"I'm still having trouble believing I did that," Tara said, holding her stomach tightly.

"Sweetie," Willow said, rubbing her back, "I know you don't like violence. But the Exaltations are weapons, and...it's not even that they change you. If you didn't have it inside you, they couldn't create it."

"Being a Lunar can be really visceral at times," Fred acknowledged. "It's not for the squeamish. But...isn't that nature? I thought you were big on nature." She massaged Tara's feet, which was comforting but not as helpful as the backrubbage.

"It is," Tara said reluctantly. "I think some Wiccans confuse 'natural' with 'moral'...which is something I know about from a different angle, too. Nature is violent, and painful, and we can't always fix that, but that doesn't make it good. You have to respect nature. You don't always have to agree with it."

As she finished speaking, the doorway slid open, and Mnemon snorted. The marble statue of a woman shook her head dismissively. "Are you still going on about this? About killing a man who'd have killed you without a second thought? Whose own soldiers obeyed largely out of fear of him?"

Tara frowned. Something wasn't right about this. To buy herself a moment, she nodded and said sternly, "Yes. I am. If I weren't, why wouldn't I do the same to you?"

"Out," Mnemon snapped, pointing to Willow and Fred. "I'll speak to you later, but I'd like a word with this one alone." When they didn't budge, Mnemon added, "I'll not hurt her. You have my word."

"Sweetie," Willow said, "just call if you need us. We'll hear." Let's not make her mad, she added silently.

Tara nodded reluctantly and waited till they were gone. Then... "You don't fool me. You're not Mnemon. Old as she is, you're older, and a lot more powerful. I can see it in your aura."

Mnemon's eyes went wide. "Well. I see I've underestimated you. None of you three are fools, but I had you down as least bright. In that case..." Her form swam and melted, becoming that of a much younger woman. Tara's breath caught. Mnemon was pretty, but this girl was gorgeous, not to mention nearly naked. Red hair flowed down her back. Spiraling silver tattoos ran beneath the leather straps that made up her entire outfit. Her eyes were dark, sharp, and ancient, yet she had a baby-face with high cheekbones and dimples. Her legs were long, her curves were more voluptuous than Tara's, and her nails-all of them-were sharpened claws. She didn't look even Tara's age-not physically, at least. But that aura told Tara conclusively that this was no sixteen-year-old. "My name is Raksi. And I'm here to tell you...it's all right to be squeamish. I was, too."

Chapter 78-Fair Trade

"You see me as I was at the Usurpation," Raksi said. "I was in university at Sperimen. You remind me of myself-so shy I could barely deliver a report in person."

"That's...that's hard to b-believe," Tara stammered. Goddess, this girl was beautiful! Just looking at her made Tara uneasy; she felt like a pervert, even knowing for a fact that this "child" was closer to Anya's age than her own.

"Let me tell you a secret," Raksi said. "You'd have done it anyway. You'll do it again. Solars are bound by propriety; that's their weakness. We aren't. I've heard about you, pretend-demon-girl. I know your story. You're one of us for a reason."

"You spied on me during the tattooing," Tara concluded. "Raksi, you can do what you like to me, but I'm not going back to your lost city to eat babies. That's not me, no matter what you say."

"I wouldn't ask," Raksi said with a wink. "There's no need. You interest me. I want nothing from you but knowledge, and I'm prepared to give full value in return."

"Full value?"

"Fred's found her way," Raksi said, her grin wide and toothy. "She's a masterful cheater. Sorcery will only ever be a sideline for her, I think. But you...I want to teach you. I want to show you what a power a Lunar can be. No strings attached, Tara. I like you." She sidled closer until she was millimeters away, still somehow nowhere in contact. "Come with me. Let me show you what a witch really is."

Tara knew she should scream for help. Or, if she were going to be all defiant and risky, laugh in the woman's face. "Okay," slid from her lips, and she couldn't call it back. "Show me."

Xander studied Mnemon, and she stared back at him openly. He didn't think it was like that-but who knew? She was Dragon-Blooded, after all. "I was expecting someone more impressive," she said at last.

"It's not the size of the dog in the fight," Xander said. "It's the size of the fight in the dog."

Mnemon gave that the briefest of chuckles. "Fair enough. You're charming and not unattractive; you're simply not the slab of meat I was anticipating. Buffy tells me you've been saving the world alongside her for five years."

"Most of that's been donut runs," he admitted. "I was the last guy without any special powers; even the G-man can cast some spells. But when push came to shove, I could...shove. I even hit a hellgod with a wrecking ball just before Buffy fell through the portal here. I stopped some zombies from blowing up the school in the middle of an apocalypse, and I got Buffy the military hardware that took out the Judge."

That earned him a curious frown. "Is the Judge blue? Does he burn the righteous?"

"That's our demon you're describing."

Mnemon's eyes went wide; for the first time since he'd seen her she looked both startled and genuinely impressed. "I had no idea Buffy had defeated Cecelyne's fetich soul. And you participated in this? As a mortal?"

"I just stole the rocket launcher," Xander said slowly. "Buffy's the one that did the exploding. We don't think that actually killed him, either." Mnemon was still staring. "He was still building up his energy. You know, where at first he had to touch you, and by the time we kablooeyed him he was about to massacre a whole shopping mall at once."

"He had to build up his essence stores," Mnemon said, pondering this. "I must

remember your rocket launcher. Just in case I ever have to face him. There truly were no other Exaltations in your world, or you'd have surely been granted one before now."

"Okay." Could have gone over worse, considering what he was to her. "I'll take that as a 'Cool'."

"You built this?" The aircraft was little more than a bathtub with seats and a windshield, but it was screaming along at what had to be hundreds of miles per hour, and Tara wasn't even having trouble breathing.

"This?" Raksi laughed. "This is trivial, Tara. This is nothing. Wait until you see the remains of Sperimen. Only the campus still stands, but that is enough. I once almost managed to construct a protoshinmaic vortex on my own."

"A proto..." Tara had to parse that one out. The shinma were the underlying structure of reality; a vortex in or of them would be something like a black hole. "You made a singularity? And it didn't eat Creation?"

Raksi made a dismissive gesture with her left hand. "I wasn't quite able to complete it. Some bumbling local Solar ran across me."

"What were you planning to do with it?" They were crusing along above a frozen sea, with a short range of huge mountains to the south.

"Anything I wanted. Yes, that's a personal freedom-and-power thing, but more practically, a protoshinmaic vortex is an energy source. I believe I heard you talking about nuclear reactors, though I'm not sure how they compare." Raksi began to angle the craft slowly south. "You have the power to become anything, Tara. Not merely animals, or even people. You can be a demon or a god, a raksha or a ghost. The Exalted surpass the creators of the universe. The question then becomes, what will you do with that power?"

"I've always tried to use magic for healing and protection," Tara started, but Raksi overrode her.

"Even the Deathlords do that-to their lands and armies, if nothing else." Raksi sighted ahead as if searching the horizon before angling toward a stand of pine trees. "Healing and protection aren't ends, Tara. They're means. If you hadn't found demons in your world, what would you have done with your little sorceries? What would you want to build or change?" Tara opened her mouth, then closed it again without answering. "Never given it any thought, then?"

"I guess I always thought of magic just on a personal scale," Tara said quietly. "Anything bigger than that was dangerous. Evil, probably."

"Because it was magic? Or because it changed the world?" Tara felt queasy; for a mad, evil witch, Raksi's arguments sounded disturbingly rational. That didn't make them right, but it made them less wrong than they might have been. "Your stories of heroes from your world are so rarely about growth or change. Your 'Superman', your 'Fantastic Four', they do little but preserve the status quo. It's as if you fear advancement."

Tara thought about objecting that comics tried to mirror the real world...but the real world didn't have a Latveria or (as far as she knew) an Atlantis. Realistic or not, a fictional world could probably have super-technology or public magic and still mimic the world she knew, too. As the pines began to fill the horizon, she began to wonder: did Raksi have a point?

What were they afraid of?

"Those look rough, Buff." Xander made Buffy turn her head so he could get a better look at the brass burn scars on her face. "They going to heal up?"

"From what I hear, yeah," Buffy said. "They're nothing, though. Take a look at these," she said, and pulled aside the black robe fabric that covered her stomach. Beneath was rough black stone. "Got stabbed in the gut," she murmured. "Some new healing powers took care of it...kinda. Apparently akuma have been doing it for years...not the most comforting thought."

"We're negotiating command structure with the Water Fleet," Xander said. "Came out to defend the Neck from us, staying for the fight with Skullstone, thanks to Mnemon. What's up with her? Didn't she attack Gem?"

"It's all politics," Mnemon said from her comfy chair. "My goal is strong leadership-my leadership-from the Blessed Isle. If that means political marriage to an Anathema and alliance with her circles of friends, the survival of Creation justifies it. Not that your friend is anything other than a beauty, you understand."

"Well believe you me, I've known that for years," Xander agreed. "She didn't return the appreciation, though, so I can wish you the best of luck together." Strange to think of Buffy married to a girl...not unwelcome, of course, just strange. Of course she'd married that demon, too. Was she planning to poison Mnemon after the wedding?

The door panel slid open, and..."You," Anya said.

"Me?" Mnemon smirked. "Yes, me. Is it some sort of problem?"

"Mnemon," Buffy warned, "this is my Sidereal friend, Annie...no, Anya. Sorry, Anya, but you're the one who put me inside Fate."

Anya sized Mnemon up; the Terrestrial returned the favor. "May the two of you be very happy together and give each other a great many orgasms. Buffy, are you sure this is what you want?"

"I'm sure she'll be a challenge," Buffy said offhandedly. "But we can get along, and we're useful to each other. It'll be a barrel of monkeys."

"Monkeys?" Mnemon queried.

"By all accounts," Anya said, "they're loads of fun."

"You have a strange concept either of monkeys or of fun," Mnemon said, and shook her head in bafflement.

The craft touched down lightly in a clearing in the jungle, sending monkeys scattering for cover. They were monkeys...weren't they? The creatures seemed very large and upright, but they had long prehensile tails.

They had come down directly in front of a wall like clear glass, but from the air she had seen more than that. Thirteen skyscrapers stood here, a ring of buildings around a central hexagonal structure, each different in ways subtle and overt.

"Behold the lost glories of Sperimen," Raksi exclaimed wryly. "Behold Mahalanka, the City of a Thousand Golden Delights!"

"This was the campus," Tara observed. The central field was like a great quad, though now overrun with vines except on its shining paths. "How long have you lived here?"

"Since the beginning," Raksi mused. "I spent a long time away, I guess. This is where I learned sorcery. I had to flee during the Usurpation, but eventually I came home."

There was something subtle about her expression...Tara would never have caught it before, lost in comparison of the buildings...each its own unique masterpiece. Something nostalgic. A glimmer... "Liar," she said without thinking. Raksi's eyes went wide with outrage. "This isn't where you live. Not really. You use this place, you've g-got rooms here, but this isn't home. It's changed too much. It's not what you remember."

Raksi's face went from shocked fury to dull resignation to amusement, even...appreciation? "Do you know how few people have realized that? All of them ancients. If not from my time, then from the high years of the Shogunate. So...you've been honest with me about where you're from." She strode forward into a slowly-gathering crowd of worshipful primates. "As above," she said, "so below. As within, so without. Come take my hand."

Tara slid her fingers into Raksi's, feeling the alien joints of a hand that could fold in any direction. Raksi pulled her forward-an outline shimmered-

The jungle vanished. The campus remained, but now it thronged with humans, and with animal-people of all kinds, not just simians. Its streets were mostly clear, though a network of climbable vines remained. And beyond, the city stretched outward and upward, towering spires, blocky or curved, shining or matte, all the colors of the rainbow. "You just joined the most elite fellowship in the world," Raksi murmured. "Welcome to the First Age reborn. Welcome to my true home...New Sperimen."

"A gift," Gavrane Tomazri proclaimed, "from the Free Luthea to Mnemon and the Scarlet Realm: the first jade daiklaive produced in Luthe in the new age, Cresting Tsunami Sickle." The octopoid Air aspect, Ftaghn-Vlu, stepped forward, holding the sword in her claws. Some of the Realm forces hissed in revulsion at the sight of the beast-woman, but no one near the front where they could be identified.

"From Dragon-Blood to Dragon-Blood," Ftaghn-Vlu said haltingly, "my creation." She was far more used to the Deep Sage language of skin color.

Mnemon took the slender weapon, gingerly avoiding Ftaghn-Vlu's claws. She pricked her finger on the tip, then brandished it carefully, then hefted it in both hands. "A blade of superior quickness," she said with an appreciative smile. "I thank you." She inclined her head the tiniest fraction.

Tomazri smiled faintly. "To the Realm, the Free Luthea offer friendship and loyalty as our long-separated family. To the Realm, Luthe offers an alliance against the undead menace of Skullstone, and a partnership for future peace."

Mnemon looked him in the eye and returned his smile. "Mnemon, and to my power the Realm, recognizes House Gavrane." Sharp intakes of breath. The Dragon-Blooded on both sides had wondered whether the Luthea families would be recognized as a House (till now reserved for the Empress' descendants), a Gentes (long obsolete outside Lookshy, the Realm's enemy), or something else. Well, that was settled. "We recognize all oaths sworn by House Gavrane, save in enmity to Creation." And there was the fig leaf for recognizing Luthe's current government-at least until the "Anathema" put a foot too badly wrong. "We formally open treaty negotiations with the government of Luthe." Behind Mnemon, the Water Fleet representatives sounded off, a restrained sort of cheer, so Tomazri signaled for his forces to do the same.

They were off to a good start. Dragons forbid they squander it.

"Excuse me," Willow began as the assembly began dispersing.

"No," Mnemon responded. "I have a meeting."

Willow stumbled, started to walk away, and caught herself. "I just need to know where you left Tara. I haven't seen her all day."

"I haven't spoken with Tara," Mnemon said impatiently. "I've been trying to avoid Fred and the two of you until formal negotiations with Luthe begin."

"Well...they've begun," Willow said, struggling. She sounded lame to herself. "And anyway, you came in to see all three of us, you shooed us out to lecture Tara about something, and we haven't seen her since!"

Mnemon's eyebrows rose slowly until Willow finished. Then she shook her head once. "That was not me. I suggest you see to your girlfriend, and quickly. Goodbye." And she strode away.

Willow wanted to say more, to call out. She couldn't make herself do it. Weren't Zeniths and Midnights supposed to be good at speaking up? Except she hadn't been training herself in that, had she? She'd been trying to change her face. Faith had tried to warn her. Even if this thing about her looks really was something she'd had to do, now she needed to play catch-up, to focus on the things she was already good at and the ones the Exaltation was set to make her good at.

Until she learned how to alter the default settings, anyway.

Fred was setting up in the conference room. "Tara's missing. Mnemon says she never talked to us."

"Someone in disguise," Fred said, setting down her papers. "We've got...no. Willow, I have to stay here. Go find her. Does Towers have anything to say?"

"Last seen on the rear deck," Willow said with a shrug. "Didn't leave in any recognized craft, no record of her presence for a full twelve hours during the negotiations."

"Go," Fred said. "I'll handle the political stuff. If you're not back with her when it's all set out, I'll come for both of you. Towers, what about a vector on Tara's departure? Can you do that?" The AI rattled off a series of numbers. "So east," Fred muttered. "That's something."

"I'll find her," Willow promised.

"You'd better," Fred said, very very softly.

Tara struggled not to just stand there and stare. "You m-made this?" she stammered at last.

"The place, the animals, the buildings, the people..." Raksi said. "Oh...not these people specifically. They get older, have kids, die...I think just about everyone here is descended from me by now, aside from any question of direct creation. Worlds like these used to be commonplace for the Exalted. Solars built them in the Wyld, we in Elsewhere. They found it somewhat easier, but I built all this a few decades after I fled into the Wyld. Now...time to start learning. Off with your clothes."

Tara blinked and came back to herself. "What? Wait-"

"I'm not trying to get a peek at you," Raksi said, giggling. "I could do that any time. These people here are real individuals. You've been naked in the company of your friends, but not in public, so far as I know. I want you to practice violating social mores as sorcery violates natural law. Strip!"

Tara just stood there, startled. She understood about some rituals being done skyclad, but they were usually practiced out of public eye. She started to shapeshift her clothing away, but Raksi held up her hand.

"No. Deliberately, publicly, manually remove your clothes."

"You're sure this isn't about watching me g-get naked?" Tara hoped the shirt covering her face kept Raksi from realizing just how bright red she was. Passers-by began to call out offensive or offended comments.

Raksi chuckled. "To be fully honest, you look delightful. Very plump and juicy. But while I do enjoy the company of women from time to time, I discovered long ago that I prefer my lovers to have a dick. So, no worries. Right?"

"Right," Tara said absently. That should put her off the hook. Somehow something seemed wrong about that, but for the moment she couldn't remember what. She was just lucky Raksi hadn't gone ahead and mind-controlled her. Then Tara would really be in trouble. She tossed her clothes aside where Raksi pointed. She could always get more later.

"I'm not sure we should worry too much about Tara," Mnemon said as the pelagothropes brought beverages to the table. "Surely she can take care of herself. She's a grown woman and an Exalt."

Dawn scowled. "She is...but..." How did she explain this? "Tara was the last Scooby to Exalt and she's still playing catch-up. And she's really sweet and nice and everyone loves her. And Willow in particular loves her...also Fred," she added doubtfully. Fred seemed nice, but Dawn didn't know her nearly as well. "And she's Buffy's Lunar mate. Which apparently isn't always a sexy thing. Or...something. They're like sisters."

"So everyone misses her," Mnemon said, "but their concerns are likely unwarranted. Unless some of the Immaculates working with the Fleet have gone rogue, and then more of you would know by now." She sipped her drink and smiled. "Interesting and exotic. Quite nice," she said to the nearest waitress. "Convey my compliments to Blue Anemone."

Shadow made a face. "I just don't know why she'd go running off by herself right now if she's okay. In the city, maybe, but what's so interesting out in the ocean?"

"Many cultures here live below the waves," Mnemon pointed out. "People of the Sea. Dragon Kings. Beastfolk of all sorts. And who knows what else she might have encountered on a chance swim?"

"Sea monsters?" Dawn pointed out.

"Possibly," Mnemon argued, "but most likely she'd have killed it and returned. Otherwise, it has killed her and she won't likely be found. And if she encountered a creature likely to kill an Exalt, I'd have expected to see it, or at least hear that someone else had."

"I guess you're right," Dawn mumbled.

"I hardly begrudge the Scholar going to find her lover," Mnemon said. "I'm just pleased that Fred and Buffy didn't also race off when there are talks to conduct."

"So when's the big wedding?" Shadow asked hurriedly. Dawn was having trouble reading her mood, which...well...it was her other self getting hitched, so how the heck would anyone feel about that? Shadow was definitely excited, at least.

"At the conclusion of the talks, to finish them out," Buffy said, rushing up. "I know this is all rushed and freaksome and everything, Shadow. It's not anything like how...or who we expected to marry, but Mnemon and I are actually kind of hitting it off. For a political marriage that's practically soul-mate territory." Dawn's jaw dropped; Mnemon had just given Buffy a wink.

"She gets it," Mnemon said simply. "She's more politically-adept than I expected, and she's good in bed." Dawn covered her face and peeked out between her fingers. "She doesn't make it more than it is, either. We find each other interesting and pleasant company, and as she says, that's more than many political couples get. And if she wants to plan a spectacular wedding in spite of all that, well...I am the presumptive heir of the Empress. It's only fitting."

Shadow laughed quietly and shook her head. "You're welcome to her, 'me'. I guess we really are getting more and more separate. Faith and I did a thing-" Dawn covered her eyes again; Faith had been a centaur till just before leaving! "-but I really think I wanna settle down with a guy."

"Well," Buffy pointed out, "that's an advantage to being more than one me at a time. We can do both!" Everyone but Dawn laughed, and even Dawn was glad the Buffies were happy. Fred and Xander and Tomazri came in in some sort of dress uniforms, and Mnemon and Buffy went over to the main table with Peleps Aramida to start the talks.

Tara was going to be fine. She could take care of herself.

The Windblade was orichalcum, unfortunately. Willow felt like she was soaring along on a hoverboard from "Back to the Future", which was pretty wild, and it was nice and fast, but Willow worried about the amount of energy she was burning, and how she was going to keep tracking Tara if she'd changed her course, and...

Well, there was a heck of a lot to worry about, really. Only what was she even supposed to do about it? Still, there had to be a way to find Tara. She wouldn't just vanish without leaving...

A trail. Willow narrowed her eyes. There was a trail of silvery energy visible to her mystic senses, like breadcrumbs leading her to her girl...and hang on, that story was kind of awkward these days and Tara better not get herself trapped as a rat somehow. Still, Tara had known she'd follow.

"Hang in there, Tare," she said, inaudible beneath the screaming wind. "I'm coming."

Tara followed Raksi up the steps into the...she could only call it a throne room. She was still starkers, but she'd finally quit blushing constantly, and while the people here didn't like her being naked they didn't turn her away or refuse her service, let alone try to hurt her. They just made rude remarks.

"How's she coming?" Raksi asked from the throne. "I see you have only one."

"The others will be along in time," Raksi replied from Tara's side. Both of them were also naked, or as good as. People didn't react the same way to her as to Tara; for Raksi to be unclothed was perfectly natural to them. The Raksi next to her walked on up the steps, bent over the Raksi lounging in her throne, and kissed her soundly. The two women flowed into one another and became a single Raksi. Tara winced; the sense of great age was the same, but this Raksi felt far more powerful. Her ability didn't work like Buffy's on the magical level at all.

"Ah," the single Raksi said, and smiled. "Come along, new blood. I'll teach you everything you need to know." She crooked a finger, and Tara felt herself stride up the stairs. She didn't feel controlled; she just wanted to please this woman, and her legs responded almost without her thought. "First things first. Tell me what you've learned so far. Clearly not the Eastern Mastery technique; you're covered in bug bites. Then we'll see what else you can learn from me, little sorceress, and what you can provide me in return."

Tara began rattling off descriptions of all the magic she knew. If she could make Raksi happy, who knew what she might learn? The woman was a genius, after all. And it wasn't as if Tara had anything at all to lose.