we're done if we don't find something better first." he said. Jill nodded.

As Erica had said, they came across more fresh corpses among the once-again-dead undead as they continued deeper into the tomb. After several minutes they came to two side passages. They started down one, but it ended in a small room with a sarcophagus in the center that was lying open. Decayed corpses littered the room, along with one fresher corpse. "Not likely to find anything here." Erica said. The others nodded and they went back to the other side passage.

This hall lead to two rooms, both like the first. Both had been ransacked and were full of corpses. They returned to the main passage and continued on.

I sense something ahead. I think we're about to come to the end of the section our predecessors explored. Vash warned. Erica and Mike, who had re-sheathed their weapons, drew them again. Sarah drew an arrow and held it against the string of her bow, while Jill grasped the hilt of her sword. As ready as they could be, they started forwards once more.

Before long they came to what had obviously been the previous group's last stand. Several fresh corpses were surrounded by dozens of decayed ones. "That's it for the free ride. Time to be alert." Erica said, though they all were already. The fight had occurred at another junction with two side passages.

"Vash, can you tell if there's anything down the left hand passage?" Jill asked.

Undead are difficult to read, but I think there is. In fact, I think behind us is the only direction that doesn't have at least some monsters to worry about. Vash replied.

"Vash says there are undead in every direction except the one we came from." Jill said for Erica's benefit.

Erica nodded thoughtfully. "Mike, why don't you take lead and I'll fall back and take up the rear-guard. These guys were obviously attacked from all directions at once." she said. Mike nodded and stepped forward with his sword in both hands in front of him while Erica slipped to the rear of the group and drew a gun in her left hand while holding her sword out in her right. "I'm ready when you are." she called back to Mike.

Mike started moving forward again, with Sarah ready to lend support. She was unsure how useful her bow would be against undead, but she still had her fireballs to fall back on, as well as her portals.

The passage eventually ended at a closed door. "We've got a closed door up here, should I open it?" Mike called back.

"Might as well." Erica called back. Reluctantly, he did so. A loud gong-like sound echoed throughout the tomb as soon as Mike opened the door. "Okay, maybe that wasn't the best idea." Erica said sheepishly as a shuffling could be heard from the direction they came.

"Yeah, we've got zombies or something in the room!" Mike said, lifting his sword up higher ready to strike. Just then there was an explosion behind them. "Was that you Erica?" Mike called out worriedly, not daring to take his eyes off of the zombies shuffling towards him.

"No! I don't know what that was, but I haven't fired a shot!" Erica yelled back. Two zombies were approaching slowly towards her. She was just trying to decide if she should shoot or not when a small ball of flame and sparks shot past her and struck the lead zombie. The fireball exploded, sending the zombies sprawling in pieces. "Thanks Sarah!" Erica called over her shoulder, still watching in case they got back up.

"No problem!" Sarah replied happily. She was happy, in a way, that they were facing undead, as she didn't have to feel any guilt about killing them.

Sarah heard Mike grunting and turned to see him hacking at the zombies trying to get at him through the open door. She drew back on her bow and released. The arrow buried itself in the zombie's skull, but didn't seem to slow it down at all. "I don't think my bow is going to be very useful here!" she said, turning back to watch over Erica since she couldn't use her fireballs to help Mike.

Four more zombies were approaching Erica, though two of them were missing an arm each and all of them looked a little singed. "How come they're all burned, but your fireball only hit two?" Erica wondered aloud.

"Maybe they got caught up in that explosion earlier?" Sarah suggested, launching another fireball. This one was a little closer and knocked Jill and Sarah off their feet. Erica didn't seem affected.

"Let's not use explosive spells or bullets quite so close, okay?" Jill said archly as she picked herself back up.

"Sorry." Sarah muttered, getting back up in time to see Erica chop off the arm of one of the zombies. Erica seemed quite capable of dealing with that zombie, but two of the ones she'd blasted were back on their feet. They were in pretty bad shape, but they were still moving. Sarah opened a portal under their feet and linked it to another portal in the ceiling farther down the corridor. The fall wasn't enough to hurt them, but it put them far enough away to blast them with another fireball.

"Damn!" Mike cursed, as one of the zombies managed to rake its claws across his face. His body rippled as it changed and he took on his naga form again. He coiled his serpentine lower body and shot forward, knocking the zombies back into the room. He quickly slithered back out and to the side of the door. "Sarah, can we have some fire in this hole?" he yelled.

Sarah dashed to the door and yelled, "Vascor!" ducking back as soon as the spell was cast. Even so she was singed a bit by the backlash of the fireball.

"Thanks!" Mike said, slithering back into the room. All the zombies were on the ground, so Mike had an easy time lopping their heads off before they could recover. That seemed to do the trick. "Everyone in the room!" he called, taking up a position just to the side of the door. Sarah and Jill hurried in to follow him, and Erica followed once they were in. She and Mike then hacked and stabbed at the zombies as they reached the door.

"Might as well see if there's anything in here we can use." Sarah said, looking around the room. Jill joined her and they quickly determined that the room was bare except for the corpses and the sarcophagus in the center. "Should we open it?" she asked.

Jill shrugged, "Sure, why not? There's often treasure in these things in the books and games."

"Wait, don't!" Erica yelled, momentarily distracted from the fight at the door. She was too late.

---

 
To Be Continued…

---

The stone lid of the sarcophagus crashed down with a deafening crash. Inside was a corpse that was better preserved than most of the others, and clothed in plate mail armor. A spear was held in one hand, and a shield in the left. Erica looked on in horror as a red glow suffused its empty sockets and it sat up. "Mike, can you hold this door?" she asked.

"Yeah, I think I can." Mike replied, and threw himself into the corridor, thrashing around with tail and sword with abandon.

Erica turned to face the undead creature rising from its tomb and stepped forward with sword raised. "Stand back Sarah!" she yelled, trying to put herself between them. Jill drew her sword and stepped up next to Erica. Vash jumped to Sarah's shoulder and watched worriedly.

I'm not sure what kind of undead that thing is, but it's definitely a lot more dangerous than a zombie! he said to Sarah.

"Any idea how to kill the thing besides the usual hack and slash?" Sarah asked anxiously.

Not that I know of, but I'll try to help. Vash replied.

Erica tried to decapitate the thing before it was on its feet, but it intercepted her swing with its shield. Her sword cut deeply into the shield and caught there. She struggled desperately with it and managed to pull it free. Jill, meanwhile, tried to do the same from the other side. Its spear intercepted her attack and she was forced to dodge backwards as it stabbed at her.

The undead was on its feet before they could stop it, so they tried for its legs. It surprised them all when it jumped over their attacks and landed on the floor between them.

Erica took a two handed grip of her sword and swung it with all her strength. This time it didn't anticipate her attack and she sliced it neatly in two. The top half of its body slowly toppled, leaving the lower half standing for a moment before it suddenly collapsed as if it were a puppet with its strings cut.

"Everyone take cover behind the sarcophagus!" Sarah called out. They all hunkered down behind it. "Mike, you too!" she yelled, and almost as soon as she'd said it he was right there beside her. "Vascor!" she yelled, blasting the remaining zombies with another fireball. They were all glad they had the sarcophagus for cover, as a good portion of the blast washed back over it.

"Well," Erica said, "was there anything besides the hideous undead monstrosity inside the sarcophagus?"

Jill and Sarah stood up to look while Mike slithered back to the door in time to hear another explosion down the hall. "What's going on out there?" he wondered aloud.

"Who knows, but it looks like we've found something!" Jill replied. Erica glanced over to Jill and noticed she wasn't looking inside the sarcophagus.

"What did you find?" she asked, stepping over to her.

"The sarcophagus is empty, but this guy had a really nice necklace around his neck." Jill said, holding the necklace up.

"A necklace?! Why would we care about that?" Erica exclaimed.

"Vash says it's magical." Sarah explained. "He's not sure in what way yet, but he should be able to figure it out later."

"Are you three done looting the place, or can we move on?" Mike asked from the doorway.

"Are there any more zombies out there?" Jill asked.

"No. I can't see or hear anything out here." he replied.

There are more, but they are some distance yet. Vash said.

They stepped out into the hall, with Mike in the lead again and Erica in the rear. Sarah had thrown her bow over her shoulder, as it was obviously not going to do them any good in the tomb.

They made it back to the intersection without incident, though they did see a new pile of charred and dismembered corpses just beyond the intersection in the main passage. "Did you do that Sarah?" Mike asked.

Sarah shook her head, "No, I saw where all my fireballs went. None of them came anywhere near this far."

They continued forward cautiously until they came to another door. This one was ajar and another fresh corpse was there, being chewed on by undead. These looked different than the others. "Ghouls." Erica said in disgust. She drew her gun and fired into the room. The explosion ripped the corpse apart, and threw the ghouls across the room. She holstered her gun and started forward. Mike was right beside her and they quickly finished off the injured ghouls. When they were done they found the room empty except for the dead ghouls, and the sarcophagus.

"This one wasn't opened, either. Do we dare open it?" Jill asked.

"Yes. Mike, you and Jill attack the thing as soon as you can. It'll probably block you. Erica, you can then use that magic sword of yours to decapitate it or something." Sarah said. The others nodded and Sarah pushed the lid off the sarcophagus.

The corpse inside was much more decayed than the other had been. It did, however, sit up and draw a sword from its scabbard. That's about as far as it got before three swords hit it at once. The sword was knocked to the side as its hand was cut off and its head went flying. "Well, that was anticlimactic." Sarah said, looking down at the corpse that had collapsed without any sign of life left to it.

"Works for me!" Jill said while picking up the sword. It was an ornate, basket hilted rapier. "I like this a lot better than the broadsword!" she said happily, swinging it around to test it and obviously pleased with how much more easily she could handle it.

"Here." Mike said, holding out the scabbard. "The sword belt has pretty much disintegrated, but the scabbard looks fine."

Jill slid the sword home and managed to jam it into her improvised rope belt. As they searched the room they heard another explosion. They found nothing so hurried out into the hall. Zombie body parts were scattered along the corridor, some smoking. "What is going on out here?!" Mike exclaimed, looking about for whatever threat might be there.

"Don't look a gift horse in the mouth." Erica cautioned. "Let's go finish this place." With that they continued down to the intersection and turned towards the only direction they hadn't gone so far. The corridor continued unbroken for at least a hundred feet before suddenly opening up into a large room with a vaulted ceiling. A large, ornate sarcophagus dominated the center of the room, and was surrounded by undead. These were skeletal and wore plate armor. Some had swords, some spears, and a few had axes. Those that carried smaller weapons also had shields. On the other side of the sarcophagus a robed man was reading from a book.

"I can take care of those skeletons easily enough." Erica said, patting her guns.

"Wait, I have something I want to try first." Sarah said, taking her bow off her shoulder and stringing an arrow. She took careful aim and whispered, "Vascor." Flaming sparks ran from her fingertips across the bow and bowstring and onto the arrow. They collected on the arrowhead and it seemed to burn without being consumed. She released the bowstring and the arrow streaked across the room trailing sparks. The mage was oblivious to their presence and had no chance to protect himself. The arrow embedded in his chest and exploded.

The mage was blasted back to the wall, obviously dead. All the skeletons turned towards Sarah. "I was kind of hoping he was controlling them." Sarah said, shaking as what she'd just done sank in.

"That was still a great shot! Now it's my turn." Erica replied. She sheathed her sword and drew both guns. She fired several times from each gun into the mob and soon they were reduced to bone splinters, scattered all around the room.

"Bit loud, aren't they?" Sarah said.

Erica nodded, "Yeah, the explosive bullets don't help that part any. But they work great!"

They moved cautiously into the room, but there was no sign of anything else living or dead. Mike cautiously approached the sarcophagus. "Do we want to mess with this?" he asked.

"We have found a few things in those things. It might be worth our while." Erica said. Shrugging, Mike pushed the sarcophagus open while the others stood around it ready to attack if need be.

---

 
To Be Continued…
 

---

« Sarah's Shadow - 8 - Dungeon Crawl »

---

"I guess we don't need to fight anything just yet." Jill said. With the lid off the sarcophagus they could see it was actually a stairway.

"Could be all kinds of nasties down there, though." Mike said. "I'll go first." He slithered down the steps before any of them could argue and the others hurriedly followed.

"Vash, do you feel anything down here?" Jill asked suspiciously as they looked around a small room full of gold, jewel encrusted objects.

I believe we have dealt with everything this tomb had to offer. I would still be leery of traps, though. he replied.

"Vash says there's nothing left to fight, but we should still watch for traps." Jill said for Erica's benefit.

"How are we supposed to do that?" Erica asked.

"I think I have an idea." Sarah said and looked at the nearest pile of treasure. A portal opened up beneath it and it fell through. There was a crash from above a moment later.

"What did you do?!" Mike exclaimed.

"I portaled the pile into the room above. That way if the pile is trapped, it will go off up there. If the trap is in here, we don't get near it." Sarah explained.

Jill looked around wearily, but nothing seemed to be happening. "Go ahead and do the rest, Sarah." she suggested. Sarah nodded and opened portal after portal, each one followed by a crash as the treasure arrived above. Soon the room was empty.

"I guess there weren't any traps." Mike said with relief. They climbed back up the stairs to find the golden objects scattered all around the room. "Could take a while to look through all this stuff."

I can help with that. Vash said. He scampered through the pile, tapping a blunted claw against an item every now and then.

"Vash says those objects are magical." Jill told Erica. They began gathering up the objects he'd indicated and piling them off to one side from the rest. Soon they had about a fifth of the objects piled up.

"All of this is magical?!" Erica exclaimed, looking down at the haphazard pile of objects.

Jill nodded, "Yes. He says some of the stuff he didn't indicate is also magical, but it's cursed. He wants you to move that stuff aside, Erica, since it won't affect you."

Erica shrugged and followed Vash around, gathering up cursed objects as she went. She soon had a pile even larger than the other which she stacked against a wall in the far corner at Vash's insistence.

That left about half the treasure lying scattered about the room. "This other stuff is valuable, but non-magical. Does anybody want any of it?" Jill asked. They all walked around the room, looking at the scattered treasure. They found some statues and jewelry that they liked, but the rest they ignored.

"So what is this stuff?" Erica asked, looking at the pile of magical items.

"Vash doesn't know for the most part. He thinks he can identify it with time, though, and he's certain it's not cursed." Jill replied. The pile consisted of a map case (which they hadn't opened to find out if it had a map in it), a very large sword, two smaller swords, three daggers, an axe, a crossbow, a long bow, two quivers of arrows (with golden arrowheads), various pieces of jewelry, and an assortment of armor pieces.

"There's too much here to carry back, I'll open a portal and we can ferry it across." Sarah said, and opened the portal to her living room. Mike and Erica started ferrying things through the portal from the magical pile, while Jill and Sarah gathered up the non-magical objects. Once all of the magical items were through they followed Mike and Erica through the portal.

Mike and Erica had piled the magical objects on the floor in front of the couch, so Sarah and Jill put the non magical stuff on the kitchen table.

"Well, that was certainly some shopping trip!" Mike said with a sigh as he sank gratefully down on the couch.

"It certainly was." Jill agreed, taking her canteen off her shoulder and spilling a few drops on Mike's face. Before their eyes the scratches on his face healed up without a trace. "Good stuff, isn't it?" Jill said with a grin as she capped the canteen.

Mike grinned back at her, "Yes, it certainly is! Thanks!"

"Is anybody else hurt?" she asked. Everyone shook their heads, so Jill gathered up everyone's bottles and put them away in a cupboard that Sarah indicated to her.

"How long is it going to take you to figure out what all this stuff is?" Mike asked Vash, who was already poking around in the pile.

No way to know. The magic of that world is slightly different to what I'm used to. I'll tell you what they are as I find out myself. he replied.

"Let's sort out the non-magical stuff, then." Erica suggested. They all sat at the table and went through the much smaller pile. The only thing Mike had picked out was a dragon statue with ruby eyes. It was about six inches tall and about fifteen long. He set it aside and helped Jill sort out her own picks. Jill had selected two rings and three necklaces. Erica had selected only a pendant and a ring, while Sarah had found a cat statue that she liked, along with a bracelet, two rings, and a necklace.

"I figured I could give them to you when I'm done with them." Sarah said with a shrug at Erica's questioning look.

"Can you really wear any of that stuff?" Mike asked, "Without being mugged, anyway."

"This stuff is so perfect anyone seeing it will assume it's fake." Jill replied.

"Even so, we can only use it for dressy occasions without looking strange." Erica added.

"If you say so." Mike said with a shrug.

With the non-magical treasure sorted out Mike and Jill took theirs back to their apartment. Erica put hers in her luggage, and Sarah put hers away in, or in the case of the cat statue on, her dresser.

By the time they'd all returned to the living room Vash had already managed to figure out the enchantments on the crossbow.

This crossbow is simple enough. he said. It's especially durable, accurate, and powerful. That's it. Jill relayed that to the others.

"Sounds like you've got yourself a weapon." Erica said to Jill.

"Me?! Why me?" Jill exclaimed.

"Mike's our front line fighter. I've already got a ranged weapon as well as my sword. Sarah has her bow and her fireballs. Your only ranged weapon is those kinetic blasts of Vash's and your mental abilities. Which are completely useless against undead." Erica explained.

"Crossbows are pretty easy to use." Sarah said. "This one even has a hand crank for loading. All you have to do is wind the crank to get the bow pulled back, place a bolt inside, aim and shoot. We'll have to get you some bolts for it, but it's otherwise ready to go."

"I guess." Jill said doubtfully.

"Have you figured out any of the others?" Erica asked Vash. He shook his head and continued perusing the pile, so they got comfortable on the couch and Sarah showed Jill how to handle her new crossbow. Once she was sure Jill could load it herself, they went online to order some bolts and a quiver for it.

"Why not buy them in a store, like you did your arrows?" Jill asked.

"Crossbows aren't as common as bows. We'll have better luck online." Sarah explained.

"I think it's about time for some food, how about you girls?" Mike said.

"Sure, sounds like a good idea. What shall I make?" Sarah asked.

"I was thinking of going out to eat, you don't have to cook." Mike protested.

"I can't afford to go out very often, especially now that I have to spend so much money on clothes and…other…female stuff." Sarah replied awkwardly.

"Other female stuff?" Erica asked with a grin.

"She had her first period this week." Jill explained.

"Wow, really? That must have been strange for you." Erica replied and gave Sarah a hug.

"Yeah, it was." Sarah agreed, burying her blushing face in Erica's shoulder.

"Do you really want to eat here, because I'll pay for dinner if you want to go out." Erica said.

"Wellll, a pizza would be nice…" Sarah said hopefully.

Erica laughed and said, "Sure, we can get a pizza. I should have known your taste for pizza would be unaffected!"

"Do you want to come along, Vash, or should we just bring some leftovers home for you?" Jill asked.

I'm tired, I'll stay here. I would be intrigued to try this pizza thing that Sarah is so excited about, however. he replied while nosing one of the rings.

"Okay, we'll make sure to bring some back for you then." Jill said and they headed out.

---

 
To Be Continued…
 

---

« Sarah's Shadow - 9 - Spoils »

---

They were quiet on the drive out, as they were all tired from the fighting in the tomb. Jill volunteered to do the ordering since the others had been more active in the fighting than she had. Mike and Erica gratefully found a table to relax in with Sarah following behind.

Once Jill had finished ordering she took her seat next to Mike. "If we're going to be doing that kind of fighting again, I think I'd prefer it be somewhere a little more open." Mike said.

"Claustrophobic?" Erica asked curiously.

Mike shook his head, "No, but most of the forms I've taken so far are rather large. Naga form works in close quarters, but it's not nearly as powerful as a dragon or giant."

"How many forms do you have, anyway?" Erica said.

Mike looked thoughtful and counted them out on his fingers as he said, "The first was a dragon. Invisible giant was next, followed by a different kind of dragon. Naga was after that. After that was T-Rex. Finally, there was that wolf form the wizard forced me into. I think I could get that form back again, anyway. So that makes six, even if two of them are dragons."

"What's the difference between the two dragon forms?" Erica asked.

"Well, the first dragon form is bigger, tougher, breaths fire, and talks. The second dragon form is probably faster, being smaller, and can teleport through time and space. And it's telepathic." Mike said.

"Maybe we should look into getting you more shapes you can shift into." Erica suggested. Mike was about to answer when the pizzas arrived. Everyone's attention was diverted to eating for a while after that.

"So what did you have in mind for getting me more shapes to use?" Mike asked after he'd finished eating his sixth slice.

"How about a demon? A human sized demon would be pretty deadly." Erica suggested.

"I'm pretty sure I'd have to see a demon in order to be able to shift into one. I don't think I really want to do that." Mike replied.

"Good point." Erica said.

"How about a gargoyle?" Sarah suggested.

Mike nodded, "That could work. They're roughly human sized."

"Okay, so what else?" Erica asked, intent on gathering an arsenal of forms for Mike.

"Beholder?" Jill said, and then shook her head, "No, that'd be too dangerous too."

"With the other forms he already has I would think the gargoyle form would take care of it. He can always copy the forms of other creatures we see as we go." Sarah said.

"Sarah's right. Besides, to get the really powerful forms he'd have to get entirely too close to them." Jill said.

"Yeah, gargoyle should do it for now. I'll just make a point of copying any forms I can." Mike said. Erica reluctantly gave up convincing them and got a box for the pizza. When they returned they found Vash had separated several items from the pile.

"Made some progress?" Jill said.

Yes, I have. I checked the bow first after you left, as I thought Sarah would appreciate it. It shouldn't take too much strength to draw, but will fire with much greater force. It's also more durable, as magical items tend to be, and you will be able to shoot with greater accuracy. Vash replied.

Sarah picked up the bow from the pile. It was made of a smooth, nearly grain-less white wood with runes of gold etched into it all along its length. "I'll have to try it out sometime. I haven't done any target shooting since my archery class ended, anyway," she said.

I took a look at the quivers of arrows next. The arrows in this quiver will penetrate almost any armor. Vash said, tapping one of the quivers with his paw. The arrows in this quiver will electrocute whatever creature they hit. Vash said, pawing the second quiver.

"Sounds useful." Sarah said. "It's too bad we don't have more of them.” Each quiver held a dozen arrows.

We do. I almost missed it, but the quivers themselves are also magical. So long as there is an arrow in them, but less than a dozen, it will generate new arrows of the same type. Vash said.

"Cool! Then the first thing to do is take an arrow out of each." Sarah said, doing so.

"Why?" Mike asked.

"So that we never run out of these types of arrows. I'll mark these and store them away somewhere so that if I ever use up all the arrows in the quivers I'll be able to make more of them." Sarah replied.

An excellent idea. Vash said as Sarah marked the arrows and removed the quivers from the pile Vash had already examined and put them with her other quiver. That left three objects; two wands and a pair of bracers.

"What about those bracers?" Mike asked.

They have a similar enchantment to Jill's ring, though not as powerful. They will protect their wearer from physical attacks only, however. Vash replied.

"Sounds like a good one for you, Erica." Sarah said.

"Me? Why not Mike?" Erica asked.

Sarah shrugged, "We don't know how Mike's shape shifting would work with them, and he won't need them in some of his forms. You don't need the magical or psionic defense, so their lack of that won't be a drawback for you."

"I certainly don't need them, my ring does more than they do." Jill added.

Erica looked at Mike and he said, "Go ahead and take them, they're a perfect fit for you." So, Erica took the bracers and put them in the closet with her sword and dagger.

"I don't remember finding any wands." Jill said, looking at the remaining objects.

You didn't, but I found them. They belonged to the wizard. Vash replied.

"So what do they do?" Mike asked.

The green one casts a spell that detects magic. Once the spell is cast the person who cast it will see a glow coming from any enchanted object. The glow will be different colors depending on the type of magic. Red denotes a curse, blue is permanent magic, like in these objects, and purple means the magic is temporary. Vash said.

"That could come in handy, though you seem to be able to do the same." Jill said.

Yes, I can, though it works differently. The red wand casts a spell that fires a magical missile. It doesn't do a lot of damage, but it also doesn't explode on impact. Vash said with a significant look at Sarah.

"Wait, you want me to use these wands like I did the fireball wand, don't you?" Sarah asked.

Yes, I believe you will learn to cast these spells on your own after using them a time or two. Vash replied.

"That really would be helpful. Then you could blast stuff even when it's close up without blasting us." Jill said. "Sounds like those are for you."

Sarah shrugged and took the wands. "How do I use them?" she asked.

They are like the fireball wand, they have an activation word. The green wand is activated by saying 'Desma', the red one by saying 'Macor'. Vash said.

Sarah nodded, "Okay, I'll use them when I can. Thanks for figuring these things out for us Vash."

You're welcome. May I suggest that some practice in your various abilities, and with your new equipment, would be useful? Vash said.

"That's a good idea. There are some areas around here where we wouldn't be seen and could get away with doing some damage to the landscape." Jill said.

"Why not use somewhere in another world?" Erica asked.

"I'd rather not." Jill replied. "Even the safest of places has a tendency to become dangerous, or at least complicated, when we do that. Here we know what we're dealing with."

They debated the point briefly, but Erica was soon outnumbered and gave in. Noticing the time, Mike and Jill decided to go home. "Come on Vash, let's leave the love birds alone." Jill said with a grin. Sarah and Erica both blushed at that and said their goodbyes. Once they'd left Sarah put the wands on the kitchen table and they both got ready for bed.

"I am soo tired!" Erica exclaimed as she crawled into bed.

"I can imagine." Sarah said. "Considering how many times you had to swing that sword of yours. Even as light as it is it's got to be tiring. I'm rather tired, too." Sarah joined Erica in bed, but they were too tired to do more than cuddle up together and drift off to sleep.

---

 
To Be Continued…

---

When Sarah woke she couldn't help but stare at Erica lying so peacefully beside her. She brushed a strand of golden blond hair away from her face and wondered why Erica put up with her. She's so beautiful! It's a wonder she hasn't gotten fed up with me and found someone better. It wouldn't be hard for her. she thought, a single tear trailing down her cheek.

Her contemplation was soon ended by an urgent need to use the bathroom. By the time she returned Erica was already awake. "Good morning, Sarah!" she said brightly.

"Good morning! What would you like for breakfast?" Sarah replied.

Sarah fidgeted uncomfortably as Erica gazed strangely at her for a while before answering. "Pancakes?" she suggested.

"Uh, yeah, sounds good." Sarah agreed and went to make them.

Sarah was cooking the last pancake when there was a knock at the door. "Erica, can you get that for me?" she called out.

Erica made sure her robe was closed and opened the door. "Good morning Mike, Jill, how are you?" she said, stepping aside so they could come in.

"Great." they answered as they walked in.

"If that's Mike and Jill tell them we've got enough pancakes to share!" Sarah called from the kitchen.

Soon they were all sitting at the table eating pancakes. "Vash has been harping on that idea of trying out our abilities and equipment since we left last night. When do we want to do that?" Jill asked.

Erica shrugged and said, "Any time's fine with me."

"If you guys don't have any plans we could go after breakfast." Sarah said.

We should also bring the magical objects I haven't figured out the purpose of yet. I can look through them some more while you're practicing. Vash said while gorging himself on a pancake covered in strawberry jam and maple syrup.

"Is there anything you don't eat?" Erica said.

I'm not a cat, I can eat whatever I like. Vash replied primly.

"You may not be a cat, but you sure act like one sometimes." Mike said. At Erica's curious look he relayed what Vash had said.

After breakfast they started ferrying equipment to Sarah's car. As Mike and Sarah were carrying the first batch out to the car Erica said, "Jill, can you help me with something?" Jill nodded and Erica led her back to Sarah's room and closed the door behind them.

"Is something wrong?" Jill asked worriedly.

Erica sat down on the edge of Sarah's bed and said, "Not exactly."

"Well? I can't read your mind, you know." Jill said when Erica didn't say anymore.

"Um, well, when Sarah came back into the room this morning she asked me what I wanted for breakfast." Erica said hesitantly.

Jill frowned in confusion and asked, "So what?"

"Well, I uh, wanted to say her." Erica replied, blushing and looking down at her feet.

"Mike's said that to me lots of times, what's the big deal?" Jill asked, looking confused.

"I was attracted to her!" Erica exclaimed and then slapped her hand over her mouth when she realized how loudly she'd said it.

"Erica, you're not making much sense! Of course you're attracted to her, you love her!" Jill replied, baffled by Erica's strange behavior.

"Well, like that, yeah, but also…physically." Erica replied softly.

"Oh, is that all?" Jill replied, grinning.

"But she's a girl!" Erica protested.

Jill shrugged, "So? Maybe you're bisexual. It's no big deal if you are. Or maybe she just happens to be the person you love!"

"But…" Erica sputtered.

"Erica, you've loved her for years. It's no surprise that you'd find her attractive! I assume that you've never been attracted to a girl before, but I don't see the problem. It's not like you're cheating on her or anything." Jill said.

"I kind of feel like I am." Erica said sorrowfully.

"Erica, she is Sean, so you're not cheating on anybody!" Jill said firmly.

"It's just, she seems so different, while still the same. Does that make any sense?" Erica said.

Jill nodded, "Yes, it does. She seems a little more confident and outgoing now than she was before. She even stands up for herself on occasion! She used to let everyone walk all over her before."

Erica looked guiltily at Jill and said, "Including me, right?"

Jill shrugged, "You may have taken a little advantage of her willingness to follow your lead, but not that much. After all, in your case she'd follow you anywhere, so it would be hard not to take advantage a little."

"I guess." Erica said, not sounding very convinced.

"So do you think you could handle it now, if Sarah never changed back to Sean?" Jill said.

Jill was pleased to see that Erica actually paused and thought about it, instead of giving a snap answer. "I…think maybe I could." she said softly.

"Good! But don't tell her that, okay? If you show any preference either way she'll go in that direction, I think. It would be best if she makes her own choices about her gender." Jill said.

Erica frowned, "You make it sound like there's doubt about what gender she wants to be."

"I think so, yeah. But I don't want to push her. If we're understanding the Magician's Answer correctly, she'll be able to switch back and forth at will someday. Despite that, she'll have to choose a gender to present as in her daily life, like at work. When that time comes I want her to decide what is best for her, not anyone else." Jill replied.

"Like me." Erica said. Jill nodded. "But wouldn't telling her that I can love her in either form be helpful, then?"

"Yes, but if you say you're okay with her as a girl, she's likely to take that to mean that you prefer her that way. You know how she is." Jill said.

Erica sighed and stood up, "Okay, you're right. Thanks."

"For what?" Jill asked.

"For listening to my whining and accepting the both of us." Erica replied with a tear in her eye.

"What are friends for?" Jill replied and hugged her. "Come on, lets help them load up the rest of our stuff." Erica wiped her face and they went out to help move everything they'd need. Mike and Sarah had already moved most of it, so it didn't take long to finish up.

"Is everything okay?" Mike asked when Jill came out with Sarah's new bow and quivers.

Jill smiled and said, "Yes, everything's great! I'll tell you about it later." Mike nodded and they finished loading the car.

Jill guided Sarah to a rocky area well away from any buildings that was shielded by hills on all sides. "Here we are." she said.

"Now what?" Erica asked as they got out of the car.

"Now we see what we, and our new toys, are really capable of." Jill replied.

"It's too bad you won't be able to practice with your crossbow yet." Sarah said as she got her archery equipment together.

"How am I supposed to practice my abilities?" Erica asked.

"Uh, I don't think we want to try that." Sarah said.

It is not necessary to practice the powers of a Null. She will not be directly affected by any magical or psionic effect. That includes the healing water, though. Vash said.

"I didn't think about that! Maybe you should stick with ranged weapons Erica!" Sarah exclaimed.

Erica looked confused until Jill told her what Vash had said. "Oh no you don't! Just because I can't be healed with that water doesn't mean I'm going to hide behind you guys!" she protested.

"But…" Sarah said, but Jill cut her off.

"She's not going to hide behind us, Sarah. Besides, she's immune to magic, and those bracers will protect her. You and Mike are more vulnerable than she is." Jill said.

"I guess." Sarah said.

Sarah, why don't you try out those wands now. Vash suggested as he went back to looking through the objects retrieved from the tomb.

"Okay." Sarah replied, putting her bow down and retrieving the wands from the car. She held the green wand and said the activation word, "Desma." She recoiled from the car as bright lights streamed out of it from all the objects retrieved from the tomb, including the wand in her hand. "How do I turn this off?!"

Just say the activation word again. Vash replied. Sarah did so and was relieved to see that the light faded immediately. Now try it without the wand. Vash suggested.

Sarah nodded and said the word again after putting the wand back in the car. "Whoa!" she cried, falling down in surprise at the glare from the car full of magical objects. "Desma!" she yelled, and sighed in relief as the light faded.

"Are you alright?" Erica asked, kneeling next to her.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Just surprised me, it was brighter than the first time." she replied.

---

 
To Be Continued…

---

"Try the other one." Mike suggested.

Sarah pointed the red wand at a large rock and said, "Macor." A ball of blue light shot from the wand to the rock, rocking it slightly but causing no discernable damage. At Vash's urging she put the wand down and tried again. When she said the word a larger ball of blue light, more intense than the first one, shot out from her hand and struck the rock. It rolled over backwards and cracked. "Whoa!"

"Hey, I just remembered! You said that last fireball you shot at the creature in the woods with that other wand was more powerful than you expected! You must be putting more power into these spells than the wands do!" Jill exclaimed.

Sarah, try your fireball now. Vash suggested. Sarah shrugged and cast a fireball at the same rock. They were all surprised by the size of the blast, as they hadn't seen it used in the open before. I think Jill is right. Unlike the other two wands, that fireball wand was from my previous master's world. That spell should have created a blast with approximately a ten foot radius. The fireball you just launched had at least a fifteen foot radius. Vash said.

"What does that mean?" Sarah asked.

It means you have a lot of power at your disposal. Try your fireball again, but try to put more power into it. Vash replied.

Sarah shrugged and said, "Vascor!" while concentrating on a bigger explosion. It worked.

Erica rushed to where Sarah had fallen as the shockwave had knocked everyone but her down. Lacking flammable materials, there wasn't much smoke this time. "Are you okay?" Erica asked as she helped her up.

"Yeah, I'm okay. What about Mike and Jill?" Sarah asked as she brushed the dust off of her.

"We're okay!" Jill said as Mike helped her up. "Where's Vash?"

I'm here. Vash said as he flew up onto Jill's shoulder.

"I think you should aim a little farther away if you do that again." Mike said.

"Yeah, I guess so." Sarah agreed, still a little stunned by how powerful her spell had been. The rock she had cracked before was now in pieces, some of them partially melted. "Did I really do that?" she asked incredulously, pointing at the remains of the rock.

"Wow, you melted it!" Mike exclaimed.

Sarah, why don't you practice that spell, aimed suitably far away from us, and try to alter the size of the explosion and the heat of the blast. Vash suggested. Sarah nodded and looked for the farthest target she could see. She began lobbing fireballs, slowly getting the hang of altering its size and temperature.

The others were looking on in awe at the amount of damage Sarah was doing to the hillside when Vash suggested Mike experiment with shifting. Reluctantly looking away from the spectacle he nodded and stepped away from the others before shifting into his first dragon form.

"Wow, you're huge! Can you breathe fire?" Erica asked. In answer Mike shot out a stream of fire into the nearest rocky hill. He kept it up for several seconds before he had to take a breath. That section of the hill melted and looked like glass.

Can you reclaim the wolf form you were forced into by my former master? Vash asked. A moment later the huge dragon was replaced by a large, but tiny in comparison, wolf.

"Hey, you're kind of cute like that!" Jill said with a grin. Mike jogged over and licked her face. Jill giggled and scratched him behind his ear.

"What am I supposed to do?" Erica asked.

Jill looked up and said, "Vash says you should try that sword and dagger of yours out on some rocks. He thinks they may be able to cut through them like your sword did the armor of that undead in the sarcophagus."

Erica shrugged and pulled her sword belt out of the car and strapped it on. Walking over to the nearest large rock she drew her sword and cut it in half. "Wow, I guess Vash was right!" she exclaimed. Sheathing her sword she drew her dagger and tried to cut into the rock with it. It wasn't long enough to cut it in half, but it sliced into the rock with ease.

While Erica examined her sword and dagger for damage after reducing the rock to rubble, Mike began trying out his different forms. At Vash's suggestion, Jill started trying to feel the thoughts or emotions of people she knew to see how far she could reach.

Sarah took a break from blasting the hillside, which was now half melted, to talk to Vash. "Had any luck yet?" she asked, as Vash was looking through their 'loot' again.

Yes. I think I've found a new sword for Mike. Vash replied, tapping the claymore sized sword they'd retrieved from the tomb. It was a fairly simple sword, but had runes of gold etched into the blade and rubies on the pommel and guard. The scabbard looked like smooth metal, golden in color but much lighter than gold. Like Erica's sword, this sword is lighter and tougher than usual. It doesn't have the ability to cut through almost anything like Erica's sword does, but it's a shape shifting sword. Normally it would just change from one type of weapon to another, but I believe it may be compatible with his own shifting power.

"What does that mean?" Sarah asked.

It means that when he shifts it may enhance his form by making his claws sharper and stronger, or something along those lines. Vash replied.

"Sounds good. Hey Mike!" Sarah called. Mike was flying around in his smaller dragon form at that point and landed next to Sarah before shifting back to human. "Vash found you a sword, you should try it out!" She went on to explain what Vash had discovered and Mike replaced the falchion with the new sword on his sword belt and strapped it on. The sword was so long it was dragging on the ground, so Mike took the belt off and put it over his shoulder, instead. Sarah tied the bottom of the sheath to the belt so it wouldn't bounce around too much.

"Okay, let's give this a try." Mike said before shifting back to dragon form. He held his right claw up and admired his golden talons. Looks like it works pretty well! he sent to Sarah. He stabbed at a bolder with his claws and they pierced the rock with ease. Then he shifted to wolf form, and his claws and teeth were all golden. He continued to play around with that while Sarah returned to the car.

I have another exercise for you Sarah. Try to cast your spells without saying the activation word aloud. Vash suggested before Sarah could retrieve her new bow. Just think the word instead of saying it.

Sarah shrugged and thought, Desma. She was blinded again by the light emanating from the magical items and quickly recited the word again. "Okay, that one worked." she muttered as she turned to the melted hillside she was using for her earlier target practice. Vascor she thought, and launched yet another fireball at the hill. She followed that up with the third spell, which caused a small geyser of liquefied rock to shoot up from the point of impact.

Good, now try varying the power of all three spells while casting them silently. Vash instructed. Sarah groaned, but got to it. Soon the hill was under another barrage of spells.

Erica came and took a seat in the car to watch Sarah's fireworks. Her powers being passive, she was stuck watching the others use theirs. Jill was just sitting there, and Mike was all over the place, shifting from one form to another. She'd watched him for a time, but lost interest when Mike started using indigenous animals, like a rattle snake. She was the only one who saw it when Sarah blasted the hill with a particularly large ball of blue energy. A huge chunk of the base of the hill was blasted away, dirt and rock spraying out in all directions. Fortunately none of them were close enough to get hit by it.

By this point they were all looking at the hill, and saw as it collapsed into a mound less than half as tall as it had been. "I think you might have overdone it a bit." Erica finally said after a long silence.

Sarah turned towards Erica with a weak grin, and fainted.

---

 
To Be Continued…

---

"Sarah!" Erica screamed, running towards her. Her scream startled Mike and Jill into motion and they were soon with Erica at Sarah's side.

"Vash says she's just exhausted from all the magic she's been using." Jill said with relief.

"Is he sure?" Erica asked anxiously. In answer Vash flew over and landed on Sarah's chest. He started licking her face and she began to groan and move around. When her eyes opened Erica asked, "Are you alright Sarah?"

Sarah reached up and wiped Erica's tears away. "I'm fine." she said weakly. She smiled when Erica did and drifted off to sleep.

"Mike, why don't you put her in the back seat of the car, it's got to be more comfortable than the ground." Jill suggested. Mike nodded and picked Sarah up. Erica followed him and put Sarah's head on her lap once she was lying down.

"Should we continue practicing, or go back to Sarah's?" Mike asked when he got back to Jill.

Jill didn't react at first and her eyes were closed. Mike was about to ask her if she was alright when Jill's eyes opened and she said, "We'd better get out of here, someone heard that."

"That's not surprising." Mike said dryly, looking at the remains of the hill Sarah used for practicing her spells. He and Jill looked around to make sure they weren't forgetting anything and hurried back to the car.

"What's wrong?" Erica asked when Mike and Jill got in and started the engine. Vash was riding on Jill's shoulder but hopped into the back to rest on Sarah's stomach.

"Sarah got someone's attention with that last blast. We're getting out of here before someone sees us and connects us with it." Jill replied while Mike drove.

They were quiet on the drive back. When they got to Sarah's apartment Erica insisted on carrying Sarah inside. Jill grinned at Mike as they watched her struggling with the taller girl. Erica gently laid Sarah down on the couch and sat on the floor beside it. "Did anyone see us?" she asked softly once she was settled.

"I don't think so, but it's hard to say." Jill replied.

"What about Vash, he's better at this telepathy stuff, right?" Erica asked.

"He is, but his range is limited. We don't know what my range is yet, but I was able to reach Dora." Jill said.

"You're friend from art school?" Mike asked. "You talked to her?"

"Of course not! I just touched her mind enough to know it was her. It was really weird reaching out like that. She only lives a couple of miles or so from where we were and that was pushing it for me. Vash says my reach will probably improve with practice." Jill replied.

"How far away was this person who saw the blast?" Mike asked.

"I'm not sure, but they were definitely closer than Dora." Jill said.

"Did they see anything else, like flying dragons?" Erica asked.

"I'm not sure, I just caught a glimpse. I'm still not that good at this." Jill replied.

"Come on, lets talk in the kitchen so we don't wake Sarah up." Mike suggested.

"You two go, I'll stay here." Erica said, brushing a strand of hair from Sarah's face.

"She's liable to sleep for a while." Jill said. Erica nodded, but didn't move. Jill and Mike shrugged and went to the kitchen and sat at the table.

"She's really gotten over her discomfort with Sarah's new body, hasn't she?" Mike said.

"Yeah. Before we left Erica said she felt physically attracted to Sarah this morning. I think they're going to be okay." Jill said, smiling widely.

"Good! The last thing Sarah needs is for Erica to cause problems, though I really am surprised. I didn't think Erica was bisexual." Mike said.

"I'm not sure if she is, she may just be looking past the package to the person underneath. Not that it matters either way, so long as they're happy." Jill replied.

"The question is whether either of them will continue to push to get Sarah changed back to Sean, or if they'll just leave things as they are." Mike said thoughtfully.

Jill nodded, "Yeah, I'm not sure which way they'll go with that. From what the Magician said, I think it would be best to forget all about that. If she's going to get the ability to change back, that's when it's most likely to happen. How would you feel, though, if Sarah decides to stay female?"

Mike started to reply and then stopped and gave the question some thought. "You know, I was going to say that of course Sarah would want to change back, but I'm starting to wonder. I mean, it's not like it would be easy to explain her suddenly regaining several inches of height, among other things." he said.

"I don't think that's the only reason she'd stay female, but it is a point. I know I said she could just say it wasn't for her, before, but I think many people wouldn't buy it, especially since Sarah has opened up a bit since she changed." Jill said.

"You've got a point. She does seem happier and more open than I can remember her ever being, when she's not worrying about trying to change back or how Erica would react to her." Mike agreed reluctantly.

"I just can't shake the feeling that there's something else she's hiding from us. Vash is sure he's figured out all her secrets, but I'm not so sure." Jill said.

"Secrets? What secrets?" Mike asked curiously.

Jill slapped herself in the forehead when she realized she'd said that out loud. "I can't tell you. They're Sarah's secrets, not mine. She'd kill me if I told you. Heck, she might kill me just for knowing about them!" Jill replied.

"Oh come on," Mike scoffed, "Sarah wouldn't hurt you."

Jill sighed, "No, but she might hurt herself. She's certainly thought about it enough times."

"Recently?!" Mike exclaimed. "I thought she was doing better now!"

Jill nodded, "She is, since she became Sarah."

Mike sat back in surprise and looked at Jill in shock for several moments. "You can't be serious! You're saying becoming a girl made her feel better?!" he said.

"Not at first, but as she's gotten used to it she's felt better. Especially once Erica started getting more comfortable with her. But even now there's a part of her that longs to give up and stop fighting." Jill replied sadly.

They sat in silence after that. Jill reached up to pet Vash and realized he wasn't on her shoulder. I'm keeping Sarah company. Vash told her when he sensed she was looking for him.

How is she? she replied.

Just tired, like I said. Her energy is returning much faster than I expected, though. She may wake in as little as an hour. You may want to consider having some food ready for when she wakes up, she's likely to be very hungry. Vash said.

"Vash?" Mike asked, having gotten used to the look she got when she was talking to him.

"Yes. He says Sarah may wake up in an hour or so." Jill replied. "He also says she's going to be very hungry. It is getting close to lunchtime anyway, what do you want to eat?"

They discussed what to have for lunch and decided to just order pizza. They waited a while to order so it wouldn't be cold when Sarah woke up, then called it in. By the time it arrived Sarah was beginning to stir.

"Hey honey, how are you feeling?" Erica asked when Sarah opened her eyes.

"Erica? What happened?" Sarah asked, looking around in confusion.

"You overdid it and passed out. We took you home. You've been sleeping for a couple of hours now." Erica replied, brushing an imaginary strand of hair from her face, her fingers brushing lightly over Sarah's face.

Sarah turned her face into Erica's hand and closed her eyes. "Sorry to interrupt, but the pizzas are here." Jill called out, smiling. Erica pulled her hand back reluctantly, Sarah's face trying to follow it.

"Uh, okay." Erica called back, blushing. She helped Sarah to her feet and they joined Mike and Jill at the table. Vash took a seat on the table and ate half a pizza by himself. They had all built up an appetite with their practicing, except for Erica. She only ate a couple of slices and spent the rest of the time gazing at Sarah. When they were done Mike took care of the garbage and they retired to the living room. Sarah absently turned on the TV, as she usually did when getting back from work.

"…won't let us get close to the sight." A news reporter was saying when the TV came on. "You can see from here that the side of the hill was melted." she went on to say, and the camera panned to show the hill Mike had breathed fire on. Then the camera panned again to show the remains of the other hill. "This hill was at least twice as big yesterday, but all that mass is now scattered around the base of the hill. An eye witness who arrived before the area was cordoned off said that some of the debris was also melted."

---

 
To Be Continued…
 

---

« Sarah's Shadow - 10 - Trouble »

---

« Toil & Trouble 5 - A New Kind Of Magic »

---

The reporter went on, but it was mostly a repeat of what she'd already said. "I guess we got out of there just in the nick of time." Mike said with a weak chuckle.

"This could be bad. What if they figure out it was us?" Sarah asked, a tinge of panic beginning to appear in her voice.

Erica wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close. "There's no way they could do that. Even if they figured out we were there, we'd just say we have no idea what happened and there's no way they can prove otherwise. Just make sure not to be seen lobbing any fireballs around!" Erica said with a chuckle.

"That goes for you, too, Mike. Yours and Sarah's powers are the most visible; you'll need to be careful not to let anyone see you using them. I'll spend as much time working with Vash to hone my abilities as I can, so I can sense when we're being watched or not." Jill said.

"Don't worry too much, Jill. Getting all worked up and jumping at our own shadows is the surest way to let anyone looking know that we have something to hide. So long as we stay calm and act as if nothing is going on we'll be fine." Erica said.

"Erica's right, we need to be careful, but if we're too tense we'll give ourselves away." Mike said.

"Okay, then why don't we relax with a movie?" Jill suggested. The others agreed and Sarah picked out a movie. The couch was too small for all four of them, but Erica solved this problem by pulling Sarah onto her lap.

Soon they'd all put their worries aside and were enjoying the movie. Sarah fell asleep again only a short while after the movie started, and Mike and Jill joined her by the middle of the movie. Erica never fell asleep, but saw little of the movie anyway as her attention was completely taken up by Sarah.

Erica was stroking Sarah's hair, long after the movie had ended, when she finally woke up. "Hey sleepy, how are you feeling?" Erica asked softly.

"Mmm, comfy!" Sarah replied, snuggling deeper into Erica's arms.

Erica giggled and kissed the top of her head (she couldn't reach anything else), "Feeling better, I take it?"

"Mm hmm." Sarah agreed.

"Well I hope you don't need me to go anywhere anytime soon, my legs fell asleep an hour ago." Erica said.

Sarah titled her head back to look up at Erica and said, "Want me to kiss it better?" with a wicked grin.

Erica blushed and stammered, "Uh, well, your kisses always do make me feel better."

"Good!" Sarah exclaimed, and reached up and kissed her. They both lost track of the world for a while until Mike cleared his throat loudly and they separated, both blushing furiously.

"Sorry to interrupt." Mike said sheepishly, rubbing his sore neck. "I guess we slept through the movie."

Jill roused beside him and started crawling into his lap. Surprised, he was about to say something when she latched her lips onto his.

"I think maybe she's picking up your feelings again." Erica said, grinning.

"I don't mind, so long as she doesn't take his clothes off!" Sarah replied with an answering grin.

*Sigh* I can see my work is far from done here. Vash grumbled. Soon after Jill started relaxing and slowly sat back from Mike. We need to start on that training. Vash said to her.

Jill looked over at Mike and then to Sarah and Erica and blushed. "I did it again, didn't I?" she said.

"Hey, I'm not complaining!" Mike said, laughing.

"Even so, I think Vash is right. I'd better get working on that training sooner rather than later." Jill said. She moved over to the recliner and laid back. Vash jumped up on her lap and curled up.

"Well, I guess she's going to be indisposed for a while." Mike said.

"Did you guys bring in all the stuff from my car while I was out?" Sarah asked. Mike shook his head. "Why don't you do that, and I'll make dinner."

"With my help." Erica said.

Sarah smiled, "Once you get your legs working again, anyway, right?"

Erica grimaced, "Yeah, there is that."

"Legs fall asleep?" Mike asked. Erica nodded. "Try massaging them, get the blood flowing." With that he went out to start hauling stuff in.

"Want me to massage your legs?" Sarah asked. Erica nodded and lay down on the couch. Sarah worked on her legs until after Mike had brought his first armful.

"How's that?" Sarah asked.

"Much better, thanks." Erica replied. Sarah helped her up and they went into the kitchen to get started on dinner.

Mike finished well before the others and sat on the couching watching Jill. When Sarah called out that dinner was ready he touched her shoulder to get her attention and told her.

"Oh, thanks Mike. I'll be right there." Jill said without opening her eyes. He shrugged and went into the kitchen to eat. Jill, and Vash, did join him shortly thereafter.

After dinner they turned the TV back on, but there was nothing else on the news about the damage they'd done. "Is it a good thing, or a bad thing, that they're not talking about it anymore?" Mike asked.

"I don't think it really means anything. Unless they come up with some theory about how it happened it's just a curiosity right now. And I doubt they'd share their theories with the press." Erica replied.

"And who is 'they'?" Jill asked.

Erica shrugged, "The police, fire department, whoever is investigating it. I'm sure someone is, but there's no telling who. If we're really unlucky it could even be the FBI or Homeland Security."

"You don't sound too worried about that." Jill said.

"Like I said, they don't have anything on us. There's no proof we did anything. Although, it might not be a bad idea to find a place to hide our weapons and such, just in case they search the apartments." Erica said thoughtfully.

"Do you really think that will happen?" Sarah asked.

"Probably not, but it wouldn't hurt to be prepared. But where can we hide it?" Erica wondered aloud.

"I suppose we could hide it at my parents' house." Mike said doubtfully.

"No, then we might get them in trouble. It's got to be somewhere where they'll never look. Or can't look!" Erica exclaimed, looking at Sarah.

"What?" Sarah asked.

"We can hide our stuff in another world. You can't get any safer than that!" Erica replied.

"Except when someone walks off with it." Jill said.

"Not if we use a world that has no life on it." Erica said. "Sarah has a book of short stories that has a story that ends that way."

"More than one." Sarah said. "That could work. I'll get it." She looked through her books and came back with it. "What do we want to stash there?" Sarah asked as she looked for the story.

"Just about everything. Even most of the stuff that isn't an obvious weapon is far too valuable for us to have." Erica replied.

"What about my ring?" Jill asked, fingering the ring she'd worn since Vash gave it to her.

"I think you can get away with that." Erica said.

"Here it is." Sarah said. "Want me to open the portal now?"

"You might as well; we should scout it out before bringing our stuff." Mike said. Sarah opened the portal and they stepped through. It opened onto a city street that was eerily quiet. Cars were stopped in the middle of the street, but there weren't any people in them.

"This is creepy." Jill said.

Sarah nodded, "Yeah, but it's exactly what we need. We just need to pick a building to stash our stuff in."

"Just about any building should do." Erica said, looking around at the surrounded structures. "That one is empty, let's use it." She said, pointing at an obviously empty storefront. The door was locked.

"Mike, can you get this open?" Jill asked.

"I guess, but I'd have to use one of my larger forms to force it and I might do more damage than I want." Mike replied.

"I think I can get it." Sarah said. She touched her index finger to the lock and a blue glow gathered there and flashed into the lock. The whole door shook and the lock fell out on the other side.

"I guess that practice did you some good." Erica said. They walked in and found the empty store was clean except for a fine coating of dust.

"I don't feel comfortable having our stuff sitting out here where it can be seen from the street. Maybe we should use the storage area in back." Jill said.

"Jill, we're the only ones on this entire planet! There's nothing to worry about." Erica said.

"It's no big deal; we can open the portal there as easily as in here." Sarah said. Erica shrugged and they went into the back. It was as clean as the rest so Sarah went ahead and opened the portal.

---

 
To Be Continued…

---

It didn't take them long to move everything out of Sarah's apartment. Once that was done Sarah opened a portal into Mike and Jill's apartment so they could get the rest. They decided to stay there since it was getting late anyway.

After returning to her apartment, Sarah and Erica put a movie on and saw almost none of it as they acted like teenagers in a movie theater. "I think we missed the movie." Erica said when she glanced over and saw the credits were rolling.

"Want to go to bed?" Sarah asked shyly, looking up at Erica through her eyelashes.

Erica smiled and kissed Sarah again. "You are so cute! C'mon!" she said, pulling Sarah to her feet. She pulled an unresisting Sarah to her bedroom, turning the TV and DVD player off on her way. As soon as the door was closed they started pulling each other's clothes off. Before they knew it they were lying on the bed, exploring each other's bodies…
 
 
Sarah awoke to a warm, contented feeling suffusing her body. She started to turn her head, but realized she was lying on Erica's chest, not a pillow. Instead she snuggled up closer and let out a contented sigh. Wow, that was just...wow! she thought.

Yeah, I didn't realize it could be that wonderful! she heard Erica say.

Wait, Erica?! Sarah thought, shocked.

What, you expected to wake up with someone else? Erica replied.

No, but I'm pretty sure you're not speaking out loud. I'm sure I'm not! Sarah thought.

What?! Oh my gawd, you're right! My mouth's not even open! I thought I was immune to this stuff? Erica thought back in confusion.

Mike and Jill said something about a bond between us but I had forgotten all about it! Maybe that has something to do with it? Sarah replied.

But I'm supposed to be immune to magic and psionics! Erica said.

I think Jill said it's a spiritual bond, maybe that gets around the whole Null thing? Sarah thought.

I guess. This is so weird! Is this what it's like to talk to Vash or Jill? Erica said.

Actually...no. I can't describe it, but there is a difference. Sarah replied.

I guess we should talk to Jill and Vash about it later. Right now I need to use the bathroom. Erica thought.

Aww, but then I'll lose my pillows! Sarah whined theatrically.

I'll make it up to you. Erica replied with a mental grin. Sarah reluctantly extricated herself from Erica and she went to the bathroom.

Sarah startled Erica while she was washing her hands when she said, What do you want for breakfast?

Erica realized that Sarah had figured out what she'd been thinking the previous morning and grinned, You, of course! Erica received a mental smile in reply and came out to join Sarah…
 
 
A while later Sarah was startled into movement by her alarm clock. "I forgot, I've got to work today!" she exclaimed as she scrambled out of bed. Erica reluctantly followed. Sarah was a little surprised to find Erica waiting to get into the shower with her, but smiled shyly and let her in. They were both too tired from their exertions to do much, but what they did woke them up quite thoroughly.

"No time to eat." Sarah noted as she threw some clothes on.

"That's okay, I enjoyed my breakfast immensely!" Erica replied, grinning.

Sarah blushed and looked down shyly and softly said, "Me too."

Erica slipped her feet into her shoes and kissed Sarah's cheek. "Come on, I'll drive you." she said. They both grabbed their jackets and Erica drove Sarah to work.

When they got there Sarah unbuckled her seat belt but didn't open the door. "I really don't want to go to work today." she said.

"Nobody's giving you trouble, are they?" Erica asked with a tinge of anger to her voice.

"No, I just feel bad about leaving you alone all day." Sarah replied.

Erica laughed, "We've been separated for a lot longer, I'll be fine! Besides, I figured I'd visit some friends while you're at work."

"Are you sure?" Sarah whined.

"We'll have plenty of time tonight! Go on, I'll see you later." Erica said. She leaned over and kissed Sarah. She'd intended it to be a quick peck, but they both lingered before they finally pulled apart and Sarah got out of the car.

"Will you pick me up?" Sarah asked.

"Of course! Now go!" Erica said, laughing. Sarah reluctantly closed the door and waved as Erica pulled away. When she turned to go into work she was surprised to find Tiffany standing nearby watching.

"Good morning Sarah." she said.

"Good morning." Sarah replied and started walking into the building. Tiffany fell into step beside her.

"Don't worry, I won't cause you any trouble over your girlfriend. But you might want to consider being a bit more discreet in public, unless you're willing to put up with the trouble it will cause you." Tiffany said.

"Uh, thanks." Sarah replied awkwardly.

"Hey, relax!" Tiffany said. "I'd like to be friends, if that's okay with you. Anyone who can get rid of John is worth being friends with! You did us all a big favor there."

"I didn't really do anything." Sarah said.

Tiffany shrugged, "Sure you did, you came here as you are instead of hiding it. That's a pretty brave thing to do. Now come on, we've got to get to work." They clocked in and started working. It was a slow work day, so Sarah was able to help Tiffany with the last of the cleanup of the records needed because of Kyle's thefts.

"How much did he steal?" Sarah asked at one point.

"A lot. Mr. Holsteader's really mad about it, as you can imagine." Tiffany replied.

"Yeah, I guess so. Did you mean what you said earlier, about wanting to be friends?" Sarah asked hesitantly.

"Yes, I did. I don't really have many friends, and I think you'd make a good one. What do you say?" Tiffany asked, nearly holding her breath in anticipation.

"Sure," Sarah said shyly, "I'd like that."

"Great!" Tiffany exclaimed, grabbing Sarah in a hug. Sarah stiffened up and Tiffany released her. "Sorry, I guess I got carried away."

"Uh, that's okay." Sarah said, and they got back to work. At lunch they talked, just getting to know each other better. Tiffany told Sarah that she was an orphan and was raised by foster parents. She was never adopted and moved out as soon as she could.

"They weren't bad parents, I guess." Tiffany said. "But they didn't really love me, or me them. We just never clicked. I haven't seen them in a couple of years. How about your parents?"

"Uh, we never really got along either. I haven't been home in a while." Sarah replied guardedly.

Something about the way Sarah answered that question was familiar to Tiffany, but she couldn't quite figure out what. She shook it off as it was time to get back to work. Things picked up after lunch and they didn't have much time to talk. Tiffany did manage to wheedle a little information about Erica out of her before the day was over, though.

When Erica arrived to pick Sarah up she was busy chatting with Tiffany. "Hi Sarah, ready to go?" she asked.

"Hi Erica, sure I'm ready." Sarah replied, a smile lighting up her face at the sight of Erica. Erica's own smile grew wide at Sarah's reaction. When Sarah got in the car they were drawn together like magnets and forgot all about Tiffany while they kissed. She coughed to get their attention and they broke their clinch reluctantly.

"Hi Erica, I'm Tiffany. I work with Sarah." Tiffany said hesitantly.

"Hi Tiffany." Erica replied guardedly. This isn't one of the people who gave you a bad time before, is it? she thought to Sarah.

No, and we've agreed to be friends. I don't know her real well yet, but she's nice. Sarah replied.

"Well, I'd better get going. Nice to meet you Erica." Tiffany said. She left and Erica drove off once Sarah was settled.

"How was your day?" Erica asked once they were moving.

"Great! I've never really talked to anyone while I was working before, it was a nice change." Sarah replied, smiling. "Did you find your friends okay?"

"Jen was at work, but I was able to talk to Lisa for a while. I spent the rest of the time with Karen; she's a teacher so she isn't working right now." Erica said, a frown tugging at her mouth but she managed not to let Sarah see it.

"Will you be able to get together with Lisa or Jen while you're here?" Sarah asked as they pulled into Sarah's parking spot at her apartment building.

"I think so." Erica replied as she got out of the car.

Sarah was about to say something when they came into sight of her door. "Why's the door open?" she asked.

Erica frowned, "I don't know. I haven't been back here since I dropped you off this morning." She pulled Sarah behind her and stepped carefully into the apartment.

"The door's broken." Sarah noted as she followed Erica. When she got a look at her apartment she gasped. Her living room was trashed; everything had been knocked over, torn up, or smashed.

---

 
To Be Continued…

---

"Wha…what happened?!" Sarah exclaimed, looking about her at the wrecked remains of her apartment.

"Someone really did a number on the place! Careful, they might still be here." Erica said, picking up a piece of wood from the bookshelf. She kept Sarah behind her while she checked the kitchen, bathroom, and finally Sarah's bedroom. The living room was the only room that was trashed, though things were knocked about a bit in her bedroom.

"I guess hiding our stuff was a good idea." Sarah said. She plopped onto her bed and sat there looking at the mess. Some clothes were thrown around, but that was about the worst of it.

"Are you okay Sarah?" Erica asked. She sat next to Sarah on the bed and put her arm around her.

Sarah nodded weakly, "Yeah, I guess so. But why did someone do this?! Was it because of what happened to those hills, or what?"

Erica frowned and said, "I don't think this had anything to do with the damage our training did. If someone was looking for explosives or something they wouldn't confine their search to the living room. The whole apartment would look like that. If I didn't know you, I would think this was personal."

"John!" Sarah said in shock. "It must have been him!"

"Why not Kyle or the other guy?" Erica asked.

"I don't think Bob would bother going after me. Kyle would, but he's in jail for stealing from the store and attacking me. Tiffany said he couldn't get the money for bail. John just got vandalism or something. He could have done this." Sarah said. She began shaking and muttered, "He knows where I live!"

"Shhh! It's alright!" Erica crooned, pulling Sarah closer and holding her tight. "We'll take care of him if he comes again. In fact, I bet Vash would be willing to play guard cat!" she said with a wicked grin.

Just then there was a noise in the living room. Sarah cringed, but Erica held her a moment longer and then went to investigate, the board back in her hands. She was gone only a moment before she called back, "It's okay, it's just Jill!"

Sarah came out and peeked around the corner cautiously and found Jill and Erica surveying the damage to the living room. "Jill?" she said, her gaze darting about as if to find some threat lurking in the mess.

"Sarah!" Jill exclaimed, rushing over to hug her. "Are you okay, I was reaching out to see if you were home and felt your fear."

"I'm okay. I think John did this, though." Sarah replied, hugging Jill back gratefully.

"That creep!" Jill growled, startling Sarah. "Sorry, but he's a real slime ball!"

Erica nodded, "Yeah, he is. But he's bitten off more than he can chew here! I was thinking maybe you could convince Vash to guard Sarah's apartment in case he comes back."

Vash chose that moment to become visible where he was riding on Jill's shoulder. I would be glad to! If he comes here again, do you wish him to leave alive and sane? he asked Sarah with a vicious mental grin.

Jill looked startled by his response, but Sarah was even more so. "No! Don't kill him or drive him insane!" she exclaimed.

*Sigh* This is one thing I liked about humans in my previous master's world, they knew how to deal with their enemies! Vash grumbled.

"I think I'm inclined to agree with you, Vash." Erica replied.

Vash nearly fell off of Jill's shoulder when Erica replied to his thoughts like that, and Jill looked about ready to take a fall herself. "How did you hear that?!" she said.

Erica grinned and pointed at Sarah. "She relayed it to me."

Jill's incredulous stare switched to Sarah. "I think it's that bond you talked about before." Sarah explained.

"Oh, I guess a spiritual bond can get around the defenses of a Null." Jill said, a bit stunned at this revelation.

Ah, a soul bond! That explains it. The mere fact it exists is proof that it is neither magical or psionic, so it is no surprise that this ability has manifested. Vash said.

"So what do we do now?" Sarah asked, looking around at the mess.

"We help you clean up of course!" Jill replied. "I'll tell Mike to get over here and we'll have things cleaned up in no time."

Mike arrived shortly thereafter and they started bagging up smaller debris. "There's no way I can afford to replace all this stuff." Sarah said sadly when they got down to the furniture. Even the TV was smashed; cleaning up the glass from it had been one of their first jobs.

"Hey, I just had an idea! We can replace everything for free, and dispose of the old stuff at the same time!" Erica said excitedly.

"How?" Jill asked.

"The empty world! It's just like this world, though a couple of years behind. The only difference is there's nothing alive there. We can go to a furniture store and cart out whatever we want! While we're at it we can do some other shopping, too." Erica explained.

"Other shopping?" Mike said worriedly.

Erica nodded, "Sure, Sarah still needs more clothes and stuff. And maybe we'll find some other stuff we like while we're there."

"I…guess that could work." Jill said hesitantly.

"It's not like we're stealing, there's nobody there to steal from. What do you say Sarah?" Erica said.

Sarah nodded, "Okay, let's do it! But first, we should get something to eat." Jill helped Sarah whip up a quick meal while Mike and Erica sorted out the few things from the living room that were salvageable and moved them aside. After cleaning up Sarah opened the portal. "Where should we dump my old stuff?"

"We could dump it in the front of the shop where we stored our stuff. That way if someone comes along they'll think there's nothing there of interest." Jill suggested.

Erica rolled her eyes, "Jill, there's nobody here to steal our stuff! That's totally unnecessary."

Jill shrugged, "I know, but it would make me feel better about it. And that area's empty anyway."

Erica sighed and nodded, "Sure, why not?" Sarah reopened the portal from within the store and Mike went through to pick up the first pieces. "Hey, Sarah, can you use your portals to move this stuff like you did the treasure in the tomb?" Erica asked.

Sarah frowned thoughtfully, "I don't know. I've never tried to link two portals in different worlds before. I'll try." With that she opened a portal in the ceiling off to one side of the store and then looked through the portal Mike had gone through and opened another under the remains of the entertainment center. With a crash the whole pile fell through the portals.

Mike came back through the portal empty handed. "I guess you don't need my help after all." he said ruefully.

"Sure we will!" Jill replied with a smile. "We can't use the same trick to move the new stuff or it would get broken. We'll need you to push it through the portal."

Before long all the broken furniture was piled up in the empty storefront and they headed out to find a furniture store. They came to a clothing store first, so they went in and started looking around. Sarah wasn't the only one to get some new clothes, though she got the most by far.

"Okay Mike, time to earn your keep." Jill said, holding out her bags to him. They'd found bags at the registers to carry everything in. He grumbled, but when Sarah opened a portal to his apartment he was grinning as he stepped through and deposited his and Jill's bags.

"Where do you want yours?" Mike asked when he got back, holding his hands out for Sarah and Erica's bags.

"Just put mine with my luggage and Sarah's on her bed. If there are any clothes on the bed just toss them on the floor, we'll have to go through them all to make sure they weren't damaged, and then wash them anyway." Erica suggested. Mike looked to Sarah, who nodded, and stepped through the portal she opened to her bedroom.

When he returned they continued looking for a furniture store. After four more stops at clothing and shoe stores they finally came across a furniture store. What they had was much nicer than the used stuff Sarah had before and she ended up replacing all the furniture in her apartment, even what wasn't destroyed. Mike and Jill followed suit and replaced most of their own furniture. Vash was very pleased with the couch and love seat Jill picked out and claimed the love seat for his own. He graciously agreed to let Jill use it once in a while.

The hardest part of the whole trip, besides actually moving the furniture, was finding the right stuff in the storage area of the store once they'd picked what they wanted. Most of it that was out for display had seen some use before the planet died, and it was also covered in a layer of dust. They were all exhausted by the time they got all their new acquisitions home and didn't even finish taking out the old furniture before calling it a night.

---

To Be Continued…

---

« Toil & Trouble 6 - Rogue »

---

Erica and Sarah woke late the next morning and only had time to shower and dress before they had to leave to get Sarah to work. "We never did say what we're going to do about John last night." Sarah said on the drive over.

"Not much we can do, yet. We don't even know for sure it's him, though I think it is. Vash will protect your apartment, and I'll protect you. Beyond that there isn't much we can do." Erica replied.

"Erica, I don't want you getting hurt trying to protect me!" Sarah protested.

In answer Erica pushed her sleeve up to reveal she was wearing the bracers. "I'm safer than you think. And unlike you, I'm armed." she said.

"You took your weapons back with you last night?" Sarah said.

"Some of them. While I was out yesterday I bought some regular bullets, since those explosive ones are useless in tight spaces. Fortunately they're regular 9mm, not some weird size that we don't use in our world, or we'd have to go back even for those. Since I already had the bullets, I took the gun and dagger out, along with the bracers." Erica replied.

"Erica, you could get in a lot of trouble if anyone catches you carrying those around!" Sarah said worriedly.

"I know, but it's only until this business with John is resolved. Then I'll put them back." Erica replied.

Sarah was about to protest, but they'd just arrived and Tiffany was waiting for her. "Just be careful, okay?" Sarah asked.

Erica leaned over and kissed her before replying, "I will, but that's supposed to be my line!"

Sarah laughed, "Okay, I'll be careful too." She got out and waved as Erica drove away.

"Hi Sarah, how are you?" Tiffany said cheerfully.

"I'm okay Tiffany." Sarah replied, then looked closer at Tiffany. "I guess you're not a natural blonde, huh?"

Tiffany put her hand to her hair self consciously and said, "Uh, yeah." There was an awkward silence as they walked into the store. Tiffany finally broke it as they were clocking in. "So are you enjoying having your girlfriend back for a while, as if I have to ask!" she said with a knowing grin.

Sarah blushed and nodded, "Yeah, it's great. Unfortunately, she'll have to go back on Sunday. I wish she could stay, but she still has another semester to go." Sarah kept looking all around as they went to work, half expecting John to show up.

"Uh, Sarah, is something wrong?" Tiffany asked at lunch, as Sarah was still distracted and wasn't saying much.

Sarah sighed and said, "Yeah, someone broke into my apartment while I was at work yesterday. I think it was John."

Tiffany's eyes widened in shock and she nearly shouted as she said, "What?! That slime ball! Are you alright?" this last said in a much softer, concerned tone.

Sarah recoiled a little at Tiffany's reaction. "Uh, yeah, I'm okay. I had to replace most of my furniture, though. He trashed everything in the living room. We spent all night cleaning up and getting new furniture in." Sarah replied, carefully wording her reply so as to sound like she'd simply bought the furniture.

"Wow, that must have been expensive! Are you alright for money, I could help if you want." Tiffany said.

"Uh, no thanks, I got a really good deal." Sarah replied thinking, A very good deal!

"Did you call the police?" Tiffany asked.

"You know what, I never even thought about it? I was so shocked to come home and find that, and worried about John knowing where I live, that I didn't even think about it. Then we got busy cleaning everything up and replacing all the broken stuff, it just never occurred to me. I guess all the evidence is gone, now, so there's little point." Sarah replied, feeling rather foolish.

"Yeah, I guess. But if it happens again, call the police, okay?" Tiffany said worriedly.

"Okay." Sarah agreed. They had to get back to work after that. Throughout the rest of the day Tiffany kept asking questions about the damage, and seemed very concerned about it, almost apologetic. You'd think she felt responsible, the way she's acting. Sarah thought at one point.

Finally the work day was over and Tiffany and Sarah said goodbye in the store as Tiffany was going to stay a little longer. Erica was waiting at the door and didn't notice her at first, as she was looking around the parking lot. "Oh, hi Sarah! How was your day?" Erica asked.

"Fine, but what were you watching?" Sarah asked curiously.

"I was just watching to make sure John wasn't around." Erica replied.

"Don't get too paranoid on me." Sarah said with a laugh.

"It's not paranoia if they're really out to get you!" Erica replied, and they both laughed. Erica told Sarah about her day on the way back to Sarah's apartment. Jen wasn't available still, but she'd spent most of the day with Lisa and Karen. "We've arranged to get all three of us together tomorrow, but that's probably the only chance I'll have to see Jen while I'm here." Erica said as they pulled up at the apartment.

Sarah started to get out of the car, but Erica put a hand on her arm to stop her. "Let me check it out first." she said. Sarah rolled her eyes but stayed put. Erica approached the door with her hand in her purse. The door was fine, they'd managed to fix it when they were cleaning up, and she tried the lock. It was locked, so Erica unlocked it and went inside. Once she was satisfied that no one had been in there, she returned to Sarah.

"Can I go in now?" Sarah asked. Erica nodded and they went inside.

Don't trust me? Vash asked as he became visible, lounging on the new couch.

"Sorry Vash, but I'm not taking any chances with Sarah." Erica replied apologetically.

That's alright, I understand. It's nice being able to talk to you a little more directly now. Vash said.

"Yeah, I was getting really tired of being left out of the loop." Erica agreed.

"I felt the same way sometimes when Jill first started talking to Mike like that." Sarah said.

"Why don't you let Jill and Mike know we're back so we can finish what we started?" Erica said to Vash.

"I'll get dinner started." Sarah volunteered. By the time Jill and Mike arrived Sarah already had dinner in hand and was able to help by opening portals to get rid of the old furniture and move around the new.

"You could make a good living as a mover Sarah!" Mike said when they finished Sarah's apartment.

Sarah laughed and said, "So could you! In your invisible giant form you could pick up whole houses and move them around!"

"Yeah, I guess I could. Though they'd probably fall apart if they weren't reinforced for it." Mike agreed.

"Looks like dinner's ready, lets eat and then we can go over to your apartment and finish there." Sarah said. They sat and ate and they all helped clean up afterwards. Then they went to Mike and Jill's apartment and finished getting the old furniture out and the new furniture sorted where they wanted it.

When they were done they all collapsed on the new couch and love seat, totally exhausted. "That's two days we've lost because of that creep!" Erica grumbled.

"At least we got some new furniture out of it." Jill said.

"And clothes, I'll have to box up all my male clothes to make room for them all!" Sarah said.

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm ready for bed." Erica said, groaning as she stood up and stretched.

Sarah yawned and Erica helped her up. "Yeah, I'm pretty tired too. I guess we'll go now." Sarah said.

Mike started snoring, and they all laughed. "I guess I'd better get this lug to bed, too. Good night!" Jill said. Sarah and Erica said goodnight and Sarah opened a portal back to her bedroom. They shed their clothes and crawled under the covers and were soon cuddled up, fast asleep.
 
 
Despite the prior night's exertions Sarah woke early. She lay there gazing lovingly at Erica. I could just eat her up, but I don't want to wake her! How did I ever get so lucky… she thought, but was interrupted mid-thought.

Don't even start putting yourself down again! I'm the lucky one here, if anybody! You're the most lovely, wonderful person I've ever met! Erica thought emphatically.

I'm nothing special! Sarah protested. In fact, I'm a freak! She was about to go on, but Erica interrupted her again.

Don't you EVER call yourself a freak! You are not a freak! You're a wonderful, loving person. Don't ever call yourself a freak again! Erica replied angrily. She didn't realize until she'd finished that Sarah was cowering away from her and had nearly fallen off of the bed.

I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Please don't hurt me! she kept thinking over and over again, her eyes shut tight as if she expected a blow at any moment. Erica tried to hold her, but she pulled away even more and this time did fall off the bed, taking most of the covers with her. Please don't hurt me, I didn't mean it! she practically screamed in Erica's mind. With that thought came an image that took Erica's breath away and made her blood boil.

Sarah! Sarah! It's me, Erica! Calm down, please! Erica thought to her frantically. She didn't dare get any closer to her lest she hurt herself trying to get away. Your mother's not here, Sarah, please calm down!

---

 
To Be Continued…
 
I know, I'm evil! ; )
 

---

« Sarah's Shadow - 11 - Overtures »

---

« Toil & Trouble - 7 - Paranoia »

---

Erica continued to try and calm Sarah down, but nothing was working. She was about ready to call 911 when Jill suddenly burst into the room. "Who's attacking Sarah?!" she yelled, with Mike coming in right behind her.

"Nobody! I somehow triggered a memory of something her mother did to her a long time ago and I can't snap her out of it!" Erica cried out, slumping to the floor at the foot of the bed.

"Her mother?! But I thought…" Jill started to say, then cut herself off and ran over to Sarah.

"Wait! She'll just try to get away from you, don't scare her more!" Erica exclaimed, reaching out to grab Jill's leg but missing.

"I won't scare her; you're the one who triggered the memory." Jill replied, but Sarah did recoil from her and she retreated before Sarah could become any more hysterical.

"If it's a memory of her mother that's doing this, maybe I can help." Mike offered. He stepped forward, but Jill grabbed his arm to stop him.

"NO! That's the worst thing you could do right now! Vash! Can you do anything?" Jill said.

Already working on it. was his reply. He became visible and approached Sarah, but got the same response. So he became invisible again.

Sarah suddenly grabbed him where he'd been rubbing up against her and clutched him to her chest. Ack! he squeaked, but soon she was crying into his fur and stroking his feathers absently.

Sarah finally began to calm down when Vash started purring and kept muttering, "Jaime" over and over again.

"Damn!" Mike exclaimed when he finally made out what she was saying.

"What?" Jill asked when he didn't say anything else.

"Sarah has a teddy bear named Jaime! I remember her mother complaining that she should get rid of it, that she was too old for stuffed animals. She always blew it off as just a memento of her childhood or something, as she just kept it up on a shelf in her room and never took it down." Mike said, never taking his eyes off of Sarah.

She is dealing with the pain of the memory the same way she did then. What set her off? Vash asked. Jill had to ask Erica, as Sarah was in no shape to relay the message.

"I don't know! She was putting herself down and I told her not to call herself a freak, and she just totally lost it!" Erica sobbed, unconsciously reaching out towards Sarah from where she was lying on the floor.

That doesn't help. Her shields are as tight as ever, I can't get anything else out of her. I don't even know what memory this is, it's not one I've seen any sign of before. Vash said in frustration.

Jill knelt down and drew Erica up against her in a gentle hug. "It's alright Erica; it's not your fault." she said. Erica tensed at first, and then turned and sobbed on her shoulder.

"Damn, what happened?!" Mike growled in frustration. He looked helplessly at Sarah and Erica. Is there anything I can do? he thought.

Just be here and keep your anger and frustration in check. That's all you can do for now. Vash said sadly.

Eventually Sarah fell asleep, Vash still held tightly to her chest. "Erica, can you tell us how you knew it was a memory of her mother that did this?" Jill asked when she'd managed to calm her.

"The bond." Erica said with a sniff as she wiped the tears from her face. "We were talking through the bond when it happened and I got this image before she shut me out."

"What image?" Jill asked patiently.

"I think it was in Sarah's old bedroom at her parents' house, when she was twelve or thirteen. Her mother was furious about something, totally out of control. She was holding Sarah up by her throat against the wall and seemed like she was really going to choke the life out of her. That's all I saw." Erica said, more tears streaming unheeded down her face.

Jill sat back in shock. "I had no idea…" she said softly.

"Neither did I! She never said anything bad about her mother! In fact she always had good things to say. Although…" Mike trailed off, frowning in thought.

"What?" Jill asked.

"Well, it was around that age that she stopped really talking about her parents at all. She'd never gotten along with her father, though she never actually said anything bad about him. But she was always saying good things about her mother. Then she just stopped. She didn't talk about them at all from then on." Mike said.

"Why didn't she ever talk about this with any of us? We would have understood why she didn't want to see her parents if she had." Jill said.

She didn't know. Vash said.

"What do you mean, she didn't know?! How could she not know?!" Jill replied.

She repressed the memory. She does not consciously know it ever happened. She stopped talking about her because she couldn't let herself think about her lest the memory resurface. That's why the memory's are so hard to find. Whatever Erica said must have been very similar to whatever her mother said to trigger the memory. Vash said.

Jill and Mike looked at Erica and she said, "Don't look at me! I just told her to never call herself a freak! I wasn't going to hurt her!"

Jill sighed, "This isn't getting us anywhere. Mike, would you put Sarah on her bed? Be careful of Vash." Mike carefully picked up Sarah and laid her on the bed, then pulled the blankets off the floor and covered her with them, making sure not to completely cover Vash.

I suggest the three of you leave the room until I call for you. There is no telling what state of mind she'll be in when she wakes. Vash said.

"Okay. Come on Erica, we'll let Sarah sleep for a while." Jill said.

Erica grabbed her robe on the way out and threw it on before plopping herself down on the oversized couch. "I wanted to protect her from John, but it was me I should have been protecting her from." she said after Jill and Mike sat down on either side of her.

"Hey, you had no way of knowing this could happen, none of us did! You didn't do anything wrong!" Mike said firmly. Jill pulled her into another hug.

"That's right. Even Sarah couldn't have predicted this, she'd buried that memory way too deep for that. I just wish I knew exactly what happened." Jill said.

"Yeah, what could have made Sarah's mom act like that?" Mike wondered.

"It's not Sarah's fault!" Erica growled.

"Whoa, I didn't mean it like that!" Mike said. "I just meant that I wonder what was going on that she reacted so badly to. Did Sarah accidentally break something that was really valuable to her or something? I can't imagine what it could be, but something must have happened."

"Is there any history of mental illness is Sarah's family?" Jill asked.

"Not that I know of." Mike replied.

"Sarah is not crazy!" Erica said angrily.

"Erica, calm down! I was referring to her mother." Jill said.

"Oh. Yeah, she must have been off her rocker to attack her own child like that." Erica agreed sheepishly.

Jill sighed wearily, "Well, there's no use worrying about it now. We won't be able to get any answers until Sarah wakes up, and maybe not for a while after that. I'd better call in sick for her."

"Erica, why don't you lie down for a bit?" Mike suggested. Jill had already gotten up to get the phone, so Erica shrugged and laid down. Mike got a blanket and draped it over her and then joined Jill at the kitchen table. When she got off the phone he said, "This is really bad, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is. I get the feeling this isn't the only memory she's repressed like that. They could all come pouring out now, and she's going to need all our help to deal with it. That's bad enough, but with her powers she could do a lot of damage if she loses control." Jill said sadly.

Mike winced, "Ouch, I hadn't thought about that angle. What about Erica? She's not doing too well, either."

Jill nodded, "I'm not surprised. This all happened while they were having a conversation over their bond. I don't know how it works for them, but it is probably a lot like it happened to Erica, too. Her concern for Sarah distracted her from it, or she might have been in as bad of shape as Sarah is. I'm afraid this is going to be very hard on Erica, too."

---

 
To Be Continued…

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Mike checked in on Erica; she was sound asleep. When he returned to Jill he said, "I feel so helpless! I wish there was something I could do."

Jill hugged him and said, "I know it's hard, but there's not much either of us can do right now. Maybe you should go ahead and go to work. I'll watch them until you get back. I doubt much of anything will happen before then."

"Are you sure? What if John comes again?" Mike protested.

"Mike, if John comes again right now I'm likely to fry his brain! I'd be more worried about him than me!" Jill replied.

"Fry his brain?! You can do that?" Mike said, wide eyed.

"Vash said I could. I think I know how it works, and with John I would be highly motivated! It's not something I really want to ever do, but I don't know if I could stun him without killing him at this point." Jill said.

"Wow! I guess you can take care of yourself! I'd still feel bad leaving you alone with this, though." Mike said.

Jill gave him another hug and then said, "Go on, get out of here! I'll be fine. Vash is still here, after all, and Erica will probably be able to help as well."

Reluctantly, Mike went to work. Jill moved to the recliner and relaxed. Before long she was asleep as well.

Jill awoke to an insistent whispering sound. As she struggled back to consciousness she realized it was Vash. You'd better wake Erica and get in here, Sarah is awake and acting strangely. he said.

Strangely how? Jill asked as she dragged herself out of the chair.

She's acting like nothing happened. I think she repressed this memory along with the old one. Vash replied.

Great! Jill thought sarcastically. Alright, I'll be right there. She shook Erica awake and they walked into Sarah's bedroom to find her getting dressed.

"I told you Vash, I'm fine! What's gotten into you?" she was saying as they entered.

"Sarah?" Erica said hesitantly, pausing at the door.

"Hey Erica, what's wrong?" Sarah asked.

"Sarah!" Erica cried, running across the room and throwing herself into Sarah's arms. "I'msosorrypleaseforgiveme!" she said breathlessly.

Sarah looked stunned at first, and then confused and concerned. "Erica! Calm down! You haven't done anything you need my forgiveness for!" she said. It took her several minutes to calm Erica enough for her to be able to speak clearly.

"I'm sorry I got angry with you, and I'm sorry I triggered that horrible memory of your mother!" Erica finally said, tears still streaming down her face.

A strange look passed over Sarah's face at the mention of her memory of her mother, but only briefly. "What are you talking about?! I don't have any horrible memories of my mother!" she exclaimed.

It was Erica's turn to look confused as she said, "Yes you do! I saw it! Your mother tried to strangle you!"

That look crossed Sarah's face again, staying a bit longer before she shook it off. "You must have been dreaming Erica. Now get dressed, I need you to drive me to work." she said.

"No you don't." Jill said, startling Sarah who hadn't realized she was there. "I called in sick for you."

Sarah groaned and rolled her eyes, "Not you, too! I'm fine! Erica just had a bad dream! Now how am I going to explain this?"

"You're staying home today, there's nothing to explain." Jill said.

"What is with you guys this morning?!" Sarah exclaimed.

"It's not morning anymore." Erica said softly, pointing at Sarah's alarm clock, "It's almost noon already."

"What? How did I sleep in that long?" Sarah said.

"You didn't. You woke up and then passed out after you freaked out." Jill said.

"Don't you think I'd remember all of this? It was just a dream!" Sarah said.

"If it was just a dream, why did I see it?" Jill asked.

Sarah shrugged uncertainly, "I guess I was dreaming, then. It's no big deal."

"You weren't dreaming!" Erica exclaimed tearfully.

"I get it; we must have shared the dream through our bond! No wonder you're so upset!" Sarah said, pulling Erica back into her arms.

"Could…could I really have been dreaming?" Erica asked in confusion.

"You're confusing her! You were both awake, it wasn't a dream!" Jill said.

This isn't working. Let me. Vash said to Jill.

"You're the one confusing her Jill!" Sarah said angrily.

Maybe you should change the subject, they're not going to let it go if you keep arguing. Vash said to Sarah.

At least someone around here is talking sense! Alright, I'll give it a shot. Sarah replied. "Well, if I'm not working today, maybe I'll make another try at changing back. There are a couple of stories I've looked at recently that are pretty promising." Sarah said.

Let her change the subject, we'll try again later. Vash suggested to Jill.

"I thought we were going to wait and rely on the Magician's Answer." Jill said, confused.

Sarah shrugged, "We tried that, but it isn't working. And what kind of answer was it, really? He was probably just trying to get me to accept being a girl because he didn't know how to change me back. So I'll find someone who does."

"I thought you'd tried all kinds of things, and they didn't work." Erica said. She was thoroughly confused and burrowed deeper into Sarah's arms.

"We did, but that doesn't mean a solution doesn't exist. Maybe I'll even try Venus again." Sarah replied.

Total silence descended on the room as Jill and Erica stared at Sarah in shock. "Venus?! You've always been adamant about staying away from gods!" Jill said.

"That's why we failed. I'm sorry I was such a pain about that, but I'm willing to give it a try now. Will you help me find another copy of the book we used? I think that's the best place to start." Sarah said.

"Uh, we already got one." Jill said uncertainly.

"Really? Great! Then we can go as soon as Mike gets back." Sarah said cheerfully.

"I guess." Jill agreed reluctantly.

"In the meantime I'll make something for lunch. Any preferences?" Sarah asked. Erica shook her head against Sarah's chest and Jill shrugged. "Okay, I'll pick something. Why don't you lie down for a bit Erica, you look pretty worn out."

"Uh, yeah, maybe I will." Erica said. She looked at Vash and Jill, shrugged, let her robe drop off and crawled into bed. Vash flew off of the bed onto Sarah's shoulder.

"Why don’t I help you." Jill suggested. Sarah shrugged and they went to make lunch.

I have an idea, but it will require Erica's help. Letting her sleep will help, as she'll need to be clear headed for this. Vash told Jill.

I'm glad you've got an idea; I have no idea how to deal with this. If I could access that memory I could show it to her, but it's like it doesn't exist. Jill replied.

She has excellent mental shields, but they do not protect all of her mind equally. Her repressed memories are within the most heavily shielded part. I doubt you could ever pierce those shields without destroying her mind, if at all. Vash said.

That's why I find her so hard to read, she's shielded? But I thought she didn't have any telepathic abilities. Jill thought.

Part of her shielding is simply her intense desire to keep certain things hidden. That would have been enough to keep you out at first. I suspect she may have developed telepathic abilities after being exposed to them through us, but they were channeled into her existing shields. She may be able to learn to use them as you do eventually. Vash replied.

How many powers does she have?! Jill said.

I don't think it's a matter of having many powers, but one very strong one. She is…strange. My former master saw something in her, but I think he misinterpreted it. If I did not know better I would suspect she was an immortal, or even a god. Vash said.

She's that powerful?! But if she's that powerful then Venus shouldn't be a threat to her, right? Jill asked.

I said if I didn't know better. Gods are different. If she were one I would be able to tell. She's something else, something I've never seen before. I have no idea how her power works. Vash replied.

Okay, so what's your idea? Jill asked.

You'll need to mesh your own mind into Sarah's as deeply as you can without being detected. Once you've done that, Erica will send the image she got from Sarah back to her. This will accomplish two things. One, you will see the image and be able to paint it, which will help to make it real for Sarah. Two, it may force Sarah to face that memory then and there. I suspect she will fight it, as there is a lot of pain associated with that memory, but it's a possibility. If not, then we'll still have the option of your painting. Vash replied.

---

 
To Be Continued…

---

You're going to have to help me with that one. Jill said to Vash as she helped Sarah prepare their lunch.

I'll walk you through it. Vash agreed.

Sarah and Jill worked in tense silence. Half an hour later Sarah carried a tray in to Erica while Jill sat in the kitchen. "Are you awake?" Sarah asked softly.

Erica rolled over to face Sarah. "Yeah, I just woke up. How long was I asleep?" she asked.

"Not that long, about half an hour. You look rested, though. Hungry?" Sarah said.

Erica nodded and they sat and ate on the bed. "Are you really serious, about going to see Venus?" Erica asked when she'd finished hers.

Sarah nodded, "Yeah, I am. Once Mike gets here we can go. Maybe I'll end this curse today, wouldn't that be nice?"

Erica nodded doubtfully, "Yeah, that would be nice." She looked closely at Sarah and saw a tightness around her eyes she hadn't seen before. She's really stressed! she thought. Wait a minute; I can't feel her mind anymore! She's cut me off! What does that mean? Erica did her best to keep her panic from her face. Once Sarah had left with the tray she got dressed and went looking for Jill.

Jill was also looking for Erica, so they met at the door to Sarah's bedroom. "Jill, I can't feel Sarah's mind anymore! Does that mean the bond is broken?" Erica asked, barely managing to keep her panic stricken voice from being heard in the kitchen where Sarah was cleaning the dishes.

"Shhh! She bulked up her shields because she doesn't want to deal with the pain of that memory. I'm sure your bond is fine. Vash has a plan that should help. It uses the bond, so that will prove it's still there, okay?" Jill said softly, trying with her voice and manner to calm Erica. She couldn't wait for Mike to get back; she was fraying at the edges dealing with Sarah's denial and Erica falling apart. Which was something she never expected to see.

"Okay." Erica replied hopefully. They all sat and watched TV after that. They were each waiting for Mike eagerly, hoping that his arrival would herald a solution to the current dilemma. Although the dilemma was different for each of them.

When Mike arrived he knocked and Sarah let him in. "Hey Mike, glad to see you! Want to visit Venus?" Sarah said in greeting.

Mike's mouth opened and closed again a few times before he found his voice. "You really want to visit Venus?!" he asked incredulously. While Sarah explained her reasoning to Mike, Jill used the distraction to follow Vash's instructions and mesh her mind with Sarah's. Once she was as deeply entrenched as she could manage she nodded to Erica.

"…we can get this solved…" Sarah was saying when Erica sent the image back to her. She couldn't tell if the link was even there, but she focused on it as strongly as she could. "AHHHH!!!" Sarah screamed, falling to the floor. Erica rushed over, but Sarah was unconscious.

"See, the bond is still there." Jill said weakly, holding her aching head in her hands.

"What just happened?! Are you alright Jill?" Mike asked, confused. His confusion was forgotten when he saw that Jill's nose was bleeding.

"I'm alright, just a little nosebleed and headache." Jill replied. "Sarah's hurting a lot more right now. Would you carry her back to bed? She'll probably sleep for a while again."

"Sure, I'll be right back." Mike said and picked up Sarah. Erica followed him into Sarah's bedroom and lay down next to her, crying and nearly hysterical.

"What was that all about?" Mike asked when he returned to the living room. Jill was holding her nose and leaning forward to get the bleeding to stop.

"Vash's idea. We fed that image that Erica got from Sarah right back to her. No telling what the effect will be, other than her fainting of course. Vash helped me get into Sarah's head before Erica sent the image, so now I'll paint it. If Sarah still tries to deny it ever happened, we'll show her the painting and maybe she'll finally accept it." Jill replied.

"Is that why it hurt you, because you were linked up with Sarah when it happened?" Mike asked.

Jill nodded, and then winced when it made her headache worse, "Yeah, it wasn't fun. Come on; help me get back to my studio so I can get started on that painting. Vash will stay here and keep an eye on those two."

"Jill, maybe you should rest there for a while." Mike said worriedly.

"Mike, we may need this painting, and it will take me some time to paint it. I need to get started right away!" Jill said.

Mike looked thoughtfully at Jill for a while and then nodded, "Okay." With that he went over and opened the door, and then walked back and picked Jill up.

"Hey, what are you doing?" she complained.

"I'm helping you get back to your studio. You're worn out from whatever you did, so I'll do all the work." Mike replied. Jill grumbled all the way to their apartment, but got right to work once she was back in her studio. Mike took a seat nearby so he could keep an eye on her. Jill insisted he sit where he couldn't see what she was doing, as always.

A few hours later Mike stepped out for a few minutes, but soon returned. Jill was oblivious. She didn't even react half an hour later when there was a pounding on the door. Mike hurried out and returned a few minutes later. "Come on Jill, time to take a break." he said. Jill either didn't hear him or ignored him and continued working. "Jill, it's time to take a break and eat!" he said loudly.

"Huh?" Jill said, finally shifting her focus away from her work.

"Wash up, we're having pizza. Vash is bringing Sarah and Erica." Mike replied.

Jill blinked a few times before saying, "Is Sarah ready to be out already? I'd have thought she'd sleep for a while."

Mike grinned and said, "It's been about five hours Jill."

"Really? Okay, just a minute." Jill said. For once he didn't have to call her again, as she immediately washed up her brushes and went to the bathroom and washed her hands.

As they arrived in the kitchen Sarah and Erica were just coming through a portal with Vash riding on Sarah's shoulder. Sarah was looking a little glassy-eyed, but Erica seemed a little more like herself. "How are you two doing?" Jill asked when she saw them.

"Fine." Sarah replied in a flat voice. Erica winced, and then shrugged at Jill when she looked her way.

For the first time in any of their experience, Sarah just picked at her pizza and didn't even finish a single slice. Erica stayed close to her the whole time and tried to feed her, which is the only reason she even ate that much. Jill thought it would be really cute, if not for how depressed Sarah looked.

How's Sarah doing? Jill asked Vash.

Better and worse. She's still blocking things out, but she's obviously having trouble with that. I think another shock to the system will do the trick, so we'll still need that painting. How long do you think it will take to finish it? Vash said.

Not too long, I got quite a bit done. I may not be able to finish it tonight, though, I'm beat! That trick we pulled to get the image really took a lot out of me. Jill replied.

I'm sorry about that, I didn't realize it would be that hard on you. I don't think you need to be in too much of a hurry, we shouldn't spring it on Sarah until at least tomorrow anyway. She needs some time to recover. Vash said.

Good, then Jill's going to bed after dinner! Mike thought sternly.

Mike! I don't need you to baby me! Jill protested, wondering how he got into their conversation.

Sorry Jill, but I agree with Mike. That's why I included him in our conversation; I suspected you might get stubborn. Finish the painting tomorrow and rest today. Vash said.

Oh, alright! Jill replied petulantly. She could hear Mike and Vash chuckling in her mind but ignored them and watched Sarah. She reacted a little to Erica, but not at all to anybody or anything else. She looks worse than she did before the change! she thought.

Yeah. We can't leave her alone for a minute until she's better. Mike agreed.

I can't read her, of course, but I suspect that we should keep an equally close eye on Erica. She has been acting very differently than what I am used to, and I am sure that is a reflection of how much this has affected her. Vash said.

You're right. Jill and Mike agreed in unison, if there's one adjective we never expected to apply to Erica, it's fragile.

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To Be Continued…

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