On the Other Side

by catseyegem

What happens when an innocent woman is dragged into a universe completely unlike her own? *Revised Chapter One now up!*

6. Progress

Part Six: Progress

Catherine narrowed her eyes at the other woman, stung. "Who're you?"

The robed heroine stood and took a step back, then offered her hand. "You can call me the Winter Mage."

Catherine sniffled and accepted the outstretched hand. "I... thanks for rescuing me."

"You're welcome," the heroine said as she moved to sit on a downed tree. As Catherine watched curiously she pulled a small device of some sort out of her robe and activated it. Catherine skittered back as it erupted in green light, but the heroine never flinched as she pointed it at her chest and ankle. "Don't worry. It doesn't hurt."

Catherine stared at the device suspiciously, then cautiously took it from the other woman. The silver cube fit neatly into the palm of her hand. A slot on one side held a cartridge half-full with clear fluid, and stamped into the bottom was 'Portacio Industries Cellular Regenerator'. On top there was a LCD display and a blue button. Not seeing anything else to activate the Regenerator, she pressed the button and nodded when it emitted the same green light.

She pointed it at the palm of her left hand first where she'd scraped it in her flight, just to see what would happen. It tingled some and to her amazement the scrapes on that hand vanished before her eyes. She took a deep breath, raised the Regenerator upwards, and then down again. "What would happen if I pointed this at my eyes? It's not going to blind me, is it?"

Winter Mage shook her head. "No. However, it won't affect injuries older than a few hours."

Catherine grimaced. "No problem there." She took one last look at the machine and handed it over to the heroine. No matter what she said it wasn't worth the risk, especially since her vision was slowly improving on its own.

Neither of them spoke for a moment, the silence broken only by the wind through the branches. No animals lived in that part of the woods; the magic that permeated the area kept them away.

"So, um, where exactly are we?"

"You don't know?"

Catherine shook her head. "No... I was on my way from work... and then I wasn't any more."

"We're in the Hollows, not far from the Skyway City entrance."

Catherine let out a breath. "I started in Atlas Park," she said, shaken. "How did you find me?"

"I felt the spike in energy. It wasn't hard to trace to this location." With that, Winter Mage stood. "I can escort you home, if you like."

"I'd appreciate that."

Winter Mage pointed to their left, towards the setting sun. "This way." She set off at a brisk pace in the direction she'd pointed out. It was only as Catherine went to follow her she noticed the empty robes of the defeated mystics and shuddered.

"Don't worry. The mystics of the Circle of Thorns may look human, but they're nothing more than ghosts."

"That doesn't make me feel any better."

For the next few minutes silence reigned once again. Catherine was so wrapped up in her own thoughts, trying to ignore the fact that if it weren't for some seriously good luck she'd be dead, that she almost ran into the back of a suddenly stationary Winter Mage. "You did well."

Catherine blinked and glanced at the heroine in confusion, but with the other woman's hood in the way it was impossible to see her expression. "What?"

"Not many people, even with abilities of their own, would do what you did."

Catherine shook her head. When she spoke, her voice was tight with emotion. "I... too many people have been hurt because of me already."

The Winter Mage nodded. "This isn't the first time?"

The brunette grimaced and looked away. " Let's just say the past few weeks have been more exciting than usual and leave it at that."

Winter Mage nodded again, compassion in her voice. "I'm sorry to hear that."

Catherine shook her head, wanting the conversation to be over. "It's just one of those things," she said shortly.

"Oh?"

Catherine glared. "I can handle myself. I don't need you or anyone else to protect me."

The Winter Mage turned and moved forward. "You did indeed. Having seen your powers in action, I would even say with training you may be more than a match for the Circle of Thorns."

Catherine snorted. "Right. Me, a heroine."

"It's not such a horrible thought."

"What, you're offering to train me?" she said in surprise.

"I am."

Catherine swore under her breath as she struggled with the pleated fabric laid out in front of her on a long, wide, wooden bench. Sensei showed her aikido class how to fold it at the beginning of every class for the newcomers that were always trickling in, but trying to do it on her own was turning out to be more difficult than it should have been. "Whoever invented this thing must've never folded it themselves," she muttered.

There was laughter from the other side of the room. Catherine knocked the black hakama to the ground in surprise. She swore again, and the laughter continued. "Whoever you are, it's not funny."

A tall woman in her twenties, with dyed red hair and blue eyes rounded the corner of a row of lockers. "Need help?"

Catherine sighed and leaned against another set of lockers. "Yeah." She bent to retrieve the recalcitrant garment. "This thing makes no sense."

The redhead smiled and nodded. "It takes practice, but it's not hard once you get the hang of it. Here." She took the pants and carefully flattened it out on the bench, then slowly folded it into its proper shape. "Like this." She paused mid-fold and looked up at the brunette. "I'm Rose."

"Catherine."

"I haven't seen you here before. You new?"

"Sort of. This is my third class."

Rose shrugged, and then put the last folds into the hakama. "We must've missed each other. I haven't been coming as often as I'd like." She stood up and cracked her back, then gestured towards the folded garment. "There you go."

Catherine smiled. "Thanks. I appreciate it."

"Hey, a few of us go to the coffee shop down the street after class. The 'Roast Bean', have you heard of it? You should join us."

Catherine pursed her lips. She had to meet the Winter Mage at the King's Row tram station in a little more than an hour for her first lesson. There wasn't any harm in meeting new people though… or so she hoped. With her luck, who knew what would happen. She shrugged mentally, and smiled outwardly. "Sure. I won't be able to stay long though."

"Not a problem. Grab your stuff and let's go!"

Catherine carefully tucked her hakama into her locker, pulled out a battered blue duffel bag, and slung it over her shoulder. Behind her, Rose stepped back around the corner or the locker room and reappeared with a red backpack.

"C'mon, slowpoke. Time's a-wasting.

Catherine laughed. "Ready when you are."

Once Rose dropped off her backpack in her car the two quickly walked the two blocks to the coffee shop, which was tucked in between a flower shop and an art gallery. The door jingled as the two women walked inside. Catherine looked around curiously as Rose waved enthusiastically to three men who were already in line.

It was comforting in its familiarness; apparently there were only so many ways you could set up a coffee shop in any universe. Which made sense. The floor and furniture were wood, and a chalkboard next to the door listed special offers. Behind the counter three baristas worked as quickly as they could to get orders in and out again.

"Hey Chris, I brought someone new!"

A tall man with short brown hair turned around, quickly followed by two other men, both shorter, one with his blond hair in a ponytail, the other was bald and slightly overweight. The three broke into smiles as the two women joined them in line.

The two people in front of them placed their orders as the group made their introductions. "The usual for all of you?" asked a short, stocky woman in a blue smock. The others nodded while Catherine added a medium black coffee to the order.

The group settled into their usual table tucked away into a corner. "I take it you guys come here often?" asked Catherine.

Jon nodded. "For about, what, four months now? Every day after class." He looked to Chris for confirmation.

"Yeah. First it was you and I, then Rose joined, then Martin. There have been others, but this is our core group."

Jon took a sip from his tea, then leaned back in his chair and ran a hand over his bald head. "So tell us about yourself."

Catherine shrugged. "Not much to tell, honestly. I've led a boring life."

"What brought you to aikido?" Chris asked.

Again a shrug. "Too many nutcases on the street. I might as well know how to defend myself."

"It's the same here. My job as a journalist doesn't put me in the best of areas."

"Oh really? What newspaper?"

"The Paragon Times."

"Sounds like fun. More glamorous than being a cashier, that's for sure."

Chris chuckled and shook his head. "You'd be surprised."

"If you say so," said Catherine dubiously. She glanced at the others. "So what do you all do?"

"Computer repair," said Martin.

"I'm a pharmacist," added Jon.

Catherine raised an eyebrow at Rose, who returned it with a smile. "Temporarily unemployed."

Catherine made a face. "That sucks."

Rose shrugged. "It happens." She shoved her chair backwards, empty cup in hand. "Who wants seconds?"

Martin crossed his arms and leaned on the table. "So, did you guys hear about Waxahachie Park yesterday? There was a forcefield around the area again. News said it was some sort of blue clockwork attacking the Carnival of Shadows."

Jon nodded. "I heard it was the Praetorians."

Catherine frowned in thought for a moment. "Didn't they kidnap Statesman once?"

This time Chris nodded. "A year and a half ago. I wrote an article about it, actually. Positron and the rest of the Freedom Phalanx rescued him from Tyrant, with the help of Maria Jenkins. Tyrant holds a grudge against our universe because of it."

"I just hope everyone came out okay," said Catherine.

"Who came out okay?" asked Rose, a coffee cup in both hands. Jon reached over to take his espresso as Martin responded.

"The people that got caught in Waxahachie Park yesterday."

"Rose frowned and set her coffee down on the table. "I thought it was just the Carnival of Shadows involved. The fewer of them, them better."

"There's always bystanders caught in the chaos," put in Catherine. She looked to Chris for support. "Did you hear anything?"

"There are always people confined to their homes, or that can't get out of the area in time. The city provides counselors for them, if anyone caught in the incident wants one."

Catherine drained the last of her coffee, then took a surreptitious glance at her watch, which Rose caught.

"Time to go already?"

"Yeah. I've got to meet my friends for bowling. I'll never hear the end of it if I'm late."

A few minutes later Catherine was on the street and heading towards the tram station near Atlas Plaza. She checked her watch once more, then picked up the pace against the flow of pedestrians heading the other way. If she wasn't careful, she was going to be late. She wasn't sure how that would go over with the Winter Mage, but it probably wouldn't be good.

Twenty minutes after that Catherine found herself at her destination- the street outside the Kings Row tram station. She pressed herself up against the wall of the rundown building and kept one hand tightly on her purse as she watched a steady stream of people heading too and from the station. Even with the floodlights from the street and parking lot it was still too dark for her tastes.

Now that she was actually in the middle of it, she had to wonder what had gotten into her. All she had really managed to do that day was make a Death Mage even more angry at her, and nearly gotten a random heroine whom she had never even met before killed in the process. And now she was going to do what? Learn from that same heroine she'd only met once and really had no reason to trust? Other than the fact that Winter Mage had saved her life as well. There was also the fact that as much as she didn't want to admit it, even to herself, the thought of having superpowers and being able to control them was amazing. And she'd be able to keep Noel and Liz and Rose and everyone else she'd met since her arrival out of it. There was no reason once she'd practiced some that she couldn't handle everything on her own. She wouldn't be a victim any more.

Suddenly there was a bright flash of white light from an alleyway not far from where she was standing. She and the middle aged couple nearby screamed almost simultaneously and ran, not wanting to find out what had caused it. Catherine though, only made it a few paces before skidding to a halt when the Winter Mage called out behind her.

Catherine turned and slumped against a light pole, clutching her chest. "What was that for? You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

Winter Mage's face was still hidden by the deep hood, but her voice and body language were clear enough. "I'm sorry. This is the fastest and safest way to reach my hideaway. Take my hand."

Catherine stayed put, looking suspicious. "How?"

"Teleportation. It's the safest way, I assure you."

"Uh-huh."

Winter Mage spread her arms. "I am unhurt."

Catherine sighed and walked over to take the heroine's hand. "Fine. Let's go."

As soon as she did so the world spun viciously in a blur of grey and blue, which faded into the white she was becoming more and more familiar with. She groaned and half-collapsed, half-sat on the ground and leaned against a leg of a nearby conveyor. Sheet white, she put her head between her knees and took deep breaths, waiting for the nausea to pass. As soon as she felt well enough she took a good look at her surroundings.

She was obviously in an abandoned warehouse of some sort, with long conveyor belts in lines on the floor and giant hooks hanging from the ceiling. Most of the windows, set high in the walls, were boarded over. Scattered between the hooks were lights but most were broken, leaving the interior dimly lit.

"There's no way I'm doing that again," she mumbled.

"I'm sorry?"

Catherine sighed and levered herself to her feet. "I said, there's no way I'm doing that again." She swayed for a second and steadied herself with a hand on the conveyor she had been leaning against. "Give me a second and I'll be okay."

Winter Mage nodded. "We will begin whenever you feel you are ready."

The other woman took a deep breath. "Ready as I'll ever be."

Winter Mage nodded again. "Let us begin then." She gestured to a battered wooden chair. "You can sit if you like." She herself didn't move. "First things first. I saw you control something resembling negative energy and fire when we fought the Circle of Thorns. Can you do anything else?"

Catherine shook her head. "Um... not that I know. I... I just get angry and it happens, honestly."

"Hmm... hold out your hand and create a fire there."

Catherine looked at the Winter Mage, then down at her hand, perplexed. After a second, she concentrated, trying to do as the heroine asked. In the back of her mind, there was once again laughter. She made a face, then looked back up at the heroine. "I can't do it."

The Winter Mage paused for a long moment, drumming her fingers on the conveyor belt. "The power you harness is inside of you, correct? You don't require an external focus?"

"I don't think so? It depends on what an external focus is."

"I can show you." The heroine pulled a small black bag from a pocket of her robe and carefully poured a blue gemstone into the palm of her hand. "This is an aquamarine. Using it as a focus, I can create water, like so." A small ball of water formed between the two of them. "Without it, I can do nothing." Without warning, she tossed the stone to Catherine, who managed to catch it before it hit the floor. She straightened up just in time to see the ball hit the floor with a splash, turning the immediate area to mud.

"Um, no, I don't need to do that."

The Winter Mage nodded. "Do you trust me?"

Catherine blinked, surprised at the sudden turn their conversation had taken, then looked at the Winter Mage suspiciously.

"What?"

"There is a way to find your inner focus, but you must trust me in order to find it. This form of meditation is not to be taken lightly by those who are unused to it. You may find yourself trapped, unable to find your way out again."

The suspicious look continued. "And this is the only way?"

"Without requesting outside help, yes."

Catherine sighed. The whole situation was getting weirder and weirder by the moment. She couldn't shake the feeling that any second now some game show host would come jumping out of the shadows along with his camera crew and declare everything an elaborate hoax. She would be furious, of course, but it would also be the sanest thing that had happened in the past few minutes.

Could she trust the Winter Mage? Was there really only one way to find out how to harness her own magic? She knew the entity in her head had something to do with it, but what had caused it? She'd heard of a woman named Azuria, who was the contact for all new heroes who used magic, but there was no guarantee there either. And she didn't have a hero license. Or intend on getting one, either. She only wanted to be able to protect herself without getting anyone else involved. Which left only one way to go about things.

"OK, let's do it."

To her surprise, the first thing the Winter Mage did was push her hood down, exposing her face. Even as she focused on it though, she realized that there was something wrong with what she was seeing. Every time she blinked, the other woman's face was a little different. One moment her eyes were blue, then grey, then brown; her whole face changed slightly. It was more than a little disconcerting. For some reason it was also a little familiar, although she couldn't place why.

Winter Mage pulled another wooden chair from where it had been leaning against a wall set it up a few feet in front of Catherine. "Close your eyes and relax." She did so, feeling faintly foolish. There was the sound of something rustling, then the sound of metal brushing against metal. Then: "Take a deep breath in, and hold it. Now release it and exhale. Let all of your worries leave with that breath…"

As the Winter Mage continued to talk slowly and steadily Catherine felt herself become lighter and lighter until she could no longer feel her body sitting in her chair, or even her body at all. In the end there was nothing but her own awareness, suspended in time and space.

She pictured a door in her mind, not a particularly ornate one, but one painted the deep red of the door to her parent's house, and a decorative metal fleur de lis set below two wooden-framed windows. The door frame was painted a similar red. She moved towards it, curious.

As she approached it opened on its own, revealing a shimmering stretch of sand as far as the eye could see underneath a starry sky. Nothing moved. She stepped forward into the desert and abruptly found herself back in her own body. She swayed and stumbled forward a pace, catching her balance before she could hit the ground. She was still wearing the same clothes as she was in the real world- khaki pants and a light blue collared shirt, her usual work clothes.

There was a click behind her and she whirled around to find the door shut. To her horror, she could no longer hear Winter Mage's voice, either. She was on her own. A long moment later she took a pace forward, then looked over her shoulder to find the door thankfully still there. Facing forward once more she slowly made her way into the desert.

After a few minutes two lights appeared in the distance. As she got closer she could see that they were markers of a sort, each pillar about four feet tall and flanking a third. Two balls of fire sat in a shallow indentation in the stone, somehow burning without fuel. The central pillar was unremarkable; it was the same color as the sand that surrounded it, and was weathered badly. There was no writing or other markings.

Catherine stood in front of them silently, thinking. It was some sort of test, obviously. But what was it a test of?

The sound of laughter rang in her ears as a figure coalesced out of the haze on the other side of the marker. It was humanoid and male, with brown skin and the faintest hint of horns and a muzzle. Two wings sprouted from his back, fire tracing the edges.

Catherine stepped back involuntarily. "Who are you?"

"Why, I'm part of you," he said.

"I think I'd know if you were."

The man laughed. "Who truly knows themselves?."

Catherine rolled her eyes. "I do, that's who. So what are you?"

"I am what I am, a demon of once immense power."

Catherine glared at him, deep in thought, then: "Why do you sound familiar?"

The demon merely smiled, revealing a mouth full of very sharp teeth.

"Faculus. You're what he was trying to summon. You've been in my head."

"You are correct. You are also running out of time."

"What do you mean, 'running out of time?'"

The demon said nothing.

Catherine swore under her breath again. If the demon really was part of her, then it could at least be more useful. She sighed and looked at the balls of flame again. They still burned merrily in their little depressions. The demon continued to smile as she turned her attention to the central pillar. Now that she looked at it again, there was a shallow depression in the top of this one, matching the depression in the others.

She reached out with her right hand towards the ball of flame on the right. Nothing happened, even as she put her hand directly into the fire. She waved her hand through it, but neither affected the other. The demon continued to watch her silently. Although it was hard to tell, she could swear he was smirking at her.

She put her hand down at her side, then stared at the demon in thought. There was something different about it from a few minutes before. It looked more solid somehow, more real. Now there was a worrying thought. An even more worrying thought was that she herself felt... different, not right. With a sinking feeling, she looked down at herself. Sure enough, her body had a slightly fuzzy look to it. That was one mystery solved, at least, even if the answer was something she could do without knowing.

So. What was the answer to the full picture? The demon had a part in it, and so did the pillars in front of her, but what did it add up to?

Eventually, she said, "You've always been there when I've used magic. In fact, you are my magic. Meaning that since you're outside of me, I can't use that magic right now. So that means you need to become a part of me again before I can leave. If I don't… then I'm stuck here, forever. But you aren't, are you? There's enough magic in you to use my body- you did it that day against the Hellions. And you're malicious enough to not care who you hurt. Which means…"

Catherine leaned over the pillar and put her right hand on the demon's chest. Waves of darkness spread outward from that point, engulfing the demon and spreading up her arm into her own chest. The demon dissolved into nothingness, his essence now a part of the young woman. As the last of his power drained into Catherine she shut her eyes, then opened them again, and laughed at what she saw: the warehouse.