This version has had some long overdue editing. Thanks to Puddin' for the help.

Thanks to Amelia's selfishness and misconduct, both her family and Stu's end up being punished. Will the suffering never end? Please read on and find out.

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The Magic of Love
by Terry Volkirch

Part 5

Stan got ready for school that morning and walked by himself as he usually did, but that was good. It gave him time to think. He needed a clear head to plan his next step.

He had a new sister now, and she wasn't happy about about being a girl. He still wasn't sure if he believed it, but if someone actually had managed to turn her into a girl, he'd make sure that person wouldn't get away with it.

Steph had mentioned the person responsible. It was a girl named Amelia. That name wasn't very common so he'd do some checking around and knew he'd find her. He'd figure out what to say to her later.

***

Amelia missed Stu in the two morning classes they shared. She knew he'd be very far along and she hoped to take great pleasure in his misery -- actually "her" misery she reminded herself and giggled.

As she sat alone at lunch, thinking about her two absent girlfriends, she saw a small boy approach her. He looked sort of familiar but she didn't dwell on that. Instead, she noticed the grim look on his face and wondered what kind of threat he might pose.

"Amelia?" he asked.

"Yes. Who are you?"

"I'm Stu's brother, Stan," he replied, purposely using his sister's original male name.

That caused a slight giggle fit, but Stan patiently waited for her to get over it.

"How is your sister?" she said, emphasizing the word "sister". "I've missed her today."

Stan looked at the girl before him, and though he admitted feeling some envy, he thought she was too perfect, at least for a high school senior. His intuition told him there was something off about her, something that suggested she could very well be capable of things beyond the norm, especially since she referred to Stu as a girl without seeing or hearing him since last week. Impossible or not, it all added up to no good, and he made an important decision. He'd believe his sister.

"Cut the crap," he spat. "We both know you changed her with that tattoo. We don't know how you did it but we know you did it."

Amelia paled and shushed the boy. "Not here!"

"Why not here? I have nothing to hide."

The anger built in Stan all morning, and after her implicit confession, he felt an eruption coming on. He'd been severely stressed after his father died. It was bad enough dealing with his own gender dysphoria before that happened. He couldn't handle the stress of another gender dsyphoric family member, so he'd hold nothing back because he had nothing to fear. Even if she could change his gender, he'd welcome it. He hated being a boy even more than he hated her at the moment.

"Please," she said, nervously looking around. "Someone will hear."

"Like I care? Besides, if we go outside, what's to stop you from doing something bad to me? I'm safer here." He thought to test her, though any threats would be gratefully received. Again, he hoped she would try something. He hoped to provoke her into it. Whatever she dished out couldn't be worse than the lie he lived.

"I won't! I can't ... please. Let's just go outside."

"Fine." Her reluctance to make any threats didn't bother him. He thought he'd have a better chance of provoking her in private anyway, so he left the safety of the lunch room.

Amelia followed the boy as he led her outside to a small stand of trees for some privacy. She tried not to panic but it wasn't easy. She didn't think about how Stu's punishment could give away her secret. She didn't think it through because she was too angry at the time. She'd likely pay for her mistake in a big way if it got back to her mother and the Council. She had to find some way of keeping Stan quiet.

"Please," she said. "I'm sorry. I lost my temper and punished your brother. Just don't say anything."

"I won't say anything as long as you change my brother back into a boy."

"I ... I can't," she said, biting her lower lip.

"That's not the right answer."

"I mean I can't do it yet. The 'tattoo' as you call it has to finish."

"When will that be?"

"I'm not sure exactly, but it should be soon. I'll remove it when it's done. Then I'll see about changing him back."

"You'll 'see'? You're not giving me a lot of confidence here."

"Well, I've never done something like that before. It might take me a few days to figure it out." Amelia got a little defensive. She didn't like being put on the spot.

"How do I know you're telling the truth?" Stan narrowed his eyes and scowled, and something about his look agitated Amelia. It was the same look Stu had often given her when they fought.

"You dare doubt me?" she said, suddenly feeling a bit more confident and more than a little insulted. She had the Gift after all, and they were far from prying eyes. She didn't like the idea of hurting an innocent but she had to ensure her secret remained safe. It would be so easy to silence Stan. Who would ever know? The answer shouldn't have been a surprise.

Just about that time, the somewhat lazy monitor tuned in to check on Amelia and picked up the last part of the conversation. Angry words were exchanged and when the girl made her eyes glow red in an effort to intimidate the boy, the man panicked.

"Code red! Code red!" he shouted into the air.

"Please state the nature of the emergency," a disembodied voice answered.

"Didn't you hear me?! Just get Lord Vim! Now!"

"I'm sorry," the voice said. "That emergency is not recognized. Please try again."

"Lord Vim!" the man shouted in his best power voice.

"What is it?!" another disembodied voice answered, one that sounded like an angry young child. "You interrupted my nap!"

The man sputtered and stammered out that Amelia was about to harm an innocent. The situation called for instant intervention before it escalated into a disaster.

"Right. Off I go," said Lord Vim. "But next time, use proper channels. Do I make myself clear?"

"Perfectly, sir!"

Lord Vim appeared to be a boy of about 8 years old, though his life had actually spanned several centuries. He could completely control his body and the aging process, something Amelia dreamed of doing but might not have a chance of achieving at the rate she was going.

The ancient Gifter made himself younger for many reasons, mostly because he liked people to underestimate him. Those who knew him knew better than to anger him, but those unworthy souls who hadn't met him before could be easily baited by the "boy", giving him an excuse to deal with them in a satisfyingly harsh manner.

Just when Amelia made Stan begin to doubt the wisdom of his strategy, Lord Vim suddenly appeared from nowhere, just behind her. The apparent impossibility of the little boy's arrival took a moment to register, but when it did, Stan managed to shout.

"Look out behind you!"

"I'm not falling for that you little worm," Amelia sneered.

"You should," Lord Vim said, causing the girl to scream and quickly turn around.

"Where did you come from?!" she yelped.

"Uh uh uh," he said, wagging his finger. "I get to ask the questions. I've heard you've been very naughty," said the lord.

"Excuse me?" Amelia put her hands on her hips.

"Yes," the boy's eyes twinkled. "You've been a naughty girl and I've been sent to correct the problem."

"You?! Why don't you run along home before I get really angry?"

"I'll give you one more chance, Young Lady. Please don't make me lose my temper."

Amelia laughed and moved to use her gift to take away the little boy's voice. She'd shut him up and then he'd have to leave and she could get back to dealing with Stan. Unfortunately for her, she didn't know who she dealt with.

"You were warned," Lord Vim said, reflecting her energy back at her.

The surprised girl never felt so much power, and her eyes went wide with fear. She tried to cry out but couldn't make a sound. Thanks to the odd little boy before her, she'd silenced herself.

"There. That's better. Maybe now you'll respect your elders."

The ancient Gifter thought about it a few seconds but reconsidered.

"No, on second thought, I doubt you will. I see we've let you go too far. You need to learn a truly serious lesson."

With that, Lord Vim did something he was loath to do. He temporarily took away Amelia's Gift by draining her energy. The removal of energy couldn't be reversed but it could take as long as a couple years before she'd be back up to full power. It depended on how quickly the mystical forces of nature took to replenish the energy.

"You'll find your gift is gone, and it won't be back at a significant level for at least several months. Consider yourself lucky I'm in a good mood or I might have done something more."

Amelia mouthed some unkind words at him, but he tactfully chose to ignore their true meaning.

"Oh ... right," the lord said. "Your mother can return your voice for you. I'm not about to do it."

By that time, Stan finally found his voice. At first he'd lost the nerve to speak during the strange encounter, but as time wore on, his fear turned to confusion and it took him awhile to figure out that the strange little boy might actually be able to help.

"Wait! What about my brother?" the teen boy blurted.

"Who are you? What are you talking about?" Lord Vim asked, his eyes narrowing.

"I'm ... nobody, but Amelia here changed my brother into a girl. How can she change him back if you took away this gift you're talking about?"

The ancient lord silently chastised himself. The girl's monitor had mentioned something about innocents, but in his haste to deal with Amelia, Vim neglected to take care of the other little part of the problem.

"Oh dear me. This won't do at all." The lord turned to Amelia. "You really messed things up now, involving innocents. It looks like I'm not finished with you after all."

"What about my brother?" Stan repeated. "Please."

Lord Vim held up a hand to ask for a moment to think. He didn't like where his thoughts led him but no other choice presented itself.

"Where is your brother now, Young Man?"

"He's at home with my mother. They're trying to figure out what to do about his new identity."

"Yes, your kind doesn't accept spontaneous sex changes all that well, do they?"

"Not really," Stan sadly agreed.

The lord sighed and turned to face Amelia. "I can only blame myself. I should've made sure you were monitored more closely. Now I'll have to see about trying to fix everything myself."

"So does that mean you can change my brother back into a boy?"

"I'm really not sure but I don't think it's possible for the moment. Amelia might have to undo the change herself, and I've delayed her from doing so. I'm very sorry."

Stan hung his head. "It's okay. It's not really your fault," he said quietly.

The three of them stood together a few minutes in awkward silence until Lord Vim asked the teenage boy to lead the way to the boy's home. School could wait. The lord had a mess to fix.

He had some idea of how it could work out. It just depended on a little cooperation from everyone involved. There would likely be a lot of fuss but there was really no other choice. After all, he couldn't work miracles.

Vim and Stan led the way, with Amelia holding her throat and sulking behind them. Vim could've teleported after a little remote viewing of the destination, but he needed to save his energy for later. Besides, it had been too long since the ancient lord had been on a long walk, and he didn't mind the exercise anyway. It actually felt refreshing.

***

Madeline Benson sat frowning in her home office, mentally exhausted after slogging through an endless sea of government web pages. She needed help. Changing someone's identity wasn't a one day task, especially when that someone changes gender. She considered biking the short distance to work, or even taking the car since Steph hadn't taken it to school. She wanted to talk to some of her coworkers for advice. But what would she say? She had no idea, so she stubbornly continued to surf the Internet, hoping for clues.

Steph felt she'd only get in the way so she stayed out in the living room, sitting on the couch and watching soap operas on television. She'd heard a lot of bad things about them but she appreciated all the plot twists and thought she might learn something from the young women on the show. She didn't know what else to do.

So the hours ticked by with no progress made by either of the Bensons at home, but that was actually a good thing because help was on the way.

***

When the odd trio arrived at Stan's home, the fuss that Lord Vim feared began immediately, for good reason.

"What's she doing here?!" Steph shouted when she saw Amelia.

Stan raced to calm his new sister. "It's okay, Sis. She's under control. She can't do any more to hurt you." He let her back away across the room and held her when she backed up against the far wall.

"Mrs. Benson, I presume?" Vim asked Madeline when she entered the living room.

"Yes," she replied, turning to her son. "Stan? What's going on?"

Stan gave his mother a brief explanation and they decided not to wait for Amelia's mother to finish her work day. Lord Vim borrowed Madeline's home office to contact Cassandra in his own way and with his help, she arrived at the Benson household within two minutes. The Bensons didn't ask how that could be possible.

The six of them soon sat down, with Steph as far away from Amelia as she could get, and Vim went over his idea. When he'd finished, he got a lot of sad looks, the worst of which had to be Amelia's. She'd have to give up the most, but it was only fair. She'd caused the problem in the first place. At least she finally realized how badly she'd acted and tried to be resigned to her fate. It wouldn't be easy.

"Are you sure there's no other way?" Cassandra asked the lord.

"I'm sorry, but no. You know it's not right to change people's memories and all records of Stu's past. We don't have the right to make everyone believe he's always been a girl."

"You're right, of course. I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too." Vim sighed. "This won't be easy for any of you. You're all going to have to work hard for the next year or so. It's not fair for all of you to be punished but that's the harsh reality."

He turned to Amelia and gave her his best stern look. "I expect no further trouble from you. You've caused more than enough trouble for a lifetime so I really hope you've learned your lesson."

The girl just stood there with tears continuing to flow. She'd got her voice back but didn't have much to say except that she was sorry. She'd repeated her apology often enough that everyone asked her nicely to shut up.

Of course Vim was right. Removing Steph's tattoo was the only way she could be turned back into a boy, and Vim couldn't safely do it. He didn't know exactly how the custom tattoo worked. Only Amelia had the specific knowledge to remove it but she no longer had the Gift, so Steph was stuck as a girl for as long as Amelia remained without her gift. That left only one solution.

Vim and Cassandra took a skin sample from Amelia and placed it in the palm of Steph's left hand. They couldn't remove the tattoo, but they could modify it enough for what they had planned. They focused on the DNA in the flakes of skin and forced it to be absorbed. Then Vim prepared to finish the job by speeding up the modified effects of the tattoo.

"This might hurt a little," he told Steph. "I'm sorry if it does but it'll be over soon."

"Just do it," she said, gritting her teeth.

The pink tattoo glowed and Steph's body began to change. She slowly got shorter and her hair lightened to blonde. When the glowing stopped after a few minutes, she stood as a near perfect duplicate of Amelia. Her hips weren't quite as full and her breasts were much smaller, but she looked close enough for the time being. Thankfully, her clothes had been changed to fit too. Lord Vim took care of everything.

The true Amelia gasped. The plan worked. She half hoped it wouldn't and she'd escape her nightmare but there was no such luck. Now it was her turn.

Vim took the energy from Steph's leftover mass and directed it at Amelia. The blonde girl didn't get the same kind warning about possible discomfort and she screamed when her body began to change.

The blonde girl grew taller and lost the feminine curves she'd worked so hard to enhance over the past couple years. Her hair grew shorter and darker and her face changed, appearing much more masculine. When the changes stopped, an exact duplicate of the original Stu stood where a very pretty blonde girl had once been. The change was complete and the new boy, dressed in boy clothes, collapsed on the couch to have a good cry.

Cassandra ignored her changed daughter for the moment. She studied the new Amelia and frowned.

"Amelia!" she shouted at the crying boy. "You've been changing yourself. Now I'm going to have to do the same thing to Stu here."

After some additional tweaks by Cassandra, the new Amelia passed as Cassandra's daughter. She had a larger bust size, rounder hips and her nose was a little smaller. The first phase of the plan was complete. Amelia and Stu essentially switched bodies, and that meant they wouldn't need new identification. They'd just take each other's place and hopefully, no one would be the wiser.

Lord Vim wished everyone good luck and remarked that accepting people like the Bensons gave him hope for the future. Then he teleported home to resume his nap. He'd had more than enough of mopping up after Amelia. All of his hard work caught up with him and he looked forward to a peaceful sleep, confident he'd done the right thing.

***

After a couple hours, the two families figured out the next phases of the plan, starting with the most difficult decision of where Amelia and Stu would live. Everyone wanted to stick together with their true family, but after several desperate arguments, they knew what had to be done.

Stan made most of the arguments against sticking together. He didn't like being the bad guy but he felt he had to be the ship of reason in a sea of emotion. He reminded the other four that everyone already knew Mrs. Wilson had a daughter and his mother had two sons. They couldn't suddenly change that without creating some problems. They also didn't want to try to explain to anyone who might notice when they started moving clothes and some furniture back and forth. The new Amelia had to live with Mrs. Wilson and the new Stu would stay put. No other arrangement made sense.

So with the hardest decision made, they moved forward to create a study plan, and the truly hard work was about to begin for Amelia and Stu. They had to take each other's place so they had a lot to learn in a short amount of time. They all took notes and when they finished, the two switched teens started learning their new roles right away.

"Come on ... Stu," the new Amelia said, putting her hand on the boy's shoulder. "Let me give you a tour of your house."

The two teens started their tour, leaving Stan and the two mothers to talk.

"Well Cassandra," Madeline said. "That just leaves us to get better acquainted. We're going to be seeing a lot more of each other so we might as well start now."

"Yes ... well, I don't quite know what to say. I'm still very upset about the whole thing, and I'm mostly upset at myself for letting it happen."

"You shouldn't hold yourself responsible. Your daughter should be responsible for her own actions by now."

"But I've spoiled her." Cassandra started crying. "I've spoiled her so much, and I let her get away with so much. If only I put my foot down more. If only ...."

"Hey. You couldn't have known this would happen. No one's perfect, not even you with your gift." Madeline smiled, trying to show she meant well. Cassandra appreciated the effort at least, but she couldn't accept it.

"At least it shouldn't be too difficult for Amelia and Stu to get used to their new bodies," Cassandra said with a wry grin.

"What do you mean?" Stan asked. He'd been silent up to know but he had a feeling the statement was important.

"I'm a research scientist and I've spent a lot of years studying the human body. The new Stu is 100 percent male. That includes his brain. It's hardwired for his original gender identity and sexual preference so he'll at least be comfortable with his body and he'll be attracted to girls, assuming he didn't have gender dsyphoria before and wasn't gay."

Stan laughed. "No chance of that."

"The same goes for the new Amelia except she's 100 percent female. She'll likely have a little more trouble since she'll have to get used to menstruation, but she'll still be relatively comfortable with her body and her sexuality."

"That's good to hear," Madeline said. "I wondered about that."

"You did?" Stan asked, a little surprised his mother would think about such things.

"Yes, of course. When our Stu was first changing into a girl, you said some things that made me wonder about you, and she confirmed it this morning. I know all about you wanting to be a girl."

"Yeah," Stan confessed, fighting back the tears. "It sounds like I'll be the only one with the wrong gender. That's good to hear at least. I wouldn't wish my problem on anyone."

The two mothers sniffled a little but didn't know what to say.

Cassandra wished she could help but she didn't know enough to do what Amelia had been able to achieve. Another gender change might be in order after Amelia got her gift back though, as long as it was carefully planned. She didn't want to cause any more problems.

"So the main problems Stu and Amelia will have to deal with are memories and learning?" Madeline asked Cassandra, trying to change the subject.

"Right. Their memories of their original selves will create some conflict with what they see and feel. There'll be some confusion, but I'm sure they'll quickly get over it. People are very adaptable."

"Then that just leaves learning their new roles. I suppose we shouldn't treat that too lightly though. It'll still be a challenge."

"Yes, it will. My Amelia had a full course load but I'm guessing your Stu didn't. That's going to require a lot of extra studying on your child's part."

"Oh dear. As if she isn't being punished enough already." Madeline sniffled.

"Actually, Lord Vim was right. We're all being punished for my daughter's bad behavior. I deserve it for not putting a stop to it earlier, but you ... none of you should be punished. I'm so very sorry." Then Cassandra lost it. She leaned her head forward and sobbed into her hands.

Stan and his mother moved to comfort the distraught woman. They had a small group hug and all of them had a good cry.

***

Stu and Amelia ended up in Stu's bedroom, where the two of them sat on the bed in awkward silence. They were supposed to be exchanging personal details but they had a slight problem.

"I'm really having a problem calling you by my own name," the new Amelia said.

The boy simply nodded agreement.

"What we gonna do?"

"Speak proper English perhaps?" the new Stu suggested, slightly irritated.

"I'm sorry! I know better. I'm just being casual. So what are we going to do about our names?"

"I could call you Amy as a nickname."

"Right ... and I could call you Stewart, my full first name."

"You mean my first name," Stewart couldn't help make a correction.

"For now," Amy smiled.

The two of them felt more comfortable after that, and they wasted no more time getting to know their new roles. It was hard work but they were both very bright and very motivated to make the best of a bad situation. They'd had enough anguish in their lives.

*** to be continued ***

 © 2008 by Terry Volkirch. This work may not be replicated in whole or in part by any means electronic or otherwise without the express consent of the Author (copyright holder). All Rights Reserved. This is a work of Fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional and any resemblance to real people or incidents past, present or future is purely coincidental.