"It better work this time."

The same group crowded around Luna, but backed up when Cassarah waved them off with her cane. "What did I tell you children about giving me breathing room. I'm going to try one last time to contact this boy, but if it falls through, I expect payment in full."

"Hey!" Gregory growled, "Why should we have to pay you if this doesn't work?"

"You want your girlfriend to start shaving every morning?"

Pam took and additional step back and Gregory shook his head no. The witch smiled deviously and laid her hands on Luna. This time awake, Luna kept one eye open as the old woman's hands hovered over her.

"Is this going to hurt?" she asked Cassarah.

The witch shrugged.

Luna frowned. "Fantastic..."

"Shut up and close your eyes!"

When Luna opened them again she found herself lying face down on of a couch. Pushing herself up, she ran to the mirror hanging nearby and seeing a reflection not her own, let out a squeal of joy. "Dominic, I have to find Dominic." She ran all over the house, but he was no where to be found. "He was dying, I could feel it, but now...something else happened." She began to search frantically inside of closets and bathrooms, and thoroughly searched the basement and the attic.

"Where in the heck is he?" She sat down in a chair in the kitchen, but stood up again when she heard rattling in the other room. She ran over to where she heard the noise, and saw a cat staring up at her.

"Spark?"

With his head against the window, Dominic rode the #32 bus downtown with a large package on his lap. He got off at the corner of Eagleton and Asaka, then began his trek back to his house. There was a lightness in his step as he walked, going faster and faster with his increasing nervousness and excitement. A few shortcuts later he got to the house. He grabbed his keys, opened the door, and hugged a surprised 'Lina'. He set the package down on the floor and took her hands in his own.

"I j-" He squinted his eyes and adjusted his glasses, then looked in her eyes. "I wanted to apologize. I can't say Im completely comfortable with the siatuation, but a while ago I got a message from someone I know is very wise. Thank you. Are you feeling okay?" He took a finger and traced it against her cheek, and he could feel her jump from nervousness.

"Its not Lina."

"What?" He lowered his hand and stared into her eyes, those same baby-blues he had fallen in love with. "Luna.." He pulled her into his arms again and kissed the top of her head repeatedly.

"You are getting presents for her? Is she-"

Dominic cut her off with a quick kiss to the lips. Letting his hand slide down her side he deepened it, and pulled away slowly. "You know you never have to question my feelings."

"The witch sent me back. What you don't know is, well, Lina and I have this connection. I guess that part of it is obvious, but, she has some sort of natural dark energy within her that is making me sick back home. The witch told me that if she doesn't gain control of this power I'll eventually.."

"You'll be fine." Dominic lead her to the couch and pulled her down on his lap. "Lina is a necromancer, one of the few naturals I have heard of. Jacob intends to draw souls from the unsuspecting public here, and Lina's Uncle Eric insists that the only way we can stop him is to beat him as his own game."

"Necromancer vs. Necromancer?"

"It looks like it. And if I didn't alrady have a headache from all this, a white mage is assisting him. I guess the whole stereotype with white mages having dedicated their lives to protection and healing goes out the window. I have a feeling she is a natural too. With naturals, they can bend and shape their abilities to whatever purpose they wish, good or bad."

Luna looked to the box. "What's in there?"

"That? I bought Lina a few things. When that mage attacked me earlier, Lina used her power to try to defend me. Problem is it backfired and I was struck. She made a deal with the mage that if she gave up years of her life, I would be healed. If she hadn't made that sacrifice, I'd be dead right now."

"So you are okay?"

He nodded. "She made a mistake, but now she is dying for it. I just wish there were a way to get Gregory here. I'm sure he would be able to do something. Oh, and Luna, can you answer the door?"

"But no one-" she blinked as she heard the knocking. "You like to do that, don't you?"

"It may have been gone for a while, " Dominic smirked, "But now its back."

Lina opened her eyes and sat up immediately. She was wearing a dress, a rarity for her, and when she licked her teeth she found quite the surprise.

"What the hell?" She asked herself and quickly surveyed the situation. She was in a small room with a table and a few chairs. There was a woman dressed in white asleep in one of the chairs, and a boy with reddish hair sitting on the floor drooling in the woman's lap.

"Excuse me.."

They both remained asleep.

"Hello? ANyone..WAKE UP ALREADY!"

Gregory fell to the floor and Pam coughed as she jolted into consciousness.

"Luna? You are awake. Did you get the message to Dominic?" Gregory pulled himsed together and dusted off his pants. "I hope so, because that woman is not exactly the helpful type."

"Luna? I'm not Luna.."

Cassarah creaked open the door and hobbled in, very slowly to the annoyance of the young Deegan. With an evil glare shot to Gregory and Pam, the old woman focused on Lina and began to speak. "Let me explain. These two are way too simple to do it. You and your Other side have switched bodies. She is in your world and you in hers. This is what I intended to do in the first place, but because Travoria was unconcscious the first time it was rather one sided."

"Say what?" Lina arched a brow.

"You don't remember when Luna came to your world?"

"I.." She tapped her finger against her forehead in thought. "I sort of do, I think. I remember something to that effect, either that or Dominic telling me about it. I also remember feeling sad."

"Keh," the old woman sneered,"That is because you have feelings for Deegan as well. You knew of his prior relationship, and you selfishly pitied yourself."

"Hey wait up just a second! Dominic and I are good friends, and if you are trying to insinuate that I'm making a move on him you are highly mistaken. Do you really think Im that low? I mean please, I have morals."

"Your heart is just as wicked and selfish as any others, don't try to fool yourself, necromancer.."

Lina's right eye twitched and she tightened her first, but lost her concentration as the witch "Whoah Whoah..how do you know about that?"

"Because I'm me!" she snapped at her, and Lina backed up frightened.

"Okay, okay, you win. But why did you attempt to do the switch in the first place?"

"You need to develop that unruly power within you. If you don't, it will seep through and eventually kill Travoria. Its simple. The way you young people make this more complicated than it is, is beyond me." Hacking up a big ball of phlegm, she cleared her throat and pounded her fist against her chest. "Now tha the message has been recieved, I will be leaving. I will be back for my payment, Gregory Deegan, one way or the other." The witch left much faster than she entered, and Gregory questioned if she was really as feeble as she sometime pretended to be.

"Right." Lina swung her legs over and got out of bed, and ran her fingers along the tusks. "It is kind of like when I was little. I was so ashamed to go out.." She looked to the silent Gregory and Pam, and smiled at them. "Don't worry about Luna. I've already been practicing my power because my uncle thought it would help us anyway. Now that I know someone's life is on the line I'll work twice as hard, I promise"

"I understand" Gregory patted her shoulder as he held in a laugh.

"What's so funny?"

He lowered his head and snickered, still trying to hold it back. "I can't help it. I can't."

"Your point?"

"You like my brother!" He fell down on the bed laughing. "I know he can see into the future, but I bet he didn't see this. Two chicks after him? Thats just ridiculous." His laughter finally calmed when two sets of annoyed female eyes stared him down.

"This is great and all, but how do I switch back? Do we need that woman? I have an online business to run and I haven't checked the latest profits yet. I know, I know, people think selling plates, mugs, and other decorated junk should be an easy bit, but its getting people to buy all that decorated junk is the hard part. Besides, I need my uncle Eric to help me train."

"I didn't think about that." Pam went to the door, "I'll go look for her and ask."

"She better find her. No way am I getting stuck in whatever the heck this place is. If its anything like Dominic told me, I might as well be stuck in the stone age. Without a MP3 player. Thats not good."

Both of them looked towards the door Pam had left from. They looked back at each other, then back at the door. Someone finally came in, but it was of the feline variety.

"I'm hungry.." Spark whined as he jumped on the bed.

Lina screamed.

"What in the heck's wrong with you?" Spark trotted over to Lina and sniffed her, "And did you recently have tuna fish for lunch?"

Lina's teeth chattered and she edged away."Ah...Ha.a...I'm going insane no way is there a talking cat!"

"Let me get this straight." Gregory cleared his throat, " You believe you have switched places with my brother's girlfriend in a new dimension, and that you have necromantic powers, but not in a talking cat?"

Lina twitched her nose and stared at the cat. "Good point. You must be Spark then."

Holding her hand tight, Dominic lead Luna down the streets, pointing out the streets and the houses and anything he thought might be of interest. She wasn't incredibly impressed until they reached downtown, where the skyscrapers and other large buildings put her in awe.

"Its unbelievable, all of it." Luna slipped her arm around Dominic's, her eyes scanning all the sights, "This world must really be ruled by technology and great works."

"Everything done without a bit of magic. It is hard to believe, but on the other side of it, they don't believe in it so there is no reason to rely on it. How about I take you out to eat?"

"Sounds good." Luna licked her lips, but paused noticing her lack of tusks. "Its weird not having them. I keep forgetting I'm not in my own body."

"Doesn't matter much to me. I know my Luna." Dominic said quietly, just loud enough for her to hear.

Luna blushed furiously and spotted a restaurant at the corner. A sign with the words, 'Restaurante Agostina' hung above it, and it was decorated with lightly tinted windows that sparkled with the light coming from the inside. Dominic noticed her interest and ushered her inside. They were seated near a window, which was perfect because, to Luna, the cityscape looked even more beautiful through the shading on the windows. The reflections playing off the window from the people behind them made the blended scene spectacular to look at.

Dominic kept his hand on Luna's as he looked at the menu. In the back of his mind he knew that she and Lina could switch back at any time, but he couldn't help but take this opportunity now that it was presented to him.

"Luna, I.." He shut his eyes and then looked back directly into hers. "Usually we are so busy fighting people that love to invade our lives that I never get the chance to-"

Luna squoze Dominic's hand gently and nodded. "You don't have to say anything. I owe you my life, you know that. Thats why I'm giving it to you."

Not much was spoken during the rest of the evening. They were served their meals and they ate in silence, but both Dominic and Luna couldn't hide the smiles that were shining through on their faces. Towards the end a tear came to Luna's eye and she spoke up.

"Its almost time. I can feel it."

"Switching back?"

Luna nodded.

Dominic pulled her into his embrace and kissed her lovingly, only freeing an arm to leave a tip on the table. He knew they had switched back when Luna's grasp on him faded, but his smile quickly fell to a frown when he noticed the woman in his arms was unconscious.

"Lu- Lina...Lina?" He shook her lightly and set her down back in her seat. He took a menu and tried to fan her, and then felt her temperature with his palm. She was burning up, but before Dominic could call for help she opened her eyes and struggled to sit straight.

"Lina?"

"Yep, that's me. I'm back." She fell back down and realized her sudden weakness. "What's going on?" Her eyes were burning and her hands freezing. "I feel awful. Where in the heck am I anyway?"

Dominic helped her back up and slung her arm over his shoulder. "I took Luna out to dinner, but let me just pay the bill and get you home. You need rest."

"Thats right. I gave up some years of my life, didn't I? Still, that shouldn't have made me weak."

Dominic did his best to keep her to her feet as he paid the bill and got her out of the door. "She didn't say how much she took from you. Im beginning to wonder just what she did to you."

"I made the trade no matter what the price. It was either that, or have you die. I couldn't have you die." Lina slipped down again and Dominic, with a heavy sigh, slipped his arms under her legs and carried her the rest of the way home. He took her immediately to her bedroom and tucked her in, and brought her back juice and toast from the kitchen.

"I appreciate this, thanks. Did you have a nice time with Luna?"

"Yeah, but I'm more worried about you now. I need to find that woman."

"Lets worry about the big picture before worrying about me. I need to control my power better, you need to find out where your brother is, and we need to make sure whatever he's doing doesn't get done, right?"

Dominic smiled and sat at her bedside, running his fingers through her golden strands. "My power is back completely now. So hopefully things won't be going so slowly any more."

"So now we are in real danger?"

"Yeah. But I'd rather get this over with now than just wait around for everything to happen to us. Get some rest. I'll go get the door." Dominic stood up and headed out, leaving Lina with a very confused expression. Just as she was about to say something, Dominic spoke up, "My powers are back, remember?" He shook his head and got to the door, but unfortunately he didn't forsee who would be behind it.

Him. In a manner of speaking.

The man looked exactly like him except his hair was put in a pony tail and he was wearing a leather jacket and jeans. He wore sunglasses , and brushed more of his hair in his face than Dominic did. Instead of waiting to be invited in he strolled inside and began calling for Lina.

"Where are ya hun? Lina! Oh Lina.."

"She's sick. Can I help you?" Dominic sat down on the couch, keeping a careful watch over him.

"You can call me Derek." He plopped down on the couch beside him and helped himself to one of the mints on the table. "I've been expecting to see you for quite a while. I had a dream that we would have this meeting."

Dominic ran his fingers through his hair and pulled it back, and looked at the man, trying to ignore the creepy feeling that was playing against his spine. "Might as well say it, you are a seer, aren't you?"

"If you use that term, yes." Derek took out a business card that showed his name and address, and in big bold letters across the bottom, the words 'Oracle for Hire'. "I make quite the business out of seeing other people's past and future. I have a office downtown and I enjoy quite the sucess.

I get it. So his me, except his life doesn't suck. I don't like where this is going. He rolled his eyes at Derek's cocky tone, and leaned back on the couch trying to get himself comfortable.

"You've had quite the time here. You've been searching for your brother, from what I could tell, and also, you are me from another dimension. Now that we have all the formalities out of the way can you tell me where my Lina-chan is? I've missed her sweet...face" Derek licked his lips suggestively at the thought of Lina, and Dominic backed up.

"I think you should leave her alone for right now. She isn't feeling well. Maybe you should come back another time?"

"Nah, don't worry about it. She always loves to see me." Derek sprang from his seat and made a beeline to the bedroom, scooped his arms around Lina and pinched her butt.

Lina screamed and pushed him off of her. "Derek I'm warning you, get lost and get lost now. I don't want to see you. I never want to see you. So dont use that line that you saw it in a vision."

"But I did. I see in the future you falling into my arms, it is just taking a while for it to come true." He gave her another pinch, and received a slap to the face.

"You need to learn the difference between visions and fantasies! " Lina coughed and fell back to the bed, but retained her glare against Derek. "For the longest time I thought that you were fake anyway, until-"

"You met Dominic and realized that if he is real, I must be too. You've been wondering that for a while, because he and I look almost exactly the same. Except I take better care of myself."

Dominic cleared his throat, standing in the bedroom door. His eyes shot through Derek like a hawks, and his voice came out cold and annoyed, "I'm beginning to doubt we have any link at all."

"Sure we do. I'm just the side of you that's begging to be cool."

"I know Lina's double and they are a lot alike." He rested his hand against the doorframe and prepared himself on pulling Derek away if need be. Derek continued to smile, and eventually came over to Dominic to look him straight in the eye.

"If my theories on the whole thing are correct, there is no such thing as a mirror opposite or a exact copy. Heck, we could be nothing alike and still have the bond."

"I might agree with you if we stress the nothing alike portion of it." Dominic hissed, "You are just a obnoxious pervert."

"From what I can see of your past, Dominic, you like nothing better when Luna looks down the right way and-"

Dominic edged closer, cracking the knucles in his fist out of frustration "Just HOW much do you know about me, anyway?"

"Ive been having dreams about this for a while. Shame you haven't, you need to work on your powers. Maybe one day they will be amazing as mine. Well, if you need any help, which I know you will, I'll probably be here before you call me." He turned to Lina, "Adios sexy" He waved to them all, and made his exit as abrubt as his entrance.

Dominic made sure the door was locked after he left, and retuned to his friend's bedside.

"If I tell you something, will you promise never to repeat him."

"That you used to date him? Got it. Believe me, I have some girlfriends in the past that I ain't bringing up either. Lets just chalk it up to temporary insanity." Before Dominic could finish his sentence, Lina had fallen asleep. She had used up any energy she had left fending off Derek, but after a quick check from Dominic, he realized she was okay beside that.

Everything is riding on me stopping Jacob and finding that woman again. He brushed her hair out of her face and stood up. He went to the kitchen and pulled out potatoes and mushrooms from the pantry and various other ingredients from the cupboards. I think I'll make some of my mom's soup. Just hope I can do it right with what I have here. I just need to feel like I am at home right now.