Author Note:….This may be a little short but I have a few characters to torture - er -review….don't be afraid…I'm only….saving the best for last (pun)

Chapter 16 – Saving the Best for Last

T7S

Tatiana was nearly exhausted. Why did Temperance have to be arachnophobic? It was really fatiguing to conjure images of spider people. The paranoid boy was simple and candy man was so easy she could confuse him in her sleep but spiders? The Chariot would get over his artificial beauty crisis and all that was left was the Star. She was so alone and the gypsy knew that the brunette's fears were the worst kind of all.

She would be gentle considering all the curses the young girl had already been through. The King had woken briefly so Tatiana handed him another cracker, he smiled and plopped it in his mouth.

-o-

Jackie was brushing her hair in front of her vanity mirror with the 75 watt globe bulbs shining brightly around her. Any imperfections would be magnified and make up….what was she thinking….there was no imperfections! An Andy Gibb song was playing on the radio and she sang softly as the flat bristled brush

I just want to be your ev'rything

Open up the heaven in your heart and let me be

The things you are to me and not some puppet on a string

The lights in her bedroom seemed to begin dimming and as she looked around the rest of the room was in complete and utter blackness. The globe orbs shined brighter and Jackie looked into the silver glass to see her mother in a strapless gold cocktail dress. She slipped an arm through the bent elbow of her escort of the day. With a quick glance over her shoulder, Pam said, "Who? Jacqueline? Oh, she'll be fine, I leave her alone all the time." Pam Burkhart's fingers waved a tiny goodbye in her daughter's general direction before she threw her head back and laughed.

Jackie touched the mirror. "Mom?" Her mother was leaving again?

The scene in the bedroom mirror changed to the gymnasium at Point Place High School. There was a pep rally and Jackie could see Donna and Eric in the bleachers while Steven was leaning against the fire door. Fez was sitting near the cheerleaders but where was Michael?

Jackie gasped as the scene in the mirror changed to the back of the bleachers where Michael had Pam Macy bent over a saw horse. He smirked at Jackie in the mirror while grunting, "Oh. Pam….I think I love you."

"Oh Michael," Jackie could still feel the pain of her first heartbreak all over again.

The silvery sheen of the vanity mirror wavered and she saw the back of her father's dress suit. His hands were cuffed behind him and as he looked at the police officer who was escorting him to the squad card, Jackie heard him say, "Tell my daughter it's gone. It's all gone."

She had lost Daddy too. It wasn't just the money or house that was gone. Jackie no longer had any parents. Swallowing hard, Jackie waited wile the stupid silver mirror warped from horrible one vision after another:

Maria, crying, was being picked up by the Immigration Authorities after the Burkhart house went into foreclosure.

Samantha Hyde bursting into the Forman basement announcing the Las Vegas marriage and Steven did nothing.

Jackie moving in with Donna and lost her best friend to a blonde bimbo.

Another scene was Fez packing all of her belongings into boxes and left her homeless. She felt crushed. She felt tears welling in her eyes at all the remembered heartaches but in the end, the worst part had to be realized.

She was alone.

She's still alone.

Tatiana's face hovered from the other side of the mirror. "Jackie." A soft whisper called to her. The young girl looked up. "You're the fortune teller."

"Yes. I want you to know that I understand loneliness. This is your greatest fear. I want you to know that I appreciate wanting someone to love you. I feel your fears and I'm not going to make you suffer through them but hear me as I say this. All of these heartaches will help you find that one true love. That one man who has never broke your heart. He may not even have known the truest of love himself….until he meets you."

Jackie smiled a wavering smile. "Really?"

Tatiana nodded. "You will be his soul mate. He's within your reach."

Jackie pressed her palm against the glass mirror and Tatiana's hand matched hers on the reverse side. The glass was warm and Jackie could feel a tingling in her body. Something in her life was finally going to be all right.

"Thank you."

-o-

Leo sat up and wiped the back of his mouth with his hand. "Wow that was pretty potent Toots."

Tatiana smiled. "Would you like some more?"

Leo looked at his friends all curled up and in a relaxed sleep. "What are they dreaming about?"

Tatiana was turning over the deck of Arcana cards. "They are visiting their regrets King Leo. There as some dark souls there and I can only hope they will be undone."

Leo stood up and stretched. "I like what you've done in here. Very….classic. Is this my old trailer?"

She smiled, "Of course. I had some things repaired but she is very sturdy and has had many miles put on her wheels."

Leo grinned. "Do me a favor?"

She smiled, "Anything."

"Just call me Leo. All this kingly stuff makes me uncomfortable." He flicked some lint from his sleeve.

"Okay…L-Leo." Tatiana had a little difficulty saying his name so casually. "But you are the king."

A warm hand covered hers. "Shall we move on to the next part of the journey?"

Tatiana nodded. "More tea and crackers my ki….Leo?"

He smeared a large dollop of peyote butter on a cracker and laughed, "Let the adventures begin."

T7S

The room was dark and smelled like old books and dust. Eric opened his eyes to find he was in his old sixth period classroom - Mr. Stanton's Biology class and the chalkboard still held his last puzzle. At the beginning of each class, there was a rebus word puzzle picture on the chalkboard and the teacher wouldn't take roll until someone solved the riddle.

One of his last riddles still remained:

Man

CCCCC

The lights flickered on and Eric was glad to find that his growing appendages were just a bad dream….or a bad trip. He looked around to see Kelso with his head down on his folded arms. He leaned across the aisle and frogged the Kettlehead in the arm, "Dude! Why are you in Stanton's class? You flunked his last semester!"

Kelso looked up and saw Fez putting his hands in his mouth. "Fez! What are you doing?"

Fez looked guilty and put his hands in his pockets, "Nothing. What are YOU doing?"

Kelso laughed, "Hey, how does my face look?"

Sitting in front of Eric, Hyde leaned back from his arm table desk chair, "Just as ugly as usual."

Kelso felt his cheeks and was glad to find skin and not bandages. "I'm back!" he said excitedly. "I'm not Ralph Malph anymore!"

"Yeah, and your no Fonzie either. Sit down and shut up. I think something's going on. Where's Jackie, wasn't she in this class?"

Eric shrugged and couldn't find the brunette anywhere. "Well, she was a year behind us so…no."

The overhead lights flickered slightly and the boys could hear the sound of the old school film projector click click clicking. Kelso whispered, "Cool….I always liked class when we had a movie day."

Fez hissed, "Well it better be a movie about some naked candy lady or I'm gonna be pissed."

Eric added, "…and it better not be about any freaking spider people either!"

-o-

Jackie was standing in the back of the classroom in her Point Place cheer-leading uniform. What was this about? She looked up to see Leo dressed in the iconic three piece white flared disco suit that John Travolta wore in Saturday Night Fever. With the exception of the scraggly beard, Leo looked stunning! He grinned for Jackie and bowed to Tatiana and did a little twirl on the tiled floor. "Do I look cool?"

Tatiana grinned and clapped her hands. "You are very handsome."

Jackie noticed that the fortune teller's dress had changed and she was wearing a modern shirt dress and killer laced up boots. Where did she do her shopping! Turquoise earrings swung from her lobes and a silver hooped belt adorned her dress.

"Um, why are we here?"

Leo shrugged. "I think we're going to watch a movie. Hey Toots, can they hear us?"

Jackie notice that all the basement guys were sitting in chairs just in front of a film projector. She saw the riddle on the board, "I finally know the answer to that old puzzle!" she exclaimed excitedly.

Tatiana picked up a piece of chalk and rolled it between her fingers. "No, they can't hear us yet. This is a show about regret. All of them have seen their fears and faced them. Now I need them to understand what they fear and grow from it."

She pointed to the chairs beside the teacher's desk. "Have a seat my lovelies and we'll get started on regrets."

Jackie frowned, "Is Steven going to be sorry for hooking up with that stripper?"

Tatiana shrugged, "I can't answer that – only his soul will tell us what he regrets. Come my little Star and be seated."

T7S

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