Here's the second half.  Please try and read them as
one fic, as this fic is already on the verge of being
hopelessly confused as it is without anything else
happening.




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

     Cory sat by the bed, staring into Kei's face, and tried to figure 
out how everything had gone so spectacularly wrong.
     Kei just lay there, of course.  Coma victims tended to do that.  
Her face still looked wrong, the capillaries pushed up to the surface, 
reminding everyone of the circumstances behind her collapse.  Brain 
haemorrhage.  She had felt her partner die, and because they were so 
closely emotionally linked, it affected her own mind.  Now she lay 
there, Ishtar and the others waiting for her to wake up.  If she ever 
did.  They did not seem to be too hopeful.
     Cory kept repeating this information to herself, over and over.  
She hoped that if she did it often enough, she could find something, 
some sort of solution that would make everything better.  But nothing 
came to mind.  Hilda and the others said they were going to try again, 
try and redo history a second time, but that meant little to Cory.  Yuri 
was dead.  You couldn't 'undo' death.  It was cheating.
     She wasn't really friends with them, of course.  They only knew 
each other from these two assignments, and from the letters they'd 
written back and forth.  Yet somehow Yuri's death hurt, hurt a lot more 
than it should have.
     Maybe it was the image that kept floating up in her mind.  The 
image of Kei and Yuri, the day before the mission, working so smoothly 
as a team.  Not merely a team, she corrected herself.  They moved as if 
they were one being.  And the look they had on their faces...it was an 
inner peace.  Something which Cory suspected that they hadn't felt for 
years.  Together, they were able to fight back the guilt and self-
loathing that had gripped them.  They comforted each other.  They loved 
each other.
     And now that was gone.  Yuri was dead.  Kei lay here, still and 
unmoving.  And all Cory could do was sit here and watch her, and try and 
figure out what could possibly have gone wrong.
     A movement behind her made her turn.  Seeing who was standing there 
made her growl.  "Lazarus, now is _not_ the time."
     "And what would be a better time?  Miss Emerson, we are trying to 
save both of your friends.  I know you find it hard to believe that we 
can do it, but it _is_ possible.  We've already sent a team back to the 
station, this time 72 hours before the explosion.  Hopefully they'll be 
able to determine the motivations.  However, we still need your help.  
You know Kei and Yuri better than anyone here.  You can tell us about 
them.  About how to avoid this tragedy."
     Cory's mouth twitched, and for a moment she thought about hitting 
him.  She spun on her heel and walked to the other side of the room.  
"Why not just watch all those old vids you have of them, or read the 
stories where we met.  You don't need me at all.  We're just fiction."
     Despite herself, she turned to gauge his reaction.  He still looked 
at her with that same weathered gaze.  At least he wasn't smirking this 
time.
     "Cory," he eventually replied, "I am fictional as well, supposedly.  
I've always refused to accept that.  I suggest you do, too.  Despite 
Hilda's claims, we live _real_ lives.  If you stop thinking your life is 
real, then it ceases to be worth living.  We need your help because no 
amount of videos, books or third-party accounts makes up for knowing a 
person.  You knew the Angels.  You were friends with them.  Help us."
     Cory stood for a while, mulling over what he said.  He was right, 
of course.  Damn him.  "Ask me nicely," she said.
     Lazarus blinked at her.  "What?"
     "Just say 'please'.  That's all."
     For a moment, she thought he'd refuse.  She could see all of that 
nasty pride of his coming to the surface.  Then he closed his eyes 
briefly.  "Please, Cory.  Help us."
     Cory allowed herself a brief smile.  "All right."  She looked back 
at the bed, and the smile vanished.  Kei lay there, still as death.  
"All right, I'll help."

***

     Cory looked at the storefront in front of her with disbelief.  
Lazarus had said that they were going to consult an expert on multiple 
realities and chaos theory, something which apparently factored into the 
botched mission.  Cory had expected them to stop at a university or some 
such higher-learning institute.
     She had not expected a shop right in the middle of downtown 
Boondock, with a sign on the front reading 'Big Swifty & Associates:  
Trendmongers'.  She wondered if this man would be any help at all.
     Her doubts only increased upon entering the shop.  It appeared to 
have had a cyclone hit it recently.  Papers were strewn everywhere, 
including the floor.  There wasn't even a path, and Cory tried to tread 
lightly on the manuscripts as she walked in.  Lazarus seemed untroubled 
by all the mess, and walked right up to the front desk, ringing the 
bell.
     "Yes?  Whad'ya want?" came the voice from the back room.  It 
sounded rather bored.
     "Chris, we have an assignment for you," Lazarus replied.
     Suddenly there was a small crash from within the room, and a face 
poked out the door.  "Lazarus!  Haven't seen you in quite some time!  
Reality trouble again, huh?"
     The proprietor stuck his head back into the room.  "Sheila, put the 
kettle on!" he shouted, and then came out to meet them.  Sticking out a 
grimy hand, he grinned at Cory.  "Nice to meet you.  Chris Davies, 
Professor of Chaos Theory and Temporal Predictions."
     She took the hand warily.  Sure enough, it seemed slightly sticky.  
"Um...Cory Emerson, reporter."
     "With the Pair, right?  I remember that series."  He didn't seem to 
notice the glare Cory gave him, but simply sat down on a chair in the 
corner that hadn't even seemed to have been there before.  He stared at 
his hand for a moment and then wiped it on his jacket.
     "Sorry about that," he grinned at her.  "You know what they say, 
'melts in your mouth, not in your hands'.  Rubbish, if you ask me."  He 
put his feet up on a nearly pile of paper.  "So, Lazarus, what can I do 
you for?"
     Lazarus seemed to take the man's eccentricities in stride.  "Well," 
he said, "as you can imagine from Cory's presence, the problem concerns 
the Lovely Angels, Kei and Yuri.  As well as their home universe."
     Chris nodded.  "16, I think that one is.  Let me check.  SHEILA!!!"
     "TEA!!!" came an equally loud voice from the back room.  Cory 
looked up to see a rather statuesque redhead standing in the doorway, an 
angry expression on her face and a tea tray in her hands.  Cory wondered 
if she was related to the ten or twelve other statuesque redheads she'd 
seen since she arrived here.  *To think I once thought Kei's looks were 
rather unusual...*
     Chris got up, snatching the tray from her hands.  "Get me the files 
on Universe 16, double quick.  Should be next to that Lincoln Log 
cabin."
     Lazarus interrupted.  "And while you're at it, find me any 
information you can on probability-altering entities."
     Chris paused, staring back at Lazarus.  "Ah, so that's what this is 
all about."  He nodded at Sheila, who went back into the back room, a 
truculent expression on her face.  Passing out the tea, he smiled at 
Lazarus.  "Tell me everything."
     As Lazarus explained how they had arrived at the current situation, 
Cory noticed Chris' expression getting more and more serious.  When 
Sheila arrived with a large stack of files, he barely acknowledged it, 
merely nodding for Lazarus to continue.
     As Lazarus finished, Chris sat back in the chair and let out a 
sigh.  "Well, I suppose it couldn't have been helped.  Still, I wish 
you'd called me before attempting anything like this.  You knew those 
two were probability-generators."
     Cory blinked.  "Excuse me, but what is a probability-generator?  Or 
probability-altering entity?"
     "Same thing," Chris said, passing her a folder.  Seeing it had 
tomato-sauce stains all over it, Cory declined.  "There are certain 
people who can affect reality.  Or rather, affect the way it reacts 
around them.  It's not exactly a beneficial power, it just exists.  
Think of them as luck generators.  The luck is usually good, to a 
greater or lesser degree, for them personally.  On the other hand, 
because dropping luck all over the place is a serious drain on entropy, 
it tends to have a counteractive effect on those around them.  You know 
the Pair's reputation, Cory.  They get the job done.  They solve the 
case.  But frequently, the planet blows up around them.  It's that sort 
of thing."
     He sighed, flicking through more folders.  "The thing is, even the 
definition I gave you isn't entirely true.  That would imply that it can 
be predicted, which it can't.  Every probability-generator is different.  
Usually there's only one or two of them in any universe at any given 
time, which is a godsend."
     He passed a bunch of folders to Lazarus.  "Help me find the Pair, 
would you?  They're in here somewhere.  Doesn't help that I don't know 
their last names..."  Apparently the lesson had ended, because Chris now 
flipped through the folders at an incredible rate, muttering to himself.
"Teela Brown...Mihoshi Kuramitsu...Justy Ueki Tylor...the _entire_ 
population of Sagussa..."
     Finally he looked up.  "Aha!  Here we are!  And coincidentally, 
Lazarus, they're right next to Long, comma, Lapis Lazuli and Lorelei 
Lee."  He coughed pointedly as he said this, then got serious again.  
"Which brings me to my point."
     Leaning forward, he passed Lazarus the folders.  "You had the Pair, 
two well-known probability generators, and your two daughters, who are 
_also_ probability generators, on the same mission.  In a sense, you're 
a very lucky man.  You escaped with only one dead and one in a coma.  
The four of them together could have meant the end of that universe."
     Lazarus' brow wrinkled.  "You mean we can't put them together."
     "Nope.  The effects of one of these teams is bad enough on their 
universes.  Putting together two of them...two pairs of two for God's 
sake...and hoping to succeed...well, there was no way.  I could talk to 
you for an hour on why chaos theory would prevent it, but suffice to 
say, it would never have succeeded."
     "However, I don't see how this affects your _current_ mission.  
You're trying to go back and prevent this from happening.  Fine.  Gives 
me a headache thinking about it, but fine.  But Yuri is dead, and Kei is 
in a coma.  They won't be affecting it.  And I'd recommend leaving the 
twins behind as well this time.  That way, the mission should succeed on 
its own merits."
     "Despite having the twins and the Angels already there, trying to 
complete it for the first time?" Lazarus said, a doubtful tome creeping 
into his voice.
     Chris paused with the teacup halfway to his lips.  "Ah.  Good 
point.  Sorry, wasn't thinking temporally.  Hm."
     And for the next ten minutes, he didn't seem to move.  Cory looked 
over at Lazarus, but he was too busy reading the files Chris had given 
him on Kei and Yuri.  With a shrug, Cory reached down and started to 
read one of the many papers that had fallen to the floor.
     That was why she nearly jumped out of her seat when Chris shouted 
again.  "AH HAH!  Got it!  You need a probability dampener!"
     Lazarus had jumped as well, but now seemed to be recovered.  
"Elaborate, please," he said.
     "A probability dampener.  Opposite of what we're talking about.  
When they're around, weird stuff ceases.  The world flows logically.  
That sort of thing."
     "Can we get someone like that on such short notice?"
     A grin split Chris' face.  "Sailor Pluto?"  Noticing the stern gaze 
Lazarus returned to him, he went on.  "Ah well, had to try.  But 
seriously, not a problem.  Probability generators are so rare because of 
their unpredictability.  But since it operates on probability-
_dampening_ principles, a dampener can be built.  No people necessary."
     Lazarus stood up.  Cory noticed for the first time how tense he 
seemed.  Apparently he wasn't all that happy to be here either.  "How 
long before you can get one of these things?"
     Chris had buried his nose in another file, and waved a hand 
absentmindedly.  "Take that one off of the bookcase.  I haven't used it 
in donkey's years, so..."
     Cory felt her temper building up again.  It was a familiar feeling 
that she could take comfort in.  "If you had it all along, why did you 
make us wait so long?  Why all the technical talk?  Why not just say 
'use this'?"
     Chris grinned at her again.  "I try and get my fun whenever I can, 
Miss Emerson."  Then, to her amazement, he winked.  "Good luck."

***

     Cory stopped dead in her tracks, feeling her anger rise.  After 
leaving Davies' establishment they had walked along for almost two 
hours, Cory following Lazarus' increasingly complex directions.  And now 
they appeared to simply be back at the Long residence.  She rounded on 
her companion.
     "Was there a point to that?  Why didn't we just go back the way we 
came?"
     Lazarus seemed unruffled.  Earlier, he'd appeared to be showing 
Cory a bit of kindness, but that was gone now.  "We couldn't go back 
right away.  Things weren't ready yet."
     Cory blinked.  'I don't understand."
     "You will."  Lazarus smirked.  "Just go through that door."
     Cory growled.  She'd never used to be this bad-tempered, but 
something in Lazarus brought out the worst in her.  Turning, she saw a 
side door she hadn't noticed before.  It had a picture on its front of a 
snake eating its own tail.  *Charming*, Cory thought.
     She turned back to tell Lazarus where he could stick his door, but 
the man was gone.
     She looked at the door again.  *I should just forget about it.  Go 
back into the house through the _front_ door and check up on Kei.  I 
don't have to do what he says*.  But even as she was thinking this, she 
found herself walking towards the door and opening it.  Her curiosity 
was getting the better of her once again.
     Through the door looked to be a perfectly ordinary hallway, with 
another door at the far end.  As soon as Cory stepped into the hall, 
the door behind her melted away and vanished, leaving behind a blank 
expanse of wall.  Thumping the wall once in frustration, Cory stalked 
down the hall towards the other door.
     Opening _that_ one proved to be far more interesting.  This time 
Cory found herself in a huge circular room that resembled something from 
a government senate building.  There was a raised dais towards the back 
which looked like it held the various speakers of power, and chairs all 
around the edge of the room.  Cory noted with irritation that she seemed 
to be standing right in the middle of the room, and they hadn't even 
bothered to give her a chair.
     "Cory, welcome."  Startled, Cory looked up.  The chairs on the dais 
that had been empty just a moment before were now occupied.  Lazarus sat 
in one of them, she noted with disgust.  To her surprise, Hilda was in 
another.  She also noticed Jubal Harshaw, the only one with a smile 
on his face.  The rest seemed to be occupied by men and women of various 
races and types.  A young woman with flowing robes and a tiara, an older 
man with dark green skin.  All of them stared in her direction.  Cory 
shivered, feeling like a lab rat that was being put through a maze to 
see if it was intelligent.
     Attempting to take some control of her situation, she marched over 
to the edge of the circle and sat in a chair.  "What is this place?"
     Hilda seemed to be speaking for everyone.  "This is an experimental 
organisation.  We call it the Circle of Ouroboros."
     "Yeah, noticed the snake," Cory said, noticing that Hilda had not 
answered her question about where they were.
     Hilda went on as if Cory had not spoken.  "Recently, humanity has 
come into possession of a device that can take people between universes.  
You've seen it in action; it brought you here.  However, using the 
device seems to have brought unwanted attention to ourselves.  There are 
certain...other parties that do not want us to have these abilities, and 
have taken steps to stop us, sometimes by any means necessary.  The 
Circle was designed to take action against these others, and also 
recently to see if there was any way to alter some of these realities, 
trying to create a better place."
     Cory ran through that twice in her head, just to make sure she got 
it.  "You mess with different universes."
     "Yes, although we haven't really started doing that yet.  Most of 
this is purely hypothetical.  Lapis Lazuli and Lorelei Lee were 
attempting a little experiment to see how much we could affect another 
universe.  Unfortunately, you saw what happened when they arrived.  
Likewise, when we went back to try and correct the problem, we only 
succeeded in making things worse."
     Cory felt the edges of a headache coming on from trying to think in 
terms of time travel.  "But I thought Lazarus told me we were going to 
go back and try a second time."
     Hilda smiled briefly.  "He did, and we are."  The smile vanished.  
"But there are more issues at stake here.  Every time there is an 
intervention, paradox comes into play.  To go back and try to fix things 
that first time was a major decision, but I felt it necessary; to see 
how much we had learned and how much we could do."
     "So saving lives had nothing to do with it?" Cory asked.
     This time it was Jubal who answered.  "Of course it did.  But you 
must understand, Cory, we have to think of the big picture.  More 
important than saving the lives of the people on the station was 
ensuring that the timeline ran smoothly.  If that station had been meant 
to blow up with a thousand people aboard, we would have let it happen."
     Getting nervous, Cory responded, "So it wasn't meant to blow up?"
     Jubal smiled again.  "No, it wasn't.  In fact, in the timeline we
first saw, the Lovely Angels weren't there at all.  Not that they 
_caused_ the disaster - although we did examine that as a possibility.  
But somehow their presence on the station accelerated things to the 
point that whoever set off that bomb panicked.  _Someone_ hired the 
Angels - apparently to investigate.  And that would certainly be enough 
to panic me."  He grinned.  Cory wanted to snarl, but found herself 
reluctantly agreeing with him.  *Wait a minute, then who hired 3WA for the 
job?  Kei and Yuri said it was an odd situation in the first place...*  
She decided to file that away in her brain for later.
     Hilda jumped back in.  "What Jubal is trying to say is that there 
are at least a dozen factors that need to go into this rescue - _one_ of 
which is trying to save your friends."
     "Is there a reason you need me here?" Cory asked.  Her headache was 
getting worse, and she really wanted to go lie down.
     Lazarus frowned.  "Yuri is dead.  Kei is in a coma.  As the only 
other person from their universe, you are the one who has to speak for 
them."
     Cory didn't like the way this was heading.  "And...?"
     "And we need your permission to attempt a rescue."
     Cory blinked.  "Um...granted?"
     "It's not as simple as that, Cory," Lazarus said.  "If we attempt a 
rescue, it's still going to affect them.  We're still not entirely sure 
about the laws of paradox.  Let me put it like this.  We go back, make 
sure the station doesn't blow up, and save Yuri.  We then return to 
Boondock.  Yuri is no longer dead."
     Nodding slowly, Cory tried to get her mind around the situation.  
"Gotcha."
     Lazarus then fixed her with a cold stare.  "Now - what about Kei?"
     "Well, she would - "  Cory stopped.  What would happen to Kei?  
"She'd...um...not be in a coma anymore."
     "Possible, but unlikely."  Lazarus continued to stare at her, 
refusing to let her avert her gaze.  "What other possibilities are 
there?"
     *Unlikely?* Cory thought.  "Well...if she _is_ still in a coma, 
Yuri's presence should snap her out of it."
     "More likely that Yuri's mind will feel Kei's upon arrival in 
Boondock and she'll collapse as well.  Yuri is just as linked to Kei as 
Kei is to her."
     Cory's head felt like someone was pounding on it with a metal pipe.  
"Well...why not rescue Kei as well as Yuri?  Back on the station, I 
mean?  Then you could bring them both back, and - "
     "And what happens to the Kei here?" Lazarus broke in.  "That would 
mean two Keis.  Which one is real?  For that matter, what if they met?  
Could they co-exist?  We tried that once, and the person involved was 
killed.  We don't want to try it again."
     Hilda said, "That's why we're concentrating on only rescuing Yuri 
and stopping the bomb.  The last mission never found the bomb in time, 
and Yuri was a ways away from them when it went off.  There's still a 
considerable danger of co-existence, but if we concentrate _only_ on 
Yuri and the bomb, we should be all right.  We have a surveillance team 
there now finding out exactly what the bomb crisis was all about."
     Now Cory was puzzled.  "It's that organisation - the Bureaucratic 
Watchdog Office.  They were going to..."  She trailed off as she noticed 
Lazarus shaking his head.
     "Whoever planned to set off that bomb, it was _not_ the BWO.  I 
don't know what information you three received, but it was probably 
false.  As I said, someone wanted the Angels there, so I suspect they 
set up a phoney situation to ensure that they would be present."
     Cory slumped back in her seat.  "So what is the reason?"
     "We're trying to find out," Jubal replied.
     For a few minutes, Cory just sat there.  "What you want me to do is 
give permission for this rescue, knowing that in all likelihood it will 
cripple Yuri as well as Kei.  Furthermore, you want me to speak for the 
Angels as well, giving their permission to do this to them."
     "Yes," Lazarus said.  "As the alternative is Yuri being dead and 
Kei still in a coma, I think the choice is obvious."  Hilda glared at 
him but said nothing.
     They waited while Cory gathered her thoughts.  *Why are they doing 
this to me?  Well, because they have to get permission, and I'm the 
closest thing to next of kin at the moment.*  She sighed, and put her 
head between her knees.  *Gods, what's going to happen?  What if they 
never recover?  I'll have been responsible...why isn't there some other 
answer?*  She imagined Yuri in a bed next to Kei, both of them blank, 
unmoving...being fed intravenously for the rest of their lives until 
their bodies decided to stop.  She shuddered and was almost sick.
     Then she thought of Yuri, blown up on the space station and dead.  
And Kei's scream as Yuri was ripped from her mind.
     She looked back up at the group, blinking back tears.  Lazarus was 
the face she focused on, staring back at her implacably.  God, she hated 
him.
     "Fine.  I give you permission to do this."
     And having said that, she slumped back into her chair, closed her 
eyes, and began to cry in earnest.

***

     A day or so later, Cory stood by the door of the Dora, wondering 
what gods she had insulted to get to this point.  Lazarus had asked for 
her to accompany the team on the mission, in order to get Yuri back to 
Boondock.
     Cory had attempted to argue her way out of this.  She might 
occasionally crave excitement, but Kei's fate had brought home to her how 
dangerous this actually was.  The thought of going back onto that 
station and getting blown up scared the willies out of her.  Who's to 
say that they wouldn't cut their losses and give up after this attempt?
     Lazarus was determined, however, and for once Hilda didn't argue 
with him.  "Cory, think about what happened last time.  Yuri will be in 
a state of panic.  What had been a cut and dry mission has suddenly 
turned deadly.  We could try to intercept her, but she hasn't known us 
for very long.  Kei is in a coma.  You are there to reassure her and get 
her back onto Dora."
     Cory grumbled.  "Why not just whack her over the head and drag her 
back?"
     "What would your reaction be if we did that to you?"
     That brought Cory to a halt.  She'd be livid.  They were only 
trying to be nice to Yuri.  She sighed.  "Fine, I'll go."
     That having been settled, she then tried to pick apart every 
aspect of their plan.  "What about the spy team you said you placed 
there?  It's been there for 3 days, gathering information.  Wouldn't 
they be ideal for this team?"
     Lazarus was already shaking his head.  "Cory, the reason that spies 
are successful is that they are _spies_.  They aren't fighters, or bomb 
defusers.  They're people who know how to remain unobtrusive and gather 
necessary information.  We can't afford to let them be part of the team, 
it might give them away in case we need them for future missions.  I've 
told you that we're being monitored by our enemies."
     Cory rolled her eyes.  "Who _are_ these enemies of yours?  You make 
it sound like a bad action thriller."
     Lazarus started to snap at her, then stopped himself.  Rubbing his 
temples, he continued in a calmer tone.  "As far as we've been able to 
discover, there are three other groups that, like us, have the ability 
to travel between times and dimensions.  The ones calling themselves the 
'Time Lords' just want to stop us from using the devices to change 
histories.  The 'Scene Changers' want to eradicate us.  And we're not 
sure about 'The People'.  So far, all they've done is ask us for the 
recipe for our suspicious yellow dip."
     Cory looked at Lazarus for a moment in case he was putting her on, 
but he seemed to be completely serious.  "So, because you want this to 
remain hidden as much as possible from these groups, you aren't using 
the same team as the one that did surveillance."
     "Exactly," Lazarus said.
     Trying to think of the next answer to her unspoken question, Cory 
went on.  "And that's why we're not taking any fancy tech from this time 
back to the station.  In case the other groups can sense it."
     Lazarus nodded.  "That's one of the reasons.  More likely, however, 
is that our detecting and defusing equipment would be completely 
useless."
     That startled Cory.  "What?"
     "Cory, if you took the most advanced, high-tech device your people 
have for detecting explosives and other such devices, and took it back 
to the time of Alexander the Great to find a bomb, would you be 
successful?  Think how those devices work."
     Cory's brow furrowed for a moment.  "It wouldn't pick up anything.  
It would be looking for 22nd-century technology, not...um...minus-
fourth."
     "Right," Lazarus nodded.  "Our equipment is calibrated completely 
differently from yours in the first place, as they are different 
universes.  Your universe is much more reliant on cybertechnology 
implants, for instance.  We never advanced in that direction."
     Cory opened her mouth to say something else, and saw a brief look 
of frustration flash across Lazarus' features.  She held back, realising 
she'd tormented him enough.  There was a big difference between getting 
on Lazarus' nerves and just being a bitch.  "OK, fine.  I guess I'm all 
set."
     Lazarus sighed in relief.  "We should be ready to move in about 
eight hours.  You might want to get some sleep.  And remember, your job 
is to find Yuri and get her back to Dora.  If luck holds out, you won't 
even have to run across the bomber.  Short and sweet."

***

     For the most part, the mission had been short and sweet.  Although 
the spy team Lazarus and company had sent in couldn't give them a 
precise location of the bomb, they were able to pinpoint an area, and 
guarantee that at the time of the squad's arrival, the bomb had already 
been planted.  As Lazarus muttered to her, "It would be really 
embarrassing to arrive at the right place and discover he hadn't even 
planted the bomb yet."
     The bomb took a lot longer than they had planned.  It was filled 
with failsafes and backups that insured that the defusers would not be 
able to do what they were doing.  Finally Lazarus had to leave them 
there and hope for the best.  He then took a few others and went in 
search of the bomber.
     There wasn't much Cory could do until the bomb was scheduled to go 
off.  Right now, in another part of the station, Kei, Yuri, Laz and Lor 
were preparing to ambush the wrong people.  Cory couldn't risk going in 
and changing that.  Apparently there was a difference between changing 
things and REALLY changing things.
     So she was waiting in the corridor by herself, trying not to do 
anything that would attract attention.  Unfortunately, some guy chose 
that moment to breeze around the corner at full speed, slamming into her 
and knocking her to the floor.
     Cory smashed into the wall and lay there for a few moments, trying 
to get her breath back while thinking up a few more amusing tortures for 
the entire male gender.  Opening her eyes, she found the man staring at 
her with his mouth wide open.  Cory looked behind her, wanting to see 
what had him so amazed.  That was when he grabbed her by the throat.
     "YOU!  You were that reporter who was giving him a hard time!  You 
drove him to this!  He was...he was..."
     Cory tried to understand what the man was saying, but it was 
difficult as he had her about two feet off the ground and she was 
struggling to breathe.  He finally lowered her, but kept a choke hold on 
her neck as he moved down the corridor.
     "He's holed himself up in his room.  He won't even let me speak to 
him!  How are we supposed to negotiate with Ms. Mizuno if he hides like 
this?!  How..." he paused, a catch in his voice, "how am I supposed to 
see her?  I was going to finally meet her in person!"
     Cory was desperately scrabbling at her throat, trying to throw him 
off, but his other arm had her in a lock behind her back, so she mostly 
ended up flailing about.  *Why didn't I take Kei and Yuri up on that 
offer to teach me to fight?*  She looked into his eyes and began to 
seriously worry; the man was obviously unhinged.  She had a nagging 
suspicion that this was their bomber.  He was headed for Lawson's room, 
and was certainly crazy enough.  Where was everyone?  For a packed space 
station, the corridors certainly were deserted.
     The man finally released his hold on her neck, but only to open the 
door in front of them.  Cory renewed her struggles, but he was just too 
damned strong.  Bursting into the room, the man immediately started in 
on a fresh rant.
     "Boss, it's OK!  I found the reporter who bothered you so much!  
Now we can get back to - urk!?"
     For a moment, Cory thought she was going to die right there.  The 
guy's arm closed around her neck, almost managing to snap it in half.  
Her vision began to turn red, but that didn't prevent her from seeing 
what had caused him to tense up.  Two people were sitting up in bed, 
apparently naked, and looking very post-coital.  Cory certainly 
recognised them.  It was Richard Lawson and Ami Mizuno, and suddenly the 
chat show's talk of 'mergers' had a whole new meaning.
     For a few seconds, nothing happened.  Then Cory found herself 
yanked across the room, as the man leaped to avoid shots from Lazarus 
and the rest of his team.  Cory almost cried out in pain; that last jerk 
had sprained her wrist at the very least.
     Lazarus looked unruffled.  "Give it up, Loader.  Just come with 
us."
     Loader wasn't listening, but was instead adjusting his grip on Cory 
in order to reach inside his jacket and produce a small box-like device.  
"I warn you, I have..."
     Lazarus wouldn't let him finish.  "You have a device connected to a 
disarmed bomb.  It's too late."  Cory visibly relaxed.  They'd done it.
Unfortunately, this just seemed to upset Loader even more, and he 
continued to tighten his grip on Cory.  Cory looked to Lazarus for some 
sort of assistance, but he seemed to be chuckling.  Cory began to do a 
slow burn.
     Loader was angry as well.  "What's so funny?"
     Lazarus gave a small grin.  "I was just wondering if Miss Emerson 
was going to deal with you the same way she dealt with me."
     Loader, puzzled, looked down, expecting Cory to suddenly pull some 
sort of judo move.
     For a moment, Cory was equally puzzled, and then suddenly realised 
what Lazarus was talking about.  He had her arms, but her legs were 
still free.
     She quickly snapped her leg up as fast as she could, and was 
rewarded with a scream of pain from Loader as her foot connected with 
his groin.  He let go of her, and she bolted over to the other side of 
the room.  In seconds, several of Lazarus' team had him surrounded and 
restrained.
     Cory didn't have time to relax, though.  Lazarus grabbed her and 
shoved her out of the door.  "Yuri."
     Still somewhat dazed, Cory nodded and ran out of the room.  Now 
that the crisis was past, she could afford to head towards the room 
where Kei, Yuri and the twins had cornered the Bureaucratic Watchdog 
Office.  She could also afford to notice the pain in her wrist, which 
was excruciating.  She tried not to move it too much.
     Turning a corner, she slammed into another body, flying across the 
corridor.  Again.  She also landed on her sprained wrist, and heard a 
bone snap.  She cried out in pain.
     This time the other person helped her up.  It was Yuri.  "Cory, 
what are you doing here?"
     Cory gasped but managed to stand up.  "Yuri, we've got to get back 
to the Dora."
     Yuri suddenly remembered why she had been running.  "But the bomb!  
It's not -- "
     Cory cut her off.  'It's OK.  Lazarus took care of it.  We're done 
here, mission accomplished."
     Yuri sighed, leaning up against the wall.  "Thank God.  And Mughi's 
all right too!  For once everything went right!"
     Cory smiled wanly.  "Yeah, everything's just peachy."
     "I'll go get Kei."  Yuri started to head back, but Cory grabbed 
her.
     *I'll never forgive myself for this.*  "Kei's already back on 
Boondock.  She's...she's waiting for you."
     If Yuri noticed Cory's mood, she didn't say anything.  She just 
nodded.  "OK.  Well then, let's get back to the Dora and get your wrist 
fixed up."
     Cory nodded and let her friend lead her back towards the ship.  
*I'm sorry, Yuri,* she thought.

***

     Cory sat at the foot of the bed, staring at Kei's sleeping face.  
It was almost exactly the same as when she'd last visited, with one 
major exception; Yuri now occupied the other bed.  As soon as they'd 
arrived back in Boondock, Yuri had screamed, clutched her head, and 
collapsed, blood streaming from her nose and mouth.
     Now they both lay here, unmoving.  Kei still hadn't woken up.  
Nothing had changed.  And Cory sat there staring at them, feeling like 
their executioner.
     A noise from behind her made her jump.  Hilda was standing in the 
doorway, looking sombre.  "Still no change?"
     Cory looked down.  "No."
     Hilda walked in and placed a hand on Cory's shoulder.  "I thought 
you'd want a final briefing, to show you what we learned."
     A choked laugh came from Cory's throat.  "I couldn't care less what 
you learned.  You succeeded, after all.  The bomb didn't go off, mission 
accomplished.  And hey, if two of the people never wake up, well, these 
things happen.  After all, Cory gave us permission to fuck with their 
lives, so she knew -- "
     "Cory."  Hilda's voice was firm, yes still a whisper.  "Do you 
really believe that?"
     There was a long pause.  "No.  I don't even think Lazarus thinks 
that, though I wouldn't put it past him.  I just..."  Cory threw out a 
fist, hitting the wall.  "There's nothing to do now but wait and hope 
they wake up.  I haven't even thought about what I'll do if they don't."
     "You're welcome to stay here," Hilda said.
     "No."  Cory's response was immediate.  "No, I can't stay here.  I 
don't...I don't accept what you do.  I could never accept it.  
Manipulating people's history.  Even if your motives are to save lives, 
I just...I couldn't stay here."
     Hilda smiled weakly.  "I understand.  You don't mind if we leave 
the offer open, though, do you?"
     Cory thought for a while, and then looked down at the woman.  Even 
when both of them were sitting on the bed, Cory was still a good deal 
taller than Hilda.  "No, I understand.  Thank you."
     The two of them sat there like that for a while, and then Cory 
spoke up again.  "All right, give me the briefing."
     Hilda continued to keep her voice low, but became somewhat more 
businesslike.  "As you probably guessed, the origin of the problem *did* 
come from the Bureaucratic Watchdog Office.  They were the ones who 
planted Loader in Mr. Lawson's office, and they were the ones who had 
him make the bomb.  However, they had no idea that he had planted it.  
They were merely holding it in reserve until after the talks between 
Lawson and Mizuno's companies had taken place.
     "They knew that Loader was, as they put it, 'a weirdo', but for the 
most part they didn't worry about it.  From what I understand, they're 
going to be more careful from now on."
     Cory snapped to attention at this.  "What?!  Why...why weren't they 
arrested?"
     Hilda shrugged.  "Shortly after Loader's capture, the rest of the 
organisation seemed to disappear.  We did manage to find one person, but 
he reminded us, and quite rightly too, that we couldn't afford to draw 
attention to ourselves by blowing the whistle on him."
     "Dammit," Cory sighed.
     Hilda moved on.  "In any case, it appeared that our bomber was 
enamoured with Ms. Mizuno.  He had been following her career for some 
time, and collecting press clippings.  A regular John Hinckley."
     "Who?" Cory asked.
     "Never mind," Hilda said.  "In any case, he was asked by Mr. Lawson 
to arrange these meetings in order to discuss a merger.  He was 
delighted, because not only would he be able to help the BWO, but also 
to meet Ms. Mizuno.
     "And so the two came together, linked by Mr. Loader.  
Unfortunately, nobody knew the *real* reason for the merger meeting."
     Cory snorted.  "They were screwing around."
     "Essentially, yes," Hilda smiled.  "They'd been communicating for 
some time, and had arranged these 'talks' so that they could finally 
meet.  Apparently it was love at first sight, because when we found 
them..."
     "Right."  Cory could begin to see what had been going on.  "*That* 
was why Lawson was acting like such a chowderhead when I questioned him.  
It wasn't about business, it was about romance."
     "Speaking of which," Hilda interrupted, "there wasn't a hope in 
hell that they could keep that secret what with the capture of the 
bomber.  They went public with it, and announced both the merger and 
their engagement at the same time."
     "Good for them," Cory grinned.  Then she remembered something.  "I 
thought Loader was here.  We brought him back with us."
     Hilda glanced over at the pair on the bed.  "Yes, he is."
     "Then how did they announce this after his capture?"
     Another long pause followed.  Finally Hilda spoke.  "At the moment, 
the future of your universe is not completely set.  If there's no change 
here within the week, then we'll find some other way to return Loader.  
But for now, Loader was captured by the Lovely Angels and brought to 
justice.  Everyone was surprised that they managed to do it with so few 
casualties."
     Cory looked hopeful.  "You mean they could still recover?"
     "Of course.  Cory, comas are totally unpredictable in the first 
place.  Add to that the fact that these two are the Dirty Pair..."
     "...lovely angels..."
     Cory and Hilda looked up.  Kei and Yuri lay on the bed, still 
unmoving, but their eyes were open.  They glared at Hilda weakly.
     "I'll go get Ish," Hilda said and wisely headed out of the room.
     Cory barely noticed her leaving.  "You're all right!" she shouted, 
and ran over to hug both of them.  She felt as if a giant weight had 
been lifted from her shoulders, and realised that she was sobbing.  She 
clutched at Kei and Yuri now, taking comfort.

***

     It was quiet now.  Cory had finally been convinced to get some 
sleep.  Ish had examined the Angels and pronounced them on the mend.  
Now that they were awake, recovery would be fairly rapid.
     Physical recovery.
     They lay now, staring at the ceiling.  No chatting with each other, 
they knew what was going through the other's head.  They weren't totally 
telepathic with each other yet, but they were incredibly empathic.  They 
knew each other better than they knew themselves.
     Kei was sad.  And Yuri was scared.
     Yuri stared at the ceiling, her thoughts racing.  She was 
terrified.  The telepathic bond between them had almost killed Kei.  
Both of them had received the full story from Cory about what had 
happened.  And it had scared Yuri half to death.
     Her own death didn't bother her as much.  She had been prepared for 
it.  Being a trouble consultant was a dangerous job, and even their 
fabled luck could only last so far.  No, she had no fear of death.
     But Kei hadn't died.  She'd collapsed from a brain haemorrhage and 
lain here in a coma.  Cory said that if they hadn't gone back once more 
to rescue her, Kei might have lain there for the rest of her life.
     Because of Yuri's death.  Because of Yuri.
     Yuri did not fear her own death, but the thought of her partner 
dying, or in a coma was too much to bear.  She could never have anything 
like this happen again.  No matter what.
     So she lay there, staring at the ceiling, knowing what she had to 
tell Kei.  And knowing what Kei's response would be.  What it had to be.
     "Kei?"
     "Yeah?"
     "I'm going to ask Ishtar to suppress our abilities.  So we can go 
back to what we were before."
     The pause seemed to last forever.  No explanations, no 
rationalisations.  None were needed.
     "All right."
     And Yuri sighed in relief.  It would be all right now.  Kei would 
never again die because of her.  It would be all right.
     She finally dropped off to sleep, smiling slightly.
     In the bed next to her, Kei stared at the ceiling, tears glistening 
down her cheeks.  She knew exactly what Yuri was feeling, exactly why 
she wanted the bond removed.  And it didn't help one bit.  But in the 
end she would do what Yuri wanted, in order to give her partner peace of 
mind.  Even if something else had to be sacrificed.
     So Kei made sure to cry quietly, so as not to wake her partner.
     *I love you, Yuri.*

***

     The Angels' recovery was surprisingly quick, given what they'd been 
through.  Cory was there with then every day to help buoy their spirits, 
and Laz and Lor stopped by a lot as well.
     Ishtar and Minerva listened calmly to their request to suppress 
their empathic abilities.  Both of them had been expecting something 
like this.  Minerva tried her best to talk them out of the decision, but 
the two of them were adamant.
     Ishtar assigned their physical rehabilitation to Galahad, a young 
male doctor who fancied himself a bit of a lothario.  He had a bad habit 
of walking around naked in front of everyone, and was constantly being 
reminded that there were guests in the hospital.  He also took a shine 
to Yuri, much to her chagrin, and she spent the next few days trying to 
fight off his attempts to charm her.
     Kei and Yuri threw themselves into their combat training, forcing 
themselves to relearn the old techniques that they had abandoned when 
they gained their empathic abilities.  It was very difficult, even 
though they had used them for only a short amount of time.  Minerva 
explained to Cory that their subconscious didn't want to give up the 
link that easily, and they were forcing it into submission.
     Cory only attended one of these sessions.  It was too hard for her 
to watch, after she'd seen the way they worked before.  Seeing the two 
of them choose to deliberately lobotomise themselves like this, no 
matter how much pain they thought they were avoiding...Cory just 
couldn't watch them do this.

***

     Finally, they were ready to return.  Cory had her doubts as to the 
mental stability of the Angels, but Minerva assured her that things 
should be all right.  "They have their reasons for doing this, and we're 
accepting them.  But I don't think they'll be able to move on.  In a 
year or two, perhaps, I think they'll realise their mistake."
     "Yeah, but by that time it'll be too late.  We can't just pop two 
universes over any time we want, you know," Cory grumbled.
     Minerva didn't respond, but her eyes twinkled.
     At that point the Angels arrived at the spaceport, escorting their 
prisoner.  Loader had a haunted look in his eyes, but for once did not 
look dangerous.  Cory looked questioningly at Kei, who grinned.
     "We decided to play him a clip Lazarus obtained of Lawson and 
Mizuno's press conference announcing their engagement.  It seemed to 
take all the fight out of him."
     "...shut up..." muttered Loader.
     Cory stiffened at the mention of a certain name.  "Speaking of 
which..."
     "No, Cory, Lazarus will not be here to send you off."  Hilda came 
in, leading two big men who seemed to be carrying the biggest gyroscope 
Cory had ever seen, with little extra twiddles added onto it for good 
measure.
     Cory tried to look casual.  "Too busy to see us off?"
     Hilda glared at her, and Cory stepped back a little.  "Actually, 
Miss Emerson," Hilda said frostily, "it seems that he didn't want to 
come here because he refused to deal with you."
     "What a coincidence," Cory found herself saying without thinking.
     "Yes, isn't it."  Hilda sighed.  "Cory, I realise that you've been 
through a harrowing experience.  But Lazarus Long, despite his supposed 
treatment of you, is not the reason for it."
     "Can we let this drop?"  Cory had gotten sick of discussing 
Lazarus.
     "Of course."  Hilda turned back to the Angels.  "Now, normally we 
would never even think of doing this.  This is an incredibly new 
prototype, and their are only four of them in existence."
     One of the men carrying the strange device grinned.  "Well, there 
_were_ five, but there was that business with Mister Becerra..."
     Hilda turned around,  "Zebbie," she said sweetly, "may I see you 
after all this is done?"
     The man gulped.  "Aye aye, captain."
     "Thank you."  She turned and gave her attention back to the Angels.  
"However, there are far too many unanswered questions about this case, 
the primary one being why you were assigned to it in the first place.  
The Circle has given an 87 percent probability to it being that someone 
wanted you to meet Laz and Lor, and wanted this to happen."
     Cory blinked.  "Whoa there.  How could they possibly know you even 
existed?  We don't have magic universe hopping machines."
     "Precisely," Hilda said, looking serious.  "We don't know how they 
could know of our presence.  And that is worrying."  She moved to the 
device.  "That's why we're giving you one of these.  I'll have Zeb 
accompany you to your ship to help mount it."
     The Angels seemed to know about this beforehand, but Cory's jaw 
dropped.  "You're giving us one of those?  Um...I don't mean to look 
stupid, but isn't that kind of playing right into the hands of the 
enemy?"
     Hilda smiled.  "We have installed a few precautions.  For one, if 
anyone other than one of you three tries to operate this device, it will 
self-destruct.  It's also heavily shielded against your universes' 
technology."
     Sighing, Hilda continued.  "Cory, there is another reason we wanted 
the three of you to have this.  We've gotten to like you while you were 
here, and sending you back felt rather cold after what you've been 
through.  This is an escape.  An emergency button.  I don't want you to 
use it to visit us for no reason, but if your lives are ever again in 
danger, you can come here and we'll guarantee your safety."
     Cory stood there silently, trying to take this in.  Despite her 
feelings about Lazarus, she really was regretting having to say goodbye 
to these people.  It took the sting out of it to know that it might not 
be permanent.  Plus it might help Kei and Yuri.  They may look better, 
but Cory doubted it would last more than a year or two.  This meant that 
there could be a way for them to change their minds again, and perhaps 
truly heal themselves.
     Kei and Yuri pouted when they heard that the device was a last 
resort.  "You mean we can't use it for vacations?  Come on!  I have a 
long list of cute guys I've read about that I want to try to find!"  
Yuri swatted her.
     Hilda didn't smile.  "I meant it.  Life-endangering.  Cory is 
right, it is a risk giving this to you.  But we decided that it was 
worth it.  You're our friends now."  Now she smiled, and looked more her 
old self.  Cory felt herself grinning too.
     Kei and Yuri straightened up.  "Come on, let's get this yotz back 
to our universe and give him to the cops.  All I want to do now is get 
back to Pacifica and beat on Goulet until he gives us a vacation." Kei 
said.
     Cory suddenly groaned.  "Oh, God, my article!"
     Kei and Yuri blinked, and then they groaned as well.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

     Cory smiled as she thought about that day.  God, had it really been 
that long ago?  She had eventually decided to write up the article 
exactly as it had happened, leaving nothing out, and then requested it 
be filed with the Central Computer for security vetting.  Within two 
days, she'd gotten an embarrassed call from Goulet saying that the 
entire article had vanished from the CC's databanks, and furthermore 
that it seemed, judging from the publicity surrounding Loader's arrest, 
that a puff piece on the Angels was no longer needed.
     Cory heard the pilots give orders in the cockpit, and knew that 
they would be instantaneously transported to Boondock, probably with 
Ishtar at the ready.  She desperately wanted to sleep, but knew that 
Hilda would probably want to grill her.
     *Why,* she thought.  *Why after all that happened last time did I 
decide to go on another mission?  I'm no trouble consultant!*
     She looked over at Asuka, who was still breathing shallowly.
     *I don't need excitement like this,* Cory decided.

***

     Yuri paced outside of Jamie and Bridget's door, trying to figure 
out how best to approach them.  They would probably still be quite wary 
of her, considering they'd spent the past year dealing with her evil 
clone.  She therefore needed to be as inoffensive and open as possible, 
in order to allay their suspicions.
     Walking through the door, she put on her best self-effacing grin.  
"Hi there!  I just thought I'd see how the three of you were doing!"
     The reaction wasn't the best she had expected.  Bridget seemed to 
flinch, and Jamie merely stared at her with a solemn expression.  Even 
little Rachel was staying at the other end of the room, as far away from 
Yuri as she could get.
     This was turning out to be more difficult than she'd thought.  
Nevertheless, she continued.
     "Kei is in the other room watching over Zen, otherwise she'd be 
here as well.  Um...you're looking much better."
     She was finding her conversational skills useless against the twin 
glares Jamie and Bridget were giving her.  She finally decided to try 
and bring the subject out in the open.
     "Look, I'm really sorry about what you had to go through with the 
clones.  We tried to see if there was a way we could arrive and rescue 
you sooner, but there wasn't.  But I'm Yuri, not a clone."  Jamie and 
Bridget continued to stare coldly at her.  She gulped.  "I'm really 
me, I mean.  There's no reason to be afraid anymore."
     Far from soothing them, this seemed to agitate the two of them even 
more.  Bridget got up from the chair where she'd been sitting, and 
picked Rachel up bodily.  "Rachel, let's go get something to eat."
     Rachel looked back at Yuri for a moment, then said "Okay."  The two 
of them breezed right by an open-mouthed Yuri, leaving her alone with 
Jamie.
     She turned and started to go after them, but Jamie stopped her.  
"Yuri, we have to talk."
     Yuri shook him off.  "That's what I've been trying to _do_!"
     "No, you're trying to gloss everything over and pick up where you 
left off.  Well, it doesn't work that way.  Sit down."
     Yuri was stunned at the coldness in his voice.  She found herself 
sinking into a seat.
     Jamie put his hands to the bridge of his nose, as if trying to 
decide where to begin.  "Yuri, according to what we've heard, about a 
year ago, by our time the two of you escaped to this universe, and Jimmy 
replaced you with clones.  Right?"
     This was something Yuri could handle.  "Right.  Though it's only 
been a month or so for us.  Something about different timestreams, Hilda 
said..."
     Jamie went on as if she hadn't spoken.  "These clones replaced the 
two of you for almost a year.  No one seems to notice.  Yet you claim 
these clones are evil versions of you, and that we should trust you now 
that we're back to the 'real' Lovely Angels."
     He sighed.  "Yuri, no one noticed that you'd been replaced with 
clones because they weren't all that much different.  They were still 
the bouncy, upbeat, slightly airheaded girls we'd been dealing with for 
years.  Zen knew the two of you were different, but he thought you'd 
simply lost it...gone cold.  It never occurred to him that they weren't 
_you_.
     Yuri stared at Jamie, trying to make sense of his words.  The 
clones were undetectable?  _No one_ knew the difference?  "But...but I 
mean, we would never do the things they did!  They killed BILLIONS of 
people!"
     "And you two have killed millions.  It's all a matter of degree.   
Besides, the Central Computer investigated those deaths, and you know 
what?  It wasn't their fault.  Exactly the same verdict it gives when 
you two inadvertently destroy a small city."
     "Stop it," Yuri whispered.  She put her hands over her ears, but 
Jamie reached out and grabbed her arms.  She looked up to find his eyes 
boring into hers.
     "When was the last time the two of you refused an assignment on 
ethical grounds?  We're allowed to do that, you know.  And the 3WA has 
gotten involved in some pretty shady things.  _Every_ agent, at one 
point, has had a case they simply won't allow themselves to take.
     "Except you two.  You were the poster children of the 3WA, showing 
off your bodies and your guns.  You took every assignment they gave to 
you.  You usually didn't even read the particulars until you were almost 
at the mission site.  You were the perfect employees."
     Suddenly, Yuri felt a rush of anger well up through her.  She got 
up, and before she could stop herself belted Jamie across the face, 
sending him into a wall.  She realised she was crying.
     "How could you say that!  We were never that cold!  Each of those 
missions affected us!" she screamed.
     Jamie screamed right back at her, startling her.  "How the fuck 
were we supposed to know that?  You never told us!  You never allowed 
anyone to get close to the two of you!  Zen was the only one who claimed 
he knew what you two were really like!  Every time _we_ talked, you two 
were the happy, bouncy, friendly outer shells you've always been.  There 
was never any trace of regret, of sadness.  Where was it?  We were 
supposed to be your friends, yet you never once opened up to us!"
     Yuri began to feel a little sick.  His words hit her like bricks, 
shattering her defences.  She slumped to the wall in a half-crouch.  
"I...we never meant to..."
     Jamie sighed.  "No, you didn't.  But it didn't help.  You've never 
let anyone see the real you, Yuri.  This is the first time I've ever 
seen you sad.  Why didn't you let us see that side of you?"
     There was a long pause.  "I don't know."
     "Neither do I, Yuri.  But don't expect everything to suddenly be 
back to normal between us.  There is no more normal.  I'm sure Bridget 
and I would love to talk to you sometime if you can let your defences 
drop enough to really talk.  But you've never been able to do that.  And 
that's why the clones were so successful.  They were almost perfect."
     That last sentence made Yuri drop to the floor.  She sobbed for a 
few moments, then got shakily to her feet and fled, heading for 
Zen's room.
     Jamie looked at her run, and sighed.  "Rats."  He then went off to 
find his wife and daughter.

***

     Kei sat and stared at Zen, willing her to regain consciousness.  It 
didn't seem to be helping much.  Ishtar had told her that they'd managed 
to heal Zen's physical injuries, but she was still locked up mentally.  
Minerva had tried to coax Zen out of it, but it hadn't worked.
     "Too many times when her trust has been violated...and then to have 
her world turned upside down by the surprise appearance of you two...I'd 
say she's simply refusing to wake up.  There's not much we can do."  
There had been a hint of something else in Ishtar's voice when she'd 
said those words, though.
     Kei hadn't said anything; she knew what Ish wanted to say.  Zen 
trusted them.  Even after all this time.  She and Yuri could get inside 
Zen's head, and help pull her back out.  But that would require the 
reawakening of their empathic powers.  And Kei simply refused to 
entertain the possibility of that happening.  Yuri didn't want it, and 
Kei loved her enough to respect that decision.
     So she sat there and looked at Zen, and tried not to think.  About 
anything.
     Unfortunately, her not-thoughts were interrupted by Yuri smashing 
into the room like a hurricane and collapsing into a corner, sobbing.  
Forgetting about all her inner turmoil for the moment, Kei ran over to 
help Yuri.  She hugged her while whispering in her ear.  "Hey, hey, it's 
okay, it'll be all right.  What happened?  What's the matter?"  She 
couldn't imagine anyone upsetting Yuri this badly.
     Yuri eventually stopped and looked up at Kei, her eyes rimmed with 
red.  "Kei, I'm an open person, right?"
     Kei hesitated for only a split second, but it was enough to send 
Yuri off onto another crying jag.  Kei sighed and simply hugged her 
tighter.
     Sniffing, Yuri switched from sobbing to pouting.  "Why didn't you 
tell me?  Why didn't anyone tell me?"
     "It's not exactly something you bring up in conversation, Yuri."  
Kei was treading around this conversation very carefully.  It brought to 
the fore all the things she'd been trying not to think about.  "You 
can't just say, 'Gee, you know that your sunny, open personality is 
really just a front you put up to hide how you really feel'."  Kei 
paused again.  "Besides, I tend to do the same thing."
     Yuri looked at Kei in disbelief.  'Oh, come on!  You're always open 
about the way you feel!"
     "About the way I want to feel, maybe.  About how I want to be seen.  
Yuri, let me ask you something.  How many friends did we have in the 
3WA?"
     "Lots!  There's Zen, and Jamie and Bridget, and Maya - " Kei 
flinched - "and Lisa and Christine, and -- "
     Kei stopped her.  "How many of those people would you say were 
close to us?  Close enough to know how we really felt?  Close enough to 
see beyond the 'Lovely Angels'?"
     Yuri didn't speak for almost two minutes.  When she did, it was 
almost inaudible.  "Zen.  And you."
     "And even then..."  The words were out of Kei's mouth before she 
could take them back.
     Yuri jerked out of Kei's arms.  'What do you mean?"
     Changing the subject, Kei pointed up to the bed.  "Ishtar said to 
me that they've done as much as they can for Zen.  They've healed all of 
her physical injuries, but she's still in a coma.  Minerva tried to use 
her empathic powers to bring Zen out of it.  They even brought in 
Tamara.  None of it is doing any good.  Zen has locked herself up inside 
her own mind, and won't let anyone near her."
     Glancing over at Yuri, Kei saw that she was getting the picture.  
Her eyes were locked on a fixed point midway between Zen and Kei.  
Nevertheless, Kei continued.
     "We could save her, Yuri.  Ish and Minerva only dampened our 
empathic powers, they didn't destroy them.  Between the two of us, we 
could help drag Zen out of her own mind.  If she trusts anyone, she'll 
trust us..."
     Kei broke off as she saw Yuri beginning to shake.  A hint of 
uncertainty crept into her voice.  She was trying to be the comforting, 
logical friend, but her own emotional barriers were close to breaking.  
"Yuri..."
     "NO!!!"  The scream startled Kei.  Yuri jumped to her feet, arms 
wrapped around her back.  "I won't do it!  We...we can't be like that 
again, because something might happen to us, and you might die!"  Yuri 
looked into Kei's eyes.  "I did it for you, Kei.  I don't want you to 
die.  And I don't want you to be a vegetable if I die.  You need to..."
     Kei's walls finally broke.  She continued to stare at Yuri, but 
could feel her breath coming in great, heaving sobs that she couldn't 
control.  For a moment that was all she did, then she found herself able 
to speak.
     "You did that...for ME?!?!  Are you that much in denial?!?!  What 
makes you think I'd want to live without you?  I love you!  I love you 
still, even though you practically lobotomised me!  I was the one who 
did it for _you_!!!  I knew how scared you were, and I couldn't stand to 
see you like that, so I let you do it!  And I thought you understood 
that!"  Kei was screaming at the top of her lungs.  "You say you did it 
for ME?!?!  If you'd done anything for me, you'd have kept the link!  I 
can't believe I thought you...YOU SELFISH BITCH!!!!!"
     The slap echoed across the room, but Kei couldn't hear it.  Blood 
was rushing through her head, and she couldn't hear anything.  She 
couldn't hear Yuri begin to collapse and sob on Zen's bed.  Couldn't 
hear her footsteps as she ran out of the door.  All she could hear was 
her own crying, which seemed as if it would never, ever end.

***

     It took much less time for Yuri to finish her crying this time.  
Perhaps she'd finally hit a breaking point, where there were no more 
tears to give.
     She got up slowly off of the floor and looked at the comatose 
figure of Zen in the bed.  Her lifesigns were normal, she was perfectly 
all right physically...but she wasn't responding.
     And Yuri was pretty sure she knew why now.
     She got up and began to walk down the hallways of the hospital with 
a slow, steady pace.  To anyone who passed by, her eyes would appear to 
be totally unfocused.  That didn't mean she was just walking, though.  
She was finding Kei.  She knew she could do this, empathy or no.  *Left, 
right, left, left, right...* she thought to herself as she continued 
down the hall.  Finally she stopped next to a closed door, then pulled 
it open.
     She recognised the room almost immediately.  It was the room where 
she and Kei had stayed the night when their powers had first been 
awakened; the room where she'd first confessed to Kei how scared she 
was; the room where Kei had admitted that she loved Yuri.
     Kei was here now, curled up on the bed with her arms around her 
knees, staring at the wall.  Her eyes were red, but she didn't appear to 
be crying.
     Yuri came in and closed the door.  Kei didn't seem to notice.  Yuri 
then sat down on the other bed, curled up, and mirrored Kei's position, 
staring out at the opposite wall.
     For half an hour, neither of them moved nor spoke.  Then Yuri 
finally broke the silence.
     "Am I really that much of a coward?"
     Kei didn't respond, but Yuri continued.
     "I mean, you hear about people who are scared about what others 
will think, or scared about what might happen to them.  But I'm much 
worse than that.  I'm scared of what _I_ might think.  Scared of what I 
might really feel.  So I pretend that I feel differently; that I have 
other reasons for doing what I do.  I deny everything to myself, and 
hope that it will work, that it will shut out the pain."
     Kei finally reacted, rolling over to face Yuri.  Yuri turned over 
as well, so the two of them were looking at each other.  "No one can 
avoid pain, Yuri."
     Yuri stared into her eyes.  "I know."
     Then Kei smiled.  "But you can find other people to help you 
discover joy, which makes the pain bearable."
     Yuri couldn't take that smile.  "Kei, I'm so sorry..."
     Kei broke in.  "No, it was my fault.  I shouldn't have said things 
like that to you, not when you were in a state of mind like that."
     "But everything you said was true!  I was afraid, I couldn't even 
admit it to myself, and I ruined the bond between us because of that..."
     "Yuri, please," Kei said.  Then she chuckled.  "Y'know, we sound 
like that story by the candy bar guy."
     "Hm?"
     "The one where the guy sells his watch to buy a brush for his wife, 
and she sells her hair to buy him a watch fob?"
     Yuri giggled despite herself.
     Kei continued.  "We both keep thinking of each other, but only as 
objects.  You were wrong, Yuri, you _were_ thinking of me when you made 
the decision to break our link.  You didn't want to see me suffer again 
if you died.  But you weren't thinking of what _I_ was thinking.  That 
was the problem."
     There was another pause, while the two of them just looked at each 
other.
     Yuri broke it.  "So, do you forgive me?"
     "Only if you forgive me," Kei said quietly.
     Suddenly the two of them moved at the same time, gathering each 
other up in a hug so tight it threatened to break their backs, though 
neither of them even noticed.  Each just concentrated on holding her 
friend as tightly as she could.
     And then, without any warning, the link which had been so carefully 
suppressed by Minerva and Ishtar flared to life, and all of a sudden 
each was inside the other's head, thoughts, feelings, emotions, all 
cascading through them.  They jumped with the contact, and trembled.  
All of the memories came back to them, and they suddenly had to devote 
their full attention to remaining themselves; to establishing their own 
identities.  They nonetheless revelled in the restored link, taking 
solace in each other's feelings, and seeing that depth of feeling once 
again.  Yuri knew then that there would never be any more secrets, least 
of all from herself.  She could never give up this...this _joy_ again.
     They tumbled to the floor, temporarily exhausted by the feelings 
that had washed over them.  Yuri's body and mind were tingling, and Kei 
felt the same way.
     Kei grinned.  "Now why can't a _man_ ever make me feel like that?"
     Yuri smacked her thigh.  "Ecchi."
     "Always.  Why don't we go and get Zen out of her funk?"
     Yuri got up, still unable to remove the grin from her face.  "That 
sounds like a great idea.  I think I know what's wrong with her..."
     Kei nodded.  "Ayep.  And I've got a great idea for getting her 
attention..."  As they left the room, she leaned over and whispered to 
Yuri.
     The sound of Yuri's evil laughter echoed down the hall.

***

     Darkness.
     Not just the usual absence of light, but true darkness.  A darkness 
of the soul, of the mind.  A place where any light trying to gain ground 
would shrivel up and die.  It was a desolate, lonely place.  Everyone 
has a small part of it somewhere within them, and most people have 
discovered it at some point in their lives.  Very few people want to 
return there.
     In this darkness, curled up into a metaphorical ball, lay Zen.
     He was in his male form here.  It was, after all, his own mind.  
Circumstances might cause him to be female 99% of the time in the 
outside world, but he _was_ still a male inside.  At least, that's what 
he kept telling himself.  It was getting very difficult to believe 
anything he said, though.
     He didn't know why he lay here.  His body had tried to pull him to 
consciousness a few times, but he resisted.  He didn't want to face 
anyone.  Ever.  Ever again.
     So he lay here, in his bolthole, and waited.  He didn't really know 
what he was waiting for.  Perhaps for his body to finally give up, and 
carry him off to oblivion.
     He did, however, appreciate the solitude.  It gave him time to 
think.  Thoughts that kept turning in on themselves, circling like 
vultures.  Reminding himself of every failure, every argument, every 
time in his life when something had gone wrong.
     Every death.
     He was somewhat unsurprised at hearing something else in his mind.  
He'd been expecting something like this, for someone to try and pull him 
out.  He'd even known that if he waited long enough, it might be the two 
of them.
     "Hi, Zen."
     This did not prevent him from flinching when he heard Kei's voice.  
He did not turn, though.
     "So...um...nice place you've got here."
     No reaction.
     He heard a sigh, and Yuri spoke.  "Zen, there's so much we have to 
tell you.  So much we want to talk about.  But we don't want to do it 
here.  Wake up.  Come back to us.  Please."
     Zen briefly wondered how long he should wait before giving his 
answer.  After a while, he realised that it didn't really matter, as the 
answer would still be the same.
     "No."
     A hand grabbed his shoulder and flipped him over.  He closed his 
eyes.  He didn't want to see them, didn't want to look in their eyes.  
He was terrified of what he would find there.
     "Why not?"  Kei's voice sounded a little angry.  "Are you just 
going to give up?"
     Zen sighed.  This was a lot harder than he wanted it to be.  He was 
having trouble maintaining his mood with them around, and that made them 
dangerous.  He didn't want to be talked out of this.  Didn't want to 
think of what would happen if he was.  So he decided to try and anger 
them so much they would leave.  Shouldn't be too difficult, they both 
have short fuses.
     "Yes.  I'm just going to give up."
     There was a long pause.
     "No you're not.  We won't let you.  We'll just sit here and chat 
until you change your mind."
     Kei wasn't getting angry.  The thought unnerved him, and he almost 
opened his eyes to look at her.  But then, that was exactly what she 
wanted to happen.  He turned over again, putting his back to them.
     That proved to be a mistake.  His senses must have been dulled, 
because he never even heard them get near to him.  Or perhaps it was the 
fact that they were within his mind, and none of this was real.  In any 
case, he suddenly felt hands running all over his body, heading 
immediately for his weak spots.
     When one is being tickled, the reaction is to laugh.  It is built 
up from birth until it becomes totally involuntary.  The giggle is 
forced from you.
     Zen, however, had not honestly laughed now in over a year, and did 
not think he ever would again.  Therefore all the tickling ended up 
doing was igniting his own short fuse.
     He uncoiled and stood, almost cracking Yuri across the jaw as he 
did so.  Standing, he looked at them for the first time.  They had 
changed.  There was a maturity to their expression that he hadn't seen 
before, a sense of fulfilment.  Sometime in the last year, the Angels 
had grown up.
     The same, of course, could not be said of him.
     "GO AWAY!" he shouted.
     Yuri didn't shout back.  Why weren't they getting mad?  "No."
     "Why not?"
     "Because we care about you, Zen.  You're one of our best friends, 
and it tears us up to see you like this.  Because a lot of it is our 
fault, and we want to be able to try and apologise.  Because we don't 
want to watch you curl up inside yourself and wait to die," Kei said.  
She was being rather eloquent today, Zen thought.
     "You want me to wake up?  To come with you?"
     "Yes."  Both of them spoke at the same time.
     "Really?"  Zen paced back and forth between the two of them.  "Do 
you promise me that nothing like this will ever happen again?"
     "No," Kei said.  She looked at him calmly.
     He felt his voice getting louder.  "Do you promise that I'll never 
be hurt again, that if I come out everything will be all right?"
     "No."  Yuri was equally calm.
     "Do you promise me -- " his voice cracked, and he swallowed before 
he continued, "that I won't have to watch any more of my friends die?"
     "No."  This was from both of them, once again exactly in tune.
     Zen stared at them.  They still weren't mad.  Their eyes didn't 
hold anger, or pity, or anything he'd been expecting.  There was sadness 
there, but it was an open sadness.  Everything about them seemed open 
now.
     He sat back down and covered his face with his hands.  "What do you 
promise?"
     They didn't answer.  They didn't have to, he knew the answer.  
Nothing.  They couldn't promise him anything, because life wasn't like 
that.  Because life was constantly hammering at you, and you could 
promise happiness all you wanted, but finding it and keeping it was 
impossible.
     Yuri finally spoke.  "We promise to try to make sure none of this 
ever happens again.  To listen to you when you're hurt, and to comfort 
you when people die.  To do this.  To never let you give up."
     "You're asking us to make promises that are impossible to keep, 
Zen."  Kei's voice was very quiet, as if she was saying the words to 
herself as much as Zen.  "The world isn't predictable.  You can't 
predict when people will die, or be hurt.  You can't predict that some 
loony like Jimmy might not end up doing something like this again.  Life 
is unpredictable, and that's both the best and worst thing about it."
     He felt a hand grab his chin, and raise it so he was looking into 
her eyes once more.  She was crying now, tears crawling silently down 
her cheeks.  Yuri stood right next to her, also crying.
     "But if you stay here, then we can make lots of promises.  If you 
stay here, we promise that you'll never feel joy or happiness anymore.  
You'll never be able to laugh, or to smile.  You won't be there to watch 
us as we go through life, making our own mistakes.  You won't be there 
to hold us as we watch people die.  And we need that, Zen.  We need you, 
even more than you need us."
     Yuri sniffed.  "Zen, if you stay here, you'll die."
     Zen turned to look at her.  By now tears were coursing down his own 
face.  "Why do you think I am here?  Because I...because I want to..."
     He couldn't say it anymore.  He'd spent so much time in here, 
trying to convince himself to let go, to finally give in and let himself 
die, but he still couldn't do it.  Especially not with Kei and Yuri 
here.  Especially not with the two people who gave him a reason to live.
     He broke down, sobs wracking his body.  He thought he'd been crying 
before, but it had been nothing compared to this.  Almost immediately, 
he felt arms wrapping around him, and heard Kei and Yuri whispering to 
him, trying to soothe him even as they cried.
     This went on for an indeterminate time.  Zen completely lost track 
of how long they'd been hugging each other.  All he knew was that he had 
desperately missed it, and that he wasn't ready for it to end.
     Eventually, however, the Angels released their hold on him, and the 
tears ended.  When he looked up at them, they were still looking at him 
with those oddly mature expressions, that seemed so out-of-place on 
them.  They spoke at the same time.
     "Will you wake up?  Will you come with us?"  They were smiling now.
     Zen looked around him at the darkness.  He'd once promised himself 
he'd never go near here again, and now look at him.  The blackness was 
absolute, tearing at his soul.  He despised it.
     "Yes."  And with that, all three of them vanished, leaving the 
blackness alone with itself, waiting for another chance.

***

     Kei and Yuri opened their eyes to see Zen still lying on the bed 
asleep.  They looked at Ishtar with concern, but she smiled.
     "It should be alright now.  Judging from Zen's brainwave patterns, 
she's sleeping peacefully rather than in a coma.  Whatever you two did 
seems to have -- "
     Suddenly an alarm seemed to sound throughout the building.  Ishtar 
moved towards the door.  "What is it, Persephone?"
     "Lazarus is back, and he's brought casualties.  One critical, two
minor.  Maureen and Minerva are headed there already.  Priority one!"
     Ishtar was out the door on the first word.  Kei and Yuri exchanged 
worried glances.
     "Um, Persephone?"  Kei wasn't used to just calling to the air when 
you needed the computer.
     "Yes, Kei?"
     "Cory's not hurt, is she?"
     "No, she isn't.  She does seem to be a little shell-shocked, 
though."
     Yuri got up.  "Let's go."
     They headed out the door, pausing to give Zen a kiss on the 
cheek...


to be continued...


Author's Notes:  Yeah, yeah, lousy place to cut it.  Blame Richard.  
Part Four will be soon, hopefully.

--SG