The Dangers Of Daring Officer Dolly

Chapter 33. "Treachery"

by Skytower 

There was nothing quite like an early spring evening in the English countryside. Mary Ellen MacGuire had been all around the world and had traveled to many other worlds but she'd never found anything to beat it. Evenings in New England were close, but not close enough. There was something subtle in the English air. A scent, a feeling that made her just want to stand and breathe. The grass beneath her feet felt alive and the scents of the trees, oak, ash, rowan and chestnut filled the air and mixed with flowers just opening. There was a feeling in the atmosphere, a feeling that a person stood at the edge of the oldest land in the world and was welcome. There was just enough of a chill in the air to bring everything into sharp focus. Mary had dressed for England. She wore a pair of knee high boots, dark pants, a tight leather vest over a cream colored long sleeve blouse and her white hair was toped with a black tri-corner hat. Her long black cloak completed the outfit. She looked, as had already been pointed out, like a bar wench. Mary didn't care. When the time came and she became Ms. Dream no one would see her outfit. They'd see a beautiful woman wrapped in a cloak of shifting rainbow colors. Instead of her round face they would see the face of the model Ms. Dream had used for nearly her entire career or they would see the face of the woman they considered to be the most beautiful.

"Where are they?" Prudence asked impatiently. She had been asking the same question on and off for the last fifteen minutes. Prudence was shorter than Ms. Dream and she was in her latest costume. Black boots, full length skin tight black pants, a gray skin tight top and a gray half-mask over the top of her face. Since gaining her powers to grow and shrink Prudence had stuck with the name Terrific Titania, but had gone through at least ten costume designs. This one was actually on the demure side, even though the outlines of her nipples could easily be seen against the fabric.

"They will be here soon." Her mother said. Lucy Rothschild in the form of Goddess of Justice was standing beside her daughter. She stood over seven feet tall and her body was built to those proportions; a massive chest, wide hips and golden hair. She wore a silver sleeveless chain mail tunic that reached down nearly to her knees. The tunic was belted at the waist with a shining gold belt. Silver gauntlets ran half way up her arms.

Prudence fidgeted with excitement. Mary couldn’t blame her. She could feel the excitement around them. She was thankful that they weren't anywhere near a city. It hadn't been easy to get Wallingford College for Young Ladies to give them the clearance and pretty much close down the school for a weekend. The name of Lady Serenity Highfield helped quite a bit, as did the massive monetary contribution she had given to the school. But it had also attracted attention. Reporters had swarmed over the college and it had taken all day to clear them out. Lucy had brought her own security force to help campus security with that and the local police had helped as well. But the reporters were still in the area, filling up local taverns and inns. The town of Bracknell didn’t mind the boost in the economy, but the more people around the more dangerous things could get. Mary was sure that something was going to go wrong. She just didn’t know what it was yet. As far as the reporters knew Serenity was getting help from Earth Force to find her daughter; Verity. They didn’t know the whole truth and Mary hoped it stayed that way. Serenity had enough pain in her life.

The other problem had been telling people who had wanted to come that they couldn't. People from the United Nations, the British Government, Earth Force and Force Group J. This was Mystery Woman of Dollopolis who was at last stepping a little way out of the shadows. For nearly three years she'd been at the top of Curiosity Lists, Must Know Lists and Urgent: Find Her! Lists. The intelligence agencies of the world weren’t used to files that were incomplete. Merry had been at the heart of the Nephilim affair and the breakup of Force Group J. Even though superheroes were traditionally a secretive group the modern age had made that sort of secret life very hard. There were magazines, the internet and a whole television network devoted to superheroes. Even the most private superhero had at least been photographed.

But not Mystery Woman. The world at large knew that she could shrink and grow, that she came from a doomed world and that she lived in a shrunken city called Dollopolis. To the world at large that wasn’t enough information. Not in the information age.

It wasn’t enough information for a lot of other superheroes either. Everyone in Earth Force wanted to meet her. Mary knew that at least three of them wanted to have sex with her. But as Lucy pointed out this was not the time to show up in large force numbers. Getting Duchess Simone to agree to show up at all had taken pleading their case to both Simone and two separate gods. Also this wasn't a social call. With the information supplied by Mystery Woman they were going into another dimension and find Truly and Verity Highfield. Lucy wasn't going to take all of Earth Force on that mission; there was always a danger they could be cut off somehow. She would take the group that had the best chance of accomplishing the job. Her arguments had grudgingly been accepted by most. But there were some that no amount of talk would keep away.

Silently standing by Prudence Esmerelda stared into the darkness. She wore simply a black sweater and jeans. The scars on her face had been healed over by the Young Ancient and she no longer limped. Her round face and small nose combined with short black hair to make her look younger than she was. But Esmerelda had a maturity that came from a life of slavery and abuse. The daughter of a witch, cursed to be a were-wolf, Esmerelda had been born because the Duchess Sidonia wanted spare parts for her spells. The parts of a were-wolf’s body were highly prized for many spells. Of them all she owed the most to Mystery Woman. Mystery Woman had killed Sidonia and then freed Esmerelda, ordering her to go to live with Lucy Rothschild. Esmerelda was the most desperate to talk to the woman. For nearly three years she had lived with the mystery of why her offer of love and slavery had been turned down. Mary knew that Esmerelda harbored a barely hidden thought: that she had been turned away because she wasn’t worthy in someway.

Prudence had come because there was no real way to separate the two of them, something that Mary knew was troubling Lucy. But Prudence also had her reasons for wanting to see Mystery Woman again. The first time they had met Mystery Woman had saved her live by letting Prudence drink milk from her breasts. It had been under the direction of the Goddess Ida and beside giving her many of the same superpowers as Mystery Woman it had left many questions for the young woman. Prudence had changed since then, become wilder in many ways and her temper was shorter. Mary knew that the young woman felt like her mind had been scrambled and she hoped that by talking to Mystery Woman that things could be sorted out. Mary hoped so too. Certainly the three psychiatrists over the past year and a half had been no help.

Maybe the calmest person at the gathering was the Young Ancient. He stood by the Earth Force transport and sipped from a can of Canada Dry Ginger Ale. Yoran was a handsome young man, he looked about nineteen but as an immortal how he looked was deceiving. He was slim with black hair and a round face. His eyes were a deep gray. Yoran and his companion Savage had fled from a repressive king in an earlier age. His magic had taken them so far ahead in time that their people weren’t even a legend anymore. He was there at Mary’s insistence. He was a healer and Mary would have bet her life savings that they’d need him. Also he was back up in case something happened to Miss Shadow.

The rest of Earth Force had reluctantly agreed to wait until next time. The United Nations had taken more convincing and it had taken a shouting match with Captain Pharaoh, the leader of Force Group J to get most of them to stay away. Lady Highfield had drawn deeply on her store of favors to keep the British government at bay.

Around them stood and worked five technicians. They had set up the floodlights and energy monitors that would record where the mystical portal would open and where it led too. Beyond them was the bulky shape of the Earth Force transport. It was basically a square gray box with a few wings attached. It worked but the craft looked ugly, something that almost everyone pointed out at one time or another. Only Mary knew that by the time Lucy had gotten around to purchasing the transport she was too cash strapped to afford anything else.

Sitting on a folding camp chair alone was Lady Serenity Highfield. Tension radiated off of her like heat from a flame. One of her daughters had been raised by an evil man and hated her. The other had been taken just when they were starting to repair their relationship. Her slight frame and red hair was starkly shown in the white lights. She wore a pair of blue pants and a white turtleneck sweater. The sweater hid the mystic bracelets and necklace that she could use to summon her armor. As Iron Mistress Serenity was a powerful heroine. But for now she was a mother worried sick about her daughters. Even if they found Truly Highfield Mary didn’t think it would end well for Serenity.

Standing beside her nearly invisible in the gathering darkness was Miss Shadow. The only member of Force Group J to come. The dark skinned sorceress revealed none of her inner thoughts or emotions. Her dark cloak was drawn around her body, obscuring it. Tonight she hoped to see two of the Legion Of Mystics most powerful talismans returned. Mystery Woman would bring the Dagger of Orant and in that other world they would hopefully find the Seal of Orant.

Esmerelda perked up her head and seemed to sniff the air. She did that sometimes, even when she was not in her wolf form.

"They are coming." She said.

A moment later they all heard the whine of aircraft engines and a small green air ship came over the trees. A very small ship. Mary guessed it was no longer than five feet long. Too small for any normal person but for the twelve-inch tall women of Dollopolis it was perfect.

"Thunderbird 2!" Serenity said standing up and stumbling over to them. "I wasn’t sure that I saw it correctly the last time. They actually use toys!"

"It's not a toy." Mary said smiling. She'd felt the same way when she had first encountered the model-sized craft. She closed her eyes and concentrated for a moment, shifting her form to Ms. Dream and activating the cloak that enhanced her powers. "I've been in that ship. Trust me, that's not just a toy."

For a few minutes they watched the snub-nosed green craft hover. Then they heard another ship. This one was a long white ship, with an arrow shaped nose and a bulky square landing pads attached to a rectangular frame.

"An Eagle from Space 1999?" Esmerelda asked.

"Yea." Prudence said.

"Why aren't they landing?" Serenity asked.

"They are waiting for Merry to give the all clear." Lucy said turning around. "She is here, somewhere, watching us. I suspect she has been for some time."

As if to confirm her statement they heard the sounds of a fight. Merry emerged from the trees.

"I've been doing more than that Goddess!" Merry's voice sounded from the shadows cast by the trees. It was a hard angry voice and it was followed by Merry herself. "I’ve been making sure we have privacy!"

For a moment no one was sure what she was doing. Merry was hitting and kicking the air but there was nothing there to hit. Then they heard cries of pain and grunts with each blow. Merry paused, stopped and bent down to the ground. She took hold of something and pulled. A ripping sound was followed by a man's shape fading into view. Merry held up the ruins of a camera.
"I said no pictures and you tried to take some anyway!" She shouted. "You're going to eat this for that!"

"Mystery Woman stop!" Goddess of Justice shouted running toward them. Merry ignored the order and with a gesture Goddess caused a small dome made of golden light to surround the prone figure. Merry leapt back and snarled.

"I wasn't done yet!"

"You will not kill this man!" Goddess of Justice shouted.

They had reached the body on the ground and Goddess of Justice recognized him.

"Alec James." She said.

"The Invisible Reporter?" Prudence asked.

"The same." Goddess of Justice said. "Yoran!" She called.

"Told ya we’d need him." Ms. Dream said.

Goddess of Justice stood up and walked over to Merry. Merry didn't budge and Ms. Dream wondered if she was ready to fight them all. Merry was angry to the point of madness but she was also the smartest fighter Ms. Dream had ever seen. She had to know that Goddess of Justice was out her league.

"He was a spy." Merry said. "You catch them, you kill them."

"Not here." Goddess of Justice said. "And he is a reporter, not a spy."

"The difference?" Merry demanded.

"A reporter cast light on the events of the world." Goddess of Justice said. "So that everyone knows what is going on. An informed public will more often than not make the right decisions."

"Democracy?" Merry asked.

"Yes."

"Funny concept." Merry shrugged tossing the remains of the camera aside. "Well I didn't kill him."

"No you didn't." Goddess said turning away from her.

Ms. Dream was glad that both of them had decided not to press the matter. For herself it was hard to work up any sympathy for the man. Alec James was the scandal king of the superhero set. He used a combination of charm, good looks and a stealth suit to find the stories others didn't. He had snuck into more than one secret lair, ruining secret identities, and his reporting had killed three marriages. He had secretly made a video of Queen Liberty doing tricks and begging to be raped when she was hypnotized by Mermerina. The evil hypnotist had forced Queen Liberty to be a dog in heat and worse. She’d eaten dog food from a bowl, washed herself with her tongue and other, even worse things. Once it had aired on the internet the humiliation had been more than she could bear. Queen Liberty had left the superhero business and lived in seclusion. No one had ever been able to penetrate the stealth suit and discover him, even Ms. Dream who had been scanning the area for any human thought hadn't spotted him. She’d felt a hint of something, but that she realized now had been Merry. But somehow Merry had found him. And his good looks were going to be a while returning.

"How is he?" Goddess of Justice asked Yoran.

"Broken nose, fractured jaw, broken arm, three cracked ribs, broken hand." Yoran said. "He'll live." His hands glowed as he passed them over the wounded man.

"It’d be a lot less of an effort to let him die." Merry said. "Someone will just kill him sooner or later."

"Yea but then we’d have to go through the effort of burying him." Yoran said.

"So?"

"I hate to get my hands dirty digging graves." Yoran said with a smile at her.

"When he is strong enough to move get him to the hospital." Goddess said standing up. "Mystery Woman I will talk to Simone about this. You can not attack people this way."

"When someone threatens me I'll deal with them." Merry said coldly. "You can't really tell me he was worth anything."

Ms. Dream looked at her trying to find some way to argue. Merry was wearing a pair of thigh-high boots. A green tunic that reached nearly to her knees and was belted at the waist with a blue belt covered the rest of her body. Her face was covered by the same half mask Prudence was wearing. On her chest was the royal crest of Dollopolis. She was a stunning sight. Merry stood over six feet tall and her chest and hips matched that height. Her hair was nearly as blond as Goddess of Justice's was and her eyes were a deep blue. As always Ms. Dream felt an under-current of anger within her. It wasn't only the fight or the disagreement with Goddess of Justice. Ms. Dream had never been near Merry without feeling anger from her.

"He is a human being." Goddess of Justice said. "Life is precious."

"Ha!" Merry barked the laugh. "He was a spy, he was warned."

Merry stepped away from them and waved her hands above her head. As soon as she did the ships started to land. Goddess of Justice sighed as the ambulance drove away.

"Mystery Woman."

Merry turned at the words and saw that Prudence and Esmerelda had walked over to her. She took a step back and the feelings Ms. Dream sensed were all over the emotional map.

"You… You look good." Merry said to Esmerelda stepping forward again. Merry tentatively ran her fingers over Esmerelda's face. "No scars anymore."

"The Young Ancient." Esmerelda said taking her hand. "He healed me."

Suddenly Merry swept the young woman off her feet in a fierce hug and a yell of joy. Ms. Dream stumbled back and felt Goddess of Justice steady her.

"Ms. Dream?" Goddess asked and there was a wealth of questions in her tone.

"Unbelievable." Ms. Dream whispered. "Anger to joy; a complete conversion! Lucy, I've never felt anything like it. I get it now Lucy; I really get it! There’s almost no anchor there for her emotions!"

"How does a person stay sane like that?" Lucy asked.

"I don’t know." Ms. Dream said.

They watched as Merry swung Esmerelda around and then set her on the ground again.

"I'm sorry I couldn't take you with me." Merry said when they broke apart at last. "I thought the enemies were still after us, we barely survived, you needed something better than constant war."

"I thought it was something I did." Esmerelda said softly. "That I wasn’t worthy."

"Your better than I’ll ever be." Merry said. "It was all me. Goddess… I would have… But you needed something better than me. You needed something better than a duchy from a dead world."

She turned to Prudence and took her hand.

"And you found it from what I heard. We’re sisters now." Merry said. Ms. Dream felt the joy fade and again the anger was there, but not as much. "Or I'm your mother if Lucy's thinking holds. I drank from her breasts, you drank from mine… Hell of a way to say 'hello' don't you think?"

"I'll settle for a sister." Prudence said taking the hand. "Let's not talk about you and mom and… it's just gross."

"Good enough." Merry said looking over her shoulder. The cargo bay had separated from Thunderbird 2 and a small sized Simone was walking down the ramp. Merry turned back to Esmerelda. "Come on. You have to meet her."

It was the catch in her voice more than her powers that told Ms. Dream who she meant. If there was anything anchoring Merry to this sided of sanity it was the tiny woman who walked out of Thunderbird 2. Duchess Simone had come out of the cargo pod of Thunderbird 2 and walked down the ramp. When she was a little ways beyond that Simone held her arms above her head and was suddenly full sized.

"Just as the Obrien's described." Goddess said. "Interesting that Merry can change her size with a thought but Simone needs to use her arms and an incantation."

"They come from a screwed up world." Ms. Dream said. "You might want to give it up about Alec, Merry’s not going to listen even to Simone."

"But we must find someway to moderate Merry’s behavior." Goddess insisted.

"Yea, good luck with that." Ms. Dream said.

Simone was dressed in a golden gown with a silver belt. The gown covered her completely and was held by a choker around her neck. She wore white gloves and a white half mask.

"Why the masks?" Ms. Dream wondered. "They’ve never used them before."

Merry brought Esmerelda and Prudence forward. The emotions were too jumbled and too high for Ms. Dream to get a firm read on them. Merry knelt down on one knee and pulled both of them down with her.

"My lady may I present Prudence Isabella Rothschild and Esmerelda."

"Rothschild." Esmerelda said.

"What?" Merry asked.

"My name is Esmerelda Rothschild."

"We adopted her last Christmas." Prudence said.

"Oh." Merry said.

"Greetings." Simone said breaking up the awkward moment. She smiled and helped them up. "You." She said to Esmerelda drawing her into a hug. "You I have long wanted to meet."

"Me?" Esmerelda blushed.

"Yes." Simone said. "I'm glad you have found a home Miss Rothschild, but I can tell you that if you hadn't Merry had prepared a place in Dollopolis for you."

"You did?" Esmerelda asked turning to her. Ms. Dream felt a flash of guilt as Merry looked away from her.

"Yea. But after the Nephilim thing… I just couldn’t trust anyone anymore. I wanted to tell you but…"

"I understand." Esmerelda said.

"It was also some time before she was out of the Temple of Healing." Simone said. "By that time Earth Force had fully formed and I decided that your place was with your friends."

"And you." Simone turned to Prudence. "A sister, something I thought Merry would never have."

"It sort'a shocked me too." Prudence said. Her emotions were raging and Ms. Dream felt a sudden surge of lust and love in Prudence. Some of Merry must still be in her, Ms. Dream mused.

"Merry much admired the way you fought against the giants." Simone said. "Someday I will arrange for both of you to visit Dollopolis. It would be a nice change from all the un-invited guest we have."

"Well that's us." Ms. Dream said walking over to them. Lucy, Miss Shadow and Serenity followed.

"Not just you Ms. Dream." Simone said. "Some of our old enemies and some new ones have found their way to my Duchy."

"Old enemies?" Goddess of Justice asked.

"We handled them." Merry said grimly.

"Merry the dagger." Simone said.

"Right." Merry said. She walked into the woods.

"Are the Obriens's here?" Simone asked looking around.

"No." Goddess of Justice said. "I didn't want a lot of people here. But they send their best."

"Wise." Simone said. "I know the curiosity that Merry has generated as Mystery Woman. Truthfully I amazed that you were able to clear the riff raff out of the area so completely.

"We do ok." Ms. Dream said.

"Sometimes." Yoran said.

"Greetings Healer." Simone said bowing. "You honor me with your presence."

"Thank you." Yoran said taken off guard.

"Huh?"

"On my world Ms. Dream doctors were revered." Simone said.

"Got it." Merry said walking out of the woods. She was brushing the dirt from a rectangular wooden box.

"It was buried here?" Miss Shadow demanded.

"Of course." Simone said. "We were in a hurry the night we acquired it and I recognized the power in the dagger as soon as I saw it." She took the wooden box from Merry and held it up. It was intricately carved with symbols and letters. Some of them Ms. Dream recognized. "I put the dagger in this box to hide it and Merry buried it."

"Rowan wood!" Miss Shadow exclaimed. "No wonder we couldn't find it."

"Do not fear." Simone said opening the box. Inside of it was a silver box and she took it out and handed the wooden one to Merry. She opened the silver one and there, laying on a white cloth was a dagger with a gold handle and a flame shaped blade. "I know what rowan wood can do to magical items. The dagger never touched the wood."

"You just happened to have a couple of dagger boxes handy?" Prudence asked.

"Coffins my dear." Simone corrected her. "There was no guarantee that we would find living or dead when we managed to get here. The message was garbled and told of desperate pain. It is the right of everyone one in Dollopolis to be carried back to the Duchy in high honor, living or dead. Corrella's family was relatively poor, she would be taken back to Dollopolis in a wooden coffin, Roxanna's family was wealthy and noble, she would be taken back in the silver coffin. Happily neither was needed."

Simone held out the box to Miss Shadow who made a sign of reverence and picked up the dagger. She breathed deeply and held it against her chest.

"You wanna be alone for a while?" Merry asked sourly.

"I will start preparing for the spell." Miss Shadow said stiffly.

Ms. Dream felt Merry’s anger start to rise again, but there was fear with it now. For them to find the dimension that Truly Highfield had taken refuge in Merry’s mind had to be read. It was the one thing that Ms. Dream knew Merry feared.

"Here is my part of the bargain." Serenity said holding out a black book. "This book contains the secrets of my armor."

Simone took the book and handed it to Merry.

"Store this in Thunderbird 2."

Merry nodded and walked over to Thunderbird 2. She placed the book near the hatch and then shrunk herself and started to push it in.

"It is a very high price." Simone said turning back to Serenity.

"Not for my daughters." Serenity said.

"I do wish you luck in this endeavor Lady Highfield." Simone said.

"Are Jessie and Lizzie on Thunderbird 2?" Goddess of Justice asked. "Can I speak to them?"

"They are in Dollopolis." Simone said and there was a slight edge to her voice. "Monica is seeing to the last stages of their punishment. I will tell you with complete assurance Mrs. Rothschild that they do not wish to talk with you."

"Mom told me what happened." Prudence said. "It wasn’t such a big thing."

"It revealed a vulnerability of my First Knight." Simone replied. "Merry is vulnerable enough on your world as it is."

"You and her keep saying that and her body count keeps rising." Ms. Dream said. "Just before you landed she nearly beat a guy to death."

"I know." Simone said. "Merry warned me not to land, that there was an enemy nearby. I know of Mr. James, he was not a man Ms. Dream, he was a crawling curivan."

"A what?" Prudence asked.

"A bug on my world." Simone said. "The equivalent of one of your fleas. Why you allow such people freedom when you have the power to enslave or kill them puzzles me. For that matter why is he still alive? Didn’t Merry have enough time to finish him?"

"I stopped her from killing him." Goddess of Justice said. "Simone the more Merry interacts with the people of this world the more she must obey the laws of this world."

"Did not this man break the law when he intruded on private property?" Simone asked.

"Yes, but beating him severely was wrong too." Goddess said. "What the law allows is that is held for a trial and judged by a jury of his peers, or a properly appointed judge."

"My way’s faster and more fun." Merry said re-appearing beside Simone. "Like I said he was a spy, he was warned. You walk though a mine field after someone warns you away then you deserve what you get."

"In a state of war, on the battlefield you would have a point." Goddess of Justice said. "But not in a civilized country."

Merry started to retort but Simone held up her hand.

"Merry said that you argued like this when she killed Sebastion and Duchess Sidonia." She said to Goddess of Justice. "I must confess that your regard for the safety of those who would torture, rape and kill puzzles me. Torture them, throw them into the grave and have done with it we used to say on my world."

"Your world held vengeance above justice." Goddess of Justice said. "This world holds justice above vengeance."

"An interesting concept." Simone said. "When you return from your mission we shall talk more about it."

"I thought you’d take more force with you." Merry said. "Truly’s a sorceress, she might be more than you and Ms. Dream can handle."

"I will be there." Serenity said. "And so will Ms. Dream and Miss Shadow."

"Me too." Esmerelda spoke up. "And Prudence."

"You?" Merry asked in surprise.

"Her tracking skills will come in handy." Ms. Dream said.

"But..." Merry started and trailed off. "Truly’s like Sidonia and Intellect... are you sure..."

"I’m going." Esmerelda said firmly. "I can help and I’m going to help."

Merry turned back to Simone and Ms. Dream thought she was going to say something. But what ever it was died on her lips.

"She is no child Merry." Simone said. "And I’m sure Mrs. Rothschild would not take her if she wasn’t needed."

"I am ready." Miss Shadow said from behind them.

"Then let us proceed." Goddess of Justice said.

They walked over to a half circle drawn into the ground with multi-colored power. Miss Shadow stood at the epicenter of the half circle. The sun was down now and no moon had yet risen. The only light came from the floodlights set around the clearing. Ms. Dream saw that Merry was truly scared. She wanted to tell the woman that it was going to be fine, that there was no real danger, but Ms. Dream knew that Merry wouldn’t listen. She shared a hug with Simone and then faced them all.

"Stand there." Miss Shadow said to Merry. She pointed to a small design to her left. "Stand with your feet on either side of the design, do not mar it."

Ms. Dream took her own position on the other side of Miss Shadow. Everyone else stood a few feet away from the symbol. Once the portal was open and stable they would be able to walk across to the other world.

Ms. Shadow held the dagger in front of her and pointed it away from the circle. A few words from her caused it to glow with power and a gray bubble appeared on the tip of the blade. The bubble grew until it was twice as tall as all of them. Then it moved back and swallowed Ms. Dream, Miss Shadow and Merry. It moved over the symbol until it completed the circle.

"Now we shall find the other world." Miss Shadow said.

Ms. Dream concentrated and her perceptions shifted. Her eyesight, her senses of smell and hearing and the feelings of her own body, the chill of the air on her skin, the always there but seldom noticed pressure of her clothing on her body; they all faded. Mary’s mind and spirit did not leave her body all of the way, that was not something she wanted to do this time. Instead she altered her way of looking at the world, very much as if she were listening for a single voice in the middle of a crowd of people. She narrowed her perceptions to Merry and Merry alone. In so doing she was able to move a part of herself into Merry’s mind.

The first thing she felt was anger. Barely controlled fury. It battered against her but Ms. Dream had been expecting it and held on until she could tune it out. Then she felt fear. The fear was not as intense as the anger, it was more dread of discovery than physical fear. It took more concentration but Ms. Dream tuned that out as well. When that was done Ms. Dream found herself in a hall of mirrors with Ms. Shadow beside her. There were thousands of them, framed in many different colors. Of course she knew that it wasn’t a true hall of mirrors. She was interpreting what her mind perceived, turning it into a physical form that could be more easily understood. The human mind thought in images after all. Ms. Dream wondered how Miss Shadow saw things.

"What a mess." Miss Shadow said.

Ms. Dream had to agree. The mirrors were constantly shifting position and the images shown in them were constantly changing. Merry’s mind was ruled by her emotions and those emotions were chaotic and volatile. Some of the mirrors were cracked. Beyond the mirrors was an infinity of black mist filled with lightning.

"Let’s find what we need and get out of here." Ms. Dream said.

She walked over to one of the mirrors and touched it. The mirror was framed in red. The moment she touched it Ms. Dream felt and experienced one of Merry’s memories. She was held in a rack and someone with a black mask was pressing a red hot sword against her stomach.

Ms. Dream drew back her hand.

"Don’t touch the red ones." She said.

"Too late." Miss Shadow said shaken. "She has been tortured in her life. Tortured by experts."

They drew together for a moment. Neither asked what the other had seen. Ms. Dream reached out and touched a mirror with a green frame. She suddenly was in an open field. Bound, but not heavily so, and Simone was running her hand along Merry’s nude body. Ms. Dream felt the love and the lust start to overwhelm her.

Ms. Dream jerked her hand back quickly.

"Look at this." Miss Shadow said touching her.

Ms. Dream saw what Miss Shadow saw and they watched as Merry killed Duchess Sidonia. They not only saw what she did, they felt her fierce joy at doing it. Her desire to do it again and again and make it more painful each time.

"Merry." Ms. Dream called realizing that they were getting nowhere. "Try to remember the battle with Truly."

In response to the entreaty Merry’s mind shook and some of the mirrors cracked. A storm of fear and rage shook them both. Ms. Dream stumbled into one of the mirrors and suddenly she was in a grand dark hall. Merry was standing in front of a group of sneering gaudily dressed nobles. One of them held her eyes and her mind in an iron grip. He said something too her and Ms. Dream felt Merry’s mind being overwhelmed. She merged with Merry as the woman was forced to her knees and then the floor. The man was turning Merry into some sort of snake, not physically but mentally. Ms. Dream felt Merry’s helpless fury and despair as she was forced to crawl along the floor.

Ms. Dream broke away from the memory. That memory was so close to what Mr. Dread had done to her it was like it was her own. She pulled herself together and beside her Miss Shadow did the same.

"There!" Ms. Dream shouted.

The mirror that she pointed to showed a battle in a clearing with a ruined altar. Merry was struggling with Truly.

Miss Shadow reached out and touched the mirror and Ms. Dream joined her. They both were buffeted by the fury that Merry felt during the time of the battle, but both were ready for it. They joined Merry’s mind as the battle went on and when Merry and Truly entered the portal Ms. Dream felt a cry of elation from Miss Shadow. She knew the world now. She knew where they had to go.

It was a green and peaceful world. A mirror of the English countryside. In the distance was a seashore and in the other direction was a stand of trees. The grass beneath their feet was fresh from a rainstorm and there were two daylight moons in the sky above them.

"We can go now." Ms. Dream said.

Miss Shadow nodded and faded away. After a moment Ms. Dream did the same.

She came to herself again in her own body and blinked. Merry lay on the ground curled up into a tight ball. Her skin was white and her body trembled. She was crying and the fear radiated from her like heat from a supernova.

"I’m sorry." Miss Shadow said.

Ms. Dream found herself picked up and tossed away. She felt a slight burning sensation as she passed through a barrier and then the impact as she landed on the ground.

"Oh hell!" She swore sitting up.

A barrier enveloped the portal. Goddess of Justice, A twenty foot tall Prudence and a wolven Esmerelda hammered at it but they didn’t seem to be doing any good. Beyond the portal was the other world. The portal was an arch and the image of the other world was misty. It was a projection on a wall full of holes. But it was clear enough to see. Miss Shadow was holding something up as a signal. She looked down as Merry started to get up and without hesitation slammed the hilt of the dagger against Merry’s head. Serenity started to attack but Miss Shadow held her motionless with a gesture.

A double cross. Anger competed with sorrow in Ms. Dream’s mind. After this Merry and Simone would never trust them again.

She stood and started to join the assault on the portal. Then she realized that Simone wasn’t doing anything. Ms. Dream looked around and saw that Simone was struggling with two of the techs. One of them was holding her arms while the other held a cloth over her face. Yoran was down on the ground un-conscious.

"Goddess!" Ms. Dream shouted.

Goddess looked away from the portal and beams of energy shot from her eyes and hit the two men. They fell and Simone stumbled away from them.

"Truly!" Serenity screamed.

Ms. Dream looked at the portal and saw that Truly and a band of heavily armored soldiers had met with Miss Shadow. Truly Highfield was dressed as a queen. As a gaudy over the top queen at that. She wore a white gown more suited to a ball room than and open field. The crown on her head glittered with gold and diamonds. Her guards were dressed in black leather and armor and carried black swords. Truly sneered at her mother. Miss Shadow gestured to the prone Merry and held out her hand.

An arrow suddenly hit Miss Shadow, piercing her hand. Suddenly the world beyond the portal was a raging battlefield. Men and women in gray and yellow armor were fighting and small fairy-like creatures had joined the fray. Arrows and swords flashed and clanged in the light of the other worldly sun. Ms. Dream saw fairies arranged in squadrons dive down on Truly and her men. They were beaten back by streams of fire from Truly’s hands. Miss Shadow was struggling to her feet when someone hit her on the head. She went down and the barrier around the portal suddenly collapsed. Esmerelda and Prudence were the first ones in. But Truly saw them coming and a blast from her hand hit Prudence and threw her back through the portal. She sailed across the clearing and into one of the floodlights. A second blast did the same to Goddess of Justice. Serenity charged at her daughter. They went down together and were lost from sight.

Ms. Dream dived into the portal and reached out with her mind, clouding the minds of the beings around her as to be invisible. She didn’t see Merry anywhere but laying on the ground with a few arrows in her legs was Miss Shadow. Ms. Dream spotted Esmerelda on the ground a few feet away. Her body was twitching and Ms. Dream could feel the pain from the young werewolf.

She felt that pain in her own body as a few fairy’s flew down and sprayed her with small arrows. A poison charged through Ms. Dream’s body and she lost her concentration. Lost in the bedlam of the melee Ms. Dream felt something hard hit against her head and she started to fall. The last thing she saw before she lost consciousness was Simone at the mouth of the portal. An arrow was in her shoulder, another in her leg and the fairy arrows were sticking out of her neck. Ms. Dream struggled against rage and despair as she was dragged into darkness.

Simone was not a fighter. That was not to say that she didn’t know how to defend herself. After her parents were killed her guardian had been a woman hating supervillain and her brother a worthless greedy bully. Simone had learned early on how to defend herself. She had also learned from them what chloroform smelled like. So when the two men grabbed her from behind Simone did her best to stop breathing and fight back. It didn’t do her much good. Even though she wasn’t breathing the fumes of the chemical still managed to affect her and the men held her in an iron grip. They were professionals, they weren’t trying to hurt her, just hold her and keep her quiet until the drug did its work.

{Double cross.}

{As we suspected.}

{Who?}

{Once they have Simone where they want her to go we shall find out.}

That didn’t sound good at all. The Group was willing to let her be captured? They hadn’t warned her? The knowledge made Simone fight back even harder. Even so she knew it was a lost cause.

But the men were suddenly hit by Goddess of Justice’s eye beams and fell to the ground un-conscious. Simone stumbled away from them trying to clear her head. She saw Prudence and Lucy sail through the air and fall to the ground stunned. She saw Ms. Dream slip through the portal. Serenity was fighting her daughter. Merry was no where to be seen.

Simone staggered to her feet and lurched toward the portal. Her mind was fuzzy from the drug and the only thing she could use to keep herself awake was the thought of getting to Merry. She was nearly at the portal when the first arrow hit her in the shoulder. It pushed her back and then another one hit her in the leg. Then a pack of fairies flew by and Simone felt a sharp sting on her neck. Another arrow hit her in the side of her stomach. She fell back and barely felt her body hit the ground.

{Some sort of poison.}

{Not fatal to her.}

{We can’t shrink her with those arrows in her.}

{Simone, pull the arrows out of your body.}

Simone tried to move her arms and failed. The world was slipping away from her. The last thing she saw was the look of worry on Prudence’s face.

Prudence saw Simone's eyes glaze over and start to close. She fought down a wave of panic. A quick look around told her that she was on her own. Yoran was down and out cold and her mother was fighting a black robot that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. Prudence looked back to Simone. The arrows had passed through her body and there was no broad arrow head on them. That was good. There was plenty of blood and the sight of it made her stomach churn but Prudence fought the sensation down. She took hold of the arrow in Simone's shoulder and pulled it out. Simone's eyes shot open with pain. On her neck the skin around the small darts was starting to turn gray.

"Get the others out." Simone choked out the words.

Prudence took hold of the arrow in her stomach and pulled it out. Simone let out a shriek of pain but somehow remained conscious. Her hand crawled toward the darts in her neck.

"One more." Prudence said. She took hold of the arrow in Simone's leg and pulled. Again Simone shrieked in pain. Still her right hand crawled toward her neck.

"Poison!" She whispered.

"I'll get them." Prudence said. She winced and Simone gasped in pain as each dart was pulled out. There were ten of them in all. The skin around each dart had started to turn black.

Prudence was so absorbed in her task that she didn't realize that her mother and the robot were still fighting. Goddess of Justice sailed over her head and crashed through some trees. Prudence looked up to see that the robot was coming toward her. At a thought the young woman grew to ten feet tall and was ready to fight. She didn't get the chance. A white beam of energy shot out of the Eagle and sliced cleanly through the robot, cutting it in half at the waist. As soon as the beam cut off the Eagle exploded. The force of the blast stunned Prudence and she shrank back down again.

"Simone?" Prudence asked leaning over her. Simone was holding a small remote control in her hand. It fell limply from her hand as her eyes closed.

"How is she?" Goddess asked kneeling beside her daughter.

"Poisoned." Prudence said. She took one of the darts from Simone's chest. "But by what?"

"And who and why?" Goddess said standing. "I'll summon the rest of Earth Force, curse me I should have had them here. I've led Simone and Mystery Woman into a trap!"

"We need to get her to a hospital." Prudence said. "Mom look!"

Simone had shrunk to half of her height.

"Her way of handling the poison." Yoran said. He was holding his head but had managed to stumble back to them. His hand glowed with power. "I think I can help her…"

A beam of blue energy shot out of Thunderbird 2 and nearly hit him.

"Hey he's trying to help!" Prudence shouted.

"There's no one there Titania." Goddess said. She held up the remote Simone had been holding. On a little display were the words 'Auto Protect'. "Goddess can you shield me?" Yoran asked.

"Yes." Goddess said. She waved her hand and a golden dome surrounded them.

Again Yoran's hand glowed with power but this time the beam from Thunderbird 2 hit only the dome. But Prudence saw her mother stagger under the impact.

"Quickly Yoran." Goddess of Justice hissed.

"Done!" Yoran said pulling back from Simone. As soon as he did so the beam cut out and Goddess of Justice dropped her shield. "I healed her other wounds, but I can't do anything about the poison until I know what it is."

"There should be enough to analyze." Prudence said holding up one of the darts.

"In the meantime we'll get her into the med unit in the transport." Goddess of Justice said. She gestured and a platform of gold light appeared under Simone.

"Wait mom." Prudence said pointing at Thunderbird 2.

"Right." Goddess of Justice said. She pointed to the other end of the clearing. "We'll set up a tent and portable med unit there. "Yoran you do that, Titania bind the men who attacked us and see if you can help any of the ones who are knocked out. We need the tech crew if we are ever going to find out what happened."

"We know what happened." Prudence snapped. "That bitch…"

"We know what we saw." Goddess said sternly. "And the eyes can deceive. For the full story we need to find that other world once more."

Prudence ran toward the transport to get the portable med unit. But she knew what had happened. For some reason Miss Shadow had pulled a double cross. A big one considering that they had also been attacked on this side of the portal. As she passed the destroyed robot Prudence wondered what else could go wrong.

There were a lot of ways that Ms. Dream knew that she was bound before she woke up. Waking up in a standing position was top of the list. There was a numb feeling in her head and Ms. Dream knew from that her powers had been nullified. She felt something gripping her forehead and guessed that was what was doing it. Her clothes were gone (of course, when did she ever get to keep them?), and her entire body was held by cold metal. The air smelled of dust and old pain. The metal that held her was cold but the room was hot. Even before she opened her eyes Ms. Dream knew that she was in a dungeon.

She opened them anyway.

What the hell, she thought, it’s not like I’ve got anything else to do.

It was not quite a standard dungeon. The room was large and round. The walls were made of large brown stone, the floor was made up of black stone slates and the place was large enough to handle at least fifty prisoners. The instruments of torture, the wrack, the press and other smaller devices were arranged around cages set into the wall. What made the place atypical was the fact that it was lit by energy saver bulbs that hung from the ceiling. On the walls hung framed black and white photographs of creatures being tortured.

Ms. Dream was in a body cage, a human shaped metal frame that could be tightened to conform to her body. Even her fingers were held to the frame with thin metal straps. The frame hung from the ceiling by a chain and shifted slightly as she tried to moved. In the space next to her, bound in the same way, was Miss Shadow.

"You…" Ms. Dream started but trailed off. There were just too many angry words trying to get through her mouth.

"I had no choice." Miss Shadow said calmly. "Shortly after Darksun was killed Truly contacted the Legion of Mystics. She had the seal and if we didn't deliver Mystery Woman she threatened to destroy it."

"You moron!" Ms. Dream swore. "You didn't see this coming?"

"We had a solemn oath." Miss Shadow snapped. "She couldn’t have broken it."

"Yea? You think this is her way of keeping her word?"

"She could not have broken those oaths!" Miss Shadow shouted finally loosing her temper.

"And what would have happened to Mystery Woman?" Ms. Dream demanded.

"I don't know and I didn't care." Miss Shadow said. "She and her people have been nothing but trouble since they appeared."

"When was the last time the Legion of Mystics killed Hellspite?" Ms. Dream demanded. "How good were you against Sidonia?"

"You don’t understand." Miss Shadow said.

"Enlighten me." Ms. Dream said. "I’m just hanging around."

"Do you know the horrors that the Legion of Mystics holds back?" Miss Shadow demanded angrily. "The nameless, shapeless beings with gaping maws ready to devour soul after soul? The Legion stands between mankind and those horrors. For the past twenty one years that job has been nearly impossible. Without the Seal of Orant and the Dagger we are crippled!"

"I thought Darksun grabbed those after he took Serenity’s kids." Ms. Dream said.

"He took them two years before." Miss Shadow said. "I did not know about the theft until I became the leader of the Legion. It is only for the past seven years that I’ve had to lie to Serenity. Before that each year when I cast my spells I truly believed that they could work."

"And telling anyone, asking for help?" Ms. Dream demanded. "Never occurred to you?"

"It would have been exposing a weakness." Miss Shadow said.

"Yea, like we’re really strong now." Ms. Dream said. "What was your deal here?"

"I would get the seal and the dagger." Miss Shadow said after a few moments. "She would get a pledge that no member of the Legion of Mystics would ever fight her. Also she would get Mystery Woman and... and Serenity."

"You think me and Goddess of Justice would have let it stay that way?" Ms. Dream demanded.

"Of course not." Miss Shadow snapped. "I knew you would go after her and free them."

"Either she’s a complete idiot or she knew that too." Ms. Dream said. "So she had a plan. What the hell went wrong?"

The door to the dungeon creaked open and Truly walked in. Truly was wearing a dark robe and leather gloves. She put a small cage down on the floor and then took a whip from a stand.

"How did you break your word?" Miss Shadow demanded as Truly walked over to them. "Those oaths were inviolate!"

"I didn’t break any oath." Truly said slashing away at Miss Shadow’s feet with the whip. She smiled as Miss Shadow screamed in pain. Casually she gave Ms. Dream’s cage a spin. "And the deal is no more."

"I delivered..."

"You failed." Truly said whipping Miss Shadow’s breasts. Miss Shadow screamed again and the smile on Truly’s face worried Ms. Dream. She’d seen that sort of smile all too often in her career.

"What happened Miss Shadow was beyond both of us." Truly said giving Ms. Dream’s cage another spin. "This world is full of clan warfare and rebellion against my rule. Somehow the rebels learned where I’d be and they laid an ambush. Then a group of mercenaries attacked both my men and the rebels. Then the United Clan Forces showed up. You were simply caught in the middle. By the end of the day no one was winning or loosing that battle. My men managed to capture you and Ms. Dream and I pulled back when I saw realized that my mother and Mystery Woman were gone."

"Mystery Woman and Serenity are safe then." Miss Shadow said.

"No one is safe on this world." Truly said. "Right now I’m trying to find out who has them. If it’s anyone but the UC I can buy them."

So the United Clan was her biggest enemy? Ms. Dream was amazed that Truly was dumb enough to tell them that. Or maybe the young woman was too sure that they weren’t going anywhere.

"In the meantime I have you." Truly said. She put the whip on a stand and took something from a shelf. Miss Shadow screamed as Truly put a clamp on one of her toes and quickly tightened it. "And by the time I’m done you’ll tell me every spell you know. I’ve seen my father take years to break people, I know the tricks."

There was another scream behind them and Ms. Dream saw that rats had surrounded the cage. Laughing Truly went over and kicked them away. Then she picked up the cage and brought it over to them. Inside was a tiny woman. Ms. Dream recognized Verity Highfield. She was in a terrible state. About a foot and a half tall, nude and dirty. Her skin was gray and her hair matted. Butterfly like wings grew from her back and were held together by a safety pin. She lurched in the cage and felt her way to the bars. Ms. Dream realized that she was blind. Behind Verity was another huddled shape and Ms. Dream wondered if it might be Aphrodite.

"Who’s there?" She cried out. "Please, I heard voices..."

"Miss Shadow and Ms. Dream are here to rescue you." Truly said.

"Really?" Verity asked suspiciously.

"Say something." Truly snapped rapping Ms. Dream’s foot with her fist.

"Well we are here." Ms. Dream said. "Rescue’s gonna be a bit harder than we thought."

"And they weren’t here to rescue you anyway." Truly laughed. "They were going to deliver Mystery Woman and mother to me."

"Mum?" Verity shouted. "Where is she?"

"I have no idea, but I’ll find out soon." Truly said. "And I’ve prepared as father taught me, when Serenity or Mystery Woman come to rescue their friends I’ll be ready."

"Ha!" Ms. Dream laughed

"What?" Truly demanded grabbing her cage and shaking it. "You think I won’t be ready?"

"Serenity will give rescue a good try if she can, but what the hell makes you think that Mystery Woman is going to try to save us now?" Ms. Dream demanded. "You think she won’t figure out who sold her out?"

"She’s like my mother, like all of your type." Truly said. "She’ll come."

"Like hell!" Ms. Dream laughed. "Do you know what we had to go through just to get her to help us this time? You’re mother had to trade her armor."

"She must come!"

The voice was rasping and weak, but familiar somehow. Ms. Dream looked up and saw that a shadowy figure in a dark cloak had somehow appeared.

"She will." Truly said. "Even if she doesn’t come to help them she’ll come because I’m the only one who can open a portal back to Earth."

"Your assuming that she wants to go back." Ms. Dream said.

"Shut up!" Truly said spinning her cage wildly. Ms. Dream clamped her mouth shut and tried not to throw up.

"We have no deal without her." The cloaked figure said. "I must have her!"

"We’ll find her." Truly said confidently. "She’s alone on this world, she doesn’t know the languages, the customs, she has no friends and no allies. It’s only a matter of time."

"Who’s he?" Ms. Dream demanded. The cage was spinning so fast that she was only getting glimpses of the figure.

"Someone with a score to settle." Truly said grabbing the cage and stopping it. "Like me."

She looked down at her feet and Ms. Dream saw that a small group of rats had gathered.

"Well, look who has come out of their holes." Truly said. "Your friends Verity have come to dance with you again."

"NO!" Verity screamed.

Truly laughed and walked over to the wall. She turned a lever and a chain dropped from the ceiling. Truly attached Verity’s cage to the chain and let her swing free. Then she lowered the cage until it was just a little to high for the rats. They squealed and stood up on their hind legs. A few of them jumped up and one of them managed to grab hold of the cage. He couldn’t keep his grip but Verity screamed anyway.

"It’s the blood from her wings." Truly said. "Like sharks the rats sense it and they want it."

Another rat leaped and missed but his actions set the cage swinging again. Verity screamed and Truly laughed as she set Ms. Dream's cage spinning again. This time it spun slowly. She saw Truly take something from her pocket and put it on the floor under Miss Shadow. Truly sprinkled some dust on the floor and it started to shimmer with heat.

"By this time tomorrow Miss Shadow this plant will be tall enough to reach you." Truly said. She gave Ms. Dream’s cage a violent spin. "It’s vines will wrap themselves around your body and..." Truly broke off with a sadistic laugh. "I’ll let you find out for yourself."

This is going to be a dumb move, Ms. Dream thought. But she also knew it was going to make her feel just a little bit better, and nothing was going to stop the pain from coming later anyway. Her stomach had been churning with the spinning she had been getting and Ms. Dream had worked hard not to throw up. Now she gave up and opened her mouth.

Truly’s laughter turned to a scream of outrage as she was covered in vomit.

Merry McCormick had been helpless many times in her life. She had been drugged, bound and shrunk many times. She had been at the mercy of criminals and children. But Merry had never felt as absolutely powerless as she had when Miss Shadow and Ms. Dream had entered her mind. The Group had constructed false memories for them to find, but that had made things worse. Each time Ms. Dream or Miss Shadow looked at one of her memories Merry relived that moment completely. Each rape, each kill and everything else filled her mind as if it were happening at that moment. She'd never felt less in control in her life. Merry couldn't remember what she wanted to, she couldn’t think what she wanted to, she had to remember what they wanted her to. It was the ultimate in enslavement.

When they finally left Merry felt hollow and sick inside. She didn't want to open her eyes, or keep them closed or anything in between. But she finally did. At first her eyes refused to focus but when they did she found herself lying on the grass. Miss Shadow was standing next to her. Merry started to think, started to move and then she felt something hard hit against her head.

After that nothing made sense. Merry remembered pulling herself awake a few times. The first time she woke up she was being dragged. A smelly cloth against her face knocked her out again. Another time she woke up to a spinning hypnotic pattern and a commanding voice, but that that been interrupted by shouts and screams and she had been hit on the head again. There were other times; at least Merry thought there were. It became impossible for her to tell if she were actually waking up or if she were just having nightmares.

When the nightmares at last faded and Merry started to wake up she decided to fight to stay awake for as long as possible. As bad as being conscious was it was worse not knowing what was going on.

Merry woke slowly and in pain. This also wasn't something unusual for her. Not since she had been taken and altered by The Group. But this time there was something wrong. They weren't with her. The Group couldn't read Merry's mind, but they knew when she woke up. And on missions they were always there, telling her where she was, giving her advice or orders. Not this time. Somehow Merry knew that she was alone. Completely alone. A cold chill gripped her but Merry fought it down and tried to think. She remembered Miss Shadow and Ms. Dream in her head. Then they had left. Merry remembered opening her eyes and just starting to focus her mind when Miss Shadow hit her.

Double cross! The realization was like a blast of hot water in her face. Miss Shadow had planned it, not to read her mind and discover the great fraud that was Mystery Woman, but for some other reason. But what? And more importantly who else knew about it? It hurt to think that she had misjudged Goddess of Justice and Ms. Dream so badly, and Merry couldn’t imagine what Serenity’s role in all of it was. Had the whole thing been a set up?

Merry reached out with her senses. She was in a moving vehicle. One with the lousiest shock absorbers ever made. She was on a hard wood surface and every bounce tossed her up and then slammed her down. Her wrist were shackled with heavy metal and held in front of her, fastened by more metal to a belt around her stomach. The belt around her stomach was held by a chain to the bottom of the cart. A metal band was around her neck. Her costume was gone and she was nude. Around her head was some sort of leather harness that held her mouth shut and effectively gagged her. The gag had a sour taste to it. The main smell she could sense aside from leather was manure. And there was rain too. She was under cover but the moisture around her was heavy and she could hear the rain splashing as the vehicle moved through it. It was the kind of heavy rain that got you wet no matter what.

There was talk; arguing. Friendly arguing. From ahead of her, two voices, a man’s and a woman’s.

"We only got one." A woman’s voice said.

"Will you stop saying that." the male voice replied. "Look at the jugs on her. I’d say prime mermaid."

"Mermaids." The woman sniffed. "Market for mermaids ended last year. She’s a centaur for sure."

"What, put a horses body on that? You seen her snatch? That’s prime right there."

"If its so prime why’d you want to burry it in scales?"

Merry opened her eyes and the fist thing she saw were bars. Heavy black iron bars. She was in the back of a large cart, in a cage. In front of the cart was a horse and two small people dressed in green and brown drove it. The one on the left was a woman, short and wide with pointed ears. The one on the right was taller, slimmer and also had pointed ears. The canvas that covered the top of the cage reached over them as well. Water dripped from it but the rain was slacking off.

Merry shook her self and tried to finish clearing her head.

{Merry if you are hearing this you are beyond our ability to communicate.}

Merry froze as the words appeared in her mind.

{The possibility that this was some sort of trap is now a reality. You are probably in the world ruled by Truly Highfield.}

{In this case we will trust you to do what you need to do to return to us.}

{As a safety precaution we have given you substitute memories, created on your stories of the First Knight of Dollopolis.}

{This may be difficult for you to handle.}

{The false set of memories are accessible only if your mind is being read.}

{But there is the possibility that they could overlap if you are injured.}

{Do not worry, this will not last long.}

{We can give you only two commands now Merry. Come back to us and react to things as not as Merry McCormick but as Merry the First Knight. Maintain the deception.}

React as the First Knight? Merry wondered how she was going to do that without them. But her puzzlement only lasted a moment. She sat up and rattled her chains.

"Awake are you?" Said the male elf.

Merry growled.

"What? You want something in you or you want to get something out of you?"

Merry growled again.

"Those trees’ll do." The female elf said. "It’ll drop the price if we get to Market with a mess behind us."

She turned and the horse went off of the road and came to a stop under a stand of trees. The trees didn’t stop much of the rain but it was better than nothing. The male and female elf climbed down and walked around to the back of the cart. They were dressed richly, but shabbily. Merry had the impression of greatness gone to seed. Their clothing was patched and stained. His face held a scar above the eye, her’s a scar on the cheek. The male stood a little away from the cart and readied a double shot crossbow. The female elf opened the cage door and took a long pole from under the cart. She climbed into the cart and used a hook on the pole to snag the collar around Merry’s neck. Merry felt a click as the hook snapped into place. The elf hooked the pole onto a catch on the bars and then came toward Merry.

"Try anything and you’ll get shot." She said. "I’m Zim, that’s Zale. You do what we say understand?"

Merry nodded. The elf was about four feet tall and Zale was only a little taller. That didn’t mean that they were helpless though.

Zim reached up and un-buckled Merry’s gag and then pulled it out.

"Where are you taking me?" Merry asked.

"Tipsy Pixie for changing." Zim said. "Then off to market."

"Change?" Merry asked.

"You’ll find out. Now you want to drink or eat or you need to use the privy?"

"The privy." Merry said.

"Thought so." Zim said. "Now before you get any ideas here is how its going to work. I’m going to take you behind those bushes, you don’t get to free one finger and I’ll hold onto this pole the whole time. You try anything and Zale will shoot you and you’ll wake up later with a nasty headache. You understand?"

"Yes." Merry said.

Zim unlocked the chain from Merry’s belt and then stepped back and took hold of the pole. Slowly she climbed out of the wagon and after a tug on her neck Merry followed her. Once outside Merry stood up and stretched as much as she was able too. Zim allowed her the stretch and then tugged again. She pulled Merry toward a stand of bushes with large blue berries on them. Once Merry was out of sight of Zale Zim nodded and looked away.

Merry concentrated and shrunk, going from her normal six foot one to twelve inches almost instantly. The chains fell around her and Merry ducked down behind the collar.

"Zale!" Zim shouted.

Both elves rushed over to the chains and looked at the small Merry.

"How’d you do that?" Zim demanded.

Merry didn’t answer. Instead she grew to her normal height and lashed out with her foot. Two blows later the elves were unconscious at her feet.

"That was too easy." Merry said to herself. She picked up the crossbow and tossed it aside. Then she searched the two elves. Each carried an amazing assortment of knifes and hidden daggers as well as keys and lock picks. Merry put all of them with the crossbow and then picked them both up and carried them to the cart. She dumped them into the back, locked the door and then checked the front. Between the two seats at the front of the cart was a strongbox. One of the keys opened it and inside Merry found small bags of gold, silver, copper and a few bags of small gems. There was no sign of her costume. There was also a small mirror, some make up and a brush. Merry was astonished to find that her blonde hair was now a bright red. A quick look between her legs showed that her pubic hair was now a dull copper color. Who would do that? Why would anyone do that? Was someone trying to hide her identity?

Merry fished a bit more through the strong box but found nothing. Either they traveled very lightly or Zim and Zale had a home someplace. But where was someplace? For that matter where was she?

"Well there’s always one place to get answers." Merry said looking at the elves.

There was one great under-appreciated advantage to being able to control your size; you could wear almost anything. Zim’s dress would never have fit Merry’s six foot frame, but she was able to shrink to have it fit. Well sort of. The fabric was scratchy and the dress needed a wash, not to mention that underwear apparently wasn’t a part of this worlds fashion armory, but at least Merry wasn’t nude anymore. The top was a bit tight on her full breasts but Merry could take that. The boots though were impossible, the elves toes were longer and there were six on each foot. Merry had stripped both elves and then had tied each of them to a tree, pulling their arms back partially around the trunks. They woke up when Merry hit them with buckets of water. Each started to curse her and Merry stood back and let them curse. When they finally ran down Merry stood their silently for a few minutes, letting them fully realize who was in charge. Then she strode forward and grabbed hold of Zale’s penis. She took a knife and cut off a few strands of his pubic hair.

"If you lie to me or don’t answer my questions I’m going to shave this bald and then cut it off." Merry announced coldly.

The elf shrieked in panic and Zim did the same. Merry released him and stood back.

"Where am I?" She asked.

"On the Southern continent." Zim said. "Halfway between the Dunksun lands and the Free Realms."

"How did I get here?" Merry demanded.

"You were battlefield leftovers." Zale said. "Ghouls pulled you underground but you weren’t dead so they sold to something that sold you to some gnomes who sold you to us."

"Ghouls?" Merry asked her stomach jumping at the thought of that sort of creature touching her.

"Aye, when ever there’s a battle they dig under to grab the fresh dead underground." Zale said.

"Tell me about the battle." Merry ordered.

"Lady Darksun and her men were supposed to meet someone." Zim said. "Some sort of exchange. But she’s a daft idiot, not what her father was. The rebels heard about it and they weren’t the only ones. The UC showed up, then the centaurs and then satyrs and after that nobody won."

"What’s the UC?"

"United Clans." Zale said. "The ones who were fighting Lord Darksun the hardest before he got killed."

Merry paced back and forth for a moment. A picture was starting to emerge and it wasn’t a good one.

"There were people with me." Merry said. "A black woman and a white woman, any idea what happened to them?"

"Dead or caught I suppose." Zim said.

"But by who?" Merry wondered. If nothing else she needed Miss Shadow to get home, but who else was in this world? What should she do?

Ok, Merry thought. Basic D&D rules, first gather some intel on the world, then find your party, then... Hell then I’ll see.

"What were you going to do with me?" Merry demanded.

"Take you to the Tipsy Pixie." Zim said. "Governor there specializes in changing humans to other things and then sells’em. Redheads like you fetch a good price, rare around these parts."

Merry wanted to ask how her hair had changed color but she didn’t.

"If I follow the road I’ll get to this place?" She demanded.

"By the end of the day." Zale said.

Merry picked up one of the daggers and walked around the tree. She stuck into the tree just above the ropes. It might have been better to try and make a deal with them, but she didn’t really trust them. Also there were two of them and Merry couldn’t watch them both. They could be just honest slave merchants or they could be worse. The Tipsy Pixie sounded like a tavern, and there was no better place to begin an adventure, at least not if her Dungeons and Dragon’s games were anywhere near real. And if she kept interrogating them there was a good chance that Zim and Zale would realize that she wasn’t from their world. That kind of notoriety wasn’t something that Merry wanted. Somehow she knew that her best chance was to be un-noticed for as long as possible.

"Hey you can’t just leave us like this!" Zale protested.

"Give us something to cover ourselves!" Zim pleaded.

"I’m leaving you the ropes." Merry said coldly as she walked away.

Merry climbed onto the cart and tried to ignore their pleas. But as much as she knew what they were and had a guess of what they would have done to her Merry couldn’t find it in her to ignore them completely. They’d get loose, of that she was sure, but she was still leaving them naked in a world that seemed to be a harsh one. Sighing Merry dug into the strong box and pulled out one of the bags of silver coins. Then she climbed down, walked over to them and tossed the bag into the dirt in front of them.

"Don’t spend it all in one place." Merry said.

They both shouted at her some more but now Merry managed to ignore them.

Merry had never driven a horse drawn cart in her life. She’d never even ridden a horse. The Westerns and fantasy movies she had seen had made it look very simple. And it was, but they had left a few things out. The first thing they had left out was the smell. She was facing the rear of a horse and in the heavy humid air the smell of the creature was over powering. They had also left out how much mud a horses hooves could stir up and how much of it would hit the driver of the cart. And of course there was the fact that the road was poorly made and in some places almost non-existent. The cart found every pothole or rut and each shock was transmitted harshly to Merry’s ass. The off and on downpours didn’t help.

All in all Merry was finding it hard to shake her depression. She was alone again, so completely alone that she almost wanted to cry. She had known it wouldn’t be as simple as having her mind read. Merry had known that something would go wrong. But she had trusted them. Anger mixed with her depression at the thought of how much trust she had given them. Merry tried to hold onto the anger, it helped fight the depression. But in her mind again and again ran the uncertainty; what if she couldn’t get back? What would happen to Simone? There was the chance that she might never get back to Earth. Or what if she got back years later and Simone had found someone else?

The weather matched her mood perfectly. The rain often obscured the countryside, turning what might have been bright colors into varying shades of gray. The leaves on the trees were dull green and the trunks and branches black against a gray sky. Even when the rain ended the overcast didn’t clear. She passed farms and small huts and houses.

Merry blinked. Even in her depression there were some things that could not be ignored. An hour or so before the cart had passed a small hut made of mud and grass with a thatched roof. Merry had seen a farmer in the fields behind a plow. Driving the plow had been an elf, pulling it had been a centaur. It had been out of place for Earth but it had matched the pre-industrial society she seemed to be in. But now she was passing a two story ranch style house with a white picket fence. In the distance she could see a man driving a modern tractor. Her depression faded into puzzlement as the inconsistencies increased. She saw a man flying a dragon in the distance, but later saw a World War One German tri-plane land in a field.

"Somebody’s gotten their worlds mixed up." Merry said. But the anomalies cheered her up, there were too many things from Earth for there not to be a portal back there.

Merry topped a rise and pulled back on the reins of the horse. Ahead of her was a small valley with a river running through it. On each side of the river were farms and docks and as the river moved to the center of the valley the houses became more densely packed until they ran straight into a walled town. The circular wall of the town was white rock, crenellated at the top. Inside the walls were great mansions with wide gardens and towers. It reminded Merry a little bit of Las Vegas. Each mansion seemed to be trying to out-do the other in grandeur. A few of the towers were outlined with neon lights. In one tower in particular the neon lights were formed into strange geographic symbols.

Merry started forward again. She moved through the valley slowly, looking at everything. The more in she went the smoother and more kept up the road was. The road changed from dirt to cobblestones and the houses became more and more frequent. A sidewalk appeared, first on one side and then on both sides of the street. Ten minutes later as the farms at last gave way completely to houses she came to a stop beside an inn. Beside the inn was a two story stable. The door to the stable was open and there was a light on inside. Merry saw that the place had spaces for horses, carts and cars. Merry saw an Edsel, a Model T, a Harley Davidson motorcycle and a 1957 Blue Chevy. A centaur came to the entrance as she came to a stop. Merry had to work not to stare. He was a California beach boy, with long blonde hair, a well chiseled upper body and a tan colored horse body. The human half of him was handsome. He wore nothing but grease stained gloves. Behind him Merry could see that the hood on one of the cars was up. With a wave he invited her into the barn and out of the rain.

"How much for a day and a night." Merry asked directing the horse in.

"Five gold." The centaur said. "Full bed down and feed." He glanced into the back of the cart. "You running empty?"

"Bad luck on the road." Merry said jumping down. She dug into the purse and counted out seven gold coins. "Know where I can find a new cloak and a tavern called the Tipsy Pixie?"

"Cloak I got inside." The centaur said smiling at the extra gold. "Tranky will get you settled. Pixie’s down the road a bit. Names Cliff."

"Selina of Gotham." Merry said using the name she used when she played D&D.

"Gotham?" Cliff asked.

"Across the sea." Merry said. "I’m new around these parts."

Cliff shrugged and led the horse into the stable. He gestured toward a door off to the side and Merry went in. Inside was a large room with a few chairs and a fireplace. A flaming log was on the fireplace and the heat from it drove away the dampness. Next to the chairs were a table and on it were some scrolls, a few books and copies of National Geographic. On the wall were wanted posters. Merry saw that she was on one of them. There was a set of stairs leading upward and next to them was a large desk and a very small desk. A female centaur (centaurette? Merry wondered) was working on a ledger book. She was using a hand held calculator but entering the numbers into a book with a quill pen. She looked up as Merry came in and put the calculator aside.

"Good evening miss." She said politely. "Have you talked with my master?"

"Yes." Merry said walking over to her. "a night and a day..." Merry’s voice faltered and she almost stumbled as she suddenly recognized Tranquility Green. Her olive skin had been lightened somewhat, but her curly black hair was still the same. It flowed down her back almost like a mane on a horse. She wore a pair of thick metal rimmed glasses but that didn’t mar the soft beauty of her face. A dark blue quilt was thrown over her horse half and she wore a tight embroidered vest on her human half. The vest pushed her breasts up and out. Around her neck was a blue collar.

"Miss?" She asked politely as Merry stared.

"Sorry." Merry said. The size of Tranquility startled her as well. She was barely two feet tall. "What’s your name?"

"Tranquility Green." Tranquility said. "We have a bath service if you’d like, and for a little extra we have a laundry service."

"Maybe in the morning." Merry said getting a hold of herself. "Tonight I need to be someplace."

That wasn’t exactly true, but Merry needed to know the town a little bit, and the best place to find local intel without being too obvious about it would be a tavern. Right now Cliff knew that she was a stranger to the country, not to the planet.

"Very well." Tranquility said. "She took a key from under the desk and walked around to the front. "Is Cliff getting your bags?"

"No bags." Merry said. "Had some bad luck on the road."

Tranquility nodded and led Merry over to the stairs. The stairs were wide, built for human or centaur and were too high and deep for her. Tranquility grabbed the railing and reared back enough to put her front legs onto them. Then she slowly started to climb. It was obvious that she wasn’t doing well and Merry put a hand out to steady her before she fell. The hand rested on Tranqulity’s rear and she twisted her head sharply with a look of anger on her face. The collar around her neck glowed and the anger faded.

"Thought you were going to fall." Merry said.

"Oh." Tranquility’s face fell. "Thank you."

"Were you injured somehow?" Merry asked.

"No." Tranquility said. "But I… I didn’t always used to be this way. I’m still not used to it."

She said no more and Merry didn’t press her. The upstairs landing opened to a corridor with four rooms. Tranquility led Merry to the door at the far end and opened it. Inside she turned on an electric ceiling light revealing a small bed, a dresser with mirror and a chair. A small open door led to a room with a toilet and a sink. It wasn’t luxury but it was clean.

"Cliff said you’d have a cloak I could use." Merry said.

"Yes miss." Tranquility said. "I have one your size downstairs."

"I’ll pick it up on the way out." Merry said. "I’ll be down shortly."

"Very well miss." Tranquility said. She turned and left.

Merry sat down on the bed and tried to think. Tranquility Green had been one of Verity Highfield’s friends. One of the group of school girls who called themselves ‘The Anti-Happiness Society’. They had caught and tormented Jessie. The part of Merry that was the First Knight of Dollopolis could only see justice in Tranquility’s current state. But Merry McCormack saw a young woman changed and enslaved and she didn’t like it.

But both parts of her wondered what had happened. She hadn’t heard any reports of Verity’s friends missing. But then she hadn’t really been looking for any either. It was obvious that Darksun had been going back and forth between Earth and this world for years, and from the looks of it he’d been selling or giving away a lot of knowledge and machinery. But was Truly continuing this? If so how was she moving between worlds without the dagger?

"Too many mysteries here." Merry said to herself as she headed toward the bathroom. "Just way too many mysteries."

When Merry came down the stairs she saw that Tranquility was just finishing hemming a gray cloak.

"I’ll have it done soon miss." Tranquility said.

"No hurry." Merry said. She wandered over and looked at the wanted posters.

The door opened and Cliff walked into the room.

"I doubt you’ll have luck bounty hunting around here." Cliff said when he saw her eyeing the wanted posters. "The UC have pushed up this far and they take a big cut if you catch anyone. Barely worth the trouble."

His tone was indifferent. Merry had heard the same tone from many street dealers. If it didn’t impact their business it didn’t matter.

"Know much about her?" Merry asked pointing to her own poster. The picture was terrible, it showed her wearing her Dollopolis Knight costume and her mask. But the sum under the picture was large as far as Merry could tell. There was a one in front of fifteen zeros, but there was a strange symbol next to the number so Merry wasn’t sure if the sum was gold, silver or something else.

"Mystery Woman." Cliff said with a whistle. "She’d make you a princess for sure with that much. Killed Darksun she did, and thirty guards getting free from the battle the other day. Bit off their heads so they say."

"They say a lot." Merry said.

"Yea, they do." Cliff agreed. "But I can tell you that no matter how much Lady Darksun wants to pay you for her the UC will double it, only they want her dead or alive."

There was a soft chime and Merry saw that the poster had changed. A few more zeros had been added to the sum under her picture.

"Course you'd have to get them to pay." Cliff said. "Lady Darksun isn't know for that."

"Well I’m no bounty hunter." Merry said smiling at him. "I like my skin un-cut."

"Don’t we all." Cliff said matching her smile and Merry realized that he was coming onto her.

Let’s not go there, Merry thought pulling back from him a bit. This was something else that wasn’t covered in any of her movies or books. Even the internet stories she read skirted that sort of territory. Cliff seemed to sense her rebuff and backed down.

"Your cloak is ready miss." Tranquility said.

"Thank you." Merry said walking over to her. She took the cloak and put it on. It fit well and had a hood on it. "You’ve got quite a helper here." Merry said to Cliff.

"Oh she’s a bit of luck." Cliff agreed reaching over to stroke Tranquility’s hair.

"Thank you master." Tranquility said. She didn’t stiffen but she flinched a little bit. The blue collar on her throat glowed slightly and she settled down.

"How did you come to be here?" Merry asked. "I’ve never seen a centaur so small. At least not one full grown."

"Bit of trouble Govenor had with one of his potions." Cliff said. "The elves sold her to him and he was going to make her a full sized centaur for Lord Yuro, but when the potion didn’t work right..."

"Cliff saved me." Tranquility said. There was both gratitude and bitterness in her voice. "They were going stuff me and put me into the Wall of Oddities!"

"Nice of you." Merry said.

"A bargain even with the glasses." Cliff said.

"I used to see fine." Tranquility said sadly.

"Don’t be sad girl." Cliff said. The collar glowed again and Tranquility smiled.

"You’re right master I have a good life here." She said brightly. She kissed his hand and looked up at him with a grateful expression.

"You get back to your books." Cliff said.

"Yes master." Tranquility said.

"Collar cost me twice as much as she did." Cliff said as Tranquility went back to her books. "But it was worth it. Before she had that she’d cry all the time. Moan and moan about how she used to be some rich lady back on her world."

"Everyone hits hard times sooner or later." Merry said. "I might be back late tonight for the cart. Don’t really know yet if the ones I’m supposed to meet are here."

"We’re always open." Cliff said. "Just hammer at the door."

"Thanks." Merry said.

When she left Tranquility's collar was glowing and she was humming happily to herself.

I'm not here to rescue anyone, Merry argued with herself as she left the inn. I've got to get back to Simone.

Merry the First Knight thought that way, Merry the former police officer didn't. The two sides warred with each other as Merry walked down the muddy street.

The Tipsy Pixie was a combination tavern, brothel and vaudeville house. Merry entered the place just as it was getting dark and found a table near the Wall of Oddities. The creature who waited on her was a female satyr. She wore a brief top and nothing else. Her horns were studded with jewels. Merry ordered a drink and a roast beef sandwich and then settled down to watch and listen.

The place was large and square. Against the far wall was a long bar and above it a mirror. In the center of the room were round tables. They faced a small stage. Behind Merry was the Wall of Oddities; a long glass case filled with stuffed strange things. Creatures that included a griffin, a sphinx, and some Merry had never seen before. But there was also the Creature from the Black Lagoon and Godzilla statues. There were in addition small versions of centaurs, satrys, elves and other creatures. It didn’t take much effort to picture Tranquility there. The place was lit by individual lamps on the tables that could be turned off or dimmed by the patrons, and by the stage lights that gave the place a dimly lit creepiness. Merry kept her table dim.

Vintage 1960's black light posters and old 1940's movie posters lined the open spaces on the walls. Just to the right of the stage was a doorway. The frame of the doorway was covered in carvings of nude women linked in embraces with nude men and women and other creatures. Sounds of passion, love, lust and pain reached Merry's ears. On the stage a tiny mermaid in an aquarium played a harp. She was no more than a foot long but her voice carried anyway. The tune was 'Singing in the Rain'. Her voice was filled with sadness. After Merry had come in the place had slowly filled up. But filled up with creatures that Merry had only dreamed of seeing. Satyrs, elves, dwarfs, fairies and a few Merry couldn't identify. One human woman sat at a table and seated at smaller tables set on her table were four fairies. Each of them was collared as Tranquility was, only their collars were black. Their wings had been clipped half way. The woman ate a full meal and sometimes looked up, would seem to notice them and she would drop a piece of food in front of them. They smiled and thanked her but Merry could see hate and fear in their eyes. That hate was mirrored by a group of fairies that dined at a floating table that hovered above the bar. Those fairies were richly dressed and their small eyes glowed with power. Sometimes the human woman looked up and smiled at them. It was a predatory smile. She was richly dressed in a blue dress with a black belt. On her chest was a design of a setting sun.

Merry noticed quickly that the bar was segregated. The satyrs sat together; so did the dwarfs and humans and fairies. Each group concentrated on ignoring the other unless it was to send dark glances their way. Each group was having fun, sort of, but there was a undercurrent of anger in the room. Merry didn't see any obvious bouncers and she wondered how much it would take to start a brawl. Not much she was sure. The tables and chairs were wood and bore the scars of many past fights.

Merry sat quietly and listened. The snippets of conversation that reached her ears were full of politics. Darksun was dead, that was the chief topic of conversation, that and how his daughter was doomed. It would have happened already they said, if she hadn't had demons on her side. If there was one thing that everyone hated it was demons. The name 'Mystery Woman' came up a lot. In tones of fear, lust for the reward and thanks. Fear came from the people, lust for the reward from the dwarfs and elves and thanks from the fairies. Merry found herself described as a ravaging and vengeful monster that tore the limbs off of foes and used those limbs to beat those foes to death. It was humbling and frightening. Merry had never dreamed of being anything but a police officer, now she was some sort of superwoman.

There was also some speculation on Dollopolis and not a little frustration that no one could find the place. No seer or oracle seemed to know anything about it. Even the gods were quiet. As the evening went on smoke filled the bar, a rich mixture of scents that went from pipe tobacco to marijuana.

The door from the back room opened and a tall richly dressed satyr strutted into the room. He dragged a chain behind him and on that chain were Serenity, Esmerelda and a third woman Merry had never seen before. Merry held herself steady as the trio was pulled up onto the stage amidst cheers and jeers.

"Settle down all!" The satyr called out. "Bidding starts as soon as I hear some coins in the table!"

Almost all of the patrons slammed purses full of gold onto their tables. Merry followed suit and cheered as loudly as any of them. The look on Esmerelda's face twisted her stomach but Merry knew that now wasn't the time to act. All three of them had been beaten. Their clothing hung in shreds off of their bodies and they were well bound. Chains around their ankles hobbled them and around their stomachs wide leather belts held their arms to their sides.

"This one!" The Satyr called grabbing the woman that Merry had never seen before. Unlike Serenity and Esmerelda she had a wide leather gag over her mouth. She was fat and broadly built with light brown hair framing a round face with gray eyes. Even bound and gagged she struggled and cursed.

"This one's a talker!" The Satyr said. "From the same world as Darksun! She's human through and through, easy to change to what ever you need. She calls herself Vickie and she’s got pride to spare!"

"Two hundred." The woman with the captive fairies called out. "And make her a tiny Centaur." She added.

"Better get it right this time!" Someone called out and the crowd roared with laughter.

"Three hundred!" A man dressed in leather armor called. "If you make her a fairy!"

That earned him dark looks from the fairies.

"Well Queen Lalani?" The Satyr called.

"Three fifty Govenor." The Queen called.

"General?" Govenor looked to him.

"Four." The General said coldly looking at the Queen.

From there on it became a bidding war between the two of them and the rest of the crowd grew quiet. And Merry understood at last. Not only could women be shrunk on this world, they could be shrunk and changed. Why just settled for another shrunken woman when you could have a shrunken woman that was also a centaur, a mermaid, perhaps a half dragon? And if you were a centaur why would you want a shrunken human when you could have a shrunken centaur?

The realization chilled Merry to her soul. She could imagine women being reduced to toys, but she had never imagined them being turned into something else. The uses such transformed creatures could be put to was beyond her, but from the reactions of the crowd Merry knew it was not beyond them.

I've got to get you out of here, Merry thought looking at Esmerelda. A bug of some sort was attached to Esmerelda’s forhead, Merry guessed that was why she had stayed in human form. She started to study the bar and plans started to form in her mind.

The bidding had reached 800 and the General wasn't going to go any higher. He wasn't happy about it.

"Darksun’s dead woman," he snarled at the queen "you don’t have much more time on top, maybe it’s better I take your head now!"

"Darksun's daughter listens to me General." Queen Lalia said smiling. "She knows my fairies will find Mystery Woman and her mother sooner than your clumsy fools."

"Your fairies!" The General spat. "Old fools who didn't take what was offered them."

"My fairies turned the battle yesterday." Queen Lalia said keeping the smile on her face. "Your fools ran didn't they, and didn't you?"

The General roared and pulled his sword. He had taken one step toward her when a figure flew down from the shadows and hovered over him. It was a fairy, but not a type Merry had ever seen before. This one was larger than the normal fairies, twice as large and well muscled. Her butterfly-like wings were dark and lined with spikes. She wore nothing and her skin was a dark blue and her short hair was black.

"Back off drowf!" He shouted swiping the air with his sword.

Her eyes glowed yellow and lightning erupted from her wings and enveloped the General. He screamed and fell dead. His body smoking from the energy. The creature flew back up into the dimness of the rafters.

Ok, Merry thought, frontal assault is out. There was no way to tell how many of those things there were above her. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a small man in black duck out the front door.

The room turned back to the stage and ignored the dead body. Govenor looked pained at first and then put a smile on his face.

"Sold to the Queen." He called out. He beckoned and the waitress came up on stage. She was carrying a tray with a small dark bottle on it. Govenor stripped the rest of the clothing off of Vickie and pulled off her gag.

Instantly the room was treated to a full range of Earth born profanity. Even Merry was impressed by some of the words. She noticed that the Queen’s smile became deeper and more menacing. Govenor pulled the woman’s head back by the hair and poured the contents of the bottle down her throat. She coughed and spit but swallowed most of it anyway. He pulled her bonds off of her and she fell onto the stage and started to convulse. Choking sounds came out of her mouth. She tried to scream but her voice didn't work. Merry watched as the woman started to shrink. But more than shrink. Vicki's legs shrunk more than the rest of her and grew thin as they shrunk. The lower half of her body grew long and at a right angle from the rest of her. Another pair of legs and a tail appeared. Merry held her cup to her lips to cover her open-mouthed stare. She had seen people shrink before, but she had never seen the type of transformation that Vickie underwent. When it was over Vickie was a centaur. A small one. She stood no more than two feet tall. The top half of her body was human, but the bottom was a horse with hair that matched the light brown hair on her head. She wasn't overweight anymore; she was solidly muscled. Her skin was stretched over that muscle and her breasts stood proudly on her chest. The crowd cheered as Vickie stood un-steadily on her new legs.

The cheers stopped as the door to the tavern was thrust open and five men with dark armor pushed into the room. One of them strode over to the prone body of the General.

"Governor!" he shouted. "Where is that drowf of yours!"

"He was drawing a sword." The dark fairy said dropping down from the rafters. In one hand she held a small sword, in the other a ball of glowing energy. "You don’t do that in our place."

"So you kill him?" The soldier growled. His companions muttered darkly and put their hands on their own swords.

Merry noticed that the Queen was putting all of her captives into a box. There was a general movement around her as everyone reached for their weapons. On the stage Govenor looked worried. Merry made an instant decision and pulled the draw string on her purse. She looked around the room quickly, planning as much as she could. Then she took a hand full of gold coins out of the purse and tossed them into the air around the bar.

The effect was as quick as it was predictable. Two men at the bar saw the gold and went for it. One shoved the other away and he backed into a table of dwarfs. The fight started so quickly it took everyone off guard; they had been expecting a fight between the drowf and the soldiers. Merry tossed more coins in a few directions and headed toward the stage. Around her chaos engulfed the tavern as the fight started. Merry concentrated on moving toward the stage, dodging and weaving around the fights and flying furniture.

When she reached the stage she found Vickie struggling in the hands of the Queen. Govenor had been pulled off of the stage and was struggling with a pair of dwarfs. Merry ignored the Queen and crawled over to Esmerelda and Serenity. She quickly freed Esmerelda and pulled the bug off of her forehead. It was some sort of metal gadget.

"Mystery Woman?" Esmerelda asked.

"Free Serenity and don't use my name." Merry ordered putting the bug into her pocket. Then she turned back to the Queen. She had managed to push Vickie down and was tying her front horse legs together. Merry shrugged off her elf-dress and grew to full size. It wasn’t something she had wanted to do-stand naked on a stage-but she’d be damned if she’d leave anyone to someone like the Queen. She grabbed the Queen from behind and found the places on the woman’s neck that she had to. The Queen struggled and thrashed but Merry had all of the leverage she needed. After a few moments the Queen’s struggles grew weaker. She was semi-conscious when Merry let go of the woman, swung her around and kneed her in the stomach. Then she picked the Queen up and threw her into the still fighting crowd.

"What next?" Esmerelda said coming up next to her. Merry noticed that she had the Queen’s box of captives in her hand. Inwardly Merry smiled, she knew the young woman would do that. Behind her Serenity held a semi-conscious Vickie.

"The brothel!" Merry said grabbing her elf-dress and shrinking. "Come on!" She led them over to the edge of the stage, shrugging the dress on as she went.

…To be continued

PREVIOUS CHAPTER  SCARLET'S SANCTUM MAIN PAGE   SKYTOWER'S MAIN PAGE NEXT CHAPTER