Woo! I found time to write, even with everything that's going on. I'll say the biggest thank you yet to everyone who has ever reviewed, and major, major hugs to all my faithful readers. Thanks for not giving up on this!

Yet again, the standard disclaimer still applies. I own no part of JN, I stake no claim in it, and I do not wish to be sued. Thank you very much, and read on.

To Cross the Rubicon
By: pottergal

Chapter Twelve: It's Simple, Really

Getting to the Ojufemi's house seemed to take a longer time in the dark, and if Jimmy hadn't been able to plot in the course, he was certain that he never would've found it among all the other nearly identical houses on the block. He sat down the hover car quickly upon reaching their destination, and hopped out, Goddard close behind holding the still unconscious Cindy.

I just hope my instinct is right about this. For all I know, we could be wasting time that Cindy doesn't have, he thought as he rang the door bell, and after a few moments, Natesa opened the door.

"Jimmy? What are you doing here?" she asked, frowning deeply.

"I'm here to see your mother about the necklace," he said, peering over her shoulder to see if Mrs. Ojufemi was within sight. "Is she around?"

"Well, yeah," Natesa said, glancing over her shoulder to see what he was looking at. "But we're in the middle of-"

What exactly they were in the middle of he never learned, as Natesa froze suddenly. He stared, as it wasn't just a pause. The girl was completely frozen in position, her hair suspended slightly in midair as she'd been caught halfway through her motion of turning back towards him.

"Goddard, run a scan on the entire house," he ordered, not taking his eyes off the immobile girl in front of him. "I want to know what's going on exactly."

"There's no need for such a scan."

Jimmy practically leapt back when the inside of the house vanished with a faint click, taking Natesa with it, and Mrs. Ojufemi stepped from out of the sudden darkness. She smiled at him before making a small gesture with her wrist, the interior of the house returning and the lights coming back on, but Natesa remained gone.

"What'd you do?" Jimmy asked as she beckoned them inside.

"I terminated the family hologram program," she said, as though she was talking about the weather, and he stared. "I have a feeling it won't be necessary much longer, if you're here for the reason I think you are."

"Who are you?" he demanded, not budging an inch from the porch, and he could hear Goddard growling from beside him. "And what have you done to Cindy?"

"I'm not going to bother telling you my real name," Mrs. Ojufemi said, waving her hand slightly. "You'll butcher it and murder my ears."

"What?"

"If you must call me something, call me May," she said and Jimmy blinked. "Now, please, come inside. Then I can drop this disguise and give you the answers you seek. I'll tell you all about the Isis Amulet and where it really came from."

"And why should I trust you?" he retorted. "You've caused all kinds of problems for me and my friend!"

"I give you my word, Jimmy Neutron," she said gravely, drawing herself up and holding up her right hand. "And a Gorlock never goes back on their word."

"Gor… Gorlock?" Jimmy stuttered, his eyes going wide, and May smiled slightly. "You… you're not related to April, are you?"

"You speak of my daughter," she said and he gulped. "It is because of her and her foolishness that I am here. Now please, come inside." Against all better judgment, he took a few tentative steps inside, Goddard following him closely. May shut the door and instantly the inside of the house changed, taking on a look straight out of some futuristic science fiction show.

"Whoa," Jimmy whispered, looking around. The layout was exactly the same as before, the only difference was the walls and the décor. What once had been wood and plaster walls was now a sleek metal bulkhead, with dark green carpeting. The furniture was smooth and streamlined and all the knickknacks had been swept away. In their place came geometric artwork; on the wall across from the couch (where the fireplace had once sat) hung three rectangular canvases in a row, two of which had been painted black, while the middle had been left white. Three spheres of varying size and color sat in the middle of the smooth, clear coffee table, and Jimmy watched as May glided forward and tapped one.

"What'd you do?" he asked, but she ignored his question and motioned to the couch.

"You may set Cindy there if you like," she said, turning to him, and before his very eyes her disguise fell away. He wasn't quite sure how it had been done, as he swore it was far too complex for holograms, but suddenly Mrs. Ojufemi was gone and in her place stood an extremely tall female Gorlock. Jimmy had to assume that she was an adult female, as May resembled a woman where April had resembled a girl, and she also carried her lean, muscular body with an air of wisdom that April hadn't.

"I gave you my word, Jimmy Neutron," she said, her pearly white fangs glinting in the light, and her intense green eyes watching him with an unreadable look. "I will not bite."

"You'll forgive me for being so suspicious, Ms. May," he said, inspecting the couch before nodding to Goddard, who set Cindy down carefully.

"I do not blame you at all. I have given you no reason to trust me, aside from my word," she said, smiling a little. "I have deceived you, placed your friend under a 'curse' as you Humans call it. You are sensible, Jimmy Neutron, to be so suspicious. And for that, I suppose my daughter was wise for wanting you as one of her mates."

"Excuse me?" Jimmy asked, greatly startled by the sudden turn in conversation, and May began laughing heartily.

"You need not look so alarmed, Jimmy Neutron," she said, lowering herself into a nearby seat, her body moving with an effortless, cat-like grace. "I am not here to drag you back to our planet and make you endure the trials to become one of her mates. I am here to ensure that you forget my daughter."

"What?" he asked, still staring at May, who gestured to the chair opposite herself.

"Have a seat and I will explain why I have come to your planet," she said and almost mechanically he moved to sit. He heard Goddard whine softly, but his gaze remained focused on May, whose eyes followed him like some kind of predator. They had a grave, feral look about them, and it sent chills down his spine.

"In any of the messages you and my daughter exchanged, did she ever explain to you our aging process?" May asked and Jimmy shook his head. "Then you must understand something. For every fifteen years that a Human ages, we age one. My daughter, April, is many, many years older than you, though she may not look it at all. And she is finally approaching the time of Kel'dorim, where she chooses her first mate."

"So you're here to prevent her from choosing me?" Jimmy asked in a small voice that was unlike him. "And how did you plan on doing this? By killing me?"

"She already told me that she wanted you, but I told her that it would be selfish and unfair to you, to force you to leave your home planet and endure trials that would surely kill you," May said, lacing her fingers together. "After many months, she finally saw things my way. But my daughter is still quite young, and thus quite foolish. I correctly assumed that she would try to come and talk to you in person, to try and convince you to come back with her."

"April tried to come here? When?" Jimmy asked, scooting forward slightly in his seat. He would've liked to see her; she was still a friend, after all.

"It was not long ago, but I stopped her," May told him, her gaze narrowing, and Jimmy sank back into his seat. "It was then I decided to come and see you myself, to try and turn your affections away from my daughter." She gestured to Cindy at that, and he blinked. "I was the one who created the Isis Amulet, without realizing that men of your race do not wear such fancy jewelry, even for special ceremonies."

"So it does make the person act out their deepest desire?" he asked, but May ignored his question.

"It was actually beneficial that I wouldn't be able to have you wear it," she continued, "as I had no way to be certain that you had someone else besides my daughter that you cared for. So I came to your school as the Human girl Natesa and watched you for many weeks. It was then I discovered your ongoing feud with Cynthia Vortex, and that she felt something other than hate for you."

Jimmy glanced at the unconscious Cindy as May spoke, feeling a slight surge of an emotion he couldn't quite identify.

"My daughter spoke of her often, you know. It isn't easy for someone to gain my daughter's respect, especially if it is a female of another species, but somehow this Human girl managed to do it. That made me very interested in her as well," May said, a fond note in her voice. "And I too found myself impressed by her. She has a heart worthy of a Gorlock."

"Then why make her fall in love with me?" Jimmy demanded, his gaze snapping to May angrily. "If you were so impressed by her, why mess with her head like you did?"

"I did nothing, Jimmy Neutron," May said, her tone once again cool and harsh. "The necklace does exactly what that book says it does; it renders the person incapable of keeping secrets or telling lies. I had read Cynthia Vortex well enough to ascertain her deep affection for you and had correctly assumed that once the necklace was activated, she would begin acting upon her emotion, as she would be unable to hide it."

"And you thought that all of this would make me suddenly fall in love with her?" he shot back, anger clearly present in his voice, and May shifted slightly, her gaze turning cold. It made Jimmy do a small double take, and he bowed his head slightly. He'd seen April's phenomenal strength, and May had never said that she wouldn't kill him; just that she had no intention of doing so. He had the worst feeling that if he pressed her enough, she might change her mind.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I'm just…"

"You are upset for your friend," May said, her posture relaxing slightly. "It is only natural for you to be angry with me. I have acted selfishly, and for that I apologize deeply." She bowed her head, her eyes finally leaving his face. "I had no idea that it would cause so much trouble for you."

"But surely, Jimmy Neutron, you can see my perspective? You can see why I would do something like this?" Her gaze returned to him and he tried to meet it evenly, but it was difficult.

"I do," he said after a moment, nodding a few times. "I mean, I do like April, make no mistake about it, but I'm way too young to even think of getting married. And I certainly wouldn't want to be put through anything that's going to kill me."

"Our trials are meant for full grown male Gorlocks, Jimmy Neutron," May said seriously. "You would last perhaps a few seconds before being squashed into a… what is your word? Ah yes, pancake." He grimaced at the mental image and May laughed again.

"So how does the necklace work, exactly? And why is Cindy unconscious right now?" he asked, trying to steer things away from that particular subject. It was beginning to make him rather uncomfortable.

"The necklace is Gorlock. There are two of them, one of which causes the effects you have seen, while the other I created as a copy for you to take apart and study. Cindy wore the original on her project day, where it inserted a special chemical that would be activated within twelve of your hours."

"But then why is Cindy unconscious? Has it done something to her?" he demanded, feeling his fists clench slightly. "She was in pain before she collapsed. Is that what happens when it wears off?"

"I have never heard of it wearing off before," May said and Jimmy frowned. "But you are Human and your bodies are different than ours. This is another angle I had not considered…" May sighed a little. "I have never heard of a Gorlock fainting from the effects of the chemical. Perhaps it has mutated somehow, from being exposed to a foreign system, and made itself difficult to undo…"

"You mean this is permanent!"

"I said it would not be undone easily," May told him, a warning glare to her eye, and Jimmy shut his mouth with a click. "I will give you an unused sample of the chemical for your analysis, as well as the antidote I was planning on administering to her tonight. If you discover that it has indeed changed, you can alter the antidote to return your friend to normal." He blinked at her then, a light frown wrinkling his brow, and May gave him a shrewd look.

"You are wondering why go to such great lengths to keep you from my daughter, correct?" she asked, and he nodded once. "I understand your intelligence, and I respect it, Jimmy Neutron. But men of my people are valued for their strength, and not their brains. It is the women who are the thinkers, not the other way around. I know my daughter was attracted to your intellect, as it is very rare for men to have such a trait, but our cultures cannot mix. And I will not lose my only daughter to a foolish dream."

"But I still don't understand your plan," he said. "If your object was to make me fall in love with Cindy, it hasn't worked. All I feel is confused and annoyed beyond belief." May smiled at that, her eyes taking on a rather mischievous glint.

"You think so, Jimmy Neutron?" she asked, her tone making him shift uncomfortably in his chair. "I think your friend had a point, when she asked you why you were working so hard to bring back the old her."

"I was doing it because something had changed her without her permission," Jimmy snapped, but May's smile didn't waver.

"But she was happier in the new form, you must admit."

"That was part of your drug!" he said, and May shook her head.

"Think, Jimmy Neutron," she told him as she waved her hand and a small vial of a green liquid appeared on the coffee table beside him. "This did nothing more than give her the keys to her freedom, so to speak. The only reason she was happier was because she could finally tell you how she felt."

Jimmy stared at the vial, feeling as though his head was pounding with all the different thoughts bouncing around inside it. He'd never felt more confused and uncertain in his life, and it was all because of an overprotective mother.

"You mean you did something to me as well?" he said slowly, feeling anger bubbling within him. "The other day, during the dance, I felt something strange. Was that you injecting me with some kind of chemical? Have you made me feel all these strange things over Cindy?"

"I assure you, Jimmy Neutron, upon punishment of death, that all of your responses were caused by your… how do you say?" She touched her chest lightly, a small frown wrinkling her brow. "It is a strange term to me, as the organ does not have the kind of abilities you Humans attribute to it."

"Heart?" Jimmy supplied weakly, a horrible feeling filling him, and May nodded, her frown vanishing.

"That is it precisely," she said. "I watched you struggle with yourself as you tried to rationalize things, and though highly entertaining, I found it sad that you couldn't seem to grasp your own feelings. Though it shouldn't have come as a surprise, I suppose, as I have found that scholars have the utmost trouble when it comes to dealing with…" May paused again, her brow wrinkling in slight concentration, "issues of the heart."

"So you're saying that I've been in love with Cindy all this time?" he whispered, his gaze finally traveling upwards to May's face. "You're saying that I just haven't taken the time to stop and analyze my own feelings, and that I feel the exact same way about her as she does about me?"

"Your responses to her would certainly indicate that conclusion," May said easily and Jimmy leapt to his feet in anger. She cut him off, however, silencing him with a wave of her hand.

"It is not something you wish to hear, correct? And it is not something I care to debate with you," May said sharply, and he shut his mouth slowly. "I gave you the unused chemical, and now I give you the antidote if you will give me your word that you will never accept my daughter's invitation to the Kel'dorim."

Jimmy studied her face silently, weighing his options. It was a simple bargain, really; agree to not become April's husband, and thus avoid the trials May had spoken of. Not only would he be avoiding potential death, but he would also obtain the key to returning things to normal.

"You have my word," he said after a moment, and May stood smoothly before reaching down and clasping his face in her hands. She bent swiftly and placed a light kiss on his forehead before he realized what had happened.

"Then it is sealed," she said and produced a small vial filled with a bubbly blue liquid from thin air. "I give this to you, Jimmy Neutron, in accordance with our pact, and I will remain here for one more of your days before departing to our planet. I expect that our paths will never cross again."

He nodded woodenly as he took the vial from her outstretched hand, staring up at her silently. She smiled then and knelt before him, her hands resting on his shoulders lightly.

"What you have done for me is something I do not deserve," she said softly, her voice warm. "You have indulged me when you could have denied my request; especially after all I have put you and your Ki'el through. I am truly in your debt."

His hand closed around the vial and he drew a deep breath. "It… it was nothing, really. April…" he looked away as he tried to put his thoughts into words. "She was unlike anyone I'd ever met, and though she is special to me, I've known that nothing would ever come of it. To be together is impossible, as I have my place here and she has hers on your planet. It… it was never meant to be."

"It makes me happy to hear you say so, though it undoubtedly causes you pain," May said softly, gently touching him under his chin and bringing his face to look at her. "You show a wisdom that my daughter, for all her many years, does not. And as for my daughter being unique…"

May smiled widely. "I suggest you take a closer look at the ones around you, Jimmy Neutron. What you find may surprise you."

Heh, boy am I glad that I didn't say this was the last chapter. Otherwise I'd be a liar yet again, right? Well, I hope this clears stuff up for everyone, and I hope this was a twist that none of you were expecting. (Grins) So what do you think is going to happen next? Will Jimmy be able to cure Cindy? And what's he going to do about everything that he's learned from May? Stay tuned!