Change Of Fate, Part 2 free porn video

Change of Fate, Part 2 By JRD IN OUR UNIVERSE, 500 YEARS AGO... They were known as the Marauds, a group of psychotic mages whose insanity made them immune to the effect known as The Scourge, the predecessor to Paradox, and these three were amongst the most powerful. They were known as Xedric The Destroyer, Eric the Annihilator, and Steven the Quick. Xedric was a Master of Forces. Eric was a Master of Life Magicks. And Steven was a Master of Time Magicks. And this was a council of War. Eric said, "The Order of Reason grows more powerful every day. It seems clear that their ideas of a scientific world where things of power just don't exist appeals to the masses. Such a world lacks the flexibility that makes us possible. We cannot accept such a thing." Xedric replied, "Agreed. But should we throw in with another group? The Nephandi are obviously not an option. Perhaps the Traditions, or a subgroup thereof?" "No. Although the Traditions are far more flexible in their magicks than the Order of Reason, they still believe that the masses must be protected. Humanity is a blight that must be wiped from the face of the planet." "And such is the nature of your insanity. And although I do not agree as to your opinion of men, I do agree that the Traditions would restrain our impulses. Each of us has a goal our insanity mandates. Being restricted, either by the Order's inflexible reality or by the Traditions' protective attitude is not an option." "So we are now a fourth camp in this mass war? We hardly have the numbers to be effective." Steven spoke. "We have been a fourth camp since before the Traditions and the Order individually united. Now we're just making it official. As for our numbers, as the Order's reality becomes more solid, more souls will Awaken and snap under its sterile, implacable rules. Ironic that the very success of our enemies is what will make us a true player in this war." "So now we plan war. What is our first step?" Xedric angrily said, "We destroy that Abomination of a construct becoming known as the Soul Blade. Otherwise, it will destroy us all." Steven said, "No. The Soul Blade is a potent, but minor threat. It is more irony that the blade is nothing more than a Maraud whose mania is to destroy all of our kind." "The blade must be destroyed!" "You fear the blade because it is as much a Master of Forces as you. But it is not the blade you should fear." Eric asked, "You have seen the future?" Steven nodded. "In 500 years time there shall come a Tradition mage, one of the Akashic Brotherhood. He shall have the greatest power of the Marauds, but shall not be a mad mage. He shall kill you, Xedric. If he is then united with the Soul Blade, the two shall deal a blow to both the Marauds and the Nephandi that neither shall recover from. With the blade's help, he shall destroy you, Eric, as well as many of the greatest of our group." "And what of you?" "For some reason I cannot see my own fate. The prophesied one shall play a role in my end, but I have not seen how." ***** IN AN ALTERNATE DIMENSION, 500 YEARS AGO... Eric asked, "You have seen the future?" Steven nodded. "In 500 years time there shall come a mage. She will be trained as an Akashic, but shall only be one for a short time before joining us. He will then become the key to winning the Ascension War." "Wait a second. You said, 'SHE will be trained as an Akashic,' and, 'HE will then become the key.' Which is it? Will this mage be male or female?" Steven looked him right in the eye, and said, "First one, then the other. She will Awaken female, but come to us a man." ***** IN OUR UNIVERSE, IN THE IMMEDIATE PAST... Joanie prepared the proper tools for the Transformation Ritual. It was her last day as Joanie. In just a short while, she'd be Joe again. She heard Steven cry and came over to him. It was only a cry for attention, but Joanie was still obliged to take care of him. She held him and soothed him, smiling into his cherubic face. Thinking of him, he was the only possible reason she might have stayed a woman. Mother had made some good points about Steven needing a mother, but Joanie just couldn't take it any more. Every day she looked in the mirror and saw HER face, it was just another day feeling like she was perpetrating a lie. She hated herself and was beginning to hate the world around her because of it. Not that there wasn't value in her time as Joanie. She had learned much of what life was like as a woman, and it made him more sensitive and caring, and his time with mother he would always remember with fondness. But Joanie just wasn't him. He tucked Steven back into his bassinet. "Don't worry, little one. Although your mommy may be going away, in just a little while your daddy will be back to take care of you." Steven gurgled a bit before yawning and falling asleep. Joanie gave him a quick kiss and said good night. She returned to the center of the room and sat down cross-legged in the center of the room. She cast the spell that would return her to his previous self. As the spell took hold, he felt the Goddess's power leave him. He bid it a fond farewell. Before the power left him entirely, but after he could actually control the power, he felt another power wrap itself around him. He wondered what it was, but before he could identify it, he felt it attack his spell, seeking to disrupt it. He had a brief moment of panic. If this spell succeeded, he'd be trapped as a woman, possibly forever! But what could he do? The Goddess's power had left him (well, mostly). He could not bring it to bear. But he couldn't let whatever it was win. He fought back with everything he had, everything he was. But still he felt the unknown power close in on him. He felt it start to touch him, forcing his body back to its feminine form, and he lashed out. He Would Not Fail! He felt a surge from within, a surge of self. He flared outwards against the power, and it fell back. It seemed to rally and strike back but it was no use. Joe's power flared and the opposing power, as well as the original Transformation spell, and... something else broke and flew away from him. His senses were almost dragged along for the ride, and in that instant, he knew. The spell that would've trapped him as a woman had been cast by the same woman who had cast the Transformation spell. His mother! He stormed downstairs, prepared to yell and scream at his mother. He knew. Somehow he knew that she had tried to force him to remain a woman for the rest of his life. How dare she! But when he stormed into the living room, he saw his mom lying on the floor, unmoving. He ran to her side, and checked to make sure she was okay. Her breathing was shallow, and she seemed dazed and out of it. It was backlash. When the spell she cast had failed so miserably, the energy she had used had snapped back upon her. Joe held his mom. He was angry, but he didn't want her hurt. He didn't want her to die. Almost in response to his desires, Julie took a deep breath. Joe saw the color return to her cheeks and, somehow, Joe knew she'd be okay. He helped her up and set her on the couch. She was still out of it, and too weak to do much, but at least she'd be okay. He went back upstairs to his room. He was disappointed, but not surprised to see that his room had not reverted to its pre-Transformation styles. Mother clearly had not wanted her son back. Ever. Joe felt a tear slide down his cheek. He briefly considered staying, trying to convince mom that this was the right choice, but there was no way he could do that. Mom was too stubborn. And without access to the Goddess's power, he had no way to fight back. If his mother ever got it into her head to re-cast the Transformation spell and bring Joanie back, he'd be stuck with a female body for the rest of his life. Then he saw Steven in his bassinet, and that clinched it. Even if he would be willing to try to work out his personal problems with mom, someday Steven would be of age to undergo the Transformation. Joe had already determined that the choice would be his, but if Steven turned down the Transformation and mom didn't accept that, then Steven would be subject to the same sense of betrayal Joe now felt. Joe couldn't allow that. Joe went into his closet and got out the suitcase he kept there. He stripped off the sweats he had been wearing. They were now too small. He wouldn't be able to find anything in his drawers. Even the more unisex clothes he had worn wouldn't fit anymore. But there was something mom didn't know about. He reached under his bed and pulled out a box. Inside was a shirt and pair of pants, a set that would fit his male body. He had stitched them together as Joanie as a private project. For some reason, he had never told mom about them. He put them on. He didn't wear any underwear; all he had were panties and bras. He looked around for something to wear on his feet. His stockings and socks were out of the question, and his shoes wouldn't fit on a dare. He finally found some simple knit house slippers that were loose enough and would at least protect his feet outside. He checked his room. There really wasn't that much there to keep. A few knickknacks, nothing more. He ignored the suitcase, instead stuffing the few items he wanted to keep into Steven's diaper bag. He slung the bag over his shoulder, grabbed Steven and went downstairs to leave. As he opened the door, he heard his mother weakly say, "Joanie?" The name grated on him like the sound of fingernails on a chalkboard. "Where are you going?" Joe took a deep breath. "I'm leaving, mother. And I'm not coming back." Julie leaped forward, only to fall to the floor. Joe looked back to make sure she was okay. She stretched her hand out to him. If she had just used his male name, much could have been forgiven. But she said, "Joanie, please." Joe turned away. Then the strangest thing happened. He got this strange feeling. It had the same feel as the Goddess's power, but it was centered on his mother. But almost as quickly as the power rose, it dispelled and mom cried out in pain. Joe sighed. He set Steven and the diaper bag down. He went over to Julie and helped her back to the couch. He realized that no matter how far or how fast he ran mother would always be able to follow with her magics. He had to do something to prevent that. He gently set her down and wrapped grandmother's Afghan cover around her. Julie reached up and stroked his face. "You were always a good girl, Joanie." He cringed a bit, but steeled himself and said, "Mother, I cannot trust you anymore, not with my life or with my son's, so if you ever come after me again... If I ever see you again, I will kill you." Julie was so stunned, she was unable to move as Joe turned, walked to the door, picked up Steven and the diaper bag, and left. After he left, Julie lurched forward, barely managing to make it to the door. She saw her child walking away down the street and called out, "Joanie!" Joe heard her, but his only response as he walked away was a single tear rolling down his cheek. ***** IN ANOTHER DIMENSION... Joanie tucked Steven back into his bassinet. "Don't worry, little one. Although your mommy may be going away, in just a little while your daddy will be back to take care of you." Steven gurgled a bit before yawning and falling asleep. Joanie gave him a quick kiss and said good night. She returned to the center of the room and sat down cross-legged in the center of the room. She cast the spell that would return her to his previous self. As the spell took hold, he felt the Goddess's power leave him. He bid it a fond farewell. But before the power left him entirely, but after he could actually control the power, he felt another power wrap itself around him. He wondered what it was, but before he could identify it, he felt it attack his spell, seeking to disrupt it. He had a brief moment of panic. If this spell succeeded, he'd be trapped as a woman, possibly forever! But what could he do? The Goddess's power had left him (well, mostly). He could not bring it to bear. But he couldn't let whatever it was win. He fought back with everything he had, everything he was. But still he felt the unknown power close in on him. He felt it start to touch him, forcing his body back to its feminine form, and he shuddered. It was only a brief moment where he lost concentration, but it was enough. The unknown power crashed in around him, dragging the Goddess's power back upon him. He was literally blown from a seated position onto his back. He was staggered, and it was hard to think. He stretched his hands out in front of him, looking at them. He saw the long, manicured nails mom had convinced him to keep, and almost cried. She was still a woman! She returned to a seated position and tried to summon the Goddess's power again. Summoning it was not a problem, but when she tried to start the Transformation spell again, the power made its presence known, disrupting her control and scattering the Goddess's power. She buried her face in her hands and cried. The strange power was now a part of her, acting as a buffer between her and her power, making it impossible to use the Transformation spell, sticking her as a woman forever! Who would do such a thing?! As she cried, she felt her mother's hands on her shoulders. Joanie heard her say, "I'm sorry, child, but you'll see. This is for the best. Now let's get you to bed." Joanie felt Julie stand her up, but as she was walked towards the bed, Julie's words filtered into her mind. She stopped herself and asked, "You... did this to me?" Julie wasn't even repentant. "Yes, but we'll talk this over after you've had a chance to rest." Julie tried to push her daughter to the bed, but Joanie wouldn't let herself be moved. Joanie's despair and sorrow were quickly becoming anger. And although her anger was becoming blinding, Joanie managed to ask, "Why?" "Because this is right. You were truly meant to be a girl. But you need your rest." Julie managed to push Joanie a couple steps closer to the bed as facts of the past two years coalesced in her mind. As a boy, he and his mother had never really known each other well, but after his Transformation into Joanie; Julie had wanted to spend as much time with her as possible. Joanie had assumed it was just because, as women, they had much more in common, but now... And after she had discovered what it would take to get back to being Joe, mother had discouraged her from just doing it with anyone. She had assumed Julie just wanted to protect her from various diseases that were out and about, but now... As the events of her life coalesced, Joanie's red hot, blinding anger became a white hot, all consuming anger. She felt her hand clench into a fist, making no effort to stop it. She screamed, "YOU BITCH!" and hauled off and struck her mother across the jaw. Julie fell to the ground, stunned. Not from the force of the blow, but from the fact of having just been struck by her own daughter. She lay there as Joanie ranted, "You never wanted a son! You never cared about me as your son! Well, fine!" Joanie stormed over to the closet, got her suitcase, opened it and threw it on the bed. As she started throwing clothes into it, she said, "I want you to know that I am really your son in your daughter's body, but if you don't want your son, I'll leave!" As Joanie's words sunk in, Julie stood up and grabbed her daughter's arm. "Now, Joanie, you're just overreacting. If you just settle down-" Joanie yelled, "SHUT UP!" and pushed Julie away, blasting her with a Stun Blast. The attack was so sudden and so furious, that even if Julie had considered needing to defend herself against her daughter, there wasn't enough time to summon a decent shield. Julie fell to the ground, unconscious. When Julie woke up, Joanie, many of her clothes, and little Steven were all gone. Julie quested out for her daughter, but Joanie was shielding herself too completely. Julie folded her legs and slipped into a meditative trance. She'd need to be patient, but eventually Joanie would slip and Julie would know where her daughter was. Joanie would need some cool down time, but eventually she'd see mother knew best. But Julie considered the unexpected savagery of Joanie's response, and had a brief flicker of doubt. Had she been wrong? Was her daughter really meant to be a boy? But almost as soon as she thought it, she dismissed it. Joanie had to be a girl. Now Julie only had to wait for her to see that. ***** IN OUR UNIVERSE, TWO MONTHS AFTER TARINA'S DEATH... Joe was working out in the gym. He was slamming his fists and feet repeatedly into the heavy bag in an attempt to deal with his grief. After Tarina had died, he had moved himself and his children to the space base. It was just too hard to come home to the house with her scents and memories. Norma still hadn't spoken, and Tasha, for the first time in her life, seemed subdued and quiet. Steven had been a trooper through it all, taking charge of the girls and the house, and making sure everything ran smoothly. The kids were with Jarred right now, and Joe was trying a little physical exercise to get rid of some emotional tension. He heard the door open behind him, and knew without looking that it was Master Quan Li, the current head of the Akashic Brotherhood here on the space base. Technically, Joe, as a member of the Akashic faction, was supposed to accept his commands, but ever since the incident seven years ago, Joe had refused to just accept the commands of anyone in the base, regardless of who they were. Without even looking, Joe asked, "What do you want, old man?" Joe knew the answer to that. The Realm Council had another big, bad nasty they wanted him to destroy. It was the only reason any of the Masters would ever enter his presence. Well, all the Masters but David, the Virtual Adept Master. He was the only one who hadn't decided to abandon him after he nearly died fighting The Destroyer in the Amazon jungle. David wasn't able to come after him since he was involved in other plans, and his disappearance would've meant the death of innocents. So the Virtual Adept Master was the only one Joe made exceptions for. The Akashic Master made no visible response to Joe's impertinence. As a Master of Do, the Way, anything less would be unseemly. "We have a threat for you to deal with." "Of course. What's the matter, old man? This thing just a little too nasty for you to sully your hands with?" "Your attitude is hardly appropriate to one of your skill and power." "Old man, I couldn't care less what your opinion of me is. What is it you wish me to deal with?" "A Marauder. A Master of Time known as "Quick". With your defeat of the Annihilator, this may be the most deadly Marauder around. Take care." "Yes, yes. So you say every time you ask me to take on a new threat. Where is this psychotic creature?" "Outside Houston. It's your old home ground, so you'll be at an advantage." "Now there is only one more thing. My price." For the first time since entering the room, the Akashic Master twinged. It was just a slight motion, but enough to betray a deep abhorrence of Joe's attitude. An Akashic should fight for honor, not for profit or gain. Joe's demand for payment every time they needed his service stood against everything the Akashic Master stood for. Problem was, the Akashic Master understood Joe's need to do this, perhaps better than the young man understood it himself. After the council's betrayal of him, Joe had sworn to never accept their orders again. But his own sense of decency demanded that he help those who needed it. By demanding payment from the Masters he reconciled his need to help with his oath to never accept the Masters' orders. "What do you ask?" "I want you to train Norma in the use of her telepathy." "I thought you wanted her to stop using it. To speak again." "I do. The problem is she doesn't know how to stop. Her natural skills and abilities with her mind are so great that she's never needed to learn not to use it. She literally doesn't know the difference between someone else thinking and someone else speaking. As a result, she winds up intruding in the minds of people she's with. She needs to learn not to use it." "All right. Your terms are accepted." Joe extended his hand and the Soul Blade flew across the room from a bench to his hand. As soon as he strapped it around his torso, his clothes changed to the blue karate gi he had come to wear as the M.A.N.-fighter. After Joe left, the Akashic Master shook his head. The youth was so angry with the world. His anger could very well mean his doom. But the Akashic Master's Time senses told him that this youth should be the next Akashic Master on the council. But if Joe didn't overcome his own anger, how could Master Quan ever seriously consider him as a replacement? ***** Joe exited the Gate, arriving in a high school football field. He quickly used his Correspondence senses to pinpoint his exact location then took off towards the outskirts of town. He ran and jumped, using the rooftops to go through the city. Although he had nothing to fear from Paradox, it was still easier to use his magicks when he didn't do it in front of Sleepers. When he got close to the edge of town and the buildings started to thin out. He took a 100-yard leap and hit the ground running. It was only another fifteen minutes before he reached the nearly barren section of countryside where he sensed the reality disrupting presence of the Marauder known to him only as "Quick". He went to the side of a hill, trying to sneak up on the mad mage. He heard the Marauder say, "You don't really need to hide yourself. I know you're there." Joe leapt to the top of the hill. He squatted down, his arms between his legs in a Spiderman-like pose. In this position, he presented a smaller target, his muscles were relaxed, but his body was ready to spring into motion at a moment's notice. "I should've known better than to hide from a man who could predict the future." "Perhaps, prophesied one. But we all do what we were trained to do." "Prophesied one? The Annihilator used that term for me. Care to tell me what it means?" "500 years ago, I prophesied your coming. I prophesied your destroying Xedric the Destroyer, and Eric the Annihilator." "And did you prophecy the end of our fight?" "For some reason, that remains obscured to me." "Since I know that Time Masters can predict their own fate, any idea why?" "Nope." Suddenly, the man exploded with inhuman speed and ran straight at Joe. Joe expected something like that and leapt straight into the air, going over twenty feet above his opponent's head. He drew the Soul Blade, pointed it at Quick and blasted him with a barrage of energy bolts. Quick, knowing where the blasts were going, easily dodged them, and headed towards where Joe was going to land. Joe released the Soul Blade at the height of his jump and it floated in mid-air as he descended towards the Marauder. As soon as he landed he was forced to defend himself against a fury of blows unleashed by Quick before the mad mage ran off, less than a moment before the Soul Blade struck the spot where he had just been standing. The battle went on like this for a few more minutes, quick throwing attacks that Joe and the Soul Blade easily blocked, and avoiding attacks thrown by the two using his prescient senses. He then reached the moment of truth. The moment beyond which he had no information. He had been maneuvered between the two, and there would be no way for him to accelerate to any speed to avoid the two-way barrage that he knew was coming. His one hope was to move himself out of time until after the attack was over, and then slip back. He focused his will and tried to bend space and time to his command. But reality didn't like what he was trying and pushed back. Although he had nothing to fear from Paradox, the side effects of failing to control his magicks could cause very nasty side effects. He focused, trying to control his magicks, but he concentrated a moment too long and felt Joe body slam him. He lost control of his spell and felt the entire universe shift around him. In the half-second before Joe snapped his neck, Quick understood why his fate had never been revealed to him. One could only tell the future of the universe one was in. Joe looked around. The Soul Blade was gone. He quested out mentally for it, but found his telepathic probe blocked. He was about to attempt to break through the magick when he heard the sounds of a battle over the next rise. That was strange, he had scanned the area before his battle, and the only humans within the immediate vicinity had been the two of them. He climbed to the top of the intervening hill and saw the battle. There were six combatants, four men, a woman, and a young teenager. Joe could sense that all were lesser path-ers, magic users, although not Awakened. Sensing the nature of their powers, Joe cringed. The women were followers of the Goddess, the men, the Dark One. This was a battle between the Sisterhood and the Brotherhood. Joe almost left. Since he left his mother, he had purposefully avoided getting involved in Brotherhood/Sisterhood activities. But he didn't like the odds here. The teenager wasn't fighting, either she was only an apprentice and wasn't trained enough to be effective, or her branch of magic didn't have enough combat spells, or perhaps both. That effectively made the odds, at best, four to one and a half. Joe sighed, deciding he had to get involved. He leapt right between two of the Brothers, grabbing one, and kicking the other backwards. He tossed the one he held into a third Brother. The remaining Brother tried to blast him with Dark Power, but was unable to affect him due to Joe's immunity. Joe stretched out his hand and blasted the last man with a lightning bolt. Two of the four Brothers were unconscious (the one he had kicked, and the one shot with lightning), and he yelled at the last two, "Take your friends and go!" The two men seemed shocked but obeyed Joe's command. Joe watched them go until his own senses warned him of danger from the Sister now behind him. He turned slightly and grabbed her wrist, stopping her millimeters away from ramming a knife into his back. He lifted her wrist up, slapped the back of her hand, and used a bit of Life magick to force her hand open, causing the blade to fly from her hand. He released her hand, and snatched the blade in flight before it even crossed fully in front of his body. He exercised a bit of Forces and pushed the woman back to the teen. As soon as she got close, she hid the younger girl behind her, clearly trying to protect her from Joe. Joe held up the blade and rotated it in his hand, saying, "Hardly the reaction I'd expect towards the man who just saved your life." The woman spit on his face. As he wiped the spittle away, she virulently said, "Betrayer! You think saving my life would cause me to forgive all the lives of my Sisters you have taken?" Joe gave her a look like she was insane. He threw the blade between her feet. "You're taking an awful risk with that thing considering that taking a life renders you powerless." Bitterly, she replied, "I wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice my life, much less my power to end the threat to the Sisterhood that is you." Joe stared at her for a few seconds before saying, "Lady, since my Awakening, I have purposefully avoided the Sisterhood. I have not even dealt with any Sisters, much less killed any of your kind." "Do you think I am some kind of fool?" "Look, who do you think I am?" From behind him, Joe heard an ominous, male voice say, "They think you're me." Joe turned and took a step to the side, so he could keep an eye on the women and see the newcomer. The women had seen him first and were stunned into immobility. They were only slightly less stunned then Joe was when he saw the new Mage. Standing at the top of the hill was a man who looked exactly like him. And it was more than just a magical illusion. Every magickal sense Joe had told him this man was a total duplicate of himself, except the other was dressed in a black body suit. But there was one thing this man had different from himself. Reality was slightly out of sync around him. This man was a mad mage, a Marauder. Joe wondered if this was some kind of illusion, just one so complex he couldn't penetrate it, but somehow, his instincts said there was another explanation, and a word popped into his head. He whispered, "Sideslip." His double grinned evilly. "Exactly." He leapt from the hill, and landed right in front of Joe. "And since this universe is my universe, excuse me." The other Joe tried to walk past, but Joe stopped him. "What are you going to do?" The mad Joe said, "I'm going to kill them. I'm going to kill every member of the Sisterhood, whether it takes me a year or a hundred years." The mad Joe tried to step past again, but Joe interposed himself. "I can't let you do that." Mad Joe glared at his counterpart. "I'm not connected to you, so I have no idea what your life has been like. But it can't have been like mine. The Sisterhood needs to be punished for what they've done, so get out of my way, or join them in death." "Don't do this." Mad Joe grinned. "Your funeral." The Marauder tried to kick Joe, but Joe blocked it. The two then entered into a Do competition. Although the Marauder was good, and was Joe, it became clear after a little bit, that the sane Joe was the superior fighter. The Marauder, broke free, leapt back, grabbed a lizard and tossed it at Joe. The lizard transformed in flight into a dragon. It looked like Jarred, but lacked the true version's intelligence. This was nothing more than a savage desert lizard with a big body. Joe stretched out his hand, and, regretting having to do it, blasted the lizard into dust. The Marauder stared at him and asked, "How did you do that? You are not one of us." "No, but I am immune to Paradox. Don't ask me to explain it, better than I have tried and failed." "Let's see what you've got." Mad Joe waved his hand and sane Joe felt his insides being twisted around. He used his own Life magicks to cancel the effect, and shot a collection of lightning bolts from his hand, bombarding his mad counterpart. The mad one was forced to teleport away. As soon as he was gone, Joe turned, grabbed the two Sisters and teleported, scrambling his trail as he went. After he teleported a couple times, the older Sister pushed out of his grasp. He set the younger one down and scanned the area for signs of pursuit. The older Sister said, "What's going on? Are you or are you not Joe Braumann?" Joe looked over his shoulder at the women. "Yes and no." "What's that supposed to mean?" "I am Joe Braumann, just not your Joe Braumann." "I don't understand." "I am a powerful mage and I have experienced an event called a Sideslip." "What's a Sideslip?" "Did you ever wonder what would've happened if things had proceeded differently? Like what would've happened if Hitler won World War 2? Or if Lincoln had never been assassinated? Well, some when, these events took place. History took a different turn and things came out differently." The young one, speaking for the first time, said, "You're talking about parallel worlds. Alternate dimensions." "I believe that's what the Sci-fi writers are calling them. Anyways, a Sideslip occasionally happens when powerful Time magicks go awry. Basically, I've been dropped from my world into yours, a world where something drove me insane and turned me into a psychotic killer bent on the destruction of the Sisterhood." The elder Sister asked, "And since we ran away from your other, I assume he's more powerful than you are?" "No. I could've easily destroyed him. It is the nature of Marauder insanity that it interferes with the learning process. My mad counterpart is nowhere near as accomplished as I am." "So why didn't you kill him? Or do you think letting an insane killer go is okay?" Joe looked into the eyes of the woman and saw only the hate she harbored. "There's one difference between our worlds. No Sister in my world would've ever suggested killing a man, no matter what he'd done." The woman grimaced, but the youth said, "Please understand. The Sisterhood, our Sisterhood, has been dealing with the mad betrayer for the last decade. He has killed many of our number. We are at less than half the numbers we were before he started on the mad quest for our destruction. It has woven hate deeply into the fiber of our order. We healers try to correct it, but every time we make a bit of headway, we hear of how your other version has killed another dozen of us." The older woman said, "Don't you see how killing him solves that? Destroy him and we can start the healing." The youth shook her head disapprovingly. Joe said, "You say that so blithely. Have you ever heard the phrase, 'There, but for the grace of god, go I'? Well, in the case of my counterpart, there goes I. He's not just somebody who looks like me, he is me. Is what drove him insane something I avoided, or is it something I only forestalled? Is it something that would only drive him insane, or is it something that would drive another mage to kill Sisters if I kill him? There are too many what ifs if I kill him unless I have to. I have to find out what happened to him. And maybe if I do that, I just might be able to heal him rather than kill him." The woman seemed mollified, but not happy. Joe looked to the youth. "You seem a bit young to be an active member of the Sisterhood. How old are you? 14? 15?" The youth said, "I'm 15, and I've been a Sister for nearly 3 years." The elder Sister added, "Jacqueline is one of our most powerful and skilled healers." Joe said, "Still, transformed at 12? Is this usual?" The woman said, "It is now." Jacqueline explained, "It is another effect of the other you. After you joined the Brotherhood and started killing us, many young sons were finding their mothers coming home injured, sometimes disfigured, sometimes... not coming home at all. Many of us resultantly found out about the Sisterhood and Transformations. We demanded to join. Many elder sisters thought it a bad idea, but after it was clear that you would decimate the Sisterhood, they relented. But even with the sudden surplus, we are still losing the war. But it does bring up a question. Why don't I sense the dark power within you?" "Because I don't wield the Dark One's power. I wield a power all my own." "So that's another difference between you two." "No, it's not. My counterpart also wields his own power. He's not one of the Dark One's followers." "But I could feel the Dark One's power within him." "You mean like this?" Suddenly Joe seemed to reek of the Dark Power. He seemed so dark that the women reflexively took a step back. "Or perhaps you'd prefer me like this?" Suddenly Joe glowed with the Goddess's power. The elder woman asked, "How? No man can wield the Goddess's power." Jacqueline said, "It's not right. The power isn't... right." "Of course not," Joe replied. "As you said, no man can wield the Goddess's power. But I can create an illusion that makes it seem that way. And that's what my other has done. Although I'd guess that he's spent enough time weaving it so that it would take a long time and a lot of patience for anyone not Awakened to sense it. My guess is he's using the Brotherhood in his mad quest to destroy the Sisterhood. I'd also guess that many, even maybe most, of the Brotherhood doesn't support him, but he's just too powerful to argue with. By the way, what's your name? I know Jacqueline's, but I can't just keep thinking of you as the 'older Sister'." "My name is Dana." "Good to meet you. No offense, ladies, but if you're in the middle of a war, what are you, a single apprentice Healer and her protector, doing in the middle of nowhere?" Dana said, "We... recently lost our last West Coast base. Jacqueline stayed behind to help with some healings. Now we're headed to New York where the new main base of the Sisterhood is. We were forced to divert from our previous course to try to avoid some Brothers. It turns out that we were being diverted into an ambush where you came upon us. I guess we need to get going again." Joe looked around. "It's going to get dark soon. Tell you what; if you stay with me tonight and tell me what you can about my other, so I can hopefully find out what drove him insane, in the morning, I'll teleport you to New York. It'll take a few jumps to get there, but I can handle that." "Couldn't you do that now?" "No. Before I saved you from those Brothers, I was involved in a fight with a pretty nasty dude. So between him, the Brothers, and my other, I'm pretty tired. I'd hate to teleport a couple of times then get involved in a fight of some kind. I need rest." "Alright, but we should look for some shelter. Jacqueline and I lost our packs in the fight with the Brothers." Joe waved his hand and there was a fire with a tent. "Minor application of power. Give me a little while and I'll whip up some eats, too." Dana and Jacqueline sat down. Dana asked, "Are we all going to sleep in the tent?" "You two will. I'm used to sleeping under the stars. I even prefer it." After they settled in, Joe asked, "So what do you know about my other self?" "Well, everybody's heard the story, but we don't know a lot of specific details." "Just tell me what you do know." "According to the stories, shortly after Joanie, his female self, gave birth to her little boy, but before she joined the Sisterhood, Joanie and her mother had some kind of major fall out. Joanie took her child and left. The next day, our High Priestess, Bronwyn Llewellyn, and Julie got together and found Joanie in a dojo a few miles away. Bronwyn went to the dojo and tried to talk to her, but Joanie instead attacked her. There was a brief altercation before both their magics were squelched by the Master of the dojo. Apparently he was some kind of magic-user, fairly powerful from the High Priestess's description." "That's putting it mildly. Master Quan, at least my world's version, was and is one of the most skilled mages on the planet." "Well, anyways, he separated them and interviewed each separately. He then sent Bronwyn packing and took Joanie... somewhere. Nobody knows exactly where, but according to Julie's testimony, she got a sense of Joanie being an impossibly far distance away. "A little more than two years later, the Sisters in New York felt Julie's death. Two Sisters investigated and found a man kneeling next to her, cradling her body. They asked him who he was. He said he was Julie's son. He also confessed to having killed Julie. He then destroyed one of the Sisters, paralyzed the other, and told her to take a message to Bronwyn that the Sisterhood was doomed. He then walked out of the house, leaving the Sister with two dead bodies. And that started the war between the Brotherhood and the Sisterhood." "Thanks. I think I know what the divergence point of our universes is now. But I still don't know what drove him insane." Jacqueline said, "Bronwyn might be able to help. She's never been very forthcoming about details of what happened between her and Joanie on that day in the dojo." Dana said, "I'm not sure that's a great idea, hun. We walk in there with him, and we'll be lucky to get anywhere near Bronwyn without starting a major fight." Joe said, "Easy enough to deal with." Suddenly his features shifted and his body shape changed. Sitting there beside the two Sisters was now a third woman. In a feminine voice, Joe said, "I may not like playing the woman's role, but sometimes I do realize its necessity." "I don't know. I don't like the concept of conning Bronwyn." Jacqueline said, "Dana, we might be able to end this war. Isn't that worth a little conning?" Joe said, "It is not my attempt to con Bronwyn. I'm only doing this so we can get close enough without fighting so you can explain what's going on. But if I'm to succeed, I must find out all that I can about what happened." Dana finally relented. "Alright, we'll do this. But you keep up the pretense only until we get close enough to explain." "Deal. Now what do you guys want to eat?" Jacqueline quickly said, "Sausage pizza! I haven't had a good pizza since my Transformation." "Okay with you, Dana?" "Fine with me." Joe conjured up a big pizza, and they ate together for a while as night fell. At one point Jacqueline asked, "Can I ask you a question?" "You can ask. Not guaranteeing I can or will answer." "The other you, before you started fighting, said he wasn't... connected to you, I think he said. What did he mean by that?" "It's a theory of alternate dimensions. Although not much is known, Sideslips being very rare, there's a theory that all the same versions of a Marauder are connected. That Marauders can look into any dimension where they're still mad. I'd guess he just confirmed that theory." "Can I ask another question?" "Sure." "Regardless of what happens here, how are you going to get home?" Joe shrugged. "I'm not sure I can." "You may be stuck here?" "Possible." "I'm sorry." "Don't be. If it's something I can't change, then c'est la vie. I know my children will be taken care of. I will miss them, though." Dana yawned. "I guess I better get to bed. You coming, Jacqueline?" "In a minute." After Dana crawled into the tent, the young healer asked, "You know, don't you?" "Know what?" "What drove a wedge between Joanie and Julie. I could see from the look on your face that whatever it was also came between you and your mom." Joe gave her a small smile. "You're a very perceptive girl, Jacqueline." "And you're dodging the question." "I think I know. But I can't be sure until I talk with Bronwyn and perhaps Master Quan." "What was it?" "I'm not going to say. If I'm wrong, I don't want to plant false ideas." "Okay. See you tomorrow morning." After Jacqueline crawled into the tent with Dana, Joe whispered, "And if I'm right, I don't want to speak ill of the dead." ***** The next day, Dana and Jacqueline crawled out of the tent into the morning light. Joe, in his female form, sat cross-legged beside the fire, which seemed unchanged from the night before. He stood up and waved his hand. The fire disappeared and the tent rolled itself up into a pack and floated over to Dana. She thanked him, and then he wrapped his arms around the women and started teleporting. It took four jumps to get to New York and another to deposit themselves outside an abandoned tenement where the Sisterhood was now running its organization. They went inside and a woman sitting near an internal door said, "Dana, Jacqueline, thank the Goddess! We heard that you had some problems with Brothers. How did you get here so quickly?" Dana said, "We did have some problems, but we got some help. Amanda, this is a very powerful sorceress. She needs to talk to Bronwyn, right now." "Alright." Amanda opened the door and whispered a few words. "Go ahead." The three of them walked through darkened passageways towards the center of the base. Joe watched the faces of many people as he passed by. What surprised him was that most were normals. Only about one-third of the people had any trace of the Goddess's power. Of the norms, about 80 percent were female. Joe was surprised at the low numbers of men. Accepting that both the Brotherhood and the Sisterhood were using norm support staffs, he'd have expected so biased a balance only from the Brotherhood. But with a war going on, he supposed anything could happen. They entered a large room, and Jacqueline yelled, "Mother!" and ran to a one- armed woman standing by a table. Joe looked around. He was immediately struck by how tired and drawn these women looked. Their faces were like those of soldiers who had been in a war zone too long. But his eyes landed on one woman. She was definitely older and more haggard then the last time he had seen her, but this was definitely Bronwyn Llewellyn, the woman he remembered visiting him and revealing that she was High Priestess of the Sisterhood, shortly after mother revealed that he'd be stuck as a woman until he could cast the spell to return on his own. Then he had to remember that this was this world's version of the woman he met. They stepped forward, and suddenly an Asian woman standing near Bronwyn yelled, "Get down!" She stepped forward, raised her hand and a column of flame shot out of her palm at Joe. Joe caught the column, and collected the fire into a ball. When the woman stopped, he raised the ball up and blew it out like it was nothing more than a small candle. The Sisters were staring at the Asian woman. Bronwyn asked, "How and why did you do that?" Joe said, "The why is that she thought she needed to protect you from me," and then shifted back to his male form. A couple women said, "Betrayer!" and Joe felt the Goddess's power massing to be used against him. Jacqueline yelled, "No!" and broke away from her mother, interposing herself between Joe and the other Sisters. Jacqueline's mother yelled, "Jacqueline, what are you doing?!" Jacqueline explained, "Mother, this isn't the betrayer. He's an alternate universe version. I've seen the two of them together. This one fought to save us. We'd be dead if not for him." The Asian woman, speaking so low that only Joe heard her with his amplified senses, whispered, "Sideslip." Dana spoke up. "High Priestess, I know the story sounds fantastic, but I have witnessed it first hand." Bronwyn stepped up to Joe. She put on a brave face, but Joe could sense her fear. "How can I be sure this is not some trick? The betrayer is a very powerful man." Joe replied, "If I were the Betrayer, you would already be dead. Besides, even if you're not willing to accept Dana and Jacqueline's word for it, just ask her." Joe pointed at the Asian who had attacked him. "If she takes a good look, she'll notice that I lack the sense of discontinuity around me that surrounds Marauders like my other self." Bronwyn gave a sidelong glance to the woman. "What are you talking about? We've never noticed any... discontinuity around you... your other self." "No, but the Awakened would." "Awakened? What is that?" "It's coming into your full power as a magick user. It's becoming aware that reality is far more malleable than first thought. It's used because those that haven't Awakened, even the more powerful like those of the Sisterhood and the Brotherhood, tend to walk through life like they were sleepwalking." Bronwyn seemed a little put off by Joe's attitude, but said, "So what has this got to do with Sue?" Joe looked into Bronwyn's eyes. "Tell me that fire column was a new spell developed by the Sisterhood." Joe looked past Bronwyn to Sue. "Besides, only one of the Awakened could've seen through my illusion so quickly. And, of course, there's also the fact that I heard her use the term 'Sideslip'. It's a rare enough term amongst the Awakened. I can't see a Sister even being aware of what it means." One of the Sisters said, "Bronwyn, this is nothing more than bullshit, pardon my French! Sue is one of the strongest Sisters around. He's just trying to disparage her to drive a wedge between us." Sue said, "No," and the illusion of the Goddess's power faded from around her. "I am Sue bani Akashic Brotherhood." Bronwyn asked, "Bani? What's that?" "Roughly translated it means 'Member of'. The Akashic Brotherhood is the group of mages that Joanie belonged to before she changed back and went insane. Since the Mad one was using information about the Sisterhood that he got while at our base, we felt a responsibility to try to protect you, and if possible, try to deal with Joanie. It was not my intent to harm you, and I only deceived you to stay close enough to protect you. I can tell you that whoever this is, he does seem to lack the reality twisting effect of an insane mage." "We'll discuss this later." Bronwyn turned back to Joe. "Assuming everything you've told me is true, why are you here?" "I'm looking for information on why my other went insane. At the very least I want to keep it from happening to me, and, hopefully, I can heal his insanity." Sue interrupted, "You cannot heal a Mad mage. Once a Marauder, always a Marauder." "Perhaps, but I have an internal perspective no one else in this universe has. If any can save him it would be me." Jacqueline's mother said, "Or perhaps in discovering the reason why he went insane, it may drive you over the edge as well." "Perhaps, but would that stop you? Would it stop any of you? I have a chance to end this war you're in, not just with my other, but perhaps with the Brotherhood, as well. Perhaps forever. Isn't that worth at least trying?" Bronwyn mulled it over. She didn't seem happy, but she did ask, "What do you need from us?" "I need to find out what happened to my other in as exact detail as possible. Dana and Jacqueline tell me that after Joanie left mom... her mom, you went and found her at a dojo. What happened there?" Jacqueline's mother said, "I'd also like to know that." Bronwyn glared at her. "What happened? Promises were made and broken, and we lost Joanie. You want to know what drove your counterpart insane? Find out what forced Joanie back into male form." Joe just stared at Bronwyn for a bit before saying, "I asked for exact detail. Please just tell me what happened without adding personal opinion." Bronwyn seemed angered, but held any remarks back. Eventually she started her story. "The day after their fight, Julie and I got together and penetrated Joanie's shield, discovering where she was. I felt the anger of the girl and convinced Julie to let me talk to her alone. "I went to the dojo and found a class just letting out. I saw Joanie heading into the dressing room. I went in after her and called out her name. She turned and gave me a look of almost abject hate. She turned away from me and said, 'Leave me alone.' "I told her I couldn't do that. I approached her and asked her to return to her mother and the Sisterhood. She refused. She said, 'Not only am I not going to return to the Sisterhood, the only time I plan on using that damnable power is to defend my child from the likes of you!' "I was shocked, but asked her why she hadn't transformed back if she found being a Sister so abhorrent. I felt the rage grow within her, and she just lashed out at me, kicking me right out of the dressing room. She then came after me, blazing with Goddess power. "I tried to defend myself with my magic, but she was like a woman possessed. But suddenly both of us were frozen in place, our magic squelched like a match in a typhoon. I felt like a puppet as Joanie and I were walked to the office by an elderly Asian. We both sat down and he looked at us and said, 'What is going on here? And whatever possessed you to start a magical fight in the middle of a public place?' "Both Joanie and I spoke at the same time. After only a few seconds of that, he took Joanie into another room. He came back a little while later, saying he heard Joanie's story and now wanted mine. I explained to him that I was just trying to reunite Joanie and her mother, and to return to her rightful place as one of the Sisterhood. "He seemed to consider it. He then told me that Joanie blamed the entire Sisterhood for something that Julie had done. He told me that any Sister, particularly the High Priestess, would only make matters worse until Joanie got over her anger. Then he promised me he'd do everything he could to get Joanie back to the Sisterhood. He seemed to be a man of honor, so I left. Then, either he failed, or he lied. Two years later, Joanie transformed into Joe, went insane because of it, then killed Julie and started this insane war." "Okay, two questions. One, did you ever try to find out what mother had done to make him so angry, and if so, what was it? And two, what did Master Quan promise you? Exact wording." "I did ask Julie about it. She said that she had made certain assumptions about Joanie's role in the Sisterhood, and had tried to make Joanie see that." "Kind of vague. Didn't you get any details?" "Julie didn't seem ready to talk about it, so I didn't press." "Mm-hmm. And what, exactly, did Master Quan promise you?" "He said, 'I promise to do everything in my power to return Joanie to the place where she should be.'" Joe got a wry look on his face. "Master Quan always did speak too cryptically for his own good." "So you know what went wrong? Where did he fail?" "He didn't. He did exactly what he promised. You just made the same mistake mom did." "And what was that?" "You assumed that her child's rightful place was as one of the Sisterhood." "If her rightful place wasn't as one of us, then why did she stay a woman? Why didn't she transform back?" "And the ironic thing is, if you'd have asked mom that we might not all be here right now." Joe held up his hand and a small ball of light formed in it. Bronwyn stepped back, saying, "What are you doing?" "You've helped me out. I owe you a debt, and I always repay my debts." "What are you planning?" The ball of light flew from his hand into the stump of Jacqueline's mother's missing arm. The Sisters watched in amazement, as a small arm grew from the stump. It, at first, appeared to be a baby's arm, but quickly grew into a full- sized adult's arm. Jacqueline's mom flexed it a bit, and then said, "It's real." Joe snorted. "Of course it's real." He then turned to Sue. "Now I need your help." "Me? Why?" "I need to speak to Master Quan. You are from the space base?" "Yes. But I need to stay here to protect Bronwyn. That is my mission here." "You can best help her by ending this stupid war. We can be there and you can be back in less than twenty minutes. All you have to do is either get me in or get Master Quan out to see me." "I don't know." Bronwyn said, "Sue, you might as well go with him. When you come back we've got a lot to talk about." Sue cringed. "Yes, ma'am." As she walked by Bronwyn she said, "I was only here to help you." "We'll discuss that when you get back." Sue stepped up to Joe. As they went to leave, Dana said, "Wait," and stepped up to Bronwyn and made a hurried whispered conversation. She then came over and said, "I'm going to escort you out." Joe transformed back to his female shape and the three of them left together. After they were gone, Jacqueline's mother stepped over to Bronwyn and wrapped her arm around the High Priestess's shoulders. "I think you should've told him about why you wanted Joanie to return to us." Bronwyn sighed. "Laurie, the fact that I fell in love with Joanie is none of this man's business. He clearly wanted to return to being a man." "Perhaps, but I don't think you made a good impression. At least if you had been honest, he could've understood your anger. Besides, I get the feeling that he thought that our Joanie didn't want to stay Joanie." "Then why didn't she transform back after giving birth? Answer me that, Laurie." Laurie shrugged. "Maybe he was right." Laurie kissed Bronwyn on the cheek. "Maybe you should've asked Julie that." Outside, Dana turned to Joe and Sue and said, "Let's go." Sue said, "Wait a second. You're not coming with us." "Please. I'd like to see this through to the end." Joe asked, "What about Jacqueline? Or am I way off base in my assumptions about the giggling I heard coming from the tent last night?" Dana blushed a deep crimson. "I love Jacqui with a passion, but if she's ever to come into her full power as a Sister, she needs to give birth. As long as we're together, she uses our relationship to keep from being anything more than just friends with the men who work with us." Sue said, "We're not going to be your excuse. You can't come. The space base is off-limits to all non-personnel." "Why? The base accepted occasional visitors back in my world. Worst comes to worst, she just comes with me and waits at the gate house while you get approval from the Masters." Joe felt Sue open a connection to his mind. He opened his shields enough for them to speak without being overheard. {You don't understand. Shortly after you went insane in this world, the Marauders stepped up their attacks. The space base is under almost constant attack now.} {Is the gatehouse under attack?} {Well, no.} {Then what's your problem? It's not like she's going to be allowed into the base. I doubt I'll be allowed into the base, much less her. So we go to the gatehouse together and wait.} Sue just glared at Joe, but eventually said, "Fine. Let's go," and took off at a run. Joe swept Dana into his arms and took off after Sue. Dana was about to protest until she saw how fast they were traveling. Buildings flew past at a rate she'd be hard pressed to keep up with in a car, much less on foot. They traveled across town until they reached a nondescript, old building. They went down to the basement and Dana saw an old bum lying in the corner and her heart went out to him. Sue and Joe, however, ignored the man. Sue walked over to an open door on the far side of the room. She touched her hand to the frame. Dana sensed powerful magicks at work as Sue stepped through the frame and melted into the shadows. She asked, "Now what?" "We wait for Sue to get back." "Oh." After a few seconds, Dana said, "You think you know what drove your other insane?" "Pretty sure." "What was it?" "I'll say when I'm really sure." "Why won't you tell me? Maybe I can help." "Because I don't want to speak ill of the dead, particularly if I am right." "What do you mean?" Joe said nothing, seeming to become lost in his thoughts. Dana was a bit upset, but left him to his thoughts. She instead turned to the bum in the corner, seeing if she could do anything for him. When she got close, Joe snapped out of his reverie and yelled, "Don't touch him!" but it was too late. Dana touched the man, and immediately was confronted by a living shadow that leapt up from where the hobo had been laying. The thing radiated fear, and Dana stepped back, too terrified to even think of raising a defense. Joe stepped between Dana and the guardian spirit. In his own world, a simple word would've called this thing off, but here, Joe was forced to rely upon his magics to defend them. He didn't want to destroy the spirit, but Spirit magics were never his strong point, so he wasn't going to be able to just hold it off for long. Before it became an issue, he heard Master Quan behind him utter the command phrase to call the spirit off. Joe turned and Master Quan said, "If anything was to convince me of Sue's story, that was it. The Joe from this world would never have protected any member of the Sisterhood, even before he went insane." "Master Quan." "I hear a distance in your voice. Is something wrong?" "A problem I have with your counterpart in my world." "Anything I should know about?" "Can't see why. On to the issue at hand, though. I need to find out what happened to my counterpart. At least to avoid his fate, and hopefully to correct it." "I don't place much hope in the curing of a Marauder, but what can I do to help?" "I need to know what my other did after the confrontation with Bronwyn. I assume you brought Joanie to the space base?" "I did. There, she threw herself into her studies with a passion I have seen in few students, then or since. She learned quickly, and only a couple years later, she left the base to cast her spell. I felt she was being foolish. The risk of Paradox from what she was doing was too great, but she was adamant. She wanted to finish her spell as close to her mom as possible. I really believe she wanted to reconcile but wanted to undo what had been done first." "A question. What did she study? What Spheres did she learn?" "After she Awakened, she learned the basics of every Sphere, which translated over from her skills as a Sister, but she really chose to specialize in Life magics, pending a lot of time with the Verbena." "Did she spend any time with the Choristers? What kind of knowledge did she have of the Prime Sphere?" "Almost none. She found the Choristers' religious furor too reminiscent of the Sisterhood, and she was too preoccupied with mastering self-transformation to focus on Prime." Joe closed his eyes. "She was too focused on getting back to see the consequences of her actions." "You know what happened? What drove your other insane?" "I'm pretty sure I do." "What?" "You know of the spells upon her? Mother's spells, even the last one?" "I do." "None of those spells were sealed spells." "By the Trinity. So when she cast her spell... No wonder he went insane." Before anyone could say anything more, the mystic portal flared. Master Quan said, "The Marauders have started another attack! I must go quickly. Is there anything else I can do for you?" "Why have the Marauders become so dangerous? My counterpart isn't so powerful that he'd be a useful tool for them." "It's not your other; it's the war he's started. The war between the Brotherhood and the Sisterhood has spilled into the Sleepers. More and more, people believe in magic, weakening the power of Paradox. The world-shaking magics of the Marauders are becoming easier and they're taking advantage. I must go now." Master Quan turned and stepped into the portal, leaving Joe and Dana. Dana then said, "Okay, spill the beans. You said you figured it out, and your friend there was being way too cryptic. I got the feeling he was purposefully not saying what was going on in order to keep me in the dark." "That's exactly what he was doing." "You know you're really getting frustrating. What happened?" "First, I want to see mom's grave. I need to run a magical check on her body." "Come on. You know what happened. You told your friend as much. No more delays." "Dana, please." Dana wanted to say no, but heard the emotion in his voice. "Alright, but I want answers after this. No more delays." "Alright. No more delays after I see the body." "Okay. The body is interned in the graveyard on the north end of the suburb where she lived." "I know the place." Joe swept Dana into his arms and twisted space, and just as simply as that, they were standing outside a graveyard. "Where's the grave?" "This way." Dana walked into the graveyard. Truth was, she hadn't been here before, but sensed the traces of the Goddess's power in the center of the graveyard. Joe could've done the same, but Dana's own connection to the Goddess made it easier for her. They got close to the grave, and Dana said, "Here she is." She turned back and saw Joe waiting a ways back. "Is something wrong?" "That's my mom's grave. I mean I know, intellectually, it's not MY mom, but even so..." "I understand, but there are wars going on. Not to rush you, but the sooner you do this, the sooner those wars end." "You're right, of course." Joe stepped up and stretched out his hand. He scanned the body in the ground, and then said, "I was right. Damn." "What is it? What happened?" "My other wasn't driven insane by his transformation back into a man. But the transformation back caused what did drive him over the edge." "Aaagh! You're as bad as your Master Quan! What dr