Author's Note:

I'm sorry for the delay, I spent all last week studying for and taking finals. I'm hoping that I won't take a break like that again, then again it seems that these things come up too often.

So just to warn you, this chapter gets a little weird. I hope that you will all bear with me and not give up on this story. Thank you so much to everyone who has read and reviewed!

Chapter #3:

"A Sue ruined Nicole's life?" I asked Joanne. "Is that why she works at Section 3.5?"

"I'd rather know what the Sue did," Mitch grumbled.

"Well I'll tell you two everything if you just let me tell the story," Joanne said, "but not here. We need to go someplace where we won't be overheard."

--

"I'm glad that you could all come," Aragorn said to the gathered group. Sitting at the table with him were Arwen, Legolas, Gimli, Eowyn, Faramir, and Eomer. They all looked concerned.

"Aragorn why have you asked us all to come?" Eomer asked.

"Does it have to do with the Mary Sues?" Gimli asked curiously.

At the word 'Mary Sues' Legolas, Faramir, and Eomer twitched violently and Eowyn growled stepping closer to her husband and her brother, obviously prepared to fight off any creature intent on getting them.

"Gimli," Arwen asked looking shocked, "how did you know this?" The dwarf sighed loudly.

"I knew because I am not an idiot Madame," the dwarf pointed out dryly. "Also since we have arrived in Minas Tirith those of us who the Sues went after before have been followed closely by personal guards while myself and the ladies have had no such protection. I know of no other threat that would entail such precautions other then the Mary Sues."

"Gimli is correct," Aragorn admitted unwillingly, "a Mary Sue was spotted in Middle Earth again." This proclamation was met by loud groans and oaths being spoken in several languages by the assembled people.

"Are you sure about this Aragorn?" Legolas asked, obviously hoping in vain that maybe there had been some mistake. The King and Queen of Gondor however merely shook their heads.

"She has blond hair," Arwen told them.

"So do I," Legolas reminded him.

"And raspberry colored eyes."

"Oh…"

--

Joanne, Mitch, and I were soon walking on a dock, the wind and the sound of the waves keeping our conversation from carrying. At least that's what Joanne and Mitch assured me about the location. I really thought that they were acting a little paranoid. There were only a few people around anyway and Joanne started to tell us about Nicole's past.

"Do you know how old Nicole is?" Mitch and I shook our heads and Joanne looked at us seriously. "Nicole will turn 428 in a few months." She said it with a straight face, and my laughter died in my throat.

"But she looks-"

"Young," Joanne finished, "that would be because she's a demon from another dimension." Of all of the explanations that I'd expected Joanne to give, that one hadn't even been on the list. There was a strange ringing in my ears. "Mitch please catch Amy," I heard Joanne say calmly, "she's fainting."

"I am not," I muttered vaguely as I sat down hard on a bench. "But I think you're lying. Nicole's not, well… evil."

"Not all demons are evil," Joanne explained with a sort of forced patience, "it's just an unfortunate association that people tend to make based on the inclinations of the majority of demons. There are a number of demons, like Nicole, who don't devote their life to spreading evil."

"Nicole also doesn't shoot fire balls or have glowing red eyes," I argued still not willingly to accept Joanne's explanation. Mitch snorted with laughter as Joanne glared at me.

"Demons do not shoot fire balls or have glowing red eyes," she told me stiffly. "The only difference between them and humans are the fact that they can touch fire without being burned, they can develop unnatural strength, and they do not age like a human."

"Can Nicole fly?" I asked. Mitch was definitely laughing now and I tried to kick him, but he was too far away. Joanne's glare became more angry and significantly more exasperated.

"Absolutely not," she snapped. I opened my mouth to ask another question but Joanne held up her hand before I could. "This is not what I wanted to tell you two." Joanne sat down next to me and looked out at the water. "About 37 years ago Nicole got married. Her husband, Raoul, and her had two children. A girl named Rebecca and a boy named Nathan."

"She never mentioned them," Mitch said softly. He wasn't laughing now, and I was no longer trying to deny what Joanne was telling me. Grimly Joanne continued her story.

"Nicole put a Mary Sue into the Section 3.5 prison about five years ago. But the Sue escaped and the first thing she did was to go after Nicole. This Mary Sue, if I recall she had some stupid name like Crystal-something Jem-something, kidnapped her husband and her daughter." Mitch and I gasped aloud. "Nicole hasn't heard a word about them since. Her daughter was eight years old."

"And you think that she knows where they are?" I asked.

"Or," Mitch said, his eyes wide with realization, "she's found someone who does."

--

"Simon," Agent Kip asked as she sat across from the Sue hunter, "is it true that you spoke to Office Director Rakov last night?"

"I'm not sure it's any of your business," Simon pointed out dryly.

"If you don't start answering my questions," Kip growled, "then I'll have you arrested for impeding the hunt for a fugitive and I will make sure you never do work for the PODB again. Do you understand?"

"Yeah," Simon answered grudgingly. And this was the truth, Simon may not agree with or like what Kip was saying, but he did comprehend the meaning of what she was saying.

"So once more," the Agent said through gritted teeth "is it true that you spoke to Office Director Rakov last night?"

"It is," Simon answered looking angry, "it was about an hour after I'd sent my report on the successful capture of the Mary Sue Anthea Ysanne. She called to ask me to clarify a part of my report."

"And what part was that exactly?" Kip asked. "I need to know exactly what was said." Simon pursed his lips, contemplating refusing for a minute before answering reluctantly.

"First she congratulated me on my capture," he began finally, "I've worked with her before you know. After that she said she wanted to hear more about the other Mary Sue I encountered. I retold what had happened but apparently she was looking for more details. She asked me if there had been anyone else there, and if there was any indication as to where she was going."

"And what did you tell her?" Kip demanded.

"All I could tell her was that the Sue was wearing a pink cloak," Simon admitted, "like many Sues do. I couldn't answer her other questions."

"And was there anything else?"

"No," Simon answered firmly, "she said good night and hung up." He looked the Section 1 Agent in the eye, he wasn't half as scared as he should have been of her, and she knew it. "So can I go now?"

"Simon you know that I can't tell you what to do," Kip said finally, "you aren't a member of any Section and you are not under arrest. At the same time I'm going to strongly advise you to stay very close by and keep our office informed if you absolutely have to go somewhere else."

"I can't promise anything," Simon told her as he stood up and started to leave, "I'll see you around."

"Listen to me. I am not playing games with you Simon," the agent snarled grabbing his arm, "you go even an inch too far away and I'll have you thrown into a prison on suspicion of being an accomplice."

Simon didn't even blink or allow himself to show any emotion at her outburst. Calmly Simon detached himself from Kip's grasp.

"Thanks for the warning Kip."

Agent Kip watched the man leave with a scowl on her face. She longed to call him back and throw him into a cell until he learned some manners but she restrained herself and let him leave.

Kip hated people who thought that they didn't have anything to fear by going against the law. The laws that the PODB enforced were there to keep order in all dimensions and they were not things to be taken lightly.

After waiting a minute Kip exited the building. She surreptitiously got into her car and pulled out behind Simon, keeping a couple of cars between them so that he would not see her following him. Kip's instinct told her that Simon was involved in this whole mess somehow however, and by following him Kip was sure she could figure out where the traitor Nicole Rakov was hiding out with the Mary Sue she'd freed from the Section 3.5 dungeon.