Welcome To Gateway Part 2 free porn video

Gateway is a sleepy Kansas town which is the site for some extraordinary events. I highly recommend you read part one of this story before starting on this one, as this one is a direct sequel. I can't believe it's been that long since I submitted the first part of my Gateway story, but here finally is the second. In this story we explore the universe a little bit more in detail, and establish the "ground rules" on how the setting works for future stories. It's also a more character- driven story than the first, focusing on some of the characters from the first part. I've grown rather fond of the characters of this little universe, and you'll be meeting them again in this part in addition to some new ones. Once again, the transformation content is somewhat light (just as in the first part), but I hope it will nonetheless be an enjoyable conclusion to the story began in part one. What happens next? Gateway will continue, as I have several other stories on the back burner which will delve into the setting. Anyway, hope you enjoy. I am as always humbly asking for criticism to improve my writing. ~L Welcome to Gateway part II: We Hope You Enjoy Your Stay! By Lissa The evening sun was settling in the west, and its golden light was gently refracted by one of the stained-glass windows of the wizard Danatavius' tower. Inside the air was still dry, but fresh with the scent of autumn. Elaine Connelly, mayor of the sleepy Kansas town of Gateway, stretched languidly on the sofa she was reclining on, relishing the feel of velvet on her soft skin. Of course, the mayor would not currently be recognizable in any way shape or form by anyone who knew her from back home, for she was still wearing one of Danatavius' amazing magical disguises. Reshaped by the magical skin, the mayor currently wore the form of a much younger woman, curvy, and with a veritable waterfall of dark hair and a sultry face. "It still seems odd that what you're proposing is basically tourism taken to the next level," she mused to her companion, still not accustomed to her own voice being so deep and alluring. Danatavius, master of the tower and creator of the magical disguises, shrugged. He was a tall, well-built man whose somewhat lined face and grey-speckled hair spoke of maturity, but whose body and mind were as sharp and strong as those of a man many decades his junior. He once again crossed the circular table in the center of the room where he had laid out a carefully-constructed illusion. Across the table, the town of Gateway stretched in one direction, with an odd funnel-shaped tube connecting it to a model of the wizard's tower, surrounded by forests, mountains and other rugged wilderness. "As I told you before, milady, there are many denizens of my world who would love to explore yours, even the aspects of it that you consider mundane and dull." Elaine nodded, and shifted slightly on the sofa to get a better luck. She wore only a fiery red set of underwear which nicely complimented the thin red tattoo-line crossing one of her eyes, feeling entirely comfortable around the wizard by now. They had shared a bed, and much more. Hopes, dreams, fears... she was amazed this man from a different world could have so much in common with her. "Offering those services is all well and good," she responded, carefully considering her words, "but I'm afraid it wouldn't take long before other interests would sit up and start taking notice. The press, the military, the government..." "I have considered that, yes," Danatavius plainly stated. "I will speak with them, and ensure that they understand that my agreement is with you, and with the people of Gateway. You are the only humans of your world I would trust with this, and should it somehow be misused... I fear our agreement would be over." Elaine nodded. "I see that, but I'm not sure you could convince them not to..." Danatavius broke off her sentence with an irritated wave. "Let's not ruin this with fears and worries before we have even gotten started, milady. There are always those who would exploit what others create for personal gain. If we let ourselves live in fear of them, we would never accomplish anything. In this world or in yours." Elaine chuckled and jumped to her feet softly, walking over to study the model town again. The odd wrought-iron portal Danatavius had shown her upon their arrival was visible through the ghostly form of a down-town building of Gateway, close to the Mayoral office. From that simple construction, the translucent tunnel burrowed through the air to end in a similar portal in Danatavius' tower. "It might work. We'd need sponsorship, and safety tests, and permits. But it might work." The mayor's quiet musing was interrupted by a soft knock on the heavy oak door. "It's Kylandra, master. The other earthlings are on their way back. They will be here in a few moments." The controlled voice of the elven woman came very clearly through the door, and Danatavius quickly responded. "Very good, just in time for them to return to their world with their lovely ruler." Elaine cast a quick glance at Danatavius, once again wondering what his history with his apprentice Kylandra was. Why was the quiet, reclusive girl here? What did she mean to him? She realized she felt a pang of jealousy there, and resolved not to let it consume her thoughts. After all, she and Danatavius had just met. Their brief, if passionate, meeting was just a diversion. Yes, a diversion. She let her finger trail along the rugged spine of a thick, leather-bound book. Then something dawned on her. "Return...? Oh, I need to get dressed. Erm. Undressed. Whatever." She blushed a bit, but the mage merely laughed. "If you so desire, though I can tell you like that form. And it fits you." "Ugh. Stop trying to compliment me when I'm trying to be assertive, Dan!" she chuckled. "I can't go back to my office looking like this. Gateway needs its mayor, not some bargain-basement J.R.R. Tolkien harlot," And with that, she turned and swept out the door to return to where she'd left her normal clothes. Danatavius laughed again. *** Around half an hour later, the four earth people had reconvened in the main study room, where Danatavius had first led them upon entering his world. Bill Norton, the overweight sheriff of Gateway and his two deputies Frank Hawkins and Anne Kimball all looked a bit winded from their exploration trip into the world beyond the tower. Elaine idly wondered what exactly had happened, as the sheriff especially looked rather uneasy, as his heavy eyebrows were constantly scrunched together as if was deeply contemplating. "Bill? Still with us?" she asked with a smile. The mayor had shed her skin and returned to being a somewhat pudgy woman in her fifties, wearing a spotless business suit and with a pair of very plain square glasses on her noise. "Hrm? Oh yes, ma'am," he nodded, pushing his glasses up his nose again. "Just thinkin' a bit." "And with good reason, of course," Danatavius cut in. The wizard looked almost resplendent in his full arcane regalia, long flowing robes adorned with elegant patterns and his eyes almost sparkling with barely restrained magical energies. "You have seen only a small shard of my world, but there is much more to see. But for now, I believe it would be a good idea that you all return to Earth, before you are missed. Milady Connelly will begin the process of establishing a permanent connection, should she so choose." Anne nodded. "Pretty sure we'll all be for it. As far as we can tell there's no foul play happening here." "Hold on," the other deputy, Frank broke in. "Is there some kind of time compression... thingamabob at work here? In some of these types of stories people'll return to their homes and find no time's passed at all..." Danatavius shook his head, and Kylandra spoke up. "There's no such issue here, fortunately. Whatever time you spend here passes as quickly as it would on earth. Believe me, you will not return home a century after you departed." "Well that's a load off my mind," Anne grinned. "Well then gentlemen, lady, shall we go back home?" Elaine offered, standing up and smoothing out her skirt. "Kylandra will show you back to the portal. I must get started on the planning of our project on my end. Again, my thanks for being so... open... milady Connelly." Danatavius gave her a secretive smile, which only Anne picked up the true meaning of. "Not at all," Elaine smiled back. "Let's go then." As the elven girl led the earthlings out, and began descending the spiraling stone stairs leading to the portal room in the lower parts of the tower, there was an awkward knock on the door. "Yes?" Danatavius asked, puzzled. The door opened slowly to admit the bulky form of Bill Norton. The sheriff looked like he was having trouble formulating whatever it was he wanted to say, fiddling with his belt buckle and the button on his shirt. "Ah. Sorry sir. But I... I have a..." "Yes? Speak freely. You can trust me, can't you sir Norton?" the wizard responded. "Well sir, I... I have a small request to make. Y'see, something is weighing heavily on my mind..." *** The following period was a whirlwind of activity for mayor Connelly. Tackling the idea of basing a trans-dimensional travel agency in her town was a herculean task, and she suspected that Gateway being such a small backwater didn't help one bit. Just securing funding for the necessary construction and advertising was difficult. Fortunately she had total cooperation from the police department, and considering sheriff Norton's senior position of authority in the town, this meant a lot. There was just so much to do. A house needed to be secured and outfitted with sufficient security to keep the permanent portal safe. Reliable, level-headed staff needed to be recruited to run the agency itself, including an office part where background checks on prospective customers could be run. The health department needed to ensure there were no exotic infection risks by traveling between worlds, or any increased health risks by portal travel. The police department needed to ensure there were no customs issues, such as someone from Danatavius' world bringing excessive amounts of gold or gems with them without realizing the disastrous impact on Gateway economy. Furthermore an ad campaign needed to be created which was sufficiently informative to entice and attract, but not too explicit so as to attract unwanted attention. Despite Danatavius' reassuring claims, Elaine was not quite ready to believe that exploitation of this wouldn't happen unless carefully guarded against. Of course, that information control was also a reason why work went so slowly. The mayor was reluctant to blatantly tell anyone she needed to contact everything at once. In fact, she was fairly certain they'd dismiss her straight off as having gone off the deep end. Instead she practiced a slow leak of information, one tidbit at a time, commonly culminating in a carefully arranged transport of the concerned party to Danatavius' realm, where they were shown some rather incontrovertible evidence of the truth behind the matter. Danatavius' calm manner and open demeanor helped greatly with this, as he was willing to slowly and carefully talk to anyone, regardless of how irate. Still, things proceeded unusually smoothly. On his side, Danatavius worked day and night with Kylandra and a small force of loyal workmen to complete an adequate reception area in his tower complex. Having the permanent portal in the basement was a tad too inhospitable, so instead the wizards fashioned a new one in an annex to the tower, creating a comfortable replica of the reception area on the Earth side of the portal, complete with changing booths and reception desks. On some of their all-too-few meetings, Danatavius and the mayor also set up some commonly agreed upon rules to minimize trouble. No known criminals or fugitives would be allowed service, nor would any extremely powerful beings from Danatavius' world without careful scrutiny. No substances illegal to either realm could be brought across the portals. Each potential recipient would have to submit themselves to a background check to ensure they had the mental and physical requirements for handling one of the disguises. Every customer would be fitted with a simple tracking spell that would ensure they didn't run off with their new identity. And so on. However, as days turned into weeks the project finally took shape. Elaine Connelly felt deeply proud of what they'd created, and almost danced along the halls of the Mayor's Office, drawing stares from the other officials and secretaries. But not everyone was quite as happy. *** The Gateway police department was located only a slight way from the Mayor's office, just off the main shopping street of town. It was a simple two-story brick building with a rather stern architecture and few embellishments of any kind. In the main office on the second floor, sheriff Bill Norton was sweltering in the heat. He had loosened his black tie against the clammy early autumn heat, being close enough to retirement not to care about the breach of protocol. He wistfully looked out the window at the cloudless blue sky, brushing a stray crumb of honey oat bread from his bushy mustache. "Bill? You're a million miles away. Your shift's over." The sheriff turned with a start to see Anne had entered through the open door without him even noticing. The stoutly built female deputy was a rock he could rely on in every situation, except... He wanted to talk to her, and ask her advice about the thing that had been gnawing him ever since their first visit to the wizard's world, but he just couldn't. He didn't have the words for it, and he was afraid of her response. Instead he nodded and pushed himself to his feet, gathering his things. "Thanks Anne. Don't let any crooks escape now, y'hear." Even to his own ears, his customary joke felt stale and flat. Anne merely nodded, and allowed him to go without another word. Driving home through the lazy traffic, Bill found himself quietly trying to repeat the words he needed to say. He mechanically pushed his car through the sluggish lanes of afternoon Gateway while his mind was far away. Once again he felt worry overcome him. He thought of Mary, and the first time they'd met, all those decades ago on the football pitch. He could still see her face staring down at her and hear her amused words asking if he was alright. Maybe a relationship didn't mean anything to the kids today, but it still did to him. He still loved her, and he hoped she still loved him. They'd had their differences, they'd had their time apart, but they always came back together. Except this time, maybe they wouldn't. He felt himself wishing the drive was longer as he pulled up the short driveway to the white garage which badly needed a new coat of paint. As he got out of the car he felt his legs stiffening, turning into unmoving stone unwilling to carry him without the greatest effort. The doubt, the shame was still eating him, as it had for weeks now. Maybe if he had been honest and talked earlier it would have been easier. But he hadn't, and now it was hard. His shoes crunched some parched brown grass on the lawn as he walked over to unlock the door. He clutched the duffel bag containing the item he had safeguarded with the utmost secrecy for weeks now, and entered his home. Inside it was appealingly messy, just like both he and Mary liked it. She had never been much of a homemaker, and neither had he. It wasn't a dump, not even close, but neither did they have pristine floors and elegantly arranged flowerbeds. "Hi honey," came Mary's voice from the kitchen, and Bill could smell that she was cooking already. "Hey," he responded, untying his shoes and shuffling inside, dropping the duffel bag on a chair by the table. "You look like something the cat dragged in," Mary said with a sardonic smile as he sat down. Despite her age, he still thought she was as beautiful as when they'd first met. Her hair had long since gone grey and she preferred to keep it short rather than flowing now, and her figure may long ago have lost most of its curves, but she was still the woman he loved. She cocked her head as she noticed his glassy-eyed stare. "...you did remember to eat something, didn't you? You look like a dog that's just seen a t-bone steak." The vertigo intensified. He mouthed some more trivial, stupid lines, but his mind was already racing. He felt like he was sitting on the edge of an abyss, and sliding inexorably into it. He wanted to be quiet, he wanted to repress the thing he needed to say forever. But he knew he couldn't. He knew the lie was too much, and it would destroy him eventually, and maybe Mary too. Before he could regret it he stood up, making the wooden chair screech against the tiled floor and tip over. His wife turned away and looked at him with a surprised stare. "M-Mary there's something... something I have to tell you." "Bill? Bill, talk to me. What is it?" Her voice showed her concern. She pulled the pan off the plate and sat down opposite of where he was standing. "...is it cancer, Bill? You're sick, aren't you?" He blinked, almost thrown off guard by the question. He hadn't even considered his constant worry could be interpreted as something very different. "No. No, apart from th' usual blood pressure and ulcers... I'm fine." "Then what is it?" she sighed. "We need to stop pretending. I know something's wrong, I've seen you worry out of your mind for weeks now. You've been tossing worse than usual in bed, eating less, gone all cross- eyed on the couch..." "It's... ah. It's something I..." He felt foolish for even briefly having thought she couldn't see through his thin pretense that everything was fine. He looked up at the simple clock ticking away on the white kitchen wall. "What's her name?" Mary asked quietly. "What?" He blinked and returned to look at her. His wife's eyes were tearing up now, something he hadn't seen for many years and hoped he'd never see again. "You got someone on the side, dontcha?" she asked, trying to sound calm. "It's... alright. I just wondered when it'd happen. I know we haven't really been physical in a long time, and you have needs..." This was getting out of hand fast. His wife was no milksop, rather the opposite, but she was starting to blame herself now, and that hurt worse than what he was about to say. "It's not like that! At all! It's..." "You had an affair, though. I can see it now." "Yes," he nodded. "Who is the girl, Bill?" she asked, insistently now. "I need to know." "It's not a girl!" he blurted out, before he could regret it. Silence fell. His wife stared at him, unbelieving at first. "You're... gay? Bill Norton, you're telling me, after all these years together you're..." "No! I mean... not... really. I mean I don't think so." He felt himself losing momentum very fast, and was not happy to see the utter confusion on Mary's face now. "I think I need to start at the beginning. Please.. bear with me." Mary Norton nodded, and settled down, wiping an errant tear from the corner of her eye. "It all began one late July day when we responded to a call from the Mayor's Office..." *** Elaine sighed, looking at the vast accumulation of emails on her work laptop, as well as a significant stack of physical forms that needed signing. There was no way she would ever clear away even a moderate amount of these before evening, so she quickly resigned herself to another late night at the office. Of course, that meant she should just get dinner now. She quickly dismissed having something delivered, as there was someone she had intended to see. She picked up her cell phone and quickly sent off a text, then sighed as she leaned back in her tall office chair and let the tilt comfort her. As she stared up towards the towering bookcases in the mayoral office, filled with hundreds of books on every topic the mayors of old had deemed interesting, Elaine found herself dreaming of visiting Danatavius, of slipping into that skin, of... Her reverie was broken by her cell beeping, and she realized her cheeks were burning. Eyeing the message briefly, she put her computer on standby and got up, gathering her purse and instructing her secretary that she would return for an evening of work. Then she left the office and headed out into the warm autumn afternoon. Getting into her car, the mayor drove a bit further downtown before spotting a familiar figure lounging on the sidewalk where they had agreed. She was a girl somewhere in her twenties, with her hair dyed a jet black, a torn and frayed black top and skirt combination, black fishnet stockings, buckled knee-high boots with thick heels to make her look taller, and long fingerless gloves showing off black-painted fingernails. As she saw Elaine's Lexus pull up, the girl gave the mayor an exasperated look, her heavily made-up face pale as snow with thick black eyeliner. Regardless, the girl walked over and slumped into the passenger's seat, totally ignoring Elaine's attempt to hug her. "Well, hello to you too Elizabeth." Elaine sighed, getting the car moving. "I told you I just want you to call me Liz," her daughter sighed, trying to feign indifference. "But hi, mom. Where are we eating?" Elaine and he daughter had begun drifting apart right after the divorce, with Elizabeth deciding to hate both her parents for breaking up. But when her father, Jack, moved out of state, it seemed the full force of that scorn ended up being focused on Elaine. Elizabeth quickly began flunking courses at school, and joining whatever malcontent youth groups there was available, finally settling for joining a wannabe band made up of local university students while she made ends meet with odd jobs. Their relationship had become better as Elizabeth had matured, but it was still strained. The girl utterly refused any attempts by her mother to offer her a solid employment, or even opportunities to study out of state or abroad. Elizabeth had in fact become quite disillusioned with authority at an early age, and was now heavily engaged in a number of grassroots movements against the establishment. "How was the protest?" Elaine attempted. "Kinda... eh. They got rats in there, and we got them to release a couple. Well, Marge took care of them. They'd never survive if we just let them free, y'know?" "That's good, I guess." Her mother nodded, noting that Elizabeth always had a bit more of a practical point of view than some of her friends. "So, Mexican, Greek, Thai?" "Thai. You ready to tell me what this big project you're working on is gonna be?" Elizabeth couldn't conceal the curiosity in her tone. "I didn't know you cared." Elaine smiled. "Don't worry, it's got nothing to do with the armed forces, animal testing, deforestation, native American rights..." "Now you're making fun of me. Great move mom." "Sorry," Elaine sighed. "I was trying to lighten the mood. And to tell you it's something -positive-. Something that will actually help people. Create jobs. Create business for the town. Money for sport, science... arts..." Elizabeth peeked over at her. "You find a goldmine or something?" "In a way? Yes." Elaine grinned with barely contained enthusiasm as she pulled over by the food place. "But I'm not quite ready to tell you everything... yet. I still need to keep it under wraps." "Yeah, whatever." Her daughter shrugged as she exited the car, stepping onto the sidewalk outside the Thai Garden, one of the more popular restaurants of Gateway. "Not like you ever trusted me before..." Elaine exited and locked the car behind them. "Elizabeth..." "No no. Keep your little political secrets. Not like I care, is it? And call me Liz." Elaine sighed. She realized this battle was already lost. "Very well, but this stays between us, you understand? Nothing to Marge, nothing to Jake, nothing to any of your friends." "I get it." Elaine conspiratorially put an arm around her daughter's shoulders as they entered the restaurant. "Well, you see, I have this business plan..." *** "Well," Mary Norton said, her face a carefully maintained mask of neutrality "that... that's one hell of a story, Bill. You met an honest- to-god wizard who took you on a magical mystery tour to another world and who gave you a disguise which transformed you into a magical being?" Bill realized she thought it was probably the dumbest and least believable excuse for marital problems he could ever have made up. But he knew she would react that way. He knew her all too well, just as she knew him. She needed proof. And there was only one proof available. Fortunately, the wizard Danatavius had been very understanding, and agreed to Bill's desperate plea. His gnarled hands reached down to the duffel bag, and lifted it onto the table. "Mary, I... I told you this guy... this Dan fellah, he made them disguises?" he said, his voice stammering. His face was hot from blushing, and he could hear the blood pumping in his ears. She nodded. "Well I knew you wouldn't believe me. And I need you to know I'm not just making stuff up as an excuse. I made a mistake... but I'm not lying about what happened." His fingers found the zipper of the duffel bag, and slowly, clumsily pulled it open. He rummaged around inside, pulling out a simple, wrapped- up plastic bag. Mary's face was still neutral as she regarded him, the glass of whiskey in her hand long since drained. Slowly, carefully, Bill unwrapped the costume Danatavius had agreed to lend him for this very purpose, looking to the world as nothing more than a flesh-colored pile of cloth. He slowly shifted his grip to hold the costume by its shoulders, and then stepped to the side of the table and let the thing unfold naturally, unfurling down to the floor. Mary's eyes widened in horror. In her husband's hands hung the tanned skin of a young woman, with empty eyeholes in a crumpled face and a mop of raven hair falling down the back. "Holy shit!" Mary mouthed. "Is it... is it real...?" Bill shook his head. "Nah, artificial. Dunno how he makes 'em, but there's no way a real skin could feel and behave this way. Here, try'n touch it." "No! You... you hang on to that," his wife mumbled, now somewhat pale. "And it's... a woman? Wait, when you said... Are you saying...?" Bill nodded again. "Danatavius said the police... of a sort... of his place were all women. So he let me and the deputies borrow some of these disguises so we could pretend to be locals, and go around exploring. After that... things got a little out of hand." "You realize... this is kinda hard to believe, right? I mean you could have gotten that from some kinda Hollywood special effects studio." And that was the gist of it. Again, Bill had known all along it would come to this. He draped the empty skin across the back of a chair, and began unbuckling his belt. "Wait, what are you doing?" Mary asked, apparently not thinking this was the right time. "Just... watch. Don't say anything. Just watch." With a grunt, the sheriff unbuckled his belt and pulled off his pants, which were soon joined on the seat of the chair by his shirt and undershirt. Leaning on the wall, he somewhat laboriously got out of his socks and underwear, feeling more exposed than he'd ever been as he reached for the empty suit. With his index finger her separated the seam on the back fully, pulling it apart as far as it could stretch, before carefully sliding his right leg into the floppy right leg of the suit. His wife watched with a mixture of fascination and disgust, or just disbelief. As soon as he was stable, Bill let his other leg follow, not bothering to line anything up just yet. He pulled the empty torso up over his own, pulling the hips up and beginning to fit his arms into the empty sleeves of the suit. Once his arms were in place and fingers neatly fit inside the hands of the suit, he began pulling the tan costume up his back, letting the empty face with attached hair hang limply across his chest along with the empty sacks of the breasts on the suit. "I ... I can't believe it stretches..." Mary mumbled. Bill pulled the seam of the suit up his back, feeling against his wishes a stiffening in his groin as the warm, soft suit began closing around him. Before it could become too evident, he lifted the 'mask' up and stretched it over his own head, which was quite a feat. Brushing the black hair to the side to hang down the front, he grunted a bit at the strain as he quickly aligned the facial features of the mask over his own, then tugged the seam on his back all the way up to the nape of the neck, and sealed it shut. His legs once again buckled and the discomfort washed over him, dropping him into a whirlpool of vertigo. He felt bones crack, muscles realign, excess flesh melt away and other parts blossom out as the suit did its magic. Somewhere far away he heard his wife cry out in surprise and shock, but he was too feeble to say or do anything. He felt the hair push into his own scalp and become real, and the tightness in his crotch vanish and be replaced by a different kind of tightness. Bill realized he was no longer a he, and reached out to steady herself. Feeling the dizziness abate quicker than the first time they had tried the suits, she now felt only the warm, dry air of the kitchen on her bare skin, no sense at all of wearing a suit. She reached up with now-slender hands and felt the nub under the skin of her neck, making sure it was secure. Then she stood up, somewhat groggily. Feeling strength returning to her, Bill instantly relished in the agility, grace and strength of her other form. She was still an elven woman with elegantly pointed ears and a cascade of dark hair, dark eyes which were like deep pools, and soft tanned skin with a large bosom. Despite her apparent softness, there as a surprising strength and toughness in her body, and it made Bill feel more alive than she had since she removed the suit all those weeks ago. "Do you believe me now, Mary?" she said, rubbing her neck and realizing how out of place her soft voice, musical voice sounded in the Norton's' mundane kitchen. Mary stared in silence for a few moments more, then nodded. "H-how does it... I mean how do you... I mean..." "It feels wonderful," she mused. "It feels like being young again. No, better. I was never this fit." To demonstrate the elf girl casually flipped into a handstand. "It's only a bit scary during the actual change." She slipped back onto her feet, feeling her cheeks burn a bit. "...never knew women felt this way." Mary blushed a bit as well, but stood up and carefully approached her changed husband, reaching out to brush across her skin and gently tug the hair, confirming the reality of what she saw. "But let's not pretend I have any excuses. We met the elf men during our travel through the forest. I beat him at archery... always was a good shot before my eyes went bad... and the others generally made fools of them as well. They offered to share some wine and... well." She trailed off, staring at the floor. "I have no excuse, Mary. I was carried away. I let myself get drunk. And I fucked him. Out of my own free will. No magic to excuse me, no dumb stories about being drunk on being young again... It was all my decision. I was horny, and in this form he was attractive to me. So we fucked." She bit her lip and stumbled back onto the chair. Mary regarded her quietly for a few moments, still pale and shivering a bit. "I'm sorry," Bill gasped, feeling the tears well up. "I'm sorry, and if you want a divorce, or to scream at me, or to throw things at me, I won't stop you. I'm a stupid old fool, Mary." Silently Mary Norton walked closer to her disguised husband. Finally, every word carrying the weight of the world, she spoke. "It's... I forgive you." "W-what?" the elf girl gasped, her head whipping up to stare at her wife in confusion. "B-but..." "No. Do you intend to make a habit out of this, Bill?" Mary asked plaintively. The elf shook her head. "No. No, I swear to God. It was a dumb fling, and it's been eating me alive ever since. I'd never do that to you again." "Then I don't care. Oh Bill, we've been through rough patches before." She sighed, reaching down to hug the elf girl. "I know you're being honest, and I know what you're like. The fact you came out and confessed... this... is all I need." Bill rushed to her feet and hugged the shorter woman tightly. "Oh you're way way too good for me!" Bill sobbed. "There is, however, one condition to your forgiveness," Mary added. "What is it? I'll do anything, and you know it." Bill's soft voice was again full of honesty. "Before we return that little... skin of yours... to your wizard friend... You have to let -me- try it." Mary grinned wickedly. *** Danatavius blinked as his eyes scanned the elegantly penned parchment in his hands. A few softly glowing magical lanterns illuminated his increasingly dark study as evening became night outside. The circular bookcases continued up into darkness in the round room, and the mage was leaned back behind a massive oak desk, a stack of letters on one side. He had thus far refused Elaine's offer to set him up with a laptop of his own, preferring to do his work the old-fashioned way. "Another strange one?" Kylandra inquired as she walked over to deposit a steaming cup of tea on the desk next to her mentor, holding one of her own. "...yes. An application from... Kimathaxis. You remember him, don't you?" the older mage said, pushing his thin-rimmed spectacles down his nose a bit. "The dragon?" Kylandra blinked. "A dragon applied to your tourism project?" "Yes, it appears he did. His letter is very courteous too. Something about growing weary of dwelling on a hoard and guarding it against mortal vermin for centuries... Most surprising." Dan put the letter down, still incredulous. "Is he not worried that in his absence his hoard might be pilfered?" Kylandra asked. "He claims his lair's defenses have been sufficiently complex to work without him for several decades." "But then why does he..." Kylandra began, sipping her tea. "Dragons?" Danatavius chuckled, taking a sip himself. "Anyway, it appears that he is very curious to try out... and I quote... the very mundane life of a bipedal humanoid." "You should probably run that one by the lady mayoress first." The elf nodded. "I do believe so, yes. Fortunately, should we agree to offer... creatures... of that nature our services, my disguises are sufficiently powerful to overwrite even their great power. Of course, they would have to volunteer to do it, and if one would choose to break their disguise on Earth..." "That could reflect very poorly on us. Would the difficulty of performing magic on the other world be sufficient to curtail them?" Kylandra asked quietly. Danatavius shook his head. "Nay. While magic works slower, more sluggishly and weaker on their world, it is not dead. Neither is their technology full non-functional in our world. A dragon loose in their world would still be a great menace to any and all, should it so choose..." They quietly mused on this for a moment more, while Danatavius sipped the fragrant herbal tea and carefully stacked up the letters again. A small pile for instant rejections, a larger one for those continuing to proper review, and one of unsorted missives. "I suppose I should feel lucky that our world has much less bureaucracy than El... milady Connelly's." Danatavius smiled. "It's given me more time to work on getting a sufficient amount of costumes ready." Kylandra finished her tea, and placed the mug on a small table next to her, studying her mentor in the soft, flickering light of the magical illumination. "It's a great adventure..." the older mage said, leaning back and turning his head to look out the window at the twin moons in the night sky. "...but not one without risk." Kylandra got back to her feet and pulled her robes closer to herself. "Well, I believe in you both. I shall return to tending the costume vats for a while. Get some rest, master." She gave him a faint smile, and then vanished out the door. "I hope so too," Danatavius said, once again thanking the gods that he had lucked upon an apprentice so faithful and skilled. *** Sheriff Bill Norton was in heaven. There was no other way to describe it. He was in the spacious bed on the second floor of his home, sure, but there was no other explanation for the lovely creature currently writhing in pleasure as she lay with him than him meeting a real-life angel. The experience was arousing on so many planes it had resurrected sides of him he thought were long dead and gone, and he vigorously thrust into the elven girl straddling him, finding her tight and welcoming. He had to bite his lip when his mind briefly flashed back to when he handed his wife the suit, after reluctantly removing it again, and then watching with a quickly rising arousal as his beloved Mary slipped into the sensuous elven girl, her familiar features and body which he had lived with most of his life vanishing into her exotic body. He realized then that he didn't just love being this girl, he loved being -with- this girl. He'd grabbed her, and kissed her, and she hadn't shied away, his wife's mind looking back at him through the elf's dark eyes. And one thing had quickly led to another. He pushed once more into her, feeling his member penetrate her moist, familiar depths. Even as he did he could remember what it had been like to be the girl himself, and receive the skilled attention of an elven man. The combination of experiences, of laying with his wife in the body of his wet dream, and the memories of -being- that wet dream himself, made his arousal almost unbearable. The back of his mind was on fire, blistering his thoughts with red-hot passion as he grabbed her and pulled her down for a kiss, her sweat-matted hair brushing against his chest as she did. "I... I love..." he grunted. "I... me too..." she whimpered. "D-don't... stop." Rising back up she arced backwards, holding on to the bed for stability, thrusting herself down even as he pushed upwards. She almost yowled in pleasure, evidently loving the experience as much as he did, or even more. Bill found himself more and more strained to contain himself, and spots were already dancing before his eyes as he maintained his pushes. He reached out to hold onto the edge of the bed himself, feeling his arm cramp a bit, and a tightness spreading across his body. He wanted to release, to come deep within her, but he also wanted this moment to last forever. He bit his lip, and the pressure was close to overwhelming him. She moaned in response and bucked back against him, her sweaty fit thighs clenched around his waist. "Don't... s-stop..." she moaned, but it was too late. With a scream Bill came, and his seed filled the elven girl's snatch, pumping and pumping into her and mingling with her own juices. It was as if the earth itself moved, and the sheriff felt the breath leave his body. His heart pounded like a jackhammer in his chest, and his hands gripped the bed in a rigor mortis-like death grip. But as the pleasure of orgasm died away, he realized the pain wasn't. His world grew blacker. The sound of blood rushed in his ears and drowned out the frightened screams of his wife, as he slumped back against the bed. *** "We'll be there soon," Mary whimpered, biting down on her lip and wiping her eyes again to get rid of the tears that were clouding her vision. "T... t... too late..." Bill mumbled. He was slumped in the back seat, placed down as carefully as she had been able to. He had been able to walk... somewhat... but she realized now that was a mistake as well. "Just hold on, Bill. Hold on dammit!" Mary stepped on the accelerator, her bare elven foot unfamiliar but strong on the pedal. She hadn't had time to change out of the skin, and she didn't care. She'd tossed on a skirt and a jacket, and shoved her dying husband into her car before taking off. "I should have called 911. I should have... oh fuck. Fuck it all." She bit her lip again. "M-mary...?" Bill whispered. "It... it was good. It was... good. A good way to..." "Don't talk like that!" she shouted, steering the car towards downtown Gateway. "Don't talk like that. You're going to be fine. The doctors will..." "Doctors... can't do... nothing. Not... now. Too late," he gasped and clenched his chest. "'m fading..." "No! I refuse to accept that!" she shouted, both to herself and him. "They'll get you to the hospital, get you into surgery..." "It'll be... too late," Bill mumbled. "...just like it was for my dad... Funny... how you asked... if'n it was my health earlier..." "They can help, Bill. Now shut up with that kind of talk," Her fingers were clenched so tight to the wheel the knuckles were turning white. "M-Mary... there's..." "What is it, Bill?" "Maybe there's... doctors... won't have time. But... magic... maybe..." Bill slumped back against the cushion she'd placed under his head again. "Magic? Magic? This isn't a time for magic, Bill! You're fucking dying," Mary shouted as she twisted the car to bypass a slow-moving one ahead of them. "Magic is real. Y-you know... you're... wearing it. C-call... the mayor. She's on speed-dial... t-tell her to..." He gritted his teeth as the pain wracked him again, taking more of his strength. "T-tell her t... t... get Dan... m-maybe he can..." Mary Norton realized that as stubborn and foolish as her husband may be, he was right. Before he could be stabilized, much less go into surgery, he would already be gone. But taking him -away- from the doctors would be removing whatever slim chances they had. But then again... she realized what had happened earlier was real. The skin was real. Magic existed. And maybe magic could help. She reached over to pick up Bill's cell phone, flipped it open and scrolled through the menu, before pushing a pre-set number. The phone beeped for what seemed like an eternity, and Mary feared the mayor had already gone to bed, or left her phone somewhere. Then there was a click at the other end. "Hello, mayor Connelly speaking. What can I do for you this late, Bill?" "This is... this is Mary Norton. Bill's wife. I need help. We need help. And fast." *** Danatavius rushed through the portal, with Kylandra following on his heels. The mages had manifested in the mayoral office and managed to quickly shake off their disorientation to get the bearing on the situation. Elaine was there, looking extremely agitated, with the hint of tears in her eyes. On one of the leather-coated sofas was the elderly sheriff of Gateway, Bill Norton, laid out and by all appearances lifeless. And next to him was an elven girl whom Danatavius immediately recognized as the skin he had lent the remorseful sheriff to prove his case. "I couldn't get the cleric fast enough. I don't know what we can do," Danatavius snapped to Elaine as he rushed to the policeman's side. Kylandra was faster, and was already kneeling down next to the man, administering a healing draught from a glass vial down his parched lips. She looked up and Dan, and he could tell by her expression that things were already far beyond her abilities with potions and herbs. "He's dying," Elaine mumbled, walking up to Dan's side. "He's been here forever, even when I was growing up. They say there's no good cops outside of movies, but they're wrong-" Danatavius instinctively put an arm around the mayor, who pressed against him. "I left a note for the cleric, but he ... he was too far away," Danatavius repeated mechanically. "This is my fault. I should not have lent him that skin. I've been a fool." The elf-girl looked up with tear-filled eyes. "No, it was me. I did it. We... we were just fooling around and he..." "...no... was... great..." Bill mumbled, his voice little but a whisper. "... not... y'r fault..." This only served to reduce Mary to more tears, leaning down to kiss her husband's face. "This is... I can't. All my magic and I can't do... anything," Danatavius felt as if he was plummeting into a dark abyss. "Nothing my parlor tricks can do..." "It was just a gamble, Dan," Elaine whispered. "he knew he wouldn't live anyway, so he gambled on magic." Kylandra rose to her feet. "I have eased his pain, but there's nothing more I can do either," Her shoulders slumped, and she walked over to sit in a chair, grasping her hands together tightly. "Nothing... I caused this. Me and my damn skins. Useless... and now they killed a man. Use..." Danatavius stopped as a mad, insane idea sparked deep within the inky blackness that had enveloped his mind. "...parlor tricks. Maybe... but no." "What? What is it? If you know something... anything!" Elaine barked, pushing the mage backwards. "I... I have an idea. It's only a faint, faint chance, but..." Dan mumbled. "We'll do anything," Mary sobbed. "Anything. Can you help him?" "I might," the older mage mumbled, and he rubbed his eyes to drive away the vertigo of onrushing doubt. "But I might also kill him outright. And even if he should survive..." "It doesn't matter!" Mary growled. "Anything is better than this! Please! If we can just have a few more years together..." "We will try it. But it will require... sacrifice." *** "And so it is my great pleasure to open Gateway Dreams, the travel company of the future, to the general public," the mayor finished, cutting the red ribbon neatly in two. A cheer went up from the small crowd gathered in the autumn sun, and she noted quite a few of her political opponents there as well, no doubt curious about the pet project she had spearheaded. As she stepped down from the podium, flanked by her security guards, Elaine was joined by Danatavius and Kylandra, elegantly garbed in their finest dress robes. The older mage looked a bit tired and strained still, while his elven apprentice showed no signs of stress or exhaustion. "Can't believe it actually happened," Elaine mused. "Months ago this was just a dream. A fantasy. But the response has already been amazing." "Yes, I have been following your newscasts with interest," Danatavius chuckled drily. "Including the ones claiming we're going to drug people silly and hypnotize them into thinking they're in another dimension while we empty their wallets?" Elaine gave him a weary grin. "Including that one," Danatavius nodded. "We can still do that, you know." "Let's... not," she chuckled. As the trio (with their security detail following behind) cleared the podium and the forming line of the first approved Gateway Dreams travelers, a familiar black-and-white shape stepped out from the crowd. "Congratulations... mom," Elizabeth said, a faint smile on her lips. "So you really made it, huh?" "I guess so, Liz." Elaine smiled, and to her great relief her daughter did not shy back this time, allowing her a quick hug. "You should try it sometime, it's a rush." Elizabeth peeked over at Danatavius, who gave her a stoic stare back. The mayor's daughter gave her mother a sly grin. "I bet. Right now, though? I'm happy if we get some enchiladas." The girl wiped the grin off her face to assume her normal feigned boredom, peering at the crowd who was slowly dissolving in the town square. "I'm sure we can try that. Our guests haven't tried Mexican y- Oh my God!" Elaine spotted two figures walking up towards the group out of the clearing crowd, framed against the blue sky and the massive Gateway mall behind them. The first person was shorter, with a short mop of silver hair glinting in the sunlight, and the kind of natural, mature beauty that comes with age. She was casually dressed in a t-shirt, jeans and sneakers, with sunglasses protecting her eyes from the sun. Mary Norton waved at them and quickened her pace. Behind her followed a taller woman, with a waterfall of dark hair held in check by a series of hair bands into a long ponytail. Her generous form was dressed in a Gateway Police Department t-shirt which nicely displayed her soft bosom, a pair of shorts and a simple bracelet. She carried a pair of sandals in one hand, and wore a sunhat to protect her own eyes, as well as conceal her oddly shaped ears. "Mary! Bill!" Elaine rushed over to meet the two women. "Oh sorry. Linda now, isn't it?" The elven woman nodded, smiling. "Yes, it just seemed to fit. I'm glad that the opening was a success, ma'am." "I'm just thankful you're both here to see it," Elaine retorted. "Me too," Mary chimed in. "We owe you everything. A second chance to try and get things right is all we wanted. And we have it." Danatavius stepped up. "I'm sorry that... that I couldn't make it so you could once again be yourself, milady Norton. But with the state of your original body, there was no choice but to make this one your real one..." "Don't think too much about it." Linda Norton shrugged. "It was my mistake that landed me in that position in the first place, and I'm more than happy to still be breathing. And you explained you had no way to make a suit of the old me after you stuffed me in this one anyway... so." Mary giggled and leaned over to Elaine. "Not that this doesn't have some unique benefits too, know what I mean?" Elaine returned the giggle, making her daughter who was trailing behind and watching the birds circling above crane her neck and quirk an eyebrow at her mother. "Perhaps not the way I thought things would end up," Linda said, "but I have my life, I'm in better shape than I've been since I was a lad, and I can still do my job. And I can spend more time with Mary." The two women embraced and kissed, making Elizabeth turn back to her birds again, rolling her eyes. "And so the story draws to a close?" Danatavius said as they watched the interested people queue to enter the Gateway Dreams building. "More like a beginning," Elaine chuckled. "Now let's go get Mexican. My treat!" The End and The Beginning