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Subject: {ASSM} Change of Fate 2
Date: Sun,  2 Dec 2001 03:10:02 -0500
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Had to get a new email, so I'm reposting my old works under the new 
addy to get it out.

Change of Fate 2

Now, onto the boring stuff

-------------------------

DISCLAIMERS

-------------------------

This story contains scenes of an erotic and/or controversial nature, 
and is not intended for the perusal of minors.  Further if perusal of 
such material is considered illegal in your area or immoral by your 
religion or personal beliefs, you should likewise bypass this story.

This story remains the property of the author.  Permission is granted 
to download, photocopy, copy and repost so long as any such action 
contains these disclaimers, and no attempt is made to profit from 
this story.

All characters in this story are the creation of the author, and any 
resemblance to real persons, alive or dead, are purely coincidental.

This story may contain aspects of fantastic science or magic.  The 
parameters of what this science/magic can accomplish are completely 
at the discretion of me, the author, and, as such, I make no 
apologies for any rules of "real" physics, chemistry, biology, or 
magic that may be broken within the story.

-------------------------

Now onto the fun stuff

-------------------------

CHANGE OF FATE, PART 2

IN OUR UNIVERSE, 500 YEARS AGO...

They were known as the Marauds, a group of psychotic mages whose 
insanity made them immune to the effect known as The Scourge, the 
predecessor to Paradox, and these three were amongst the most 
powerful.  They were known as Xedric The Destroyer, Eric the 
Annihilator, and Steven the Quick.  Xedric was a Master of Forces. 
Eric was a Master of Life Magicks.  And Steven was a Master of Time 
magicks.  And this was a council of War.

Eric said, "The Order of Reason grows more powerful every day.  It 
seems clear that their ideas of a scientific world where things of 
power just don't exist appeals to the masses.  Such a world lacks the 
flexibility that makes us possible.  We cannot accept such a thing."

Xedric replied, "Agreed.  But should we throw in with another group? 
The Nephandi are obviously not an option.  Perhaps the Traditions, or 
a subgroup thereof?"

"No.  Although the Traditions are far more flexible in their magicks 
than the Order of Reason, they still believe that the masses must be 
protected.  Humanity is a blight that must be wiped from the face of 
the planet."

"And such is the nature of your insanity.  And although I do not 
agree as to your opinion of men, I do agree that the Traditions would 
restrain our impulses.  Each of us has a goal our insanity mandates. 
Being restricted, either by the Order's inflexible reality or by the 
Traditions' protective attitude is not an option."

"So we are now a fourth camp in this mass war?  We hardly have the 
numbers to be effective."

Steven spoke.  "We have been a fourth camp since before the 
Traditions and the Order individually united. Now we're just making 
it official.  As for our numbers, as the Order's reality becomes more 
solid, more souls will Awaken and snap under its sterile, implacable 
rules.  Ironic that the very success of our enemies is what will make 
us a true player in this war."

"So now we plan war.  What is our first step?"

Xedric angrily said, "We destroy that Abomination of a construct 
becoming known as the Soul Blade.  Otherwise, it will destroy us all."

Steven said, "No.  The Soul Blade is a potent, but minor threat.  It 
is more irony that the blade is nothing more than a Maraud whose 
mania is to destroy all of our kind."

"The blade must be destroyed!"

"You fear the blade because it is as much a Master of Forces as you. 
But it is not the blade you should fear."

Eric asked, "You have seen the future?"

Steven nodded.  "In 500 years time there shall come a Tradition mage, 
one of the Akashic Brotherhood.  He shall have the greatest power of 
the Marauds, but shall not be a mad mage.  He shall kill you, Xedric. 
If he is then united with the Soul Blade, the two shall deal a blow 
to both the Marauds and the Nephandi that neither shall recover from. 
With the blade's help, he shall destroy you, Eric, as well as many of 
the greatest of our group."

"And what of you?"

"For some reason I cannot see my own fate.  The prophesied one shall 
play a role in my end, but I have not seen how."

************

IN AN ALTERNATE DIMENSION, 500 YEARS AGO...

Eric asked, "You have seen the future?"

Steven nodded.  "In 500 years time there shall come a mage.  She will 
be trained as an Akashic, but shall only be one for a short time 
before joining us.  He will then become the key to winning the 
Ascension War."

"Wait a second.  You said, 'SHE will be trained as an Akashic,' and, 
'HE will then become the key.'  Which is it?  Will this mage be male 
or female?"

Steven looked him right in the eye, and said, "First one, then the 
other.  She will Awaken female, but come to us a man."

************

IN OUR UNIVERSE, IN THE IMMEDIATE PAST...

Joanie prepared the proper tools for the Transformation Ritual.  It 
was her last day as Joanie.  In just a short while, she'd be Joe 
again.  She heard Steven cry and came over to him.  It was only a cry 
for attention, but Joanie was still obliged to take care of him.  She 
held him and soothed him, smiling into his cherubic face.

Thinking of him, he was the only possible reason she might have 
stayed a woman.  Mother had made some good points about Steven 
needing a mother, but Joanie just couldn't take it any more.  Every 
day she looked in the mirror and saw HER face, it was just another 
day feeling like she was perpetrating a lie.  She hated herself and 
was beginning to hate the world around her because of it.

Not that there wasn't value in her time as Joanie.  She had learned 
much of what life was like as a woman, and it made him more sensitive 
and caring, and his time with mother he would always remember with 
fondness.  But Joanie just wasn't him.

He tucked Steven back into his bassinet.  "Don't worry, little one. 
Although your mommy may be going away, in just a little while your 
daddy will be back to take care of you."  Steven gurgled a bit before 
yawning and falling asleep.  Joanie gave him a quick kiss and said 
good night.

She returned to the center of the room and sat down cross-legged in 
the center of the room.  She cast the spell that would return her to 
his previous self.  As the spell took hold, he felt the Goddess's 
power leave him.  He bid it a fond farewell.  Before the power left 
him entirely, but after he could actually control the power, he felt 
another power wrap itself around him.  He wondered what it was, but 
before he could identify it, he felt it attack his spell, seeking to 
disrupt it.  He had a brief moment of panic.  If this spell 
succeeded, he'd be trapped as a woman, possibly forever!

But what could he do?  The Goddess's power had left him (well, 
mostly).  He could not bring it to bear.  But he couldn't let 
whatever it was win.  He fought back with everything he had, 
everything he was.  But still he felt the unknown power close in on 
him.  He felt it start to touch him, forcing his body back to its 
feminine form, and he lashed out.  He Would Not Fail!

He felt a surge from within, a surge of self.  He flared outwards 
against the power, and it fell back.  It seemed to rally and strike 
back but it was no use.  Joe's power flared and the opposing power, 
as well as the original Transformation spell, and... something else 
broke and flew away from him.  His senses were almost dragged along 
for the ride, and,in that instant, he knew.  The spell that would've 
trapped him as a woman had been cast by the same woman who had cast 
the Transformation spell.  His mother!

He stormed downstairs, prepared to yell and scream at his mother.  He 
knew.  Somehow he knew that she had tried to force him to remain a 
woman for the rest of his life.  How dare she!

But when he stormed into the living room, he saw his mom lying on the 
floor, unmoving.  He ran to her side, and checked to make sure she 
was okay.  Her breathing was shallow, and she seemed dazed and out of 
it.  It was backlash.  When the spell she cast had failed so 
miserably, the energy she had used had snapped back upon her.  Joe 
held his mom.  He was angry, but he didn't want her hurt.  He didn't 
want her to die.

Almost in response to his desires, Julie took a deep breath.  Joe saw 
the color return to her cheeks and, somehow, Joe knew she'd be okay. 
He helped her up and set her on the couch.  She was still out of it, 
and too weak to do much, but at least she'd be okay.

He went back upstairs to his room.  He was disappointed, but not 
surprised to see that his room had not reverted to its 
pre-Transformation styles.  Mother clearly had not wanted her son 
back.  Ever.

Joe felt a tear slide down his cheek.  He briefly considered staying, 
trying to convince mom that this was the right choice, but there was 
no way he could do that.  Mom was too stubborn.  And without access 
to the Goddess's power, he had no way to fight back.  If his mother 
ever got it into her head to re-cast the Transformation spell and 
bring Joanie back, he'd be stuck with a female body for the rest of 
his life.

Then he saw Steven in his bassinet, and that clinched it.  Even if he 
would be willing to try to work out his personal problems with mom, 
someday Steven would be of age to undergo the Transformation.  Joe 
had already determined that the choice would be his, but if Steven 
turned down the Transformation and mom didn't accept that, then 
Steven would be subject to the same sense of betrayal Joe now felt. 
Joe couldn't allow that.

Joe went into his closet and got out the suitcase he kept there.  He 
stripped off the sweats he had been wearing.  They were now too 
small.  He wouldn't be able to find anything in his drawers.  Even 
the more unisex clothes he had worn wouldn't fit anymore.  But there 
was something mom didn't know about.  He reached under his bed and 
pulled out a box.  Inside was a shirt and pair of pants, a set that 
would fit his male body.  He had stitched them together as Joanie as 
a private project.  For some reason, he had never told mom about 
them.  He put them on.  He didn't wear any underwear, all he had were 
panties and bras.  He looked around for something to wear on his 
feet.  His stockings and socks were out of the question, and his 
shoes wouldn't fit on a dare.  He finally found some simple knit 
house slippers that were loose enough and would at least protect his 
feet outside.

He checked his room.  There really wasn't that much there to keep.  A 
few knickknacks, nothing more.  He ignored the suitcase, instead 
stuffing the few items he wanted to keep into Steven's diaper bag. 
He slung the bag over his shoulder, grabbed Steven and went 
downstairs to leave.

As he opened the door, he heard his mother weakly say, "Joanie?"  The 
name grated on him like the sound of fingernails on a chalkboard. 
"Where are you going?"

Joe took a deep breath.  "I'm leaving, mother.  And I'm not coming back."

Julie leaped forward, only to fall to the floor.  Joe looked back to 
make sure she was okay.  She stretched her hand out to him.  If she 
had just used his male name, much could have been forgiven.  But she 
said, "Joanie, please."

Joe turned away.  Then the strangest thing happened.  He got this 
strange feeling.  It had the same feel as the Goddess's power, but it 
was centered on his mother.  But almost as quickly as the power rose, 
it dispelled and mom cried out in pain.  Joe sighed.  He set Steven 
and the diaper bag down.  He went over to Julie and helped her back 
to the couch.  He realized that no matter how far or how fast he ran 
mother would always be able to follow with her magics.  He had to do 
something to prevent that.  He gently set her down and wrapped 
grandmother's Afghan cover around her.

Julie reached up and stroked his face.  "You were always a good girl, Joanie."

He cringed a bit, but steeled himself and said, "Mother, I cannot 
trust you anymore, not with my life or with my son's, so if you ever 
come after me again...  If I ever see you again, I will kill you."

Julie was so stunned, she was unable to move as Joe turned, walked to 
the door, picked up Steven and the diaper bag, and left.  After he 
left, Julie lurched forward, barely managing to make it to the door. 
She saw her child walking away down the street and called out, 
"Joanie!"

Joe heard her, but his only response as he walked away was a single 
tear rolling down his cheek.

************

IN ANOTHER DIMENSION...

Joanie tucked Steven back into his bassinet.  "Don't worry, little 
one.  Although your mommy may be going away, in just a little while 
your daddy will be back to take care of you."  Steven gurgled a bit 
before yawning and falling asleep.  Joanie gave him a quick kiss and 
said good night.

She returned to the center of the room and sat down cross-legged in 
the center of the room.  She cast the spell that would return her to 
his previous self.  As the spell took hold, he felt the Goddess's 
power leave him.  He bid it a fond farewell.  But before the power 
left him entirely, but after he could actually control the power, he 
felt another power wrap itself around him.  He wondered what it was, 
but before he could identify it, he felt it attack his spell, seeking 
to disrupt it.  He had a brief moment of panic.  If this spell 
succeeded, he'd be trapped as a woman, possibly forever!

But what could he do?  The Goddess's power had left him (well, 
mostly).  He could not bring it to bear.  But he couldn't let 
whatever it was win.  He fought back with everything he had, 
everything he was.  But still he felt the unknown power close in on 
him.  He felt it start to touch him, forcing his body back to its 
feminine form, and he shuddered.  It was only a brief moment where he 
lost concentration, but it was enough.  The unknown power crashed in 
around him, dragging the Goddess's power back upon him.  He was 
literally blown from a seated position onto his back.

He was staggered, and it was hard to think.  He stretched his hands 
out in front of him, looking at them.  He saw the long, manicured 
nails mom had convinced him to keep, and almost cried.  She was still 
a woman!

She returned to a seated position and tried to summon the Goddess's 
power again.  Summoning it was not a problem, but when she tried to 
start the Transformation spell again, the power made its presence 
known, disrupting her control and scattering the Goddess's power. 
She buried her face in her hands and cried.  The strange power was 
now a part of her, acting as a buffer between her and her power, 
making it impossible to use the Transformation spell, sticking her as 
a woman forever!  Who would do such a thing?!

As she cried, she felt her mother's hands on her shoulders.  Joanie 
heard her say, "I'm sorry, child, but you'll see.  This is for the 
best.  Now let's get you to bed."

Joanie felt Julie stand her up, but as she was walked towards the 
bed, Julie's words filtered into her mind.  She stopped herself and 
asked, "You... did this to me?"

Julie wasn't even repentant.  "Yes, but we'll talk this over after 
you've had a chance to rest."

Julie tried to push her daughter to the bed, but Joanie wouldn't let 
herself be moved.  Joanie's despair and sorrow were quickly becoming 
anger.  And although her anger was becoming blinding, Joanie managed 
to ask, "Why?"

"Because this is right.  You were truly meant to be a girl.  But you 
need your rest."

Julie managed to push Joanie a couple steps closer to the bed as 
facts of the past two years coalesced in her mind.  As a boy, he and 
his mother had never really known each other well, but after his 
Transformation into Joanie, Julie had wanted to spend as much time 
with her as possible.  Joanie had assumed it was just because, as 
women, they had much more in common, but now...

And after she had discovered what it would take to get back to being 
Joe, mother had discouraged her from just doing it with anyone.  She 
had assumed Julie just wanted to protect her from various diseases 
that were out and about, but now...

As the events of her life coalesced, Joanie's red hot, blinding anger 
became a white hot, all consuming anger.  She felt her hand clench 
into a fist, making no effort to stop it.  She screamed, "YOU BITCH!" 
and hauled off and struck her mother across the jaw.  Julie fell to 
the ground, stunned.  Not from the force of the blow, but from the 
fact of having just been struck by her own daughter.  She lay there 
as Joanie ranted, "You never wanted a son!  You never cared about me 
as your son!  Well, fine!"  Joanie stormed over to the closet, got 
her suitcase, opened it and threw it on the bed.  As she started 
throwing clothes into it, she said, "I want you to know that I am 
really your son in your daughter's body, but if you don't want your 
son, I'll leave!"

As Joanie's words sunk in, Julie stood up and grabbed her daughter's 
arm.  "Now, Joanie, you're just overreacting.  If you just settle 
down-"

Joanie yelled, "SHUT UP!" and pushed Julie away, blasting her with a 
Stun Blast.  The attack was so sudden and so furious, that even if 
Julie had considered needing to defend herself against her daughter, 
there wasn't enough time to summon a decent shield.  Julie fell to 
the ground, unconscious.

When Julie woke up, Joanie, many of her clothes, and little Steven 
were all gone.  Julie quested out for her daughter, but Joanie was 
shielding herself too completely.  Julie folded her legs and slipped 
into a meditative trance.  She'd need to be patient, but eventually 
Joanie would slip and Julie would know where her daughter was. 
Joanie would need some cool down time, but eventually she'd see 
mother knew best.

But Julie considered the unexpected savagery of Joanie's response, 
and had a brief flicker of doubt.  Had she been wrong?  Was her 
daughter really meant to be a boy?  But almost as soon as she thought 
it, she dismissed it.  Joanie had to be a girl.  Now Julie only had 
to wait for her to see that.

************

IN OUR UNIVERSE, TWO MONTHS AFTER TARINA'S DEATH...

Joe was working out in the gym.  He was slamming his fists and feet 
repeatedly into the heavy bag in an attempt to deal with his grief. 
After Tarina had died, he had moved himself and his children to the 
space base.  It was just too hard to come home to the house with her 
scents and memories.  Norma still hadn't spoken, and Tasha, for the 
first time in her life, seemed subdued and quiet.  Steven had been a 
trooper through it all, taking charge of the girls and the house, and 
making sure everything ran smoothly.

The kids were with Jarred right now, and Joe was trying a little 
physical exercise to get rid of some emotional tension.  He heard the 
door open behind him, and knew without looking that it was Master 
Quan Li, the current head of the Akashic Brotherhood here on the 
space base.  Technically, Joe, as a member of the Akashic faction, 
was supposed to accept his commands, but ever since the incident 
seven years ago, Joe had refused to just accept the commands of 
anyone in the base, regardless of who they were.

Without even looking, Joe asked, "What do you want, old man?"  Joe 
knew the answer to that.  The Realm Council had another big, bad 
nasty they wanted him to destroy.  It was the only reason any of the 
Masters would ever enter his presence.  Well, all the Masters but 
David, the Virtual Adept Master.  He was the only one who hadn't 
decided to abandon him after he nearly died fighting The Destroyer in 
the Amazon jungle.  David wasn't able to come after him since he was 
involved in other plans, and his disappearance would've meant the 
death of innocents.  So the Virtual Adept Master was the only one Joe 
made exceptions for.

The Akashic Master made no visible response to Joe's impertinence. 
As a Master of Do, the Way, anything less would be unseemly.  "We 
have a threat for you to deal with."

"Of course.  What's the matter, old man?  This thing just a little 
too nasty for you to sully your hands with?"

"Your attitude is hardly appropriate to one of your skill and power."

"Old man, I couldn't care less what your opinion of me is.  What is 
it you wish me to deal with?"

"A Marauder.  A Master of Time known as "Quick".  With your defeat of 
the Annihilator, this may be the most deadly Marauder around.  Take 
care."

"Yes, yes.  So you say every time you ask me to take on a new threat. 
Where is this psychotic creature?"

"Outside Houston.  It's your old home ground, so you'll be at an advantage."

"Now there is only one more thing.  My price."

For the first time since entering the room, the Akashic Master 
twinged.  It was just a slight motion, but enough to betray a deep 
abhorrence of Joe's attitude.  An Akashic should fight for honor, not 
for profit or gain.  Joe's demand for payment every time they needed 
his service stood against everything the Akashic Master stood for.

Problem was, the Akashic Master understood Joe's need to do this, 
perhaps better than the young man understood it himself.  After the 
council's betrayal of him, Joe had sworn to never accept their orders 
again.  But his own sense of decency demanded that he help those who 
needed it.  By demanding payment from the Masters he reconciled his 
need to help with his oath to never accept the Masters' orders.

"What do you ask?"

"I want you to train Norma in the use of her telepathy."

"I thought you wanted her to stop using it.  To speak again."

"I do.  The problem is she doesn't know how to stop.  Her natural 
skills and abilities with her mind are so great that she's never 
needed to learn not to use it.  She literally doesn't know the 
difference between someone else thinking and someone else speaking. 
As a result, she winds up intruding in the minds of people she's 
with.  She needs to learn not to use it."

"All right.  Your terms are accepted."

Joe extended his hand and the Soul Blade flew across the room from a 
bench to his hand.  As soon as he strapped it around his torso, his 
clothes changed to the blue karate gi he had come to wear as the 
M.A.N.-fighter.  After Joe left, the Akashic Master shook his head. 
The youth was so angry with the world.  His anger could very well 
mean his doom.  But the Akashic Master's Time senses told him that 
this youth should be the next Akashic Master on the council.  But if 
Joe didn't overcome his own anger, how could Master Quan ever 
seriously consider him as a replacement?

************

Joe exited the Gate, arriving in a high school football field.  He 
quickly used his Correspondence senses to pinpoint his exact location 
then took off towards the outskirts of town.  He ran and jumped, 
using the rooftops to go through the city.  Although he had nothing 
to fear from Paradox, it was still easier to use his magicks when he 
didn't do it in front of Sleepers.

When he got close to the edge of town and the buildings started to 
thin out.  He took a 100-yard leap and hit the ground running.  It 
was only another fifteen minutes before he reached the nearly barren 
section of countryside where he sensed the reality disrupting 
presence of the Marauder known to him only as "Quick".

He went to the side of a hill, trying to sneak up on the mad mage. 
He heard the Marauder say, "You don't really need to hide yourself. 
I know you're there."

Joe leapt to the top of the hill.  He squatted down, his arms between 
his legs in a Spiderman-like pose.  In this position, he presented a 
smaller target, his muscles were relaxed, but his body was ready to 
spring into motion at a moment's notice.  "I should've known better 
than to hide from a man who could predict the future."

"Perhaps, prophesied one.  But we all do what we were trained to do."

"Prophesied one?  The Annihilator used that term for me.  Care to 
tell me what it means?"

"500 years ago, I prophesied your coming.  I prophesied your 
destroying Xedric the Destroyer, and Eric the Annihilator."

"And did you prophecy the end of our fight?"

"For some reason, that remains obscured to me."

"Since I know that Time Masters can predict their own fate, any idea why?"

"Nope."  Suddenly, the man exploded with inhuman speed and ran straight at Joe.

Joe, expected something like that and leapt straight into the air, 
going over twenty feet above his opponent's head.  He drew the Soul 
Blade, pointed it at Quick and blasted him with a barrage of energy 
bolts.  Quick, knowing where the blasts were going, easily dodged 
them, and headed towards where Joe was going to land.

Joe released the Soul Blade at the height of his jump and it floated 
in mid-air as he descended towards the Marauder.  As soon as he 
landed he was forced to defend himself against a fury of blows 
unleashed by Quick before the mad mage ran off, less than a moment 
before the Soul Blade struck the spot where he had just been standing.

The battle went on like this for a few more minutes, Quick throwing 
attacks that Joe and the Soul Blade easily blocked, and avoiding 
attacks thrown by the two using his prescient senses.  He then 
reached the moment of truth.  The moment beyond which he had no 
information.  He had been maneuvered between the two, and there would 
be no way for him to accelerate to any speed to avoid the two-way 
barrage that he knew was coming.  His one hope was to move himself 
out of time until after the attack was over, then slip back.  He 
focused his will and tried to bend space and time to his command. 
But reality didn't like what he was trying and pushed back.  Although 
he had nothing to fear from Paradox, the side effects of failing to 
control his magicks could be very nasty.

He focused, trying to control his magicks, but he concentrated a 
moment too long and felt Joe body slam him.  He lost control of his 
spell and felt the entire universe shift around him.  In the 
half-second before Joe snapped his neck, Quick understood why his 
fate had never been revealed to him.  One could only tell the future 
of the universe one was in.

Joe looked around.  The Soul Blade was gone.  He quested out mentally 
for it, but found his telepathic probe blocked.  He was about to 
attempt to break through the magick when he heard the sounds of a 
battle over the next rise.  That was strange, he had scanned the area 
before his battle, and the only humans within the immediate vicinity 
had been the two of them.

He climbed to the top of the intervening hill and saw the battle. 
There were six combatants, four men, a woman, and a young teenager. 
Joe could sense that all were lesser path-ers, magic users, although 
not Awakened.  Sensing the nature of their powers, Joe cringed.  The 
women were followers of the Goddess, the men, the Dark One.  This was 
a battle between the Sisterhood and the Brotherhood.

Joe almost left.  Since he left his mother, he had purposefully 
avoided getting involved in Brotherhood/Sisterhood activities.  But 
he didn't like the odds here.  The teenager wasn't fighting, either 
she was only an apprentice and wasn't trained enough to be effective, 
or her branch of magic didn't have enough combat spells, or perhaps 
both.  That effectively made the odds, at best, four to one and a 
half.  Joe sighed, deciding he had to get involved.

He leapt right between two of the Brothers, grabbing one, and kicking 
the other backwards.  He tossed the one he held into a third Brother. 
The remaining Brother tried to blast him with Dark Power, but was 
unable to affect him due to Joe's immunity.  Joe stretched out his 
hand and blasted the last man with a lightning bolt.  Two of the four 
Brothers were unconscious (the one he had kicked, and the one shot 
with lightning), and he yelled at the last two, "Take your friends 
and go!"

The two men seemed shocked but obeyed Joe's command.  Joe watched 
them go until his own senses warned him of danger from the Sister now 
behind him.  He turned slightly and grabbed her wrist, stopping her 
millimeters away from ramming a knife into his back.  He lifted her 
wrist up, slapped the back of her hand, and used a bit of Life magick 
to force her hand open, causing the blade to fly from her hand.  He 
released her hand, and snatched the blade in flight before it even 
crossed fully in front of his body.  He exercised a bit of Forces and 
pushed the woman back to the teen.  As soon as she got close, she hid 
the younger girl behind her, clearly trying to protect her from Joe.

Joe held up the blade and rotated it in his hand, saying, "Hardly the 
reaction I'd expect towards the man who just saved your life."

The woman spit on his face.  As he wiped the spittle away, she 
virulently said, "Betrayer!  You think saving my life would cause me 
to forgive all the lives of my Sisters you have taken?"

Joe gave her a look like she was insane.  He threw the blade between 
her feet.  "You're taking an awful risk with that thing considering 
that taking a life renders you powerless."

Bitterly, she replied, "I wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice my life, 
much less my power to end the threat to the Sisterhood that is you."

Joe stared at her for a few seconds before saying, "Lady, since my 
Awakening, I have purposefully avoided the Sisterhood.  I have not 
even dealt with any Sisters, much less killed any of your kind."

"Do you think I am some kind of fool?"

"Look, who do you think I am?"

 From behind him, Joe heard an ominous, male voice say, "They think you're me."

Joe turned and took a step to the side, so he could keep an eye on 
the women and see the newcomer.  The women had seen him first and 
were stunned into immobility.  They were only slightly less stunned 
then Joe was when he saw the new Mage.  Standing at the top of the 
hill was a man who looked exactly like him.  And it was more than 
just a magical illusion.  Every magical sense Joe had told him this 
man was a total duplicate of himself, except the other was dressed in 
a black body suit.  But there was one thing this man had different 
from himself.  Reality was slightly out of sync around him.  This man 
was a mad mage, a Marauder.

Joe wondered if this was some kind of illusion, just one so complex 
he couldn't penetrate it, but somehow, his instincts said there was 
another explanation, and a word popped into his head.  He whispered, 
"Sideslip."

His double grinned evilly.  "Exactly."  He leapt from the hill, and 
landed right in front of Joe.  "And since this universe is my 
universe, excuse me."

The other Joe tried to walk past, but Joe stopped him.  "What are you 
going to do?"

The mad Joe said, "I'm going to kill them.  I'm going to kill every 
member of the Sisterhood, whether it takes me a year or a hundred 
years."

The mad Joe tried to step past again, but Joe interposed himself.  "I 
can't let you do that."

Mad Joe glared at his counterpart.  "I'm not connected to you, so I 
have no idea what your life has been like. but it can't have been 
like mine.  The Sisterhood needs to be punished for what they've 
done, so get out of my way, or join them in death."

"Don't do this."

Mad Joe grinned.  "Your funeral."  The Marauder tried to kick Joe, 
but Joe blocked it.  The two then entered into a Do competition. 
Although the Marauder was good, and was Joe, it became clear after a 
little bit, that the sane Joe was the superior fighter.  The 
Marauder, broke free, leapt back, grabbed a lizard and tossed it at 
Joe.  The lizard transformed in flight into a dragon.  It looked like 
Jarred, but lacked the true version's intelligence.  This was nothing 
more than a savage desert lizard with a big body.  Joe stretched out 
his hand, and, regretting having to do it, blasted the lizard into 
dust.

The Marauder stared at him  and asked, "How did you do that?  You are 
not one of us."

"No, but I am immune to Paradox.  Don't ask me to explain it, better 
than I have tried and failed."

"Let's see what you've got."  Mad Joe waved his hand and sane Joe 
felt his insides being twisted around.  He used his own Life magicks 
to cancel the effect, and shot a collection of lightning bolts from 
his hand, bombarding his mad counterpart.  The mad one was forced to 
teleport away.  As soon as he was gone, Joe turned, grabbed the two 
Sisters and teleported, scrambling his trail as he went.

After he teleported a couple times, the older Sister pushed out of 
his grasp.  He set the younger one down and scanned the area for 
signs of pursuit.  The older Sister said, "What's going on?  Are you 
or are you not Joe Braumann?"

Joe looked over his shoulder at the women.  "Yes and no."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I am Joe Braumann, just not your Joe Braumann."

"I don't understand."

"I am a powerful mage and I have experienced an event called a Sideslip."

"What's a Sideslip?"

"Did you ever wonder what would've happened if things had proceeded 
differently?  Like what would've happened if Hitler won World War 2? 
Or if Lincoln had never been assassinated?  Well, some when, these 
events took place.  History took a different turn and things came out 
differently."

The young one, speaking for the first time, said, "You're talking 
about parallel worlds.  Alternate dimensions."

"I believe that's what the Sci-fi writers are calling them.  Anyways, 
a Sideslip occasionally happens when powerful Time magicks go awry. 
Basically, I've been dropped from my world into yours, a world where 
something drove me insane and turned me into a psychotic killer bent 
on the destruction of the Sisterhood."

The elder Sister asked, "And since we ran away from your other, I 
assume he's more powerful than you are?"

"No.  I could've easily destroyed him.  It is the nature of Marauder 
insanity that it interferes with the learning process.  My mad 
counterpart is nowhere near as accomplished as I am."

"So why didn't you kill him?  Or do you think letting an insane 
killer go is okay?"

Joe looked into the eyes of the woman and saw only the hate she 
harbored.  "There's one difference between our worlds.  No Sister in 
my world would've ever suggested killing a man, no matter what he'd 
done."

The woman grimaced, but the youth said, "Please understand.  The 
Sisterhood, our Sisterhood, has been dealing with the mad betrayer 
for the last decade.  He has killed many of our number.  We are at 
less than half the numbers we were before he started on the mad quest 
for our destruction.  It has woven hate deeply into the fiber of our 
order.  We healers try to correct it, but every time we make a bit of 
headway, we hear of how your other version has killed another dozen 
of us."

The older woman said, "Don't you see how killing him solves that? 
Destroy him and we can start the healing."

The youth shook her head disapprovingly.  Joe said, "You say that so 
blithely.  Have you ever heard the phrase, 'There, but for the grace 
of god, go I'?  Well, in the case of my counterpart, there goes I. 
He's not just somebody who looks like me, he is me.  Is what drove 
him insane something I avoided, or is it something I only 
forestalled?  Is it something that would only drive him insane, or is 
it something that would drive another mage to kill Sisters if I kill 
him?  There are too many what ifs if I kill him unless I have to.  I 
have to find out what happened to him.  And maybe if I do that, I 
just might be able to heal him rather than kill him."

The woman seemed mollified, but not happy.  Joe looked to the youth. 
"You seem a bit young to be an active member of the Sisterhood.  How 
old are you?  14?  15?"

The youth said, "I'm 15, and I've been a Sister for nearly 3 years."

The elder Sister added, "Jacqueline is one of our most powerful and 
skilled healers."

Joe said, "Still, transformed at 12?  Is this usual?"

The woman said, "It is now."

Jacqueline explained, "It is another effect of the other you.  After 
you joined the Brotherhood and started killing us, many young sons 
were finding their mothers coming home injured, sometimes disfigured, 
sometimes... not coming home at all.  Many of us resultantly found 
out about the Sisterhood and Transformations.  We demanded to join. 
Many elder sisters thought it a bad idea, but after it was clear that 
you would decimate the Sisterhood, they relented.  But even with the 
sudden surplus, we are still losing the war.  But it does bring up a 
question.  Why don't I sense the dark power within you?"

"Because I don't wield the Dark One's power.  I wield a power all my own."

"So that's another difference between you two."

"No, it's not.  My counterpart also wields his own power.  He's not 
one of the Dark One's followers."

"But I could feel the Dark One's power within him."

"You mean like this?"  Suddenly Joe seemed to reek of the Dark Power. 
He seemed so dark that the women reflexively took a step back.  "Or 
perhaps you'd prefer me like this?"  Suddenly Joe glowed with the 
Goddess's power.

The elder woman asked, "How?  No man can wield the Goddess's power."

Jacqueline said, "It's not right.  The power isn't... right."

"Of course not," Joe replied.  "As you said, no man can wield the 
Goddess's power.  But I can create an illusion that makes it seem 
that way.  And that's what my other has done.  Although I'd guess 
that he's spent enough time weaving it so that it would take a long 
time and a lot of patience for anyone not Awakened to sense it.  My 
guess is he's using the Brotherhood in his mad quest to destroy the 
Sisterhood.  I'd also guess that many, even maybe most, of the 
Brotherhood doesn't support him, but he's just too powerful to argue 
with.  By the way, what's your name?  I know Jacqueline's, but I 
can't just keep thinking of you as the 'older Sister'."

"My name is Dana."

"Good to meet you.  No offense, ladies, but if you're in the middle 
of a war, what are you, a single apprentice Healer and her protector, 
doing in the middle of nowhere?"

Dana said, "We... recently lost our last West Coast base.  Jacqueline 
stayed behind to help with some healings.  Now we're headed to New 
York where the new main base of the Sisterhood is.  We were forced to 
divert from our previous course to try to avoid some Brothers.  It 
turns out that we were being diverted into an ambush where you came 
upon us.  I guess we need to get going again."

Joe looked around.  "It's going to get dark soon.  Tell you what, if 
you stay with me tonight and tell me what you can about my other, so 
I can hopefully find out what drove him insane, in the morning, I'll 
teleport you to New York.  It'll take a few jumps to get there, but I 
can handle that."

"Couldn't you do that now?"

"No.  Before I saved you from those Brothers, I was involved in a 
fight with a pretty nasty dude.  So between him, the Brothers, and my 
other, I'm pretty tired.  I'd hate to teleport a couple of times then 
get involved in a fight of some kind.  I need rest."

"Alright, but we should look for some shelter.  Jacqueline and I lost 
our packs in the fight with the Brothers."

Joe waved his hand and there was a fire with a tent.  "Minor 
application of power.  Give me a little while and I'll whip up some 
eats, too."

Dana and Jacqueline sat down.  Dana asked, "Are we all going to sleep 
in the tent?"

"You two will.  I'm used to sleeping under the stars.  I even prefer it."

After they settled in, Joe asked, "So what do you know about my other self?"

"Well, everybody's heard the story, but we don't know a lot of 
specific details."

"Just tell me what you do know."

"According to the stories, shortly after Joanie, his female self, 
gave birth to her little boy, but before she joined the Sisterhood, 
Joanie and her mother had some kind of major fall out.  Joanie took 
her child and left.  The next day, our High Priestess, Bronwyn 
Llewellyn, and Julie got together and found Joanie in a dojo a few 
miles away.  Bronwyn went to the dojo and tried to talk to her, but 
Joanie instead attacked her.  There was a brief altercation before 
both their magics were squelched by the Master of the dojo. 
Apparently he was some kind of magic-user, fairly powerful from the 
High Priestess's description."

"That's putting it mildly.  Master Quan, at least my world's version, 
was and is one of the most skilled mages on the planet."

"Well, anyways, he separated them and interviewed each separately. 
He then sent Bronwyn packing and took Joanie... somewhere.  Nobody 
knows exactly where, but according to Julie's testimony, she got a 
sense of Joanie being an impossibly far distance away.

"A little more than two years later, the Sisters in New York felt 
Julie's death.  Two Sisters investigated and found a man kneeling 
next to her, cradling her body.  They asked him who he was.  He said 
he was Julie's son.  He also confessed to having killed Julie.  He 
then destroyed one of the Sisters, paralyzed the other, and told her 
to take a message to Bronwyn that the Sisterhood was doomed.  He then 
walked out of the house, leaving the Sister with two dead bodies. 
And that started the war between the Brotherhood and the Sisterhood."

"Thanks.  I think I know what the divergence point of our universes 
is now.  But I still don't know what drove him insane."

Jacqueline said, "Bronwyn might be able to help.  She's never been 
very forthcoming about details of what happened between her and 
Joanie on that day in the dojo."

Dana said, "I'm not sure that's a great idea, hun.  We walk in there 
with him, and we'll be lucky to get anywhere near Bronwyn without 
starting a major fight."

Joe said, "Easy enough to deal with."  Suddenly his features shifted 
and his body shape changed.  Sitting there beside the two Sisters was 
now a third woman.  In a feminine voice, Joe said, "I may not like 
playing the woman's role, but sometimes I do realize its necessity."

"I don't know.  I don't like the concept of conning Bronwyn."

Jacqueline said, "Dana, we might be able to end this war.  Isn't that 
worth a little conning?"

Joe said, "It is not my attempt to con Bronwyn.  I'm only doing this 
so we can get close enough without fighting so you can explain what's 
going on.  But if I'm to succeed, I must find out all that I can 
about what happened."

Dana finally relented.  "Alright, we'll do this.  But you keep up the 
pretense only until we get close enough to explain."

"Deal.  Now what do you guys want to eat?"

Jacqueline quickly said, "Sausage pizza!  I haven't had a good pizza 
since my Transformation."

"Okay with you, Dana?"

"Fine with me."

Joe conjured up a big pizza, and they ate together for a while as 
night fell.  At one point Jacqueline asked, "Can I ask you a 
question?"

"You can ask.  Not guaranteeing I can or will answer."

"The other you, before you started fighting, said he wasn't... 
connected to you, I think he said.  What did he mean by that?"

"It's a theory of alternate dimensions.  Although not much is known, 
Sideslips being very rare, there's a theory that all the same 
versions of a Marauder are connected.  That Marauders can look into 
any dimension where they're still mad.  I'd guess he just confirmed 
that theory."

"Can I ask another question?"

"Sure."

"Regardless of what happens here, how are you going to get home?"

Joe shrugged.  "I'm not sure I can."

"You may be stuck here?"

"Possible."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be.  If it's something I can't change, then c'est la vie.  I 
know my children will be taken care of.  I will miss them, though."

Dana yawned.  "I guess I better get to bed.  You coming, Jacqueline?"

"In a minute."  After Dana crawled into the tent, the young healer 
asked, "You know, don't you?"

"Know what?"

"What drove a wedge between Joanie and Julie.  I could see from the 
look on your face that whatever it was also came between you and your 
mom."

Joe gave her a small smile.  "You're a very perceptive girl, Jacqueline."

"And you're dodging the question."

"I think I know.  But I can't be sure until I talk with Bronwyn and 
perhaps Master Quan."

"What was it?"

"I'm not going to say.  If I'm wrong, I don't want to plant false ideas."

"Okay.  See you tomorrow morning."

After Jacqueline crawled into the tent with Dana, Joe whispered, "And 
if I'm right, I don't want to speak ill of the dead."

************

The next day, Dana and Jacqueline crawled out of the tent into the 
morning light.  Joe, in his female form, sat cross-legged beside the 
fire, which seemed unchanged from the night before.  He stood up and 
waved his hand.  The fire disappeared and the tent rolled itself up 
into a pack and floated over to Dana.  She thanked him, and then he 
wrapped his arms around the women and started teleporting.  It took 
four jumps to get to New York and another to deposit themselves 
outside an abandoned tenement where the Sisterhood was now running 
its organization.

They went inside and a woman sitting near an internal door said, 
"Dana, Jacqueline, thank the Goddess!  We heard that you had some 
problems with Brothers.  How did you get here so quickly?"

Dana said, "We did have some problems, but we got some help.  Amanda, 
this is a very powerful sorceress.  She needs to talk to Bronwyn, 
right now."

"Alright."  Amanda opened the door and whispered a few words.  "Go ahead."

The three of them walked through darkened passageways towards the 
center of the base.  Joe watched the faces of many people as he 
passed by.  What surprised him was that most were normals.  Only 
about one-third of the people had any trace of the Goddess's power. 
Of the norms, about 80 percent were female.  Joe was surprised at the 
low numbers of men.  Accepting that both the Brotherhood and the 
Sisterhood were using norm support staffs, he'd've expected so biased 
a balance only from the Brotherhood.  But with a war going on, he 
supposed anything could happen.

They entered a large room, and Jacqueline yelled, "Mother!" and ran 
to a one-armed woman standing by a table.

Joe looked around.  He was immediately struck by how tired and drawn 
these women looked.  Their faces were like those of soldiers who had 
been in a war zone too long.  But his eyes landed on one woman.  She 
was definitely older and more haggard then the last time he had seen 
her, but this was definitely Bronwyn Llewellyn, the woman he 
remembered visiting him and revealing that she was High Priestess of 
the Sisterhood, shortly after mother revealed that he'd be stuck as a 
woman until he could cast the spell to return on his own.  Then he 
had to remember that this was this world's version of the woman he 
met.

They stepped forward, and suddenly an Asian woman standing near 
Bronwyn yelled, "Get down!"  She stepped forward, raised her hand and 
a column of flame shot out of her palm at Joe.

Joe caught the column, and collected the fire into a ball.  When the 
woman stopped, he raised the ball up and blew it out like it was 
nothing more than a small candle.  The Sisters were staring at the 
Asian woman.  Bronwyn asked, "How and why did you do that?"

Joe said, "The why is that she thought she needed to protect you from 
me," and then shifted back to his male form.

A couple women said, "Betrayer!" and Joe felt the Goddess's power 
massing to be used against him.

Jacqueline yelled, "No!" and broke away from her mother, interposing 
herself between Joe and the other Sisters.

Jacqueline's mother yelled, "Jacqueline, what are you doing?!"

Jacqueline explained, "Mother, this isn't the betrayer.  He's an 
alternate universe version.  I've seen the two of them together. 
This one fought to save us.  We'd be dead if not for him."

The Asian woman, speaking so low that only Joe heard her with his 
amplified senses, whispered, "Sideslip."

Dana spoke up.  "High Priestess, I know the story sounds fantastic, 
but I have witnessed it first hand."

Bronwyn stepped up to Joe.  She put on a brave face, but Joe could 
sense her fear.  "How can I be sure this is not some trick?  The 
betrayer is a very powerful man."

Joe replied, "If I were the Betrayer, you would already be dead. 
Besides, even if you're not willing to accept Dana and Jacqueline's 
word for it, just ask her."  Joe pointed at the Asian who had 
attacked him.  "If she takes a good look, she'll notice that I lack 
the sense of discontinuity around me that surrounds Marauders like my 
other self."

Bronwyn gave a sidelong glance to the woman.  "What are you talking 
about?  We've never noticed any... discontinuity around you... your 
other self."

"No, but the Awakened would."

"Awakened?  What is that?"

"It's coming into your full power as a magick user.  It's becoming 
aware that reality is far more malleable than first thought.  It's 
used because those that haven't Awakened, even the more powerful like 
those of the Sisterhood and the Brotherhood, tend to walk through 
life like they were sleepwalking."

Bronwyn seemed a little put off by Joe's attitude, but said, "So what 
has this got to do with Sue?"

Joe looked into Bronwyn's eyes.  "Tell me that fire column was a new 
spell developed by the Sisterhood."  Joe looked past Bronwyn to Sue. 
"Besides, only one of the Awakened could've seen through my illusion 
so quickly.  And, of course, there's also the fact that I heard her 
use the term 'Sideslip'.  It's a rare enough term amongst the 
Awakened.  I can't see a Sister even being aware of what it means."

One of the Sisters said, "Bronwyn, this is nothing more than 
bullshit, pardon my French!  Sue is one of the strongest Sisters 
around.  He's just trying to disparage her to drive a wedge between 
us."

Sue said, "No," and the illusion of the Goddess's power faded from 
around her.  "I am Sue bani Akashic Brotherhood."

Bronwyn asked, "Bani?  What's that?"

"Roughly translated it means 'Member of'.  The Akashic Brotherhood is 
the group of mages that Joanie belonged to before she changed back 
and went insane.  Since the Mad one was using information about the 
Sisterhood that he got while at our base, we felt a responsibility to 
try to protect you, and if possible, try to deal with Joanie.  It was 
not my intent to harm you, and I only deceived you to stay close 
enough to protect you.  I can tell you that whoever this is, he does 
seem to lack the reality twisting effect of an insane mage."

"We'll discuss this later."  Bronwyn turned back to Joe.  "Assuming 
everything you've told me is true, why are you here?"

"I'm looking for information on why my other went insane.  At the 
very least I want to keep it from happening to me, and, hopefully, I 
can heal his insanity."

Sue interrupted, "You cannot heal a Mad mage.  Once a Marauder, 
always a Marauder."

"Perhaps, but I have an internal perspective no one else in this 
universe has.  If any can save him it would be me."

Jacqueline's mother said, "Or perhaps in discovering the reason why 
he went insane, it may drive you over the edge as well."

"Perhaps, but would that stop you?  Would it stop any of you?  I have 
a chance to end this war you're in, not just with my other, but 
perhaps with the Brotherhood, as well.  Perhaps forever.  Isn't that 
worth at least trying?"

Bronwyn mulled it over.  She didn't seem happy, but she did ask, 
"What do you need from us?"

"I need to find out what happened to my other in as exact detail as 
possible.  Dana and Jacqueline tell me that after Joanie left mom... 
her mom, you went and found her at a dojo.  What happened there?"

Jacqueline's mother said, "I'd also like to know that."

Bronwyn glared at her.  "What happened?  Promises were made and 
broken, and we lost Joanie.  You want to know what drove your 
counterpart insane?  Find out what forced Joanie back into male form."

Joe just stared at Bronwyn for a bit before saying, "I asked for 
exact detail.  Please just tell me what happened without adding 
personal opinion."

Bronwyn seemed angered, but held any remarks back.  Eventually she 
started her story.  "The day after their fight, Julie and I got 
together and penetrated Joanie's shield, discovering where she was. 
I felt the anger of the girl and convinced Julie to let me talk to 
her alone.

"I went to the dojo and found a class just letting out.  I saw Joanie 
heading into the dressing room.  I went in after her and called out 
her name.  She turned and gave me a look of almost abject hate.  She 
turned away from me and said, 'Leave me alone.'

"I told her I couldn't do that.  I approached her and asked her to 
return to her mother and the Sisterhood.  She refused.  She said, 
'Not only am I not going to return to the Sisterhood, the only time I 
plan on using that damnable power is to defend my child from the 
likes of you!'

"I was shocked, but asked her why she hadn't transformed back if she 
found being a Sister so abhorrent.  I felt the rage grow within her, 
and she just lashed out at me, kicking me right out of the dressing 
room.  She then came after me, blazing with Goddess power.

"I tried to defend myself with my magic, but she was like a woman 
possessed.  But suddenly both of us were frozen in place, our magic 
squelched like a match in a typhoon.  I felt like a puppet as Joanie 
and I were walked to the office by an elderly Asian.  We both sat 
down and he looked at us and said, 'What is going on here?  And 
whatever possessed you to start a magical fight in the middle of a 
public place?'

"Both Joanie and I spoke at the same time.  After only a few seconds 
of that, he took Joanie into another room.  He came back a little 
while later, saying he heard Joanie's story and now wanted mine.  I 
explained to him that I was just trying to reunite Joanie and her 
mother, and to return to her rightful place as one of the Sisterhood.

"He seemed to consider it.  He then told me that Joanie blamed the 
entire Sisterhood for something that Julie had done.  He told me that 
any Sister, particularly the High Priestess, would only make matters 
worse until Joanie got over her anger.  Then he promised me he'd do 
everything he could to get Joanie back to the Sisterhood.  He seemed 
to be a man of honor, so I left.  Then, either he failed, or he lied. 
Two years later, Joanie transformed into Joe, went insane because of 
it, then killed Julie and started this insane war."

"Okay, two questions.  One, did you ever try to find out what mother 
had done to make him so angry, and if so, what was it?  And two, what 
did Master Quan promise you?  Exact wording."

"I did ask Julie about it.  She said that she had made certain 
assumptions about Joanie's role in the Sisterhood, and had tried to 
make Joanie see that."

"Kind of vague.  Didn't you get any details?"

"Julie didn't seem ready to talk about it, so I didn't press."

"Mm-hmm.  And what, exactly, did Master Quan promise you?"

"He said, 'I promise to do everything in my power to return Joanie to 
the place where she should be.'"

Joe got a wry look on his face.  "Master Quan always did speak too 
cryptically for his own good."

"So you know what went wrong?  Where did he fail?"

"He didn't.  He did exactly what he promised.  You just made the same 
mistake mom did."

"And what was that?"

"You assumed that her child's rightful place was as one of the Sisterhood."

"If her rightful place wasn't as one of us, then why did she stay a 
woman?  Why didn't she transform back?"

"And the ironic thing is, if you'd've asked mom that we might not all 
be here right now."  Joe held up his hand and a small ball of light 
formed in it.

Bronwyn stepped back, saying, "What are you doing?"

"You've helped me out.  I owe you a debt, and I always repay my debts."

"What are you planning?"

The ball of light flew from his hand into the stump of Jacqueline's 
mother's missing arm.  The Sisters watched in amazement, as a small 
arm grew from the stump.  It, at first, appeared to be a baby's arm, 
but quickly grew into a full-sized adult's arm.  Jacqueline's mom 
flexed it a bit, then said, "It's real."

Joe snorted.  "Of course it's real."  He then turned to Sue.  "Now I 
need your help."

"Me?  Why?"

"I need to speak to Master Quan.  You are from the space base?"

"Yes.  But I need to stay here to protect Bronwyn.  That is my mission here."

"You can best help her by ending this stupid war.  We can be there 
and you can be back in under twenty minutes.  All you have to do is 
either get me in or get Master Quan out to see me."

"I don't know."

Bronwyn said, "Sue, you might as well go with him.  When you come 
back we've got a lot to talk about."

Sue cringed.  "Yes, ma'am."  As she walked by Bronwyn she said, "I 
was only here to help you."

"We'll discuss that when you get back."

Sue stepped up to Joe.  As they went to leave, Dana said, "Wait," and 
stepped up to Bronwyn and made a hurried whispered conversation.  She 
then came over and said, "I'm going to escort you out."

Joe transformed back to his female shape and the three of them left 
together.  After they were gone, Jacqueline's mother stepped over to 
Bronwyn and wrapped her arm around the High Priestess's shoulders. 
"I think you should've told him about why you wanted Joanie to return 
to us."

Bronwyn sighed.  "Laurie, the fact that I fell in love with Joanie is 
none of this man's business.  He clearly wanted to return to being a 
man."

"Perhaps, but I don't think you made a good impression.  At least if 
you had been honest, he could've understood your anger.  Besides, I 
get the feeling that he thought that our Joanie didn't want to stay 
Joanie."

"Then why didn't she transform back after giving birth?  Answer me 
that, Laurie."

Laurie shrugged.  "Maybe he was right."  Laurie kissed Bronwyn on the 
cheek.  "Maybe you should've asked Julie that."

Outside, Dana turned to Joe and Sue and said, "Let's go."

Sue said, "Wait a second.  You're not coming with us."

"Please.  I'd like to see this through to the end."

Joe asked, "What about Jacqueline?  Or am I way off base in my 
assumptions about the giggling I heard coming from the tent last 
night?"

Dana blushed a deep crimson.  "I love Jacqui with a passion, but if 
she's ever to come into her full power as a Sister, she needs to give 
birth.  As long as we're together, she uses our relationship to keep 
from being anything more than just friends with the men who work with 
us."

Sue said, "We're not going to be your excuse.  You can't come.  The 
space base is off-limits to all non-personnel."

"Why?  The base accepted occasional visitors back in my world.  Worst 
comes to worst, she just comes with me and waits at the gate house 
while you get approval from the Masters."

Joe felt Sue open a connection to his mind.  He opened his shields 
enough for them to speak without being overheard.  {You don't 
understand.  Shortly after you went insane in this world, the 
Marauders stepped up their attacks.  The space base is under almost 
constant attack now.}

{Is the gate house under attack?}

{Well, no.}

{Then what's your problem?  It's not like she's going to be allowed 
into the base.  I doubt I'll be allowed into the base, much less her. 
So we go to the gate house together and wait.}

Sue just glared at Joe, but eventually said, "Fine. Let's go," and 
took off at a run.  Joe swept Dana into his arms and took off after 
Sue.  Dana was about to protest until she saw how fast they were 
traveling.  Buildings flew past at a rate she'd be hard pressed to 
keep up with in a car, much less on foot.  They traveled across town 
until they reached a nondescript, old building.  They went down to 
the basement and Dana saw an old bum lying in the corner and her 
heart went out to him.  Sue and Joe, however, ignored the man.

Sue walked over to an open door on the far side of the room.  She 
touched her hand to the frame.  Dana sensed powerful magicks at work 
as Sue stepped through the frame and melted into the shadows.  She 
asked, "Now what?"

"We wait for Sue to get back."

"Oh."  After a few seconds, Dana said, "You think you know what drove 
your other insane?"

"Pretty sure."

"What was it?"

"I'll say when I'm really sure."

"Why won't you tell me?  Maybe I can help."

"Because I don't want to speak ill of the dead, particularly if I am right."

"What do you mean?"

Joe said nothing, seeming to become lost in his thoughts.  Dana was a 
bit upset, but left him to his thoughts.  She instead turned to the 
bum in the corner, seeing if she could do anything for him.  When she 
got close, Joe snapped out of his reverie and yelled, "Don't touch 
him!" but it was too late.  Dana touched the man, and immediately was 
confronted by a living shadow that leapt up from where the hobo had 
been laying.  The thing radiated fear, and Dana stepped back, too 
terrified to even think of raising a defense.

Joe stepped between Dana and the guardian spirit.  In his own world, 
a simple word would've called this thing off, but here, Joe was 
forced to rely upon his magics to defend them.  He didn't want to 
destroy the spirit, but Spirit magics were never his strong point, so 
he wasn't going to be able to just hold it off for long.

Before it became an issue, he heard Master Quan behind him utter the 
command phrase to call the spirit off.  Joe turned and Master Quan 
said, "If anything was to convince me of Sue's story, that was it. 
The Joe from this world would never have protected any member of the 
Sisterhood, even before he went insane."

"Master Quan."

"I hear a distance in your voice.  Is something wrong?"

"A problem I have with your counterpart in my world."

"Anything I should know about?"

"Can't see why.  On to the issue at hand, though.  I need to find out 
what happened to my counterpart.  At least to avoid his fate, and 
hopefully to correct it."

"I don't place much hope in the curing of a Marauder, but what can I 
do to help?"

"I need to know what my other did after the confrontation with 
Bronwyn.  I assume you brought Joanie to the space base?"

"I did.  There, she threw herself into her studies with a passion I 
have seen in few students, then or since.  She learned quickly, and 
only a couple years later, she left the base to cast her spell.  I 
felt she was being foolish.  The risk of Paradox from what she was 
doing was too great, but she was adamant.  She wanted to finish her 
spell as close to her mom as possible.  I really believe she wanted 
to reconcile but wanted to undo what had been done first."

"A question.  What did she study?  What Spheres did she learn?"

"After she Awakened, she learned the basics of every Sphere, which 
translated over from her skills as a Sister, but she really chose to 
specialize in Life magics, spending a lot of time with the Verbena."

"Did she spend any time with the Choristers?  What kind of knowledge 
did she have of the Prime Sphere?"

"Almost none.  She found the Choristers' religious furor too 
reminiscent of the Sisterhood, and she was too preoccupied with 
mastering self-transformation to focus on Prime."

Joe closed his eyes.  "She was too focused on getting back to see the 
consequences of her actions."

"You know what happened?  What drove your other insane?"

"I'm pretty sure I do."

"What?"

"You know of the spells upon her?  Mother's spells, even the last one?"

"I do."

"None of those spells were sealed spells."

"By the Trinity.  So when she cast her spell...  No wonder he went insane."

Before anyone could say anything more, the mystic portal flared. 
Master Quan said, "The Marauders have started another attack!  I must 
go quickly.  Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"Why have the Marauders become so dangerous?  My counterpart isn't so 
powerful that he'd be a useful tool for them."

"It's not your other; it's the war he's started.  The war between the 
Brotherhood and the Sisterhood has spilled into the Sleepers.  More 
and more, people are believing in magic, weakening the power of 
Paradox.  The world-shaking magics of the  Marauders is becoming 
easier and they're taking advantage.  I must go now."  Master Quan 
turned and stepped into the portal, leaving Joe and Dana.

Dana then said, "Okay, spill the beans.  You said you figured it out, 
and your friend there was being way too cryptic.  I got the feeling 
he was purposefully not saying what was going on in order to keep me 
in the dark."

"That's exactly what he was doing."

"You know you're really getting frustrating.  What happened?"

"First, I want to see mom's grave.  I need to run a magical check on her body."

"Come on.  You know what happened.  You told your friend as much.  No 
more delays."

"Dana, please."

Dana wanted to say no, but heard the emotion in his voice.  "Alright, 
but I want answers after this.  No more delays."

"Alright.  No more delays after I see the body."

"Okay.  The body is interred in the graveyard on the north end of the 
suburb where she lived."

"I know the place."  Joe swept Dana into his arms and twisted space, 
and just as simply as that, they were standing outside a graveyard. 
"Where's the grave?"

"This way."  Dana walked into the graveyard.  Truth was, she hadn't 
been here before, but sensed the traces of the Goddess's power in the 
center of the graveyard.  Joe could've done the same, but Dana's own 
connection to the Goddess made it easier for her.

They got close to the grave, and Dana said, "Here she is."  She 
turned back and saw Joe waiting a ways back.  "Is something wrong?"

"That's my mom's grave.  I mean I know, intellectually, it's not MY 
mom, but even so..."

"I understand, but there are wars going on.  Not to rush you, but the 
sooner you do this, the sooner those wars end."

"You're right, of course."  Joe stepped up and stretched out his 
hand.  He scanned the body in the ground, then said, "I was right. 
Damn."

"What is it?  What happened?"

"My other wasn't driven insane by his transformation back into a man. 
But the transformation back caused what did drive him over the edge."

"Aaagh!  You're as bad as your Master Quan!  What drove your other nuts?"

Joe smiled.  "I'll tell you in a bit, but first I need to talk to my 
mother alone."

"But-"

"Please, Dana.  Just give me a little while alone."

Dana heard the emotion in his voice and said, "Alright.  I'll wait over here."

After Dana left, Joe looked down and said, "Hello, mother."  He then 
let out an ironic chuckle.  "If this doesn't say something about my 
life.  The only way I can sit down and talk with my own mom is to 
talk with a dead counterpart in another dimension."  He got a serious 
look on his face.  "But I needed somebody to talk to.  I know you're 
not MY mom, but I hope you don't mind."  Joe sat cross-legged at the 
end of the grave.  "To let you know, in my world, when you cast that 
ill-fated last spell on me, I made it back to being me.  After that I 
stormed off and found the same dojo I did in this world..."

For the next hour, Joe sat and talked about his life.  He was still 
talking when Dana heard a mystic cry for help.  Bronwyn yelled into 
her mind, "The Brotherhood has discovered our base!  All Sisters in 
the New York vicinity report immediately!  The Betrayer is here!" 
There was a desperation in Bronwyn's cry and Dana knew this was going 
to be a big battle, probably a final battle.

Dana rushed over to Joe.  "I've got to go.  Bronwyn just called. 
Your other is assaulting our base."

Joe stood up.  "I'll take you back."  He turned back to the grave, 
said, "Thanks," and swept Dana into his arms.

After he teleported away, the air over the grave shimmered and a 
spectral image of Julie appeared.  If she had tear ducts, she 
would've been crying.  Had she betrayed her son in every time?

Across town, the city's factions of both the Brotherhood and the 
Sisterhood faced off outside the building the Sisterhood had been 
hiding in.  The Joe of this dimension stepped a few steps forward. 
He told Bronwyn, "Give up now, and I'll make your death easy."

"We will never surrender!"

"I was hoping you'd say that."  Joe stepped forward, but before he 
could do a thing, there was a rippling of space and the other Joe was 
between him and the Sisterhood, carrying one of them.

The sane Joe set Dana on her feet, then walked towards the mad Joe. 
"It's time to end this."

"You going to run away this time?"

"I'm going to hope this time is unnecessary.  Your mad quest to 
destroy the Sisterhood must end."

"And it will.  When they're all dead."

"Why?  For what you did to your mother?"

Angrily, mad Joe yelled, "For what they made me do to mom!  The 
transformations they inflict on their children must end."

"It wasn't the transformation to Joanie that caused you such 
problems.  It was your change back."

"I had a right to be me!"

"But you did it wrong.  You didn't learn the Prime skills to properly 
control the energy of the spell.  You killed your mother, not the 
Sisterhood."

"No!  They made me need to resort to greater magics.  They convinced 
mother it was okay to do what she did!  It never would've been 
necessary if they'd just left us alone!"

"Mother did what she did without approval.  The Sisterhood would've 
helped you back if you'd've asked.  Your entire war is unnecessary."

Mad Joe screamed, "No!" and attacked his sane other.  The two's 
battle was fast and furious.  The savagery and magics released 
pushing both the Sisterhood and the Brotherhood back.  Finally, the 
fight ended in a flash of light, and sane Joe held mad Joe on his 
knees in a full nelson.

Sane Joe said, "Submit!  End this!  I don't want to kill you!"

"Destroy me or I will eventually destroy them.  You have no other options."

"Fine."  There was a magic rippling and all of them, both Joes, the 
Sisterhood, and the Brotherhood, were in the graveyard recently 
vacated by Joe and Dana.  Sane Joe held mad Joe down to face his 
mother's grave.  "Tell mother you killed her intentionally and I'll 
end it quick."

Mad Joe started to struggle.  "No!  Let me go!  Kill me or let me go!"

"Say it, and I'll end this quick."

Bronwyn had heard their earlier conversation and didn't know what to 
make of it.  She expected the mad Joe to just admit he had killed his 
mother, but was surprised when his voice became plaintive, begging, 
"Please, don't do this.  Kill me.  Don't make me do this."

"Face her.  Face what you did."

Everyone was surprised when the mad Joe stopped fighting and started 
sobbing.  Sane Joe let him go, and he sunk down to his knees, saying, 
"I didn't want you to die.  I never wanted you dead, mother."  He 
looked at the tombstone, stretching his hand out to it.  "Why 
couldn't you let me be who I wanted to be?"

Sane Joe stepped back, and Bronwyn stepped up to him, asking, "What 
happened?  Didn't he kill his mother?"

Sane Joe explained, "He did, but not intentionally.  You asked why 
Joanie didn't change back if she didn't want to remain a girl.  Fact 
is, she tried.  Mother was so sure she was changing back because of 
male ego that she cast a spell intended to trap her as Joanie.  In my 
universe, I fought back and won.  In this universe, he fought back 
and lost."

"Goddess, I didn't know."

"Did you want to know?"  Bronwyn almost said something, but bit it 
back.  "Anyways, Joanie ran off, unwilling to stay with her mother. 
After you found her in the dojo, Master Quan took her, helped her 
Awaken, and learn the greater magics.  After that, she specialized in 
the magic that would return her to being Joe, but she failed to learn 
the Prime magics that would help channel the energy of her spell and 
the spells she was disrupting.  When she changed back to a he, the 
Birth Rites, the Transformation spell, and her trap spell all snapped 
like twigs.  The backlash is what killed her.  He went straight home 
and found her, knowing what he had done.  THAT was what drove him 
insane."

The mad Joe continued to sob.  "I'm sorry, mother.  I didn't want to 
kill you.  Please forgive me."

Everyone was surprised when the air shimmered and the ghost of Julie 
stood over her own grave.  "My son."

Mad Joe looked up.  "M... Mommy."

Julie went to her knees in front of him.  She took his hand in hers. 
"My son, it is I who must beg your forgiveness.  I refused to accept 
you for who you were.  If I'd've let you be who you wanted to be, 
none of this would've happened."

Joe looked down.  "Oh, mother, I have done such evil.  I have killed 
many and doomed thousands more."

Julie wrapped her arms around him consolingly.  "I know, Joe.  You 
cannot undo what has been, but you can make things better.  You have 
the power."

Joe looked up and nodded.  Julie faded from view and Joe stood up. 
He just said, "I have a war to end," and disappeared.

Bronwyn asked, "Where'd he go?"

"Into the Umbra, the spirit world.  Apparently his Spirit magics are 
greater than my own."

"So now what?"

"That's up to you.  Both groups."  To both the Brotherhood and the 
Sisterhood he said, "Look around you.  Look at your haggard faces. 
Look at the scars you have left, not only on each other, but on 
humanity as a whole.  This is the cost of your war.  I'd suggest you 
either finish this right here, like my other originally intended, or 
you go someplace and work it out."

Bronwyn turned to the leader of the Brotherhood.  "I think it's time to talk."

As the two went off, Dana stepped up to Joe and said, "What're you 
going to do now?  How are you going to get home?"

"I don't know.  I don't even know if I can."

"If you can't, we could make a place for you here."

"Thanks.  I may have to accept."

************

IN ANOTHER REALM...

They were the most powerful Marauders ever known, and they were 
preparing to assault the Traditions' "space base" to finish them off 
once and for all.  No one thought anything when Joe walked in.  He 
was one of them, a Marauder,and they thought he was an ally.  It was 
Steven the Quick who caught a flash of a future he hadn't seen 
before.  He tried to yell a warning, but it was too late.

************

EVERYWHERE...

The explosion lit the sky.  Even where the sun was at its brightest, 
the explosion eclipsed it.  Every mystic master knew what it was. 
The main Marauder enclave had been destroyed, and its most powerful 
were gone with it.  The Ascension War was far from over, but one of 
the more dangerous groups would never be the same.

************

BACK ON EARTH...

Dana could only whistle in amazement at the bright light that had 
filled the sky.  "Could he have survived that?"

"No.  He used his own life force to fuel that."

A bit of silver streaked out of the sky, crashing at Joe's feet. 
When the smoke cleared, the Soul Blade floated up.  Everyone heard 
the voice say, {It's time to go home, Joe.}

Joe turned to Dana.  "I guess I've got a way home after all."

"You could stay."

"I appreciate the offer, but I've got four kids who need me."

"I understand."

Joe stepped up to the Soul Blade and asked, "What do I do?"

{Grasp my hilt.  I will connect you with my other, and slide you back 
to your world.}

Joe grasped the hilt.  Magic flared, and the world twisted.  He was 
then back in Houston.  {Are you okay?} his Soul Blade asked.

"Yeah, just a little staggered."  He sheathed the blade, and ran back 
to the gate house.

Back at the space base, Master Quan was waiting.  "Is it done?"

"Yes, do you have anything else?"

Master Quan was stunned.  Normally, Joe wouldn't have asked, would've 
waited for him to ask.  "No."  Joe just nodded and walked away. 
Master Quan watched him go.  Whatever Joe had been through had 
changed him, mellowed him.  Perhaps he'd make a good Akashic Master 
after all.

Joe stepped out into Jarred's home cave.  His children ran to him and 
he hugged them to him, kissing each in turn.  After he finally let 
them go, Steven said, "I hope you're here to stay for a while.  We 
missed you."

"I've got to handle something first.  Don't worry.  No danger to 
this, and I'll be back before dinner."  The kids were disappointed 
and Joe kissed each saying, "I love you more than life.  I will 
return."  To Jarred, who had been hovering in the background, he 
said, "Take care of them," before returning to the gate house.

************

IN THE OTHER DIMENSION, IN THE WORLDS OF THE DEAD...

Joe floated on to his final destination.  The only thing that 
would've kept him tied to the mortal plane was Steven, but he knew 
his boy would be taken care of.  Lara had promised to care for him 
and she always kept her promises.

As he floated, he heard a voice yell out his name.  He turned and 
Julie floated right into his arms.  "Mother, you waited for me."

"Till forever, my son."

"I'm sorry for killing you, mom."

"I know, and I'm sorry for making you kill me."

The two hugged and floated on together.

************

IN OUR DIMENSION, NEW YORK...

Joe waited on top of his old home where his mother still lived.  He 
was well shielded and his mother wouldn't know he was here.  If he 
stayed long enough, she'd see through it eventually, but he hoped it 
wouldn't be necessary.  He was just planning on staying long enough 
to see if she was okay.  Maybe he'd try to reconcile.  He hadn't 
decided yet.

Julie drove up.  As she got out, Joe could tell she was somber and 
depressed, and almost went to her.  Maybe he would've, but just at 
that second, Julie looked down the road in the direction he had 
walked off when he left over a decade ago, and said, "Please come 
back to me, Joanie."

The name grated on him like nails on a chalkboard.  He teleported 
away, hoping it wouldn't take her death to get her to accept him for 
who he was.

Julie looked up at the roof where Joe used to sit to stargaze.  She 
had had a brief flash of the presence of her child being there but 
now... nothing.  She shook it off.  Once she had changed Joe to 
Joanie, Joanie had stopped climbing out there.  Joanie would never 
have been on the roof.
-- 
"This is reality, not T.V.  Can't you tell the difference?"
"Sure.  I just like T.V. better."

J R D
jrdss@pobox.alaska.net

-- 
Pursuant to the Berne Convention, this work is copyright with all rights
reserved by its author unless explicitly indicated.
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