Here we go again, with our weekly chapter.  Two weeks left,
then?
	As always, I own the original characters but none of the
references.  C&C, as always, is welcomed -- if you need past chapters,
just let me know.

Django Wexler (khaine)
khaine@mindless.com

"Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit on his hands, hoist
the
black flag, and begin slitting throats."
                        H. L. Mencken

Chapter Nine

    "Agent Rin?"

    Rin opened her eyes and felt like screaming, or maybe throwing up.
[Kim.]  She sat up, frantically, and looked around.  [I have to get a
doctor.  We might be able to save her.  I...I...]

    "Agent Rin.  Look at me."

    Her head snapped around unbidden, and she found herself staring into
Deus' square-jawed face, his eyes hidden as always behind black glass.
Reality crystallized around her with frightening force.

    "D...Deus.  I..."

    "You are uninjured, Agent Rin."  It was not an attempt to comfort
her but a statement of fact -- Deus had investigated the matter,
apparently.  "Can you walk?"

    "I can try."  Rin put one hand on the cold concrete and shakily
clambered to her feet.  Halfway there, her knees wobbled.  [Kim...]  Her
roommates face floated, just out of reach, and Rin felt herself falling
until Deus put on hand on her shoulder.  His grip was warm, steady, with
the slightest crackle of electric power underneath it.  "Sorry...I'm
just, a little..."

    "I understand."  He kept his hand there, and she managed to stumble
in something approximating a walking pace.  Rin took a deep breath,
which didn't seem to help, so she took another.  "What happened?"

    "The demon unleashed some kind of mind-altering effect.  From the
outside, I was unable to determine what the intent was, but it caught
everyone in the vicinity."  Deus looked at her, filled with clinical
interest.  "What did you experience?"

    "I..."  Her voice caught.  "I saw...my first mission."

    "I infer that this was not a pleasant experience."

    "My best friend died.  It was my fault...I didn't think he could
kill her with just a touch..."  Tears threatened, but Rin blinked them
away furiously.  [This is ridiculous.]  "I felt like the guilt was
crushing me, like I was going to die."

    "You undoubtedly would have."

    "What happened?"

    "Mary broke free of the field."  His voice acquired a touch of
emotion, like a viper's hiss.  "I don't know how.  She destroyed the
demon before it could complete its attack.'

    [Mary.]  "I assume that...that was a non-optimal result."  [She
saved my life.]

    "Correct.  I wanted the demon to kill her."  He turned towards her
again.  "Though, of course, I had no way of knowing its power would
affect you at the same time."

    Rin's heart thudded dully in her chest.  "Of course."  

 

    'Mary,

                Gone to Darren's.  Be back late.  Don't wait up.

                        --Lia'

    Mary read the note with a certain amount of grim satisfaction.  Then
weariness overwhelmed her in a wave, and she staggered back to the
couch.  Kei had claimed the recliner for herself -- she'd made her way
back from the battle like a sleepwalker, barely able to put one foot
ahead of another.  Sumiko hadn't even been able to do that; Mary had
wafted her along behind them.  Now she was curled into a tight little
ball on her side, hands around her knees, staring blankly across the
room into the button eyes of Mr. Huggins, one of Mary's childhood bears
that now occupied a cherished place on the mantle.  Mary sat down next
to her, sinking gratefully into the couch's welcoming embrace, and
closed her eyes.

    The demon smiled, his long silver hair whipping in the wind.
Richard opened his mouth to scream, and never got a chance.  His hand
raised goosebumps on her bare skin.

    ["I wonder what it would take to get to you."  He walked closer, his
shoes clicking on the asphalt.  It was the only sound in the frozen
twilight world.  "Mary.  What would it take to really bother you?  Not
dying, that's for sure."]

    [Black-and-white eyes twinkled, and the demon smiled.]

    "Enough."  Mary shifted on the couch.  "I've been through this
already."

    ["I've been doing this a long time."  She sighed.  "A long, long
time.  After a while it sort of gets to you."]

    [Never again.]  Mary opened her eyes and turned to look down at
Sumiko.  She had closed her eyes, and her expression was calm; Mary was
struck by how *young* she looked with her eyes closed.  [Barely more
than a little girl.]

    Aku appeared with a pop, unbidden, and touched down on her shoulder.
His feet felt like tiny pins.

    "How'd it go, Maer?"

    "Aku."  She let out a sigh.  "It went..."

    He paused.  "Not good, eh?  Don't worry about it.  Everyone's in one
piece, right?  That counts as success in my book."

    Mary shook her head.  "I can't stop thinking about it."

    "About what?"

    [About a little taste of power.  You can't forget what it feels like
-- it waits beneath you, hiding under your mind.  And it strikes when
you're weak, or threatened.  You realize that it *doesn't have to be
like this.*  It worms its way into your soul, and all it wants is
everything.]

    "Richard," she said aloud.  "I can't stop thinking about Richard."

    "Richard?"  Aku rolled his eyes.  "Jeez, Maer.  I thought you were
over him."

    "I killed him, Aku."

    "I know.  But he broke into your house with most powerful magical
artifact we've ever seen, and [then] he tried to rape you, so frankly I
think you were justified."

    "I didn't have to kill him."

    "You were scared!  And sixteen.  Nobody would expect you to be able
to pull any punches."

    Mary let the familiar waters of the argument roll over her, even
though she knew better.  Watching herself, inside the demon's sphere of
light -- [I wasn't scared.  I wasn't angry.  I gave in to that...thing,
just for a second.  And that was the end of it.]

    Sumiko shifted a little bit, and Mary turned toward her.  "Get lost,
Aku.  I'll talk to you later."

    "Right.  You sure you're okay?"

    "I'm sure.  Now scram."

    The demon vanished to a point and disappeared just as Sumiko opened
her eyes and screamed.  Mary let her do it -- it was a good scream, and
it helped work off a lot of the younger girl's surplus energy.  Sumiko
sat bolt upright, stiff as a board, and Mary scooted next to her and put
an arm around her shoulders.

    "Shh.  It's okay."

    Sumiko's shriek tapered off, and she started to breathe again in
huge, panicked gulps.  Mary squeezed her shoulders in a manner she hoped
was reassuring, and brushed Sumiko's hair gently with her other hand.

    "Calm down.  You're going to be okay.  It's over."

    Bit by bit, Sumiko's breathing calmed down.  She blinked rapidly,
and peered about as though vaguely aware of her surroundings.  Mary
waited calmly for the next phase, which didn't take long -- her friend's
eyes suddenly filled with tears.  Sumiko threw her arms around Mary like
someone clutching desperately at a life preserver and sobbed; Mary
continued to run a hand vaguely through her hair.

    "It's okay.  Just remember, it's all in the past.  All that stuff
you saw already happened -- there was nothing you could have done to
change it."  Although she didn't know what Sumiko had seen, she assumed
from her own example that the experience had not been fun.  "It's okay."

    Mary continued to mumble assurances.  After some time, Sumiko's sobs
became vaguely comprehensible words.  

    "...they...they all..."

    "It's okay."

    "I didn't mean for it to happen."  Sumiko looked up with huge,
tear-soaked eyes.  "I didn't...I didn't mean..."

    [Wow.]  The cynical, unshakeable root of Mary couldn't help but
wonder what had happened.  [Whatever that thing did, she got quite a
dose of it.]  Her eyes flickered across the room to Kei, still nearly
catatonic.  [I wonder what she saw?]

    "I know.  I know you didn't mean it."

    "I didn't..."

    "I know."

    Sumiko pushed head back into Mary's lap and lay still for a few
moments.  Mary kept a hand on her shoulder, feeling the warmth of her
skin.

    [His hands pressed under her shirt, raising goosebumps on her bare
skin...]

    "The worst part," said Sumiko, muffled.  "Do you know what the worst
part was?"

    Mary took a deep breath.  "What was the worst part?"

    "The sound.  The sound was the worst part."  Sumiko shifted
slightly.  "I had my hands over my eyes, so I couldn't see most of it.
But she screamed, and then there was this *crunch*, and I remember
wondering if I would hear it, too.  At the end."

    "Oh."  Mary paused.  There didn't seem to be much else to say.

    "She laughed at me.  That was also the worst part."

    "It's okay now."  Mary patted her friend on the head one more time.

    "I know."  Sumiko let out a long, shaky breath, and sat up.  "It's
just...it felt..."

    "Yeah."

    The younger girl leaned back and shivered.  "It felt real.  Again."

    There was a long silence.

    "Did you carry me back?"

    "Yeah."

    "Thank you."

    "No problem."

    "Mary."  Sumiko turned.  "Really.  Thanks."

    Her eyes were huge, and still wet with tears; her mouth quirked in a
tiny smile.  One of Mary's hands came up, almost of its own accord, and
brushed a trailing bit of hair away from Sumiko's face, lingering a
moment too long on her cheek.  Sumiko blinked, and Mary almost, *almost*
leaned forward, put an arm around her shoulders, and...

    Mary shook her head and clambered wearily off the sofa, her heart
thudding in her throat.  Sumiko leaned back again and sighed, this time
with relief.

    "You were right, Mary.  No matter what happens, there's always that
little bit of euphoria when you realize that you're still alive."

    "Y...yeah."  Mary shook her head again.  "I'm going to go find a
real bed.  Do you want to use Lia's?  She probably won't be home
tonight."

    "The couch is fine."  Sumiko stretched out.  "I don't know how much
sleep I'll get anyway."

    "You'll be okay."

    "Right."

 

    Mary closed the door to her room with a soft click, then leaned back
heavily against it.

    [What the hell was that?]

    She shook her head fervently.  [I'm exhausted beyond any reasonable
bounds.  And I can still feel that...]thing[.  Hiding somewhere in my
mind.  There's no point in worrying about it now.]

    Mary clicked off the light, kicked her shoes into a corner, and
found her way to the bed by memory alone.  She flopped down, heavily,
and for a moment lay unmoving.

    [I miss my life.  I miss not having to fight some hideous monster
every couple of days, I miss not waking up every morning and wondering
if this time, I'm not going to make it out.  I miss being normal.]  She
laughed, silently.  [My life is so far from normal.]

    [I miss going to school.  I miss having friends whose lives I didn't
save on a regular basis, or vice-versa.]

    [I miss Robyn.]  She tried to conjure an image of her friend's face;
it was almost physically painful, like a deep hole in her chest.  [I
really miss her.  I want to talk to her, and go to movies with her, and
just hang out at a pizza place and...and...]

    Mary squeezed her eyes, tightly, and tried to empty her mind of all
thoughts.  Even in the darkness, though, she could feel the tiny sliver
of the black sword's power.  It pulsed, slowly, like the breathing of a
sleeping giant.  [All I have to do is embrace it, and I'll have power
enough.]  She turned over, restlessly, and pulled a pillow under her
head.  [Never.  It's not worth the price.  Not worth it...]

 

    Robyn clawed her way back to consciousness, and for a moment she
kept her eyes closed.  The bed she was in was very soft, almost like
floating on air, and the gentle breeze felt good on her skin.  She tried
to will herself back to sleep, and was almost there when she heard the
voices.

    "Your little pet has failed again," said Tsuiren, his voice as calm
as still water and as beautiful as crystal.  

    "You know it was not her fault."  Ayre sounded defensive.  "There
was interference.  Some sort of resonance phenomenon."

    "Indeed.  But we nevertheless failed."

    "She is still learning how to use the machine, my Lord."

    "Of course."  Tsuiren paused.  "We will try one more time."

    "Yes, my Lord."

    There was a tiny crackle of thunder as air rushed to fill the space
left by the departing god.  Robyn felt Ayre kneel by her side, and she
shivered as he ran one hand delicately over her cheek.

    "I'm awake, you know."

    "I know."

    Robyn opened her eyes and sat up.  She was surprised to find herself
still inside Ayre's domain, lying in a silken hammock somewhere in its
marble halls.  Ayre was sitting on a chair next to her, his mismatched
eyes staring intently.

    "So it didn't work?"

    "It almost worked.  One of the enemy managed to escape the daemon's
spell."

    "How?"

    "We're not sure."

    "Tsuiren didn't sound very pleased."

    Ayre shrugged.  "He's just worried.  We all are."

    "I figured it out."

    "What?"

    "The problem.  It's in the unconscious limitations.  If I create a
monster from a video game, no matter how powerful it is, it was designed
to somehow be beaten.  We need something whose power can grow
unboundedly."

    "And you know where to find such a thing?"

    Robyn's mind hummed with success.  "I think so, yeah."

    "Robyn..."

    She watched his eyes -- this time, she was ready when he kissed her.
It seemed to go on for a long time; she felt the not-unpleasant
sensation of tiny sparks of electric power crawling over her skin where
they touched.  Finally, more for lack of breath than anything else,
Robyn pulled away.

    "I..."  She caught her breath.  "I need to go back to the
Timestream, for a while.  To get some things."

    "I shall eagerly await your return."  Ayre handed her another of the
blue stones.  "We will not fail this time."

    Robyn nodded eagerly.

 

    "Hey, Robyn."  Even on tape, the exhaustion in Mary's voice was
evident.  "I just need to talk to you about some stuff.  Call me."

    *Beeeep.*

 

    It was so far into the middle of the night that dawn was starting to
lighten the sky to the east, barely visible through one tiny, grimy
window.  Mary let the door to the attic swing shut and paused on the
stairs, outlined in the grainy half-light.

    za'Tsara'Vor stood in one corner, leather sheath glistening as
though it had been oiled.  Mary padded toward it.

    [This is pretty stupid.]  Mary chided herself gently.  [But I have
to know.  Better it goes bad here, now, when Sumiko and Kei might have a
chance of stopping me.  I have to know.]

    She'd never touched the sword again.  After a few hours, she'd
worked up the courage to carry it into the attic with the tongs from the
fireplace, and for a couple of days afterwards it had burned fiery
tracks through her mind, demanding to be let out.  Then that had all
faded, and she'd thought it was finished.  [Until last night.]

    Mary reached out for the black sword, hesitated at the last moment,
and almost pulled away.  [I should set things up more carefully.  Have
some safety nets.]  She knew these were just rationalizations.  [Three.
Two.  One.]

    [It's been nice knowing me.]

    Her hand closed on the hilt.

    Images flooded in from every direction, obliterating the mundane
walls of the attic and replacing them with vistas of glittering stars.
There was *power*, enough power to change the fabric of the universe and
crumble the walls of reality.  Mary's hand twisted on the hilt and magic
crackled and snapped as it squirreled around, desperate for escape.

    One image stood out from the swirl -- an armored figure, all in
black and on one knee, accepting the sword with both hands from another
man in a robe.  The background was unclear, indistinct, but the robed
figure seemed horribly familiar.  Mary started to sweat when she tried
to focus on his face.

    [Forget that!  I came here to do something...to do...]

    To take the sword, she decided.  Take it and wreak vengeance on the
world, as was her birthright.  Mary grinned, slowly.

    "I want..."

    [...to get out...]

    The power roared, screamed, and flickered.  Mary took a deep breath
and opened her hand, jerking it away from the thing.

    The attic fell back into place around her.

    [I did it.]  Euphoria threatened.  It seemed almost too good to be
true.  [I beat.  I *can* beat it.]

    [I'm not losing my mind.  Not yet, anyway.]

    There was a noise from downstairs.  Mary wiped her eyes and hurried
to meet whoever had awoken.

    

    Kei had spent the night wrapped in her own thoughts.  The horrible
blankness of the demon's vision kept coming back to her, over and over,
until she was surprised to find color in the world when she finally
opened her eyes.  She'd listened to Sumiko and Mary, too, and inferred
from their conversation what they'd seen.  That made things even worse.

    [Although, most likely, the spell simply didn't work the same way on
me.  Those two are human, whatever their power, and I am not.  But...]

    The horrible voice again.  ["It shows the past."]

    [And what?  I have no past?]

    [I won't believe it.  I'm real -- I exist.]  She prodded herself
with the tips of her fingers.  [There is something wrong with me, that's
all.  I've spent too much time here -- no one has ever spent so long in
the Timestream.  I need to get out of here.  I have to talk to Ayre.]

    She didn't realize, until the thought had passed, how strong that
last desire was.  [He knows what's going on.  He *has* to know.  I've
heard him talk about the past, so he must remember.  He can tell me that
I'm just going mad.]

    [But,] thought another voice, slyly, [how could you believe him?]

    "Hey."

    Kei raised her head, slowly, to find Mary standing over her.  Mary
looked a bit the worse for wear -- her eyes were ringed with dark
circles -- but there was something cheerful in expression.  The demon
stared at her, dully.  

    "Kei."  Mary leaned forward.  "Are you all right?"

    "I..."  Kei found that her own voice sounded odd, echoing, somehow
different from what she'd heard all her life.  "I don't know.  I don't
think so."

    "Did the demon hurt you?  You didn't seem like you could talk last
night."

    "No...not the demon.  I...I'm just..."  She shook her head, slowly.
"Not right.  I don't *feel* right."

    "Is there anything I can do?"

    "Do?"

    "What do your people do when you get sick?"

    "We don't.  Get sick, I mean.  But..."

    Mary tilted her head.  "But?"

    "No one has ever spent this long in the Timestream.  It seems to be
having some affect on me.  I feel...frayed.  Like I'm coming apart at
the edges.  I can't think clearly."

    "Do you need energy?"

    "It's not that."  She could subsist quite well, Kei had found, by
siphoning tiny amounts of power from the innumerable humans around her.
Not enough to do fancy tricks, but enough to live.  "I just feel like my
mind isn't as clear as it used to be.  I can't remember some things."

    Mary paused.  "I wish I could offer some reassurance."

    "I'll probably be okay."  Kei got out of the chair, slowly, and Mary
stepped back.  "We're very adaptable.  My body should eventually figure
out what's causing this and react.  It may be entirely in my mind...I
don't know..."  She took a deep breath.  "I need..."  [I need to see
Ayre.]  "I need to think about it, for a while."

    "Right."  Mary nodded.  "Well, tell me if there's anything I can
do."

    "I'll just grin and bear it."  Kei smiled shakily.  "I can't go
back."  [I have to go back.]  "So it's not like I have a choice."

    Sumiko emerged from the bathroom at the top of the stairs, still
wearing the rumpled clothes she'd fallen asleep in.  She also looked
kind of dazed, and for a moment Kei wondered if whatever she had was
effecting everyone.  But Sumiko perked up quickly as Mary called to her.

    "'Morning, Sumi."  She stopped.  "Can I call you Sumi, by the way?"

    "S...sure."  From the look of it, this had more meaning to Sumiko
than it did to Mary, who nodded blithely and headed into the kitchen.

    "Breakfast-time, again.  I'm cooking this time.  Are you hungry?"

    "Yeah."  Sumiko reached the bottom of the stairs and bowed politely
to Kei.  "Good morning.  Are you feeling better?"

    "A little bit."  Kei shook her head in a futile attempt to clear out
the debris.  "I just feel like I'm falling apart."

    "I know how that feels."  Sumiko drifted towards the kitchen.

    [No, you don't.]

    The phone rang, a shrill electronic whistle.  Mary edged past Sumiko
and sprinted into the living room, shouting backwards.

    "Watch the bacon!"

    "Okay!"

    "Hello?"  Mary's face lit up as soon as the other person answered.
"Great!  I'll be right there.  No, your house would be better.  Right.
See you soon."  She slapped the phone down.  "Sumiko?"

    "Yeah?"

    "Can you handle breakfast yourself?  I have to go talk to someone."

    "Sure."  Sumiko yawned.  "No problem."

    "If my sister shows up, make sure she gets some too."

    "Okay."

    Mary turned to Kei.  "Are you going to be okay here for a while?"

    "Probably."

    "I'll be back soon, I think."  Mary shrugged a jacket over her
clothes which, Kei absently noted, were really quite inappropriate for
the weather.  "They won't try anything else to tonight, I think, so we
should be safe until then."

    "Do you think they"--[we-]--"will try again tonight?"

    "I imagine so.  How long before this Tsuiren comes out to fight
himself?"

    Kei tried to consider this, but it was so hard to think back.
Tsuiren and the others seemed like vague shadows, mere wraiths in her
imagination.  Only Ayre was solid, the rock she could hang her memory
on.  

    "I don't think it'll be long.  He was...is...not particularly long
on patience.  He must be getting pretty angry by now."

    "Good.  And if he doesn't come out," Mary grinned nastily, "we're
going in after him."

    "We're..."  [I can go home.]  She didn't even know how, but the
thought felt like a distant dream suddenly made reality.  "Do you really
think you can challenge him on his home ground?"

    "I plan on giving it a shot."  Mary shrugged.  "Otherwise, how long
can we go on like this?"

    With that, she was out the door, and Kei was left blinking in her
wake.  

    

    Rin sat on the end of the bed, a glass in her hand.  The ice tinkled
gently when she moved.  Deus paced back and forth in front of the
coin-operated TV, and the floor groaned under his weight.

    "Deus."

    He stopped, and Rin swallowed hard.

    "What is it, Agent Rin?"

    "Respectfully..."  She paused.  "I think I should be transferred off
of this assignment.  I am no longer confident in my ability to complete
it."

    Deus raised an eyebrow.  "Explain."

    "Mary is...doing the right thing."

    "She is meddling with powers she does not understand."

    "She doesn't deserve to die for that!"

    "No?"  He leaned closer, and Rin could see her own reflection in the
black of his shades.  She looked small, weak.  "What if she had lost to
one of those demons?  Would you want something like that running around
loose?"

    "She doesn't appear to be losing, Agent Deus."

    His lip twisted.  "Only a matter of time.  This last victory was a
stroke of luck.  I doubt they will survive another attack."

    "We should be *helping* them--"

    He smiled humorlessly.  "Perhaps it seems that way."

    "Nevertheless."  Rin took a deep breath.  "My request stands."

    "Request denied, Agent Rin.  I picked you for this assignment
because you were the best suited to it.  That has not changed.  You will
perform your duties."

    Rin sighed.  [I tried.]  "Of course, Agent Deus."

    

    "Mary!"

    Robyn smiled as she wrapped her arms around her best friend, and
Mary hugged her back as tightly as she could.

    "I feel like it's been forever since I've seen you."

    Mary nodded.  "I know."

    "Come on in."  Robyn held open the door to her house.  "Nobody's
home but me.  You want something to drink?"

    "Sure.  Whatever's cold."  She kicked off her shoes and hung her
jacket on the peg by the door that Robyn's parents had practically
reserved for her use.  Robyn pulled a pair of sodas from the fridge,
still attached to their plastic six-pack rings, and wandered over into
the living room; Mary had already stretched out on the couch.

    "Here."  Robyn handed one can over.  "That's a nice outfit, by the
way."

    "You like it?"  Mary had chosen a tight black top that accentuated
her figure over low-cut jeans.  "I just kind of threw stuff on when you
called."

    "Very nice."  Robyn settled into a chair.  "So.  You said you needed
to talk to me?"

    "Nothing in particular.  I just felt like I hadn't seen you in a
while."  [Idiot.]  The sentence had just slipped out.  In fact, Mary had
debated on the way over exactly what she should say to Robyn, with
little success.  [I should just tell her everything.  Magic, demons,
everything.]

    "Yeah."  Robyn sipped her Coke.  Even in her relatively distracted
state, Mary noticed that her friend was grinning like an idiot.

    "Wait a minute.  What are you so smiley about?"

    Robyn tilted her head to one side and kept smiling.

    "Let me guess."  It wasn't that hard, actually.  "That guy you were
going out with, last time I saw you."

    "Yup."

    Mary pulled herself up to a sitting position.  "Okay...so, are you
going to tell me his name, or do I have to guess?"

    "His name's Ayre."

    "What's he like?"

    "Perfect."  Robyn leaned back.  "You know, sensitive, tough,
incredibly smart, gorgeous.  He [understands] me so perfectly it's
scary."

    "So what's the catch?"

    "No catch!"  She looked slyly at Mary.  "Did I mention rich?  He's
rich."

    "Not bad."  Mary tried to force herself to relax.  "How many times
have you been out with him?"

    "He's been spending a lot of time here, but we've only actually been
out twice."

    "'Spending a lot of time here?'  Robyn..."

    Robyn nodded solemnly.

    "Wow."

    "We made a deal, remember?  That I would tell you when I slept with
a guy, and vice versa."

    "Damn."  Mary made an exaggerated grimace.  "Was that still in
effect?"

    "No statute of limitations."

    No matter what the circumstances, seeing Robyn like this made Mary
smile.  Her friend was practically bouncing out of her chair.

    "So he's older than you?"

    "A little bit, yeah."

    "And gorgeous, and rich."  Mary considered trying to play the
cautious one, but after looking at Robyn's expression she couldn't bear
to do it.  "Great.  And?"

    "And what?"

    "You know."

    "What?"

    "How was it?"

    Robyn turned pink and coughed, delicately.  Mary laughed.

    "Great."  She shook her head.  "It sounds great."

    Robyn smiled and actually did bounce out of her chair, landing on
the couch next to Mary, who barely managed more than an embarrassed
squeak before Robyn pulled her into a hug so tight it threatened to
suffocate her.  They stayed pressed together, tightly -- Mary could
smell the lilac in Robyn's hair, feel the soft curve of her breast and
the beating of her heart underneath.

    "Mary?"  Robyn's voice was soft, and Mary's breath caught in her
throat.  She answered in a whisper.

    "What?"

    "You're not mad at me, are you?"

    Mary pulled back far enough to look at Robyn's face, a few inches
away.  Her friend's eyes were misty.  "Why would I be mad at you?"

    "I don't know."  Robyn looked down.  "I've kind of been ignoring
you, the past couple of days.  Ayre's been great, but...you know...I
heard your message on the answering machine, and you sounded kind of
mad, and suddenly I felt awful."

    "No, no."  Mary carefully straightened Robyn's bangs.  "No.  I was
just tired last night."

    "Because...I don't know.  This is more important.  Than him."  She
sniffed.  "You understand?"

    "Yeah."  Mary pulled Robyn close again, so her friend couldn't see
her eyes.  "I do."

 

    Hands thrust deep into the pockets of her leather greatcoat, Mary
walked slowly away from Robyn's house.

    [It's better this way.  It's better that she not be involved.  I
don't know when things are going to go bad anymore.]  She took a long,
cleansing breath of early morning air.  [Besides.  She doesn't exactly
fit with my image.  Cool defender of the planet, stone-cold killer in a
long leather coat.]  Mary tried to strut down the street in a 'cool'
manner, imagining the heavy bass soundtrack.  [I need sunglasses, or
something.  And probably socks that don't have Hello Kitty on them.]

    "Aku."

    *Pop.*  "Yeah?"

    "Sing my praises, would you?"

    "Sure.  Ahem."  The little demon broke into passable verse and an
awful British accent.  "She was not afraid to fight, brave brave Sir
Mary!  She was not at all afraid to be killed in nasty ways, brave brave
brave brave Sir Mary.  With her ears cut off and her eyes gouged out,
her--"

    "Shut up, Aku."

    "Sure thing, boss."

    

    [It's better this way.]

    Robyn turned away from the window and let the curtains fall.  [I'm
almost ready.  This time, we'll beat the Enemy, everything will be happy
again, and I can let Mary in on the whole thing.]

    [It's almost over.]

    

    Darren was already staggering under the weight of all the bags, but
Lia was just getting up to steam.  At least half the mall remained
unshopped, and the night was young yet.  She shepherded him carefully to
a new bench, outside the next department store on the list, and was just
getting ready to plunge in when she caught sight of a familiar haircut
near the escalators.

    "That's Robyn!"  She waved Darren to his seat, which he took
gratefully.  "I'm going to go say hi.  Wait here for a second, would
you?"

    Darren rolled his eyes, but she was already running away.  Robyn's
head bobbed next to a tall man with brilliantly blue hair -- it was one
of the best dye jobs Lia had ever seen.  As she threaded her way onto
the escalator, and they got off at the bottom, she realized the two were
together.  Robyn talked to the guy, familiarly, and from time to time
took his hand in hers.  Her other hand carried a fat bag marked with the
insignia of the game store on the third floor.

    [Hmmmm.]  Lia smiled to herself.  [I wonder if Mary knows about
this.  And if she does, I wonder why she hasn't told me.]  She followed
the pair down, curious.  [It always pays to be up on the latest gossip.]


    Robyn and her boyfriend headed directly for one of the side
corridors, and Lia hurried so as not to lose them.  She turned the
corner just in time to see the guy ease open a utility door for the pair
of them to slip through.  Lia's smile widened.

    [Better and better.  Let me give them a few seconds to get started,
and then I'll walk in on them.]  It was sort of a cruel thing to do, but
from the way Robyn had been looking at that guy they'd been going out
for some time; Lia didn't think she'd mind.  She counted to fifty under
her breath and then eased through the door herself.

    The corridor beyond was drab compared to the staggering
tastelessness of the mall itself, and uncomfortably warm with the
by-products of the heating system.  Lia glanced both ways, almost
snickering at her own cleverness, and then stopped dead.

    Robyn was in the guy's arms, for certain.  They were both enclosed
in a cage of lightning, bars of flickering energy slowly engulfing both
of them.  They seemed to get smaller as this went on, folding in on
themselves until there was nothing left but a single point of brilliant
light, with vanished with a 'pop'.

    Lia stood staring for a long time.  Then, slowly, afraid the
universe would shatter under the weight of her motion, she turned and
left the mall one step at a time.  [I've got to tell Mary.]  Somehow,
Mary would know what to do.  On the floor above, forgotten, Darren
waited impatiently for his girlfriend's return.

 

    "--wait."  Robyn finished her sentence as Ayre's realm materialized
around them.  "Damn.  I think I saw someone behind us."

    He shrugged.  "Even if they saw us, they won't believe it.  It's
amazing what you humans can explain away."

    "I suppose."  Robyn hefted the heavy bag.  "Should I get started?"

    "The sooner, the better."  Ayre waved a hand, and the giant crystal
column materialized.  Robyn stared at it critically.

    "Do you think you could make the hole a little wider," she said
eventually.

    "Certainly."  It widened as she looked at it, and Robyn nodded in
satisfaction.  "Why?"

    "I realized I shouldn't be restricting myself to only one source.
This time, I'm going to synthesize the daemon from a bunch of different
stuff."  She rooted around in the bag.  "No more of these video game
villains.  This stuff was never intended to be defeated."

    Ayre accepted the books with one hand and read the titles idly.
"'Rifts Conversion Book.'  'Heroes Unlimited.'  Where does all this
stuff come from?"

    "Humans are remarkably inventive."  Robyn looked up at him with a
big smile, and his expression in return was so grave, but so caring,
that she couldn't resist reaching for him.  The kiss lasted longer than
she'd intended, and by the time he let go her face was flushed.  "We're
going to win this time."

    "I know."

    Robyn stopped.  "Ayre..."

    "What?"

    "What happens afterwards?  If we...win?"

    "My people will be able to live in peace and harmony forever."

    "No, I mean -- what happens to me?"

    Ayre looked slightly confused, and Robyn continued hastily.

    "Only I've watched too much anime where the Earth girl doesn't get
to stay with the hero or something, after they beat the bad guys, and
even though they're really in love with each other.  I just wanted to
make sure that wasn't the case here.  I mean, this is real life, right?
I'm in love with you, right?  You wouldn't just leave, or die doing
something stupidly noble..."

    He smiled.  "Believe me when I say that that will not be a problem."

    "Great."  Robyn let out a deep breath.  "Not that I was worried.
But.  You know."

    He gestured towards the machine.  "Let's get to work."   

 

    Robyn's eyes were closed, but her hands twitched as she manipulated
the magic of Ayre's machine, picking things from mid-air and moving them
in inexplicable ways.  Ayre looked on, curious, and nodded vaguely as
Tsuiren appeared at his side.

    "Your human continues to impress me with her ingenuity."  He
gestured to the crystal column.  "What is she using this time?"

    "Many things, apparently."  Ayre shrugged.  "She seems to believe
that she can combine them into some kind of ultimate weapon.  Her
instincts have proved to be dead-on so far."

    "Indeed."  Tsuiren leaned closer.  "If I were a more suspicious
person, Ayre, I might worry about this plan of yours.  What will you do
with her if we win?"

    "Keep her around until she begins to bore me."

    "I see."

    The Dark Lord looked as though he wanted to say something more, but
Ayre gestured him to silence.  "I think it's almost finished.  I can
feel the energy--"

    "So can I."  Tsuiren's voice was grim.  "There's no way she can
control it."

    "She might--"

    Robyn was sweating now, her hands moving frantically.  Streamers of
light unwrapped themselves from the column, hovering around the opening
that was now stacked high with books and videos.  Then, fast as striking
snakes, they curled around an empty place on the floor and circled into
a cylinder.  A figure started to take shape.

    "She's doing it," breathed Ayre.  "I don't believe it."

    The thing seemed undecided about what it wanted to be.  It started
out as a glowing human figure, wrought of pure light, but that didn't
hold for long.  Forms flickered past quicker than the eye could follow
-- a mechanical giant with a broadsword; a menacing shape in black
plate, swinging a spiked chain; a lithe armored form with blades for
arms; a human in a simple black biker jacket with a revolver; a giant
slug, belching poison gas.  Robyn twitched her hands, and each form
dissolved back into the nothingness from whence it came.  None held
together for longer than a few seconds.

    "She's losing it."  Tsuiren pursed his lips.  "Shut it down, Ayre."

    "No.  Give it a moment longer.  I think--"

    He was cut off by a rising screech from the crystal column.  Bolts
of pure energy crackled off of it, slamming into the walls and linking
Robyn to the machine with a glittering arc of power.  The noise was
suddenly deafening, and the air filled with the scent of ozone.  The
streamers of light redoubled their circling, and another small figure
took shape in the center.

    "Ayre!"  Tsuiren shouted above the rising tumult.  "Stop this
*now*!"

    Ayre raised one hand, hesitated uncertainly.  The shriek rose to a
crescendo, and Robyn opened her eyes and smiled.

    The crystal column exploded.

    Ayre hastily threw up a shield in front of himself and Robyn, felt
Tsuiren do the same.  Bits of crystal whirred outwards, impaling
themselves with deadly force in the marble walls of the domain.  Raw
energy leaked from the base like blood from a wound, until Ayre hastily
cut the flow; what was left earthed itself in a series of spectacular
discharges.  

    As soon as the smoke had cleared, he rushed to Robyn's side.  She
had been protected by the shield, and was thus unhurt beyond a little
singeing.  Her eyes were open, but whether they saw anything was
questionable, and her hands still twitched spasmodically.

    "Robyn?  Are you all right?"

    There was a tiny sound from behind him; a footstep, followed with
the gentle tinkle of a little bell.  She stared over Ayre's shoulder for
a moment, not really understanding, and then the realization hit her.
Robyn's grin widened further, and she laughed and laughed and laughed.


Authors Note:
	Anyone who can peg all the refences in this last section gets a
cookie.  It's theoretically possible, I think, though at least one is
extremely obscure...


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