Well, here's the second chapter.  As always, any and all
feedback is appreciated.  I haven't set up a website for this yet, but
if you need the back chapters just get in touch with me.
	Have fun!

My contact info:
khaine@mindless.com, AIM khaine1310, ICQ 53426521
http://www.bloodgod.com/smgray/index.html

Django Wexler (khaine)
khaine@mindless.com

Proof Method #3: Proof by obfuscation.
	"Well, we can see that the application of the dynamic alternate 
symbology in the context of the word 'turtle' counterpoints the 
surrealism of the underlying metaphor..."

Chapter Two

    The first gate opened in one of the cavernous sub-basements of
Wakarton Public Library.  It wasn't much to look at, no swirling colors
or fire and brimstone -- ten half-height creatures appeared with a 'pop'
of displaced air.  They were about two and a half feet tall, and looked
shorter, with wrinkled gray skin and eyes like little black beads.
Almost comical in appearance, the little things moved smoothly, one of
them jumping to catch the doorknob to the forgotten storeroom they'd
appeared in while three more pulled the door open.  Then they were out
into the hallway in a swarm.  

    

    Sumiko rounded the corner panting and out of breath, and was met by
a hovering, fluttering blur of orange and green that spoke in a tiny,
piping voice.

    "Sumiko!  Quickly!"

    She nodded.  "Right.  Which way?"

    "Follow!"  The hummingbird darted to the left, and she sprinted
after it.  A couple of nearby pedestrians watched the odd sight of a
Japanese girl chasing a hummingbird down the road until she hopped up
the front steps to the public library.  The bird darted in an open
window and Sumiko pulled the door open and ducked inside.  

    For a moment, looking around the first floor, she thought she was
too late; one of the librarians was sprawled across the counter and two
grade-school girls lay in a huddle in the stairwell.  Sumiko hurriedly
checked the old woman's pulse and found it steady.  She heaved a sigh of
relief.

    The hummingbird fluttered around the floor, dodging between the
stacks with marvelous agility.  Satisfied that there was nothing waiting
to spring out and no civilians hiding in a corner, it darted back to
Sumiko.

    "Transform!"  

    Sumiko nodded again and took a deep breath.

    "Eternity!"

    Her body jerked as the magic took hold, covering her in a swarm of
swirling fireflies.  They lasted only a moment before fading, but a
faint glitter outlined Sumiko's clothes and followed her every movement,
leaving glowing trails in the air.  Her body felt light, almost
weightless, and it moved almost instantly into any position she willed
without the slightest effort.  She curled one hand into a fist and felt
coiled power ripple.

    "Alright."  Whatever monsters were waiting had heard her shout, so
the element of surprise was already lost.  [Not that I need it].  She
took a step towards the stairwell before another thought occurred to
her.  [There might be someone still awake down there.]  Another wall of
glittering lights rose in front of her face, subtly masking her features
with a shimmering glow.  "Time to go.  The portal was below, right?"

    The hummingbird bobbed in mid-air.  "Be careful!"

    "Always."  She let her bag slide from her shoulder to the ground and
padded closer, peering down the stairs.  A single wan light burned
overhead, throwing long shadows.  "Come out, come out wherever you
are..."

    The stairs bottomed out in a moldy corridor, dusty with disuse.
Sumiko proceeded slowly, checking the doors on either side and finding
them still tightly locked until she was almost at the end.  The last
door on the left opened at her touch, revealing an old, empty storeroom.
Lying on a table in the center of the room was a young man in a
janitor's uniform, and standing over him--

    "Get away from him!"  Sumiko's voice boomed in the enclosed space,
and the nasty little creature looked up from its feast.  Hair-thin lines
of yellow energy connected it to the unconscious human, pulsing with
power as the thing drew off his life force.  It tilted its head to one
side as it regarded this strange girl who had interrupted it during its
meal, and Sumiko took a threatening step forward.  "I'm warning you!"

    The creature did not respond.  [I wonder if the demons here speak
Japanese?]  The question was probably irrelevant anyway.  She pushed off
into a charge, moving so quickly she was a blur and vaulting over the
corner of a table with a kick that caught the little thing in its
midsection and flung it so hard it splattered against the wall in a
spray of yellow-green blood.  The lines of yellow energy stretched for a
second and then snapped, winding back into the hapless janitor.  Sumiko
came to rest in a ready stance, looking hastily around the room.

    [Uh-oh...]

 

    "Got it."

    The group that had assembled in the alley behind Wang's Universal
Grocery was odd by human standards.  It included a tall Caucasian in a
business suit, a heavily bearded and fierce-looking little man in a
spiked helmet wielding and axe almost larger than he was, a
bored-looking woman in jeans and a t-shirt, and four massive cyclopean
monsters.  These last were almost eight feet tall, with short legs, huge
bodies, and massively oversized arms that almost reached the ground.
They possessed a single eye apiece, which blinked stupidly from within
folds of armored flesh.

    The businessman was staring intently into the distance, while the
woman looked at him and affected a yawn.

    "Are you sure?"

    "Team two is already fighting.  They should be able to keep her busy
until we arrive."

    "Good."  The axeman hefted his weapon.  "Let's get moving, then."
    "Stick to the alleys.  I'd rather not have the authorities after
us."
    The odd little gang headed off, deeper into the darkness.  Behind
them, a long-coated figure detached itself from the deeper shadow of a
dumpster.  Mary thrust her hands into her pockets and followed at a safe
distance.

    

    The little things were clinging to the walls, a swarm of them, and
Sumiko barely had a moment to prepare before they dropped on all floors
and scuttled towards her.  Luckily, a moment to prepare was quite a long
time with her heightened reflexes, and by the time they were moving she
was already a blur, heading for one of the corners.  The creature
immediately in her way made a grab for her foot, which she avoided with
a standing jump that landed neatly on top of it with a 'crack'.

    Two more of the things leapt into the air; Sumiko ducked one and met
the other head-on with a sideways chop that smashed it against the wall.
Before the second could get up she turned the motion into a spinning
kick, catching it in the back as it recovered from its leap.  She turned
hastily to face the rest of them.

    While two of their number climbed onto the table, three of the nasty
creatures threw themselves along the floor and grabbed for her legs
while the last jumped off the back of one of its companions and launched
itself at her chest.  Sumiko caught it in mid-air by one arm and swung
it aside, but the other three had closed the distance and wrapped their
arms around her shins.  Their touch was raspy and cold], but she was
forced to leave them there for the moment as she ducked away from the
flying leap of the last two.  Managing to catch one by the scruff of its
neck on the back-swing, she brought it down on top of one of the things
on the floor with great force.  Both of them almost exploded in a spray
of gore.

    Another of the things reached up and raked its claw down her thigh
hard enough to draw blood.  Sumiko grimaced and kicked it off the end of
her foot, then bought that foot down hard on her other tormentor.  The
one behind her, having failed to jump on her back, had been slightly
stunned by impact with the wall, and she crushed it to a pulp with an
offhand blow.  Her hands snapped back into the guard position before the
lack of immediate threats registered -- slowly, she let out a deep
breath and looked over a room splattered with bits of demon and covered
in oily yellow-green blood.  It was all fading away, though, as demons
always did -- the place would be clean by midnight.

    "Well," she said, more or less to herself.  "That wasn't so hard."
[Maybe demons in America aren't so tough after all.]  She checked the
janitor, who was weak but otherwise healthy since the thing hadn't had
the chance to drain him completely.  [Lucky for him I showed up,
though.] 

 

    "Aku!"

    The little demon snapped into existence, as usual hovering over
Mary's left shoulder.  She'd often thought that she should get an angel
for the other side, just for the sake of balance.

    "Yeah?"

    "What the hell is going on?"

    "What do you mean?"

    "You saw that brute squad show up, right?"

    "Right."

    "And they showed up at the same time as the other three groups.  So
my guess if they were waiting to ambush me when I went to whack the
little ones."

    "Seems reasonable to me."

    "So *where the hell are they going*?"

    "Oh."  Aku shaded his eyes.  "To the library, it looks like."

    "I know that."  Mary made an effort to control her temper.  "But
why]?"

    "To get a book?"  The little demon squeaked and discorporated bare
inches ahead of her irritated swat.  Mary dropped from her perch on top
of the apartment complex across from the library, landing softly on a
cushion of air.  The last of the demons had disappeared into the
building, so she cautiously crossed the street and made her approach.

    [This is a bad plan.  If they were waiting for me, they have to be
pretty sure they can take me.  If all seven of them are sitting on the
other side of this door, I'm walking into a deathtrap.  But on the other
hand...]  There was only one reason she could think of that they'd
spring the trap early, and that wouldn't be pretty.  [If someone *else*
whacked their little goblins, they might think it was me.  But
whoever-it-is is going to get butchered when this lot shows up.]  There
were very few reasons to go in, and every reason not to -- [if you go in
without adequate preparation, you get what you deserve.  But I suppose I
can't just leave it at this.]

    The door was unlocked, and she pushed it open with a stiff breeze
and waited by the side.  Her caution was rewarded when a monster
snuffled out, a huge mass of muscles and armor plate with one stupidly
blinking eye.  It looked out across the street, then leaned outside to
see if anyone was waiting -- not quickly enough, however.  Mary caught
it in the eye with a spear of compressed air as sharp as diamond and so
hot it was almost plasma, and the thing barely managed a bubbling shriek
before it slumped to the ground.  Mary smiled tightly and stepped over
its body into the building.

    This was almost the end of her.  [Whoever planned this operation is
smarter than I've been giving them credit for.]  A second creature was
waiting against the wall, having observed the fate of the first, and as
she stepped in it lowered its shoulder and charged, catching her in the
chest and slamming her up against the concrete wall.  Mary barely had
time to soften a blow that would otherwise had reduced her to goo, and
she ducked to one side as the thing backed up and swung at the wall with
one clawed hand, leaving inch-deep scores in the concrete.  She ran to
the side, tossing a hundred little razor-currents almost as an
afterthought; they had little effect on the monster, which turned
clumsily and lumbered after her.

    One she was given a moment to catch her breath, though, the demon
was not really Mary's equal.  This time she stood up to its charge, and
constructed a thick wedge between its two claws before they could close
on her head.  It blinked stupidly as its blows failed to connect, and
the brief pause was all she needed to drive another white-hot needle
through its eye and out the back of its head.

    Mary took a long breath and spoke aloud.  "Not bad."

    "I could say the same for you."  The voice came from the stairwell,
and she spun hurriedly.  Another of the massive creatures lumbered
forward, followed by a young woman and some sort of axe-wielding
lunatic.  It was the woman who'd spoken; she nodded as Mary turned, as
though in recognition.  "I'm impressed you dealt with our daemons so
easily."

    The dwarf -- she had to think of him as such, between the axe, the
height, and his accent -- gripped his weapon and grimaced.  "I hate ta
kill a good-lookin 'uman girl.  But enough is enough.  My name is
Heightman, little one.  You should know tha' before ya die."

    Mary shrugged.  "I won't bother to tell you my name, then.  If I'm
just going to die anyway."

    "Ya could always come back wi' me, and we--"

    "Heightman, enough."  The woman frowned.  "I'm afraid you've caused
too much trouble already."  This was punctuated with a shrill scream
from below.  "That was your friend expiring, I believe.  Now stand still
and die like a good little girl."

    "You..."  Mary did her best to fake a devastated expression.  "You
killed..."  

    The woman smiled and raised one hand.  "Die."

    This, of course, was exactly what she'd been waiting for.  Power
flowed along the woman's arm as she sighted, and Mary waited until just
before it leapt to act.  Her own power snapped out, faster than thought,
and slashed through her opponent's somewhat lax defenses as though they
weren't even there.  Taken by surprise, the woman barely got off the
beginning of a scream before the spray of energy caught and punched her
backwards into a bookcase.  *Through* a bookcase would be more accurate,
as it slowly collapsed on top of her and covered the spreading pool of
gray-green blood.

    "You--"  Heightman didn't bother with more words; he just charged,
and the big demon did likewise.  Mary hastily danced back, dodging the
first stroke and blocking the second with a hemisphere of force that
shivered under the impact.  She struck back at the dwarf, but he blocked
her half-formed constructions with contemptuous ease until she was
forced to dodge a swipe by the giant creature.  This won her a few
moments, though, and she took the time to summon a blade of ice to her
hand, freezing to the touch and raggedly sharp at the edges.  

    Heightman smiled, and approached more cautiously.  "So, girl.  You
want to make a fight of it, then."  He gestured the demon to the left,
and began to circle right.

    Mary pouted.  "That's hardly fair."

    "I'm na too concerned with fair."  The two of them charged, and Mary
took the only option she could and danced to the side.  Heightman nearly
caught her on the backswing in any case, but he had to slow to avoid
crashing into the clumsy demon.  Mary's own blade lashed out and severed
the thing's arm at the shoulder, leaving it reeling in pain.  Heightman
cursed and came forward again, swinging wildly.

    This time Mary parried, the impact sending bolts of pain down her
arm.  The dwarf swung again and again, heartened by the chips of ice
flying from her blade, and Mary backpedaled carefully until she was next
to the fallen bookcase.  Then she tripped on a book, toppling backwards;
her blade slipped from her hand and flew into the air.

    "You're mine!"  Heightman lunged, and she rolled to one side as his
axe split the floorboards where her head had been.  The icy dagger, in
the meanwhile, hovered a moment at the ceiling, gathered speed, and
lanced downward to bury itself in the back of his skull.  The dwarf
toppled, and Mary climbed slowly to her feet.

    [Okay.  That's four down.]  She glanced at the demon, which was
staggering slowly closer, and shredded it with a gesture.  [Five down.
Two more downstairs.  Plus someone else who may or may not be alive.]
The stairway was dark, and no more sounds filtered up from below.  [Here
goes nothing.]

 

    Ironically, this was not a situation Robyn was unprepared for.

    [There's something about reading science fiction and fantasy all
your life.  It warps the mind.  So when something crazy happens, you
just think 'Of course.  This is just like the time Jim Johnson was
teleported to Cairn and became Yorrick the Barbarian!'  But...]

    [I mean...]

    [Fucking hell.]

    The little goblins -- years of Tolkien-esque associations wouldn't
let her think of them otherwise -- didn't look particularly strong.
They were half the height of a human and maybe one quarter the weight,
but they made up for that in pure viciousness.  The one customer who'd
tried making a run of the door was now huddled in a corner, bleeding
from the matched pair of heavy slashes in his leg.

    In fact, the whole setting was vaguely surreal -- the restaurant
looked like a relatively normal diner in which an
interior-decorator-slash-old-newsprint-enthusiast had simply gone
berserk and covered every flat surface with bygone headlines or other
knickknacks.  This was considered perfectly acceptable d�cor for a
family restaurant, though, and Robyn had barely glanced at it.  She'd
just gotten her cheeseburger when the swinging doors to the kitchens had
slammed open, the wait staff had run screaming from the room, and little
goblin-things had come boiling out of the woodwork.

    [This is the part where Scully always says, 'Come on, Mulder.  There
has to be some scientific explanation.']  She peered at the closest
creature, which was perched on one of the fake-plant-infested bartops
keeping a careful eye on a group of huddling customers.  Her own hiding
spot beneath an overturned table afforded Robyn quite a good view of the
thing.  [And if that's a robot, or a midget in a suit or something, this
is the best special effects job in history.]

    Three of the goblins returned from the kitchens, without the woman
they'd dragged after them.  They sauntered over to the nearest group of
customers and grabbed a screaming ten-year-old, yanking him away from
his parents and towards the back.  The boy's mother shrieked and tried
to go after them, but two more of the things held her down.  Child and
monsters disappeared back into the kitchens, and Robyn swallowed hard.

    [Shit.]  It was easy to get caught up in the excitement of the fact
that there *were* strange little creatures and forget that they seemed
to be evil.  She hadn't heard any screams from the kitchen, but whatever
they were up to couldn't be good.  [This can't go on.  I have to do
something.]

    She shook her head frantically.  [No!  That's the way idiot
comic-book heroes think!  Why do *I* have to do something?  I'll just
get myself killed.]  It was hard to fight against the clich� -- it was
typical, at this point, for the heroine to reveal her hidden powers and
waste the monsters in a spray of magic.  [God *damn* it!  I don't have
any hidden powers, this is not some dumb fantasy novel, and I need to
stay *put* until someone rescues us.]  A few customers had gotten out at
the beginning, so the police were surely on their way.  It's only a
matter of time.]

    As though to punctuate this point, the front door blew in.  The
goblins had locked it, and dragged a few chairs in the way, but this
proved about as effective as a wall of wet tissue paper.  A lot of the
debris that sprayed outward was on fire, and what was left of the
doorway was outlined in flickering flames.  Standing just behind it was
a figure, roughly humanoid, and composed entirely of living flame.  The
goblins turned on it and hissed almost as one, and the newcomer strode
forward, unconcerned, as they jumped across the room to meet it.

    At this point, quite sensibly, Robyn pulled back as far as she could
under the table and hid while the air was filled with horrible shrieks
and the ever-present hiss of the flames.  Only once things had quieted
down did she dare poke her head out again, just enough to see who had
won.

    The flaming figure had stopped moving, still and nearly silent in
the midst of a circle of charred goblins.  Bits of the little creatures
were strewn all over the room, and a number of small fires had started
up and were burning merrily.  The strange ensemble had been joined by
two more people, too, a man and a woman in identical black suits and
dark glasses.  The woman's eyes were glowing a nearly blinding white,
visible even through the sunglasses; as Robyn watched, she gestured
peremptorily and both the glow and the fiery apparition faded away.  The
woman let out a long sigh, as though in relief.

    "Very impressive, Agent Rin."  This was from her companion, who was
making a slow circuit of the room.  The groups of other customers had
just started to realize that the fight was over, but no one had yet
dared to speak.   

    The woman, Rin, acknowledged him with a nod.  "Thank you, Agent
Deus.  Is that all of them?"

    "Indeed."  He tilted his head to one side, as though listening to
something.  "Interesting.  The category-fives I mentioned earlier appear
to have been terminated."

    "We picked the wrong site, then."

    "It appears so."  Deus' slow circuit of the room had brought him
nearly to where Robyn was hiding.  "However, I think that it may not
have been entirely unlucky."  He stopped, and looked directly at her
despite the intervening tabletop.  "Would you come out here please,
young lady?  No one is going to hurt you."

    Somewhat to her astonishment, Robyn believed him.  There was
something kind about his features, despite his dark glasses and somewhat
threatening appearance.  She stood up slowly, clambered over the table,
and made her way over to him.  

    Deus looked with down an expression that almost seemed amused.
"What's your name?"

    "Robyn Masters."  She hesitated, feeling like something else was
required.  "I'm a student at the high school.  I was just here to pick
up dinner on the way home--"

    "I understand."

    "Agent Deus?"

    He half-turned to face his partner.  "Yes?"

    "What do you want to do with all these people?"

    Deus waved one hand and muttered a few syllables under his breath.
The patrons of the restaurant all slumped to the ground in unison, as
though they'd been practicing.  Robyn blinked.

    "They're just sleeping."  Deus shrugged.  "And they won't remember
any of this when they wake up, so don't be surprised when you don't find
any mention of this in the morning papers."  He straightened his
sunglasses with one hand, took one last look around the room, and turned
towards the exit.  Rin followed, looking almost as bewildered as Robyn.

    "Wait--"

    Agent Deus stopped on the threshold.  "What?"

    "What about me?"

    He shrugged again.  "You're free to go."

    "But--"

    Before she could finished the sentence, the two black-clad agents
were gone.  Robyn stood in stunned silence for a full minute before she
dug her backpack out from under the table, edged out the shattered
doorway, and ran for it.

 

    Mary summoned her disguise into being as she walked down the stairs,
wincing at every creak.  [After all, someone may still be alive down
there.]  The corridor in the basement was dark, but a wan light streamed
from the third doorway and Mary crept towards it.  The fact that a
conversation was in progress became apparent as she approached.

    "I'll give you credit for perseverance, little one."  This was a
male voice, as smooth as suede.  "Most humans would have given up by
now.  Just say the word and I can end this."

    The girl who Mary had heard screaming before answered, her tone
shaky but full of conviction.  "NNever."...

    "I'm curious as to what gives you such confidence."

    "I am...the chosen of Eternity.  A pathetic demon like you
can't...can't hope to defeat me."

    "Really?  Daemon, break her arms."

    The girl gave a little yelp, cut-off halfway.  Mary took a deep
breath.

    [God damn it.  Some amateur who thinks she's the savior of mankind.
Some people watch too much TV.]  The voice started to whimper, softly at
first.  Mary edged closer to the doorway.  [After I waste these guys,
I'm going to give her a good talking to...]

    The whimpering grew louder.  Mary concentrated her power into a
white-hot ball a few inches across and leapt around the corner.  As
she'd suspected, there was a girl -- dressed in a silly looking white
outfit, covered in frills -- with one arm twisted behind her back by
another of the one-eyed demons.  A man in a business suit looked on with
obvious pleasure; the girl's face was contorted in agony.

    A quick tactical analysis flashed through Mary's mind.  [The guy is
the obvious target.  He's the more powerful of the pair, I'd guess that
even if I didn't already know, and the demon is occupied.  I should
waste him while I have the element of surprise.]  The problem with that
was, of course, that the demon was likely to rip the girl's throat out
in passing.  [Damn it all to hell.]  This thought process took about a
quarter of a second, and before either man or beast realized she was
there she tossed the little ball right into the back of the demon's
head.  It shrieked in pain moments before the tiny mass of compressed
air exploded, scattering bits of its upper torso all over the room.  The
girl standing beside it was sheathed in sticky green blood from the
waist up, and she stood perfectly still, as though stunned.

    The man reacted faster.  Mary was already weaving a defense as he
brought his hands forward and lashed out with bolts of neon lightning;
the power split just in front of her and earthed itself in the
doorframe.  She fired a few razor-currents back at him, mostly just to
keep him busy while she ducked back out of the room and into the
corridor.  Mary prayed he'd follow blindly instead of offing the
helpless bystander.

    She was half-right -- he stepped out into the corridor, but not
blindly.  Instead of coming out shooting, he had his shield up and
ready, and her stream of blistering air merely knocked him back a few
feet.  Trapped in the narrow corridor, with nowhere to dodge, Mary threw
everything she had into her defense and barely deflected another stroke
of lightning.  The two stared at each other, breathing hard; Mary
surrounded by glowing motes of vapor, the stranger's hands crackling
with electrical power.

    "I thought she went down a little too easily."  The businessman
shook his head.  "Poor kid just walked into the wrong place at the wrong
time."

    "If it's me you're after, you've got me."  Mary spread her arms.
"Come on.  If you think you can."

    He chuckled.  "We haven't given you enough credit, girl.  You've
earned yourself a few more days.  Enjoy them while you can."

    "If you've got a boss down there, and I know you do, tell him not to
bother sending progressively stronger minions one by one."  Mary cracked
a half-smile.  "He should come up here himself and get this over with."

    "I'll give him the message."

    The pair tensed.  Then Mary lashed out again, slashing currents
through the hallway, but not fast enough.  The businessman blocked the
initial rush, then contracted to a point as though folding in on
himself.  The point winked out a moment later, and Mary was left alone
in the library.

    Almost alone, that was.  A bubbling laugh from inside the room
brought her running.  The girl was on her knees, still covered in blood,
rubbing at a cut on the side of her cheek and laughing hysterically.
Mary surveyed her with increasing annoyance, noticing vaguely the
other's features were concealed, like her own, under a blurred, shifting
mask.

    "What are you laughing about?"

    It took a moment before the other girl managed to respond.

    "I was just standing there, you know.  With the demon behind me.
And then it exploded, and the only thing I could think was, 'Damn, it's
going to be hard getting all that blood off my uniform.'"

    "That seems more crazy than funny to me."

    "The funny part was when I realized that since the uniform isn't
real, I wouldn't have to."  She smiled weakly.  "It was funnier when I
was scared half to death."

    Mary shrugged.  She was not in the mood for that sort of thing.  "So
who are you?"

    "Eternity."  The girl took a deep breath.  "I am the Guardian of the
Cosmos, Enforcer of Destiny."

    "Really."

    "And you?"

    "I am the Dark Lord Lucifer, symbol of Evil Incarnate and ultimate
corrupter of mankind."  Mary chuckled and waved her hands as Eternity's
fists snapped up.  "Relax.  That was a joke.  Just think of me as the
local sheriff."

    "What's your name?"

    "Reaper."  She was proud of the name.  It carried a kind of panache
that 'Mary' didn't quite summon.

    "Reaper."  Eternity considered for a moment.  "Well.  Thank you."

    "No problem.  In exchange for saving your life, can you do me a
favor?"

    "I...it depends on the favor."

    "It's easy.  Stay the hell out of my business.  Okay?"

    Eternity only looked stunned, and Mary sighed.

    "Look.  I'm guessing you're new in town, because I've never seen you
before.  Let me explain things to you.  I've got this place handled.  No
problems.  You seem like a nice enough kid, and I'd hate for you to get
ripped limb from limb, but that's what's going to happen if you keep
messing around with this stuff.  Okay?"

    "But..."

    "Not buts.  I know you're the defender of love and friendship and
all that, but trust me.  I've got love and friendship covered for this
sector of the map.  Go somewhere else and fight demons, that's great,
have fun.  But that guy got away today because I had to save your ass,
and if you get in the way again, you're going to find yourself at some
fireball's ground zero."

    For a moment, Mary thought she had her convinced.  Then Eternity
straightened up, and Mary sighed inwardly.  [I hate it when people are
stubborn.]  

    "I appreciate what you did for me, Reaper, but I can't agree with
your request.  I have to do what I have to do, no matter the
consequences."

    "Fine.  Just don't say I didn't warn you, when we meet up in the
afterlife."

    Mary turned on one heel and trudged out of the room, leaving
Eternity sputtering in her wake.  She fumed quietly to herself.

    [God.  This is going to make things *so* much harder.]

 

    After such a momentous event, Robyn expected to emerge from the
restaurant to find the city in flames, with ogres stalking the streets
and dragons around every corner.  This turned out not to be the case.
Everything was perfectly, disturbingly normal -- she was blocks away
from the place before she heard the wail of sirens closing in.

    She actually contemplated, for a moment, going back to talk to the
police.  After all, if what Deus said is true, no one remembers what
happened there but me.  They deserve to know what's going on.]  Two
things stopped her: first, the almost certain knowledge that she would
be laughed at.  [It's not like I have any proof.]

    Second, and perhaps more importantly, was the fact that she *had*
been spared.  Somehow.  

    [But...why me?]

    [Deus walked around that room like he was looking for me, in
particular.  He didn't know me by name, but he treated me differently.
Why?]

    The answer -- the only possible answer -- was too corny, too
self-interested to be possibly be true.  [If this were an anime, the
heroine -- me -- would find out that she has magical powers, or is the
chosen one, or something like that.]  Of course, if this were an anime
Deus and Rin would have to be the bad guys.  People in black suits and
sunglasses were never out for the common good.

    [Okay.  Let's get realistic for a second here.  What, exactly, was
going on in there?  Are we talking magic?  Actual, abracadabra,
hocus-pocus blow 'em away with a 10d6 fireball magic?  How is that
possible?]

    [Could I have had some hallucination, or something?  Maybe I got
some bad steak, and it was all a dream.]  That explanation never seemed
plausible, but it was trotted out every time some mundane wanted to
disbelieve the evidence of her own eyes.  [No.  I'm not going that way.
I like to think I have as good a grip on reality as the next person, but
I believe the evidence of my own eyes.]

    In the interest of being honest with herself, Robyn had to admit
there was another reason she wanted to believe what had happened was
real.

    [It means the world is a more interesting place than I thought it
was.]  That wasn't even it, exactly.  [There's magic, and monsters, and
someone who can erase memories with a wave of his hand thinks that I'm
*important*.  Or worth noticing, at least.  If my life is going to turn
into a movie, it's a relief to know that I'm the heroine instead of
Victim #6.]  The thought of being different, somehow in a separate class
from all the idiots at school and morbidly dull adults with which she
found herself surrounded was unbelievably attractive.  Almost
frighteningly so.  [Come on, Robyn.  Let's not get carried away here.]

    [So.  Thinking logically.  What's my next step?]

    [I have to tell someone.]  The choice of who was obvious -- this
afternoon's events aside, Robyn really only had one friend she could
trust with a secret of this magnitude.  [God.  Mary is going to freak.]
Not literally, of course -- she had the feeling it would take more than
this to shake Mary, who came across as genuinely unflappable.  But
still.  [It'll be nice to see her surprised, for once.]  Robyn leaned on
her friend more than either cared to admit, and sometimes it galled.

    [She should still be up.  I have to tell someone.]  There was an
oddly urgent feeling, as though if too much time passed she might
convince herself that it had been a dream or a hallucination after all
and forget the whole thing.  [I hope Deus won't get mad at me for
telling Mary.  She can keep a secret.  And if I can't tell anyone, what
good is it?]

    Weaving unsteadily across the sidewalk, lost in her own thoughts,
Robyn gradually threaded her way towards Mary's house.

 

    Mary took a moment, outside her door, to flick the layers of blood
off her skin and onto the grass.  There was no getting it out of her
clothes, but she usually stashed those under the bed until the blood had
faded into nothingness like the rest of the demon's body.  In the dark,
no one would notice.

    [So I hope, anyway.  Dad'll be asleep, but Lia will presumably be up
and about.  Unless she's gone out with Darren again.]

    Aku popped into being, just above her shoulder.

    "Nice work, Maer.  Very nice work."

    "Praise from Aku.  How touching.  Have I mentioned that I don't want
you hanging around while I'm in public?"

    "Relax!  There's nobody watching."

    "Still.  You have to be careful."

    "I don't see why you're so focused on hiding anyway.  You've got
*power*, you should rule these people as a god.  The last guy I worked
for had them carving fifty foot statues in his image."

    "That's not exactly what I need."

    "Still, Maer, you worry too much."

    "Weren't *you* the one that was worried, not an hour ago?"

    Aku cleared his throat.  "Yes.  Well.  I mean, I forgot how good you
are.  They didn't have a prayer."

    "Except that Eternity, or whatever her name was, interfered."  Mary
shook her head.  "I have a bad feeling about this.  Idiot amateurs
usually get killed in messy ways, but she might hang around long enough
to attract trouble."

    "Aw, what's to worry about.  It can't hurt to have some extra cannon
fodder along when the demons show up, right?"

    "Has anyone ever told you you're cruel and heartless, Aku?"

    "You forgot handsome."

    "Right.  Now get lost, I'm going inside."

    "You're the boss."  He vanished to a glowing point, and Mary pushed
open the door as quietly as possible.  [Sometime I feel like I spend
half my life creeping around, even in my own house.]

    The ground floor was filled with the gentle radiance and soft
whisper of television.  [So Lia is here.]  Mary headed for the living
room and almost shouted a greeting before remembering the sleeping
parent upstairs.  Instead she tiptoed closer, which turned out to be
just as well.

    Lia was indeed watching TV, but she was not alone.  She was sitting
on Darren's lap, the both of them bathed in the flickering glow but
neither actually watching.  Lia was naked to the waist, and her
boyfriend had a breast in each hand.  Her mouth was open, but any sound
was masked under the grumble of late-night.  Mary mouthed a silent 'O'
and couldn't help but watch for a few seconds before retreating up the
stairs.

    [I hope she knows what she's doing.]  Mary couldn't help but feel
paternal towards her younger sister -- her father was absent so often as
to not even be a factor, and her mother had been dead since before
either of them could remember.  Still, there were certain lines she
really couldn't cross, and this was one of them.  [She'll just have to
deal with it herself.]

    Once she was ensconced in her own room, she let out a long breath.
[God.  What bothers me so much about that?  I should be happy for her.
She's got a nice boyfriend -- not very bright, but nice -- and they're
having a good time.  I didn't think I was such a prude.]  That wasn't
it, and Mary shifted uneasily before admitting the problem to herself.

    [I'm jealous.]  Actually thinking it made her feel awful, but it was
hard to deny.  [When was the last time I kissed a guy?  Freshman year?]
Back than things had been easy -- pick off the occasional demon on
weekends, terrorize a mugger or two who barely knew what hit them.  [I
had time for stuff like this.  Now?  They're trying to kill me, and if I
ever let my guard down they're going to do it.  It's fun, but...]

    [Maybe I should sleep with Robyn.]  Mary was pretty sure her friend
had a crush on her, even if she wouldn't admit it.  I mean, how bad
could it be?]

    [Has it really been three years?]  An unpleasant memory surfaced.
[Not counting that guy who almost raped me last year.]  She'd killed him
afterwards, but it hadn't really felt satisfying.  [A knife in the head
is too good for people like that.]

    [I just wish I could tell *someone*.]  The catch, of course, was
that anyone who was in on the secret was in danger.  [Plus I can't trust
anyone to really keep it quiet.  I guess I could always do what Aku
says, tell everyone and just let the chips fall.]  The thought was too
terrifying to contemplate.  [I can't.]  She closed her eyes.  [Just be
calm, Mary.  There's an end in sight.  These are heavy hitters they're
sending after me now -- there can't be too many of them.  Sooner or
later the big boss is going to show up, and we can finish this once and
for all.  Then it'll be back to just whacking random critters, and I'll
have plenty of time to get laid.]

    [Sometimes I wish someone else would just find out.  I mean, I don't
really -- but if they did...]

    She sat down on her bed and curled up, wrapping her arms around her
knees.  The TV was still blaring downstairs, but she could hear
footsteps on the stairs.

    Her door opened to reveal Robyn, disheveled and out of breath.

    "Robyn!  Are you okay?"

    "Mary.  I need to tell you something."

    Mary sat up, trying to keep her earlier thoughts out of her face.
"Go for it."

    "Okay.  Magic is real."  Robyn let out a deep breath.  "Also, your
little sister is having sex with some guy on the couch downstairs."

    

    "I know."  Mary put her hands flat on the bed, and there was an odd
look in her eye.

    "You...know?"  Robyn was floored.  "But..."

    "I was just thinking about it myself.  Darren's kind of a jerk to
me, but Lia seems to like him so I guess I can't interfere."

    "Oh."  Robyn deflated.  "You did hear what I said before that?"

    "Yeah."  Mary sighed.  "I know about that, too."

    "You do?  But...how?"  Robyn looked at her friend helplessly.  [It
kind of takes the sting out of an announcement like that when the other
person already knows.]  She felt a little bit giddy, not quite rational.
[So what the hell has Mary been up to?]

    "It's a long story.  But let's start at the beginning.  What exactly
happened to you?"

    "Okay."  Robyn took a deep breath and began, relating the events of
the evening as accurately as she could.  Mary was nodding slowly while
she described the goblins, and gave a little hiss of breath when she got
to the fiery figure and Deus and Rin.  


    "Black suits and sunglasses?"

    "Yeah.  They looked like secret agents."

    "I'm not surprised."  All at once Mary looked worried.  "Are you
okay?"

    "I'm fine."  Robyn was surprised to find and undercurrent of fear
bubbling to the surface.  She'd been running on pure adrenalin since
she'd left the place, overwhelmed by the strangeness of what had
happened.  It was only now becoming apparent how close she'd come to
getting killed, and she felt herself shaking.  Mary leaned forward,
concerned.  "Really.  I'm okay..."

    "Robyn.  Come here."

    Robyn stumbled forward and sat down next to Mary; the bedsprings
creaked.  Her friend put an arm gently around her shoulder, and Robyn
leaned against her gratefully.  She felt tears in her eyes, and blinked
them away angrily.  [God damn it.  I got this far, why am I falling
apart *now*...]

    "Just relax."  Mary squeezed her tightly.  "Nobody's going to hurt
you here."

    Robyn sniffed.  "I know.  It's just...I'm a little..."

    "I get it.  Just relax."

    There was a moment's pause.

    "Mary?"

    "Hmm?"

    "This isn't a dream, is it?  Because if I suddenly wake up now, I am
going to feel *so* shitty."

    Mary responded by pinching Robyn's shoulder; she yelped, and smiled.

    "I guess not."

    "So are you okay now?"

    "Yeah."  Robyn wiped her eyes.  "Sorry about that.  I'm just
feeling...you know..."

    "A little overwhelmed.   I get it."

    "I still want to know how you know about this sort of thing?  Are
you a sorceress or something?"

    Mary laughed.  "Not likely.  Let's just say I have some strange
relatives."

    "Oh."  She paused.  "Do you have any idea why Deus let me go?"

    "Nope.  I'd like to check something, though, if you're up to it."

    "Check something?"

    "Come with me."

    Mary open the door of her bedroom a crack, to make sure no one was
waiting in the hall, then beckoned for Robyn to follow.  At the center
of the hallway connecting the four bedrooms on the second floor there
was a trapdoor that led to the attic, one of those old
pull-down-from-the-ceiling things.  Mary jumped to grab the string and
pulled it down without a sound, somewhat to Robyn's surprise.
Everything else in the house creaked.

    "Watch your step.  It's kind of dusty up here."

    This was almost immediately obvious.  Everything, including the
steps themselves, was covered in a thick layer of grime, and Robyn found
herself holding her breath as she tip-toed up the stairs.  Mary flicked
a switch at the top, and one light bulb came on in some corner, doing
little more than outlining the shadows.

    The attic was filled with junk, like most attics.  Crates of old
pictures, racks of old clothes, defunct boardgames and boxes to
appliances that had long since been thrown out.  Mary made her way to
one corner, where the ceiling sloped inwards, and started rummaging in a
large open box.

    "Give me a second."

    "Sure."  Robyn kept looking around, somehow fascinated.  At first
glance, it looked like anyone's attic, even her own, but--

    There was a crystal ball, on a little stand.  Two carved dragons
leered at each other, tossed carelessly on top of an old bedsheet;
beside them, gems glittered on a bracelet that sparkled even under all
the dust.  A little metal ball, on top of an old bookcase, seemed to
swirl from color to color as she watched it.  And there was a sword
leaning against the railing around the stairs.

    A katana, to be more accurate, maybe four feet long and menacingly
curved.  The scabbard was slick and black; the guard was also black,
with the occasional red thread woven in.  The whole thing looked so
dangerous, so unbearably *cool* that Robyn was afflicted with a desire
see the glitter of the steel.  She took a step towards it, hesitantly.

    "Please don't touch that."

    Mary's voice brought her back to reality, and Robyn took a hasty
step back.  She was still unable to take her eyes off the blade.  "What
is it?"

    "The legendary za'Tsaravor, forged for the Black Knight Taurus
himself.  I chucked it in my attic for safekeeping."

    "It's magic?"

    "It'd be a pretty dumb legendary sword if it wasn't."

    "And it's...cursed?"

    "Yup.  So don't touch."

    "I think I can manage that."  The strange attraction was still
there, but now that she knew about it it seemed almost unnatural,
frightening.  Robyn turned her back on the sword with relief to find
Mary holding a faceted crystal the size of a fist.

    "And what's that?"

    "Basically just a toy.  It helps people how aren't gifted, like us,
visualize a magical aura.  Now hold still."  Mary put the crystal to her
eye and looked through, the image of her face refracting oddly.  She
looked Robyn up and down, carefully, then shook her head.  "Nothing."

    "Nothing?" 

    "I was afraid Deus had put some spell on you, but it doesn't look
like it."

    "Can I take a look?"

    Mary almost tossed the crystal over, without thinking, but after a
second's consideration she chucked it back into the box.  "Better not.
It takes a while to learn to cope with what you see through that -- not
something you want to try on a full stomach, trust me."

    "So..."  Robyn shook her head.  "Where did you get all this stuff?"

    "You know how crap builds up."

    "All this magical stuff?"

    Mary shook her head.  "Listen.  I know this all seems fantastic to
you right now, but most magic is pretty worthless.  And what isn't
useless is dangerous."

    "But..."  Robyn tried to parse Mary's expression.  It was a little
too fierce, and a little too worried.  "I mean, it can't all be useless.
You can't just expect me to forget this.  Just the fact that any] of
this stuff exists means the way we think about the world is
fundamentally *wrong*."

    "I don't expect you to forget it."  Mary kept her voice gentle.  "I
just don't want you getting out of hand.  We'll take things slowly,
that's all."  She smiled, somehow sadly.  "I'm actually kind of glad you
found out.  I was getting lonely -- no one to talk to about all this
stuff."

    Robyn felt her heart expand.  "You should have told me earlier,
Mary.  If you could tell anyone about this, it's me."

    "You know, you're probably right."

    

    [I can't tell her.]

    Mary sat in her chair, swiveling back and forth.  Robyn had taken
half the bed, and as usual rolled over to occupy more like
three-quarters of it.  In this case it was okay, because Mary was not,
in fact, asleep.  She was swiveling, and thinking.

    [I can't.]  She was mostly trying to convince herself.  Somehow
telling Robyn the whole truth, about the demons and her own powers, felt
so right.  [But she'll just get herself killed, I know it.  Just look at
her -- she was happy to find out all this existed.  She thinks this is a
game.  If I tell her I spend most of my time keeping the town safe from
monsters, she'll want to come along.  And then, someday...]

    She was holding a pillow in her lap, squeezing it tightly.  [God.  I
never thought this would be so complicated.  As it stands, she may find
out anyway -- Robyn's pretty smart, and I don't exactly have a good
cover story.  I should have acted surprised when she told me.]  That
split-second decision was long past, and there was no use worrying about
it.  [Too late, too late.  And now that's she's on to me, I may lose
everything.]

    [God.  I need to find a boyfriend, get nice and drunk, and go
without a monster attack for five damn minutes.  One of the bastards got
away -- that means they'll be back, and soon.  One of these days they're
going to get the drop on me.]

    She shivered.  [When did I get so morbid?  It's time for sleep.
Everything will look better in the morning.]

 

    "I sense from your manner, Agent Rin, that you wish to ask a
question."

    "Yes.  If you don't mind."

    The black sedan sped along the highway, towards the flophouse on the
edge of town where they'd obtained accommodations.  The streetlights
blurred into a flickering line in a way that was almost hypnotic, and
Rin had to keep concentrating on the road.

    "Not at all."

    "Why did you let that girl Robyn go?  She knows about us, and about
the demons.  I doubt anyone would believe her, but still..."

    "It is against standard procedure."

    "Exactly."  Rin felt relieved.

    "However, in this case I believe the reward justifies the risk."

    "Reward?"

    "My informants have been watching this town for some time,
particularly children of around high school age.  As you know, this is
when supernatural powers tend to develop.  There have been a disturbing
number of unexplained incidents surrounding this girl."

    "So you did know she was at that restaurant?"

    "No.  That was a happy accident.  It seems clear from the reports
that there is some supernatural force interested in protecting her,
however, so letting her go seemed justified."

    "Now that she knows..."

    "She will undoubtedly seek more information.  All we have to do is
follow her."

    Rin nodded in admiration.  "Very clever, Agent Deus."

    "It is something of a spur-of-the-moment plan, Agent Rin, but the
best I could come up with under the circumstances.  It may take some
time until we can observe another demon attack, so until then we may as
well pursue alternate angles of approach."

    "I see."

 

    "Have I mentioned," said Ayre, as he materialized in Kei's
bedchamber, "that you have some weird tastes?  Some might call them
depraved."

    "Shut up."  Kei waved away the viewscreen on which the one hundred
thirty-fourth episode of Sailor Moon was playing.  "I'm looking for
clues.  And if you want depraved tastes, go and look in your friend
Tsuiren's basement."

    "I've been there, and the less said about it the better."  Ayre
straightened his suit, uncomfortably, then glared at it until it
dissolved and reformed into his more customary brown robe.  Kei smiled
-- she was wearing her bedclothes, which were only one small step up
from nothing, and lounging on an invisible cushion of air.  Cynthia,
similarly attired, sat quietly in one corner.

    "I take it the meeting didn't go well?"

    "Meeting?"  Ayre shrugged.  "What meeting?  We showed up and he
shouted at us.  This last mission was a *disaster*.  Only one of the
three strike teams came back with any energy at all.  It looks like
someone else is interfering now, too, but we don't have any evidence as
to who.  Black was the only one who made it out alive, and he said there
were two of them."

    "Great."  Kei's face twisted into a snarl.  "Just fucking great.
And I suppose Tsuiren is all hot for a follow-up."

    "He's insisted on it.  Some of the senior lords are going in person
this time."

    "I don't suppose he's risking his own precious hide."

    "No."  Ayre's odd mismatched eyes, black and white, were
unexpectedly serious.  Kei hesitated.

    "*You* aren't going along, are you?"

    "He asked for me personally."

    "So?  Tell him to fuck off.  You've got more power than I do, Ayre,
even if you don't show it.  If anyone can give Tsuiren the finger, you
can."

    "It's not that simple."

    "Why?"  She jumped off the air-cushion and stood in front of him.
"Why do we listen to him at all?  Sure, he's got power, but me and you
and a couple of others working together could waste him."

    Ayre shrugged.  "How could you trust anyone else?"

    "I trust *you*."

    "In that, I think, you're the exception.  I could sell you out to
Tsuiren anytime I wanted, and he'd reward me."

    "You won't."

    "So you claim."

    He leaned a little bit closer, and Kei almost took a step backward.
Even here, at the heart of her domain, she could feel the power
radiating from him.  She'd often wondered how strong Ayre really was --
she'd never seen him in a situation that had come close to pressing him.
The staring contest went on for a good long time, but Kei finally broke
away and flopped back on to the invisible bed.

    "Fuck.  I'm nervous enough about this, and now I have to worry about
you too?  You were supposed to stay behind and distract Tsuiren."

    He stepped closer.  "Are you still fixed on this mad plan?"

    "You know I am.  It's the only thing that makes sense."

    "You know what you're giving up."

    "I'll still have power in the Timestream."

    "Not power like this.  What's the longest you've ever been away from
your domain?"

    "I can handle it."

    "What about the locals?"

    "I think I can deal with a bunch of humans."

    "What about *her*?"

    Kei shivered, just a little.  "I've thought about that."

    "Enlighten me."

    "I'm going to talk to her."

    Ayre stopped, incredulous.  "That's it?"

    "That's it.  No one has ever tried it before."

    "But..."

    "Look, Ayre.  My mind is made up.  It's a risk, sure, but I think
less of one than waiting around for Tsuiren to think of ways to kill us
all."  She smiled viciously.  "And if I didn't know any better, I'd
think that you were worried about me."

    "Just pointing out the flaws in your logic."  His expression went
wooden.  "I still think it's insane."

    "Maybe I'm insane."  She lounged on the bed.  "Either way, you're
not going to convince me."

    He sighed.  "I didn't think that I would."

    "So now what?  When's this next attack?"

    "Two days.  Tsuiren wants to keep her on her toes."

    "Two days.  So I'll make my move then, I suppose."

    "Kei..."

    "Enough.  I'm tired of arguing."

    "Shall I leave, then?"

    She shrugged.  "Stay, if you like."

    "Going to continue with your 'research'?"

    "Probably not."

    "Then what?"

    Kei shrugged again.  "We could have sex.  You've admired this body
often enough."

    Ayre raised an eyebrow.

 

    Afterwards, Kei floated in darkness, alone with her thoughts.

    [I wonder what it's like, being human.]

    She raised one hand and turned it, slowly, though she couldn't see
it.  She knew what it looked like, in every detail, because she had
crafted it out of nothingness and raw power ages ago.  An effort of
will, an expenditure of energy, and it could become a pair of scissors,
or a tentacle, or a sword.  Here, in the heart of her domain, reality
bent itself to her will.

    [And yet I wear this form.  Why?]

    There were lords who didn't, but that was a fad that never seemed to
last.  Everyone, eventually, returned to some variant on the humanoid.
And the older one got, the less one changed bodies.

    [You get used to them.]  But therein lay the paradox.  However
familiar the flesh of her human form became, it wasn't *her*.  [*I* am
somewhere else, some*thing* else.  I think of this as merely a
convenient extension.  But...]

    She couldn't get that *stupid* show out of her mind.  [Is that how
we really seem to them?  Ridiculous bogeymen, cackling over crystal
balls?  Silly copies of the worst of their history?  It's...]

    [Well...]

    You've seen the lords, in all their finery, whispered some
traitorous internal voice.  What do they have that's their own?  They
copy the humans, they twist and pervert what they've created, they
disdain them as weak and stupid.  But ultimately, they're nothing but
parasites.

    [Like daemons?]  Daemons *were* nothing, power-wrought bodies
animated with simple instructions, suitable for killing and being
killed.  No one ever wondered if they were *real*, since everyone had
manufactured his or her fair share of mindless servants.  But...]

    [Where did I come from?]

    She couldn't remember, not really.  Lords came, and went, and no one
really knew why.  

    [What if we're all just toys?  Bogeymen, for them?  We think our
world is real, but we can't talk without their languages, think without
their metaphors, can't even *be* without using their bodies.  We're
parasites.]

    Kei curled up on the bed and closed her eyes, though this made
little difference.  Her body still throbbed warmly, and her domain was
adjusted to the most comfortable temperature, but even still she felt
chilled.  Kei hugged her knees to her chest and tried to smile.

    [I'm just nervous, and with good reason.  It's been a long time
since I was worried about dying, actually afraid of anything.  Now I'm
manufacturing fears out of the dark.]

    [Of course we're real.  I'm real.]

    [Of course.]


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