A/N: I realize I am bad at deciding where to cut up chapters. Oh well. Enjoy.
break
Kim helped her with some of the details and watched her get geared up and leave. She began rifling through her stack and grouped several letters up and dove in. First to her family, and another to Monique. Joss had written her one also. She was just finishing up when Bonnie stomped her boots clear at the door. Kim stared at her. Wondering why she didn't have any.
Bonnie looked up at her after hanging up her coat. "What?"
Kim shook herself. "Nothing." She was kind of concerned, but she didn't want to step on Bonnie's toes. "Still a little stoned is all."
Bonnie nodded. "Yeah, body buzz is the best buzz." She smiled.
Kim grinned back. "How caught up are you in the calc prep?"
Bonnie picked up her duffel. "Not." Is all she said as she passed Kim to shower.
"We'll start there then." She said loudly to Bonnie's back.
"Has anyone ever told you, you can be a slave driving twat sometimes?"
Kim smiled. "Nope, that's a new one." She shouted. Kim heard the door shut and she grinned. Kim cleaned the table and set up her schoolwork on half. She eyed up the cupboard and after some searching found snacks. "Fresh coffee, snacks…" She cracked her knuckles. "Let's get to it."
It was nightfall before Kim finally let up and called it quits. "Now only slightly behind." Kim stated.
"Speak for yourself wunderkind." Bonnie tapped the pencil off her notepad. She yawned. "You really are some kind of masochist." She wedged the pad in the book and closed it. "Days off are supposed to be days off, not work your ass off doing homework."
Kim continued cleaning up her work. "How do you think I got my grades in high school?"
Bonnie sneered at her. "Well the rumor mill may have suggested a bit of student teacher action."
Kim jerked her head back shocked. "Me?!" Bonnie grinned at her. Kim just shook her head. "Wonder who started that rumor?" She pointed a pencil at Bonnie.
Bonnie bobbed her head side to side with a pained smile. "Would you believe it was a different Bonnie?"
Kim just pursed her lips. She got up and opened the fridge. Finding what she needed she set a can of generic soda on the counter. "Drink it." Bonnie gave her a quizzical look. "Synth drones fizzle when hit with carbonated soda."
Bonnie opened the can and took a long drag from it. "I'm sorry." She said softly.
Kim shrugged. "Water under the mystical magical whodo of whatever the hell we got ourselves in." Kim rounded the island and made her way to the fireplace and stoked up the fire.
Kim heard Bonnie click on the TV and start flipping through channels. She finally settled on cartoons as Kim settled down on the other side of the couch. Bonnie shook the baggie of groovy bears with a suggestive smile. Kim smiled and shook her head. "Thatta girl." Bonnie took one and made to toss it. Kim opened her mouth dutifully.
Bonnie expertly tossed it and Kim caught it. Grape. Not her jam, but still good. "This, this is what college is supposed to be like."
"Getting high watching TV?" Bonnie asked.
Kim settled into the couch. "No, studying your ass of, then getting high watching TV. Then getting up and doing it all, over, again." She drew out the last words menacingly.
Bonnie groaned. "You're serious aren't you?" Kim nodded. "Awesome. Just awesome."
Kim settled back into the couch already entertained by the colorful characters. It wasn't long, or it didn't feel that long before she heard Bonnie snoring. Kim sighed and looked over at her sitting uncomfortably, head contorted back, mouth open. Kim smiled and shook her head as she got up. She maneuvered Bonnie so she was laying down and the snoring stopped as she once again buried her face in the couch.
Kim looked down at her as she pulled out the stone. Kim turned her gaze to the stone as she turned it over in her hand. Kim sat down with her back to the coffee table so she faced the fire and she stared into it and began to let her mind wander.
break
Bonnie jerked awake and looked around. This time she was pretty sure she hadn't screamed herself awake. Kim wasn't on the couch and not in the kitchen this time. She was sitting staring into the fire. "Mornin'" She said.
Kim turned to her, eyes tired. "Mornin'" She responded.
"Did you sleep at all?" Bonnie asked her as she ran fingers through her hair.
Kim smiled. "I was up thinking." She yawned. "I think I napped a couple of times." Kim turned and set the token on the coffee table and she stretched. "Just trying to work some things out." She said when she had finished the stretch. Kim scooted back to rest her back on the stone hearth.
"What things?" Bonnie asked. She pulled a half full mug of cold cocoa from the table and drank.
"Hey boss?" Kim asked. Bonnie felt the Mistress fog roll in. Before the god or goddess could greet them as they normally did, Kim spoke. "I wanna see how you weigh in on my stoner thoughts."
Bonnie smiled as the Mistress responded. 'Very well, little one.' Bonnie's smile faded as she watched Kim scowl at the response.
Kim nodded. "So up until now we've been calling you a god. An honest to goodness omniscient, omnipotent god, but that's wrong isn't it. At least now its wrong. Maybe you were that way, before the breaking or whatever we're calling it."
'This is tr' The mistress started to speak, but Kim interrupted it.
"I'm not finished yet." And Kim's voice was cold. Zero to anger in no time. Bonnie leaned back, away. "And suddenly after the event, you went from omniscient to suddenly knowing another universe existed outside of yours, outside of self. And it was full of things you didn't know. I can grasp suddenly feeling another god take a ripple, an intelligent being, and the rules of the new game get understood. It's not like you were given instructions on how to play it, play with us. I assume it was, is, a guess at how it's going to go and how to win it. Point is you have no, fucking clue what any of these other gods wants or doesn't want to do with my universe." Kim's gaze turned to Bonnie. "And you fucking lied to us. Lied to me about my world burning.
Bonnie exhaled slowly, carefully. Kim the hero agreed to kill for a god because it lied to her. Not, good. Bonnie waited for the response, it had better be carefully worded. All this rolled through her mind. "Fuck." Bonnie said quietly.
'You are correct about me, little one.' Wrong thing to say.
"My name is Kim." Kim responded coldly.
'Kim, but you are incorrect about me lying to you.'
"Have you spoken to any of the other gods?"
'I have not, Kim.'
Kim smiled. "Than please explain how I am wrong."
'If I do not want to change your universe, than it stands to reason that others may.' Kim smiled more broadly and she shook her head. 'So in a sense, neither of us is wrong.'
Kim took a deep breath and released it. "Hear me now, and this is not a bluff or a half truth. Lie to either one of us again and I will find a way to destroy a god." It was cold and sent a shiver down Bonnie's spine.
The smoke raged through her head. 'Excuse me! Mortal. Kill me?! All I need to is wait for that putrid flesh of yours to decay away to nothing!'
And Kim stared at the stone, calm. Bonnie was afraid to breath. She watched as Kim stared down a god. And several heartbeats later the god blinked. The smoke shifted and Kim smiled. "You had to convince us we needed to fight on your side. I understand why you lied. However, if there's anything else you've been untruthful about, you need to correct it sooner, rather than later. Because that wasn't an idle threat."
Bonnie let out a breath she didn't know she was holding as the Mistress responded. 'No.' Kim waited. 'Not that I know of. Kim.'
"Thank you." Kim nodded. "I understand that we may have to lie to the world, to the other acolytes to maybe get them to give up, if that's possible. Hell I'm lying to my parents about all this, but we can't afford to have lies between us. The three of us. We can't have any kind of mistrust here or its all fucked." Bonnie nodded to Kim and she could feel the smoke shift. "When we collect the tokens, you're hoping you'll be whole again? Aren't you?"
'You cannot fathom what it's like for all you know and are to be shattered.'
Kim stood and sat down on the couch beside Bonnie. "No, I can't." Kim put a hand on Bonnie's knee and squeezed reassuringly.
'Kim, Bonnie. Farewell.' And the smoke dissipated.
Bonnie turned to Kim. "That mother fucker really needs to mix the batch better, because I have a body buzz." Bonnie poked Kim's shoulder. "You apparently got the 'back a god into a corner and make it squeal' level of thc."
Kim laughed as she stood. "It didn't bother you? All the 'I believe' and 'I think', all the uncertainty?" Kim walked backward toward the kitchen area.
"You really REALLY don't like people lying to you."
Kim poured a cup of coffee. "I don't have a problem with being lied to. I thought santa was real until I was ten. No what bothered me was getting lied to, to get me into this shitshow. Seriously, if she had said exactly what she just told us, that she had no idea what the other gods wanted, it would've been fine. It's the truth."
Bonnie settled the almost empty mug of cocoa down as she sat. "Would you have agreed?"
Kim took a deep breath and let it out. "Truth is, I don't know. I wasn't given the chance."
Bonnie shrugged. "Full on devil's advocate here, you wouldn't have." Kim grimaced. "You're too much of a goody, goody." Bonnie sighed. "So now the other question, how many of these other acolytes are gonna just be mixed up people, lied to by a voice in their head?" Kim groaned as she sat with her coffee. Bonnie regretted it. "That doesn't make it easier does it?"
"Not even a little bit." Kim took a sip of the old coffee. "I mean we're committed here. We can't un-know what's going on."
Bonnie shrugged again. "Are we? Committed, that is." Bonnie asked. "We could bail?" Kim looked at her almost hurt. "It's an option. Go find a deserted island and just wait it out." She poked a thumb over her shoulder at the token on the table. "They need all of them, we have one."
Kim pursed her lips and made a fart noise. "And when one of the others gets all but one, gets mad and nukes the island?"
"Gotta find it first." Bonnie stated.
"No, its probably going be a case of magical radar or something where eventually there will be a critical mass of acolytes and we'll be able to smell each other." Kim stated. "I say learn some magic and another language in an unknown universe." Kim sighed. "I am walking and your mom is breathing, right?"
"Yeah." Bonnie smiled and nodded, then yawned. "Awful lot of deep thinking on an empty stomach." She pointed at Kim. "And zero sleep for half of us."
"I dozed some."
Bonnie chuckled. "Awful hard to sleep when you have a full mad on."
Kim shook her head. "How, how am I going to follow through if she, it, does lie?"
Bonnie went to the refrigerator and pulled out the carton of eggs and some other breakfast stuff. "No idea, but thats one bridge we'll have to burn when we get to it. But first, I'm hungry as balls." Bonnie slapped some butter in a pan on the stove. "How do you want your eggs?"
Kim poured some cold coffee and put the mug in the microwave. She shrugged. "Cooked?"
Bonnie clicked on the stove. "Helpful." She shook her head as she waited for the butter to melt.
Toast with a couple slices of cheese and two eggs on top. She settled the two portions on the countertop with forks. "Dig in." Bonnie took a mouthful and savored.
Kim looked at it quizzically. "I have never, in my life, combined those in that combination before." She took the fork and tried it, yolk spilling over the toast.
"You're not one of those weirdos that can't have their food touching are you?" Kim shook her head at the question. "Stoner classic this is. Salty, savory, fatty all in one."
"I really like it." Kim stated. Bonnie bowed her head in thanks. "You know what else I like?" Bonnie shook her head. Kim put a mock happy face on as she pulled a school book up above the level of the counter. "Derivations!"
Bonnie extended her middle finger with a similar joyous face. "Go fuck yourself!" She dropped it and pulled the book over and opened it. "Slave Driving twat."
Kim went to her bag and pulled out her own study material before sitting back down to study and eat. "Why thank you!" Kim smirked at her.
All Bonnie could do was to shake her head and start working. It wasn't long and she watched Kim start headbanging as she began nodding off. Bonnie sighed. "K, take a nap." Kim began to protest. "Listen, ass out for a few hours, I promise I'll wake you up for lunch. Christ I have to catch up somehow." Kim took a deep breath as if to protest then nodded.
She made her way to the couch and stretched out on it. Bonnie wondered why they didn't use the bedrooms. Maybe they had gotten used to the common room they shared in the school. Bonnie got up and put another log on the fire. Before she finished she heard Kim's breathing slow as she fell asleep. Bonnie looked at her there. And she saw the token. "Threatening a god is tiring work." She said quietly.
Bonnie picked up the stone and took it with her to her work. She spun it with a finger as she sat. "Hey boss?" Again quietly. As she felt the fog in her head she spoke. "Quiet, Kim's sleeping."
'Yes, Bonnie.' It was quiet, and somehow she knew it was only to her.
"Don't… Don't test Kim's threat. Please?"
'I don't intend on doing so, little one.'
Bonnie grimaced as she looked at Kim. "If you do though… I'm behind Kim on this one. I want you to know that."
'She is your friend.'
Bonnie shook her head. "Well, yeah. That's a new thing. But not because of that." She paused. "I want to be on the winning side on this, and if Kim is on a side, it's going to be the winning one." Bonnie could feel the confusion in the fog. "Kim has been put into some really, really impossible situations and every single time she has come out on top. Even when it looked like she was done for she managed to pull success out of her ass. And if it's god versus Kim, I put my money on Kim."
'Than perhaps it is good I chose her.'
Bonnie scoffed. "You didn't choose shit, you got lucky. Very, very fucking lucky."
The mistress was quiet for a while. 'Yes, I was lucky.' More pause. 'Will she fight, though.'
Bonnie stared at Kim for a few seconds. "She is going to try and do it without killing any of them if she can. If she can't…"
'If she can't she has you.'
Bonnie nodded. "She has me." Bonnie agreed.
Bonnie sighed again. The mistress cut into her musing. 'You have studies to attend to.'
Bonnie scowled at the stone. "Really? Both of you?" Bonnie felt the mistress leave her mind. "Hoping to take a fucking nap too, but nooo. Got princess do gooder supreme and The fucking Mistress of Death on my goddamned back." She opened up the book again and began working.
break
Shego played the rope between her fingers as Ron set up his grapple. "One more time, Stoppable. You've got this. Almost had it last time." She watched him set up, brackish water still dripping from the oh shit pool. She went to the ledge and looked down the ten story training tower that the Middleton Fire Department had let them use. Below was a pool of water that was deep enough so if a student fell in they wouldn't die. Well not from the fall. It stank to high heaven. They had offered to flush it. She turned to Ron who was grimacing from the stank. She had refused for entertainment purposes.
Ron yanked making sure his rope was secure. "I mean really, they couldn't have flushed the pool at all?" All Shego did was grin and Ron looked at her hurt. "They offered didn't they?" Shego nodded. "You evil bitch."
Shego did a mock curtsey. "Time starts now." She grinned and went over the edge, expertly repelling down to the mock window six floors below. Wrench to open the ancient window lock. The mark had new security on the ground floor. None above the fiftieth. Inside she unclipped letting her rope free. Now Ron had thirty seconds to get in and pull up the ropes and bag them for the base jump, while she had a minute to get to the lockup, get the device, and back to the window. She saw Ron's rope dangle then he followed shortly after. He kind of slid inside. Not graceful, but much drier. He tagged the remote detonator and while the ropes were falling he quickly trundled them up until he had a big ball of rope and he bagged it and clipped the bag to his chest.
"26 seconds. Good to go." It was significantly better than the last one.
"So we'll be aiming for a heli pad a block over?"
Shego patted his shoulder. "Yep."
He looked down at the bag. "And why the bagging of the rope?"
Shego nodded to the stairs. "Time. I'm pretty sure where and how. Dangling ropes really shorten the figure it out time. With the patrols as they are we'll have five to ten minutes."
"If they look out and see ropes they'll come up and see." Ron finished.
"And you're the pack mule, you'll have my chute."
Ron shook his head. "I really gotta get in on the planning of these."
Shego chuckled. "I have literally all the time to plan them. When exactly would you do that?" School and working took all of his spare time.
"Sunday." Ron stated.
Shego just chuckled as she descended down the concrete stairs. She clicked off the hovercraft's camouflage. True to his word the General had delivered it back on time. The inside was warm as opposed to the chilly air outside. She slung her gear in a webbing. Ron did as well and slumped into one of the fold down seats. He looked up at her. "I'll stink up the co-pilot seat if I sit in it."
Shego nodded. "Yes, yes you would." She made her way to the cockpit. "How much repelling did you do with the princess?"
She spun up the engines and lifted off. "Do pantsless plummets count? If so like ten."
She laughed. "Well you did keep your pants on today. Good for you."
"Hooray" She heard quietly from behind her.
She set course for her place and let the autopilot gain altitude and maintain course. From behind her she heard Ron complaining. "What was in that water? I mean it's so many bad bad smells."
"Lot better than concrete." She turned to speak to him.
Ron grimaced at her. "Yeah, but I mean not by much." Rufus awoken by the takeoff started toward Ron from his hidey hole in the back. "Hey buddy?" Rufus stopped short then backed away slowly. "Yeah, I understand."
Rufus gave Ron a wide berth and scampered up into the copilot seat. Shego lightly patted him. "Misjudged the repel and dumped it." She explained to the hairless thing. It looked up at her horrified. "Oh chill out. Gear has a stop knot, and he's got a chute." That seemed to settle it down. "I mean he's got to open it, like immediately for it to do any good, but it's there at least."
Rufus crossed his arms and harrumphed. Shego shrugged. She returned her focus to the flight for the descent. She wasn't too far out of Middleton. Nice place. Bought to be near the wunderkind and the buffoon for easy access. Couple of weeks on construction and it was hers. A Lair all her own. She settled the hovercraft down on the pad and killed the engines.
Ron hopped out. Shego offered a hand to Rufus who climbed aboard and she too made her way out. "So Sunday night?" Ron asked.
Shego adjusted her pack. "Yeah, you got stuff to do tomorrow, right?"
"Saturday, Temple." He replied.
"And security does a sweep on saturday night, so sunday it is." She watched him settle the gear on her porch and she watched at him look at his backpack next to the door. He was trying to figure out how miserable his ride home was going to be. Shego sighed and looked at Rufus on her shoulder who looked at her angrily. "Yeah, okay. Ron I don't need you getting Jungle Rot or something, you can use my shower." She watched his face brighten.
She turned to Rufus. "Happy?" It nodded. "Just strip the stank off before you come in. Down the hall on the left and it's the last left." Shego opened the door.
"Thanks! Seriously, thank you!" Ron said to her back.
She let the door close. She stripped off the jacket and grabbed a soda from the fridge before settling down in the living room pit. She kicked off her boots and rested her feet on the coffee table. Rufus scampered down and across her leg bridge to the table. "See, I can be generous." Rufus glared at her. "Baby steps." Rufus shook his head.
Shego heard the door open and turned her head to look. It was like a train wreck, she just couldn't look away. Ron, buck naked, backpack slung over a shoulder, just walking through her place. "What the fuck?"
He stopped. She didn't want him to stop. "What? You told me to strip. What did you expect?"
Touche. "Just, just keep walking. Do you have no shame?"
Ron started walking again and she was greeted by his pasty white ass. "Nope, never have, never will."
Shego returned her gaze to Rufus and shuddered. "I was not prepared for today." Rufus just laughed at her. "Shove it, flammable." Rufus threw the remote for her TV at her. She caught it and growled. Shaking her head she clicked on the television. News greeted her.
It was going to be cold, but no storms were predicted for Upperton on sunday, so good. "Can I have a soda?" Ron asked.
"Sure." She said absently. Soon he sat down on the other couch. She looked at him and shuddered in memory.
He opened the soda as Rufus clambered over to his lap. "Squeeky clean, little buddy." Ron scratched his head.
She shook her head. "Do I really have to be that specific with you?"
Ron just grinned. "No." He leaned back. "See, I can understand the ocasional joke at my expense. That's fine. I get it. Don't forget who was a super villain for a day and was good at it." He leaned forward. "They make more soap every day." He took a sip of soda. "They don't make brain bleach." He kicked his feet up on the coffee table. "So next time you want to up the ante evil wise, you'll always remember my unkempt bush and the boys. Just floppin about."
"You... evil... bastard." He was right. Trying to not think about it, made it worse.
"Thank you, for reals, for the shower. That would have been one heck of a ride home." He paused for a few moments. "When do we start, Sunday?"
It took her several moments to decide not to fry him. "Nine." She growled it out. She took a deep breath. "On the roof by ten thirty. So should be all wrapped up by midnight."
"I can do six hours before school." He looked at her over the soda. "So if you're going to torch me, can I ask for, like, a ten second head start, please."
Shego closed her eyes tight. "No, not today." She opened her eyes.
He was looking at her warily. "No as in no torching, or no as in no head start."
"I'm not going to lite you on fire. Well played Stoppable, well played." He let out a breath and stood, making his way toward the door. "I'll remember this, Stoppable."
Ron got his shoes on and jacket readying for the ride home. He turned hand on the door. "I know, that was the point."
The grin on his dumb face is what was the clincher. Shego ignited one of her hands. "Ten." She didn't even make it to nine before he disappeared out the door with a laugh. She quenched the fire and growled. "I'm going to kill him someday."
break
Kim settled her duffel on her bed. Bonnie had been correct. Time to decompress, set things straight with their patron god, and giggle like an idiot a few times. It was just what she had needed. And now back to this. She looked at Bonnie who gave her a sad smile back. Like she was feeling the same thing.
"Acolytes." It was Dr. Brus.
Kim turned and sat on the bed. "Dr." She replied.
"Did you enjoy your vacation?" He asked and leaned on the doorframe.
Kim nodded. "Very much, thank you."
"Kim and I have wildly different definitions of 'vacation'." Bonnie added.
Kim pulled out several school books and placed them on the nightstand. "Did some catching up." Dr. Brus chuckled. "Did some talking with the Mistress, too."
He visibly perked up at that. "And?"
Kim sat back down and folded her hands. "She was pretty certain that we weren't on the same page." A frown. "No fault of yours. Just the limitations of communication. See, we're not physically going anywhere."
Dr. Brus entered the room and sat down in the chair at the desk. "Okay. Let's… Let's toss what the current plan is then, lass. Set us straight."
"So what she is gonna do is swap our minds with two… voluntolds on the other side." Bonnie explained.
Dr. Brus looked confused. "It is possible." Kim stated. "You know Dr. Drakken, right?" He nodded. "So he had a machine that could do it, so it's not impossible. The Mistress is just going to do it across the veil."
"So we'll be caretakers for them here. In your bodies. Do I have that right?" Kim nodded. "Rather boring."
Kim smiled. "Maybe?" She sighed. "She says the biology is similar enough, but She wasn't very specific."
"How can She. Six arms is similar, technically. And She was trying to teach one to be our translator and that one was supposed to teach these two." Bonnie finished.
"So language will be a problem." Dr. Brus rubbed his chin in thought. "In a body they don't understand, fully." He leaned back and slapped his hands on his thighs. "Well, guess no goat for dinner. Had a whole blood ritual planned and everything." Kim could feel the disgust on her face. "Relax, lass. Just joking."
"Any questions?" Kim asked.
Dr. Brus shook his head. "We'll figure it out. Don't you worry, we'll keep them from harm. When will you swap out?"
Kim looked over at Bonnie who just nodded back. "Right now, if that's alright."
Dr. Brus stood and crossed first to Bonnie and extended his hand. "Right into the thick of it." Bonnie shook his hand. He came to Kim. "How long?"
Kim shook his hand as well. "We're thinking nine months to a year." He nodded. Kim pulled out the token and handed it over to Dr. Brus. "Keep it safe."
He reverently took it and after staring at it for several seconds put it into his breast pocket. "Be sure of that."
"Hey, Boss." Kim nodded at Dr. Brus. Kim felt the fog rise. "Ready, whenever they are."
It was a strange feeling, popping into another set of senses. Into a completely new environment that assaulted those senses. The external senses, and the internal ones. Movement, she thought it was movement. Nausea. Pretty sure that one was nausea. She was going to puke. Yep, yep there it was. Hands stopped her from slamming into the ground. Her hands. And then vomit. Even that was new and weird. She heard someone else puking, too. Or speaking. Nope puking and speaking. She closed her eyes tight and tried to just breathe. That worked, so eyes were similar. Maybe. Eyes open, light. Eyes shut, dark. Progress.
Kim groaned. Poor poor servants. Having to shampoo that carpet in their room. She spat the bile from her mouth. That worked too. One mouth. So many things to process. She had to admit. Tripping balls, had been at least a little bit helpful. Calmly she began to let her senses order themselves.
She opened her eyes again and looked around. Another, person was beside her. Also breathing slowly over a mess. That must be Bonnie. Another one stood several feet away. Kim couldn't tell much at all about it. Dusky grey skin like hers. Two arms, two legs, two eyes and a mouth. She already knew that. Bilateral symmetry. With hands clasped. Worried she guessed. Or praying. Same thing really. Kim coughed and tried to speak. "Well."
The one standing took a step forward and began speaking. Nothing Kim could understand. "That fucking sucked." Kim turned to who spoke, and nodded at Bonnie.
"You are well?" It was the standing one. That one's voice was higher. Hers and Bonnie's were deeper. So a her. Bonnie and Kim were, he's?
Kim rocked herself back and sat. The sister Kim guessed, watched warily. A hand dropping to the knife hilt at her side. "I think so?" Kim said. "Water, can I have some?" Kim asked.
Shaking herself the sister shook her head. "Yes, yes." She pulled a skin from her waist and handed it to Kim.
Kim pulled the cork and took a sip and swished it around and spat the foul taste from her mouth. When she did she noticed that she already had a skin tied to her belt. No knife though. Kim corked the skin and handed it to Bonnie. She looked up at the sister apologetically. "Sorry, didn't know I had one already." Kim indicated the skin on her belt.
The sister shook her head again. "You are new. I am Chara."
Kim heard Bonnie spit, then hand back the skin. "I am Bonnie, and this is Kim." Bonnie introduced them. Kim looked over at her/him? Her, fuck it. She was bigger and broader than Kim. And she had a couple of knives on her belt. Clothing was roughspun cloth like what Kim had on.
"So weird." Kim said.
Bonnie grinned at her. Which just looked weird. "I know right?" Bonnie clenched and unclenched her three fingered hands. She reached down between her legs. "I got a penis." Of course the first thing she would check.
Kim shook her head. Chara chuckled. "I hope so, brother."
Kim had to check. And found, nothing. "I don't." She just stated. "Is that right?"
Chara shook her head. "Yes, yes it is right."
Okay, maybe birds and bees later. Kim got a booted foot under herself and got to her feet. Shakily. Why shakily? Something was tugging… She had a fucking tail. She looked and sure enough a goddamned tail with darker grey scales swung away from her view to maintain balance. "I have a fucking tail?" Kim looked at Chara who shook her head. Okay that was going to take some getting used to. Nod for no shake for yes. And Kim looked at her closer. There were portions of her exposed skin that had darker scales, other places lighter scales. Okay, more weird, or not so weird. Her eyes were different, but not so different. No breasts so more to add to bird and bees talk later.
"Holy shit we're lizard people." Bonnie was taking in the same stuff as she was.
Chara looked confused. "Lizard? I'm sorry?"
Kim sighed. "Bonnie see's that you… we have traits of a species on our world. Some traits of lizards." Chara shook her head. "Are we warm blooded, or cold blooded?" Kim asked. Chara again looked at her confused. "Is our body temperature, like automatically regulated, or do we bask to warm up?" Still confused.
Chara seemed to think for a bit. "We eat food to keep our temperature?"
"Warm blooded then." Bonnie stated.
Okay biology was vaguely similar. Chara's face wasn't lizard peoply and she had hair, mid length and a lighter shade than her skin. Proportions were different. Expressions were different on the face, but not so alien Kim couldn't understand. Kim swished her tail, which started to feel okay. Then she began to laugh. She looked at Bonnie and began to laugh more. "Can you imagine?"
Bonnie looked at her confused, then swished her own tail and it dawned on her too, her own laughter bubbling up. "And with tits?" Bonnie added miming breasts on her chest. Kim's laughter reached a higher pitch.
Chara took a step back. "What?"
Kim took several deep breaths. "So our bodies over there, don't have tails."
Chara shook her head understanding. "Tits?" Questioning.
Bonnie's laughter settled down. "Females over there have, fatty flesh globes on our chest which we use to nurse our newborns on. It's just the thought of… of your brothers dealing with being top heavy and no tails."
Chara looked disgusted. "Females nurse the young?"
Kim sighed. "Sorry. Different biology." The look of disgust faded and Chara shook her head as she grasped the differences. "You speak english very well, Chara."
Her face brightened. "Thank you, Kim." Kim nodded, and quickly corrected herself and shook her head. Chara smiled. "You learn quickly."
Kim shrugged. "I try."
"I have so many questions." Bonnie sighed.
"Ask them." Chara stated simply.
Kim looked about and the low sun. It was a forest they were in. Some way away was a creek she could hear. "Maybe not here. It's getting near dark, right?"
Chara blinked at her. "Yes it is." She nodded. "Forgive me. Please." She beckoned them down the path Kim noted they were standing on.
Looking down kim saw her sick in the dust. She used her boot to kick as much as she could off the path. She heard Bonnie do the same. "Sorry, I just don't want you to get stuck out here after dark with two that can't manage to walk, let alone fight."
Chara turned. "God, explained you were great warriors?"
Kim and Bonnie began walking behind her. First steps wary, but soon easy enough. "In our own bodies. These are new bodies." Bonnie stated.
"Give us a few days to get situated before throwing us in the fighting pits, please and thank you." Kim stated.
Chara nodded and turned to speak as she navigated the path. "No, the pit is not open tomorrow. Cleaning."
Kim almost stopped. "I was joking. You have a fighting pit?"
The path opened up and the landscape was rocky with heavy moss or what looked like moss over most of it. "Oh yes. It's not large, but we do have shade." She seemed proud of it. Fair enough. "Tulk…" She turned. "Bonnie, you are in Tulk's body. Tulk was there every chance he could."
"And, me?" Kim asked.
"Pora. You are in Pora's body." Chara stated.
"How often was this body in the pit?" Kim asked.
Chara laughed. "Pora?" She turned to look at Kim. "Oh. No. You are a… I don't know a word for the gender."
Kim looked down. Male, no penis. "Eunuch. Lets call it Eunuch."
Chara slowed her pace. "A strange conversation to have with my siblings." She sighed. "I produce the egg. The male fertilizes the egg. The eunuch raises the egg." She looked back with a pained expression. "Do I have to explain more?"
Kim smiled at her, and Bonnie responded. "Maybe how that ties into the fighting pit."
"Well pretty sure middle ages like." Kim stated.
Bonnie nodded. "Oh, okay. The women are too frail to fight thing, patriarchal."
Chara looked confused. Kim smiled at her. "We only have two sexes. Male and female. The female does both the egg and raise the egg part for us." Chara again got a disgusted look on her face. "Hey, I'm trying to figure out how you do your reproduction, here. Seems kind of weird to me, too."
She opened her mouth and closed it again before speaking. "Right. Right." She waited. "So you are female, your bodies in your world?" Kim shook her head. "You were not allowed to fight, to battle?"
Kim smiled. "That was a long, long time ago in our history." She paused. "We are better now… Not great, but better."
"Well, we don't have all the time in the world here we should probably split up our time then. Since you have the body for it here and the brain, I say you spend your time in the books, and I'll spend my time in the pit." Bonnie poked Kim's shoulder.
Kim took a deep breath and let it out. "I think your right."
"God has said you will learn our magics. Both of you." Chara stated.
Kim shook her head. "Right, but Bonnie never fought before being chosen. I have been fighting for years. She needs to learn how to fight better. I can teach her the magic later." Chara shook her head agreeing. Kim clenched and unclenched her hands again. "An almost infinite universe. The Mistress didn't do too badly finding a human like species."
"Probably could have picked one a bit beyond the roughspun ages though." Bonnie commented.
Kim punched her shoulder. "We haven't even seen the town yet." Kim sighed. "Probably prioritized faith above tech level." She smiled at Chara.
Chara stared at her with a confused look. "Tech level?"
Kim thought. "Umm, do you have guns?" Still confused. "Devices that use an explosive to throw a projectile." Nothing. "Nevermind."
'They are nearing that level of technology.' The mistress spoke and it was deafening.
Kim slapped her hands over her ears. "FUCK ME!" Bonnie shouted as she too clamped hands over her ears. Sheepishly Kim pulled her hands away. What were her hands going to do to quiet a voice in her damned head.
'Sorry' The mistresses voice was different, not her grandmother anymore. Unique. She was far far quieter this time.
Chara looked at Kim and Bonnie with wide horrified eyes before dropping to her knees. Kim shook her head. "No, problem." Kim stated.
'It is good to see you walking. Your counterparts are having… difficulties.'
Kim motioned for Chara to get to her feet. "Yeah, we kind of figured that. Bit top-heavy are they?" Kim asked with a smile. Chara got to her feet warily.
Bonnie chuckled. And it soon started into giggling. Kim looked at her and waited. "In about two weeks…" was all she could get out before her laughter started again.
Kim just groaned. "Boss, can you get a message to Brus, please? Tell him to hit biology hard with the brothers. Especially female biology, or they are going to freak the hell out when they start their first period."
The mistresses presence in their mind was much more powerful. Kim could feel it searching her mind for the why. 'Oh. I will try.' And Kim felt the presence leave.
"God, apologized…" Awe filled the response.
Bonnies laughter was finally dying. Kim smiled at Chara. "She isn't the god of my universe. Not yet." Chara looked shocked. "And she won't be unless we succeed. It needs us far, far more than we need it." And Kim new it. Best, probably, not to push that unless absolutely necessary. Maybe Bonnie was wearing off on her. "So, we are polite to each other. Its best since we are working together."
Chara still looked shocked about the situation. "Look, your universe has a god. Ours, doesn't. So we don't have the same reverence you'll have." Bonnie put in.
Kim patted Chara's shoulder. "When The Mistress has our universe too, maybe we'll start kneeling and stuff like you do." Kim grinned wider. "Or she will smite us for our disrespect, who knows."
With that Chara did lighten up. "Chosen warriors for her cause?" She paused. "I believe she will overlook the disrespect. She is merciful to those that serve."
Kim grinned and they started walking again. "Why were we so far out of your village?" Kim asked to change the subject.
Chara shook herself at the abrupt change. "My brothers wanted to be clean. Our favorite place to bathe is a nice pool not far from where you… took over them." She paused to search for the right term.
Kim shook her head. "Kind of strange, Bonnie and I too just got done bathing."
"Coincidence? Or Providence?" Chara asked.
Kim stopped walking. "I was worried that The Mistress had half assed teaching you English, but that right there shot that right in the foot. What, did she dump the dictionary into your head?"
Chara smiled. "I serve as a priestess. I spend my days learning. Learning to serve, to heal. It was a minor thing to set that aside and learn what I needed to serve her better. Learning another language is all I was asked to do, and to pass that on to my brothers so they may serve as caretakers for your bodies. I do it happily, as did they."
Bonnie sighed. "Look, we don't mean anything by laughing about your brothers in our bodies."
Chara nodded. "Of course not. And I have no doubt they too are making light of the situation." She turned to Kim. "And I will try more to not be… shocked by our differences."
Kim shook her head to agree. Kim felt her smile fade very suddenly. She had seen something… beyond Chara. Kim squinted and looked closer. Her body was moving before she knew anything. She roughly grabbed and handful of Chara's hair and slammed her to the ground and the formless shape slammed into her. She couldn't see what it was as she tumbled with the powerful creature. She saw earth and sky several times before coming to a stop. Now it was visible and it was not pleased. It was all Kim could do to get a knee up under the beast as it bore down and tried to get a powerful jaw around her throat. Claws bad, teeth bad was running on a loop through Kim's head as she used arms and legs to just keep both away from her skin.
Fire lanced down her arm as a claw hooked into her skin and Kim roared at the now visible eyes. The beast jerked up and away. Bonnie or Chara must have stabbed it. Kim quickly reached up and jammed a finger in an eye to get its attention back on her. It renewed its attempt to get her blood. She could hardly breath as she was bent double trying to keep her knee up between those jaws and her face. Kim barely noticed a knife flash down between her and the beast and open its throat bathing Kim in hot sticky blood. It raged toward the one that had cut it and this time Kim let it. The beast didn't get off of her though and soon returned to trying to kill her. Soon it started to slow and finally stop.
Kim felt the weight shift off of her and she could finally breathe. Well after she spit out a mouthful of its blood. Bonnie huffed as she moved the beast and Chara's head filled Kim's sight blocking out Bonnie. And she had lapsed into her native tongue and was very worried. "I'm alright." Kim said around heaving breaths.
Kim held up a hand and Chara hauled her up. Kim winced and once she was up she turned her arm to see the gash. It wasn't as bad as she had thought. A deep puncture to be sure, but it wasn't bleeding that badly. Hard to be sure due to the amount of beasts blood covering her head chest and arms. Roughly Chara grabbed her arm to see the wound. Kim looked up to see and Chara was angry, very angry now and she was growling words out as she wiped away the blood. Kim was surprised when Chara looked into her face with rage and shook her roughly.
Kim felt her own rage build and she grabbed Chara roughly by the shoulder and squeezed. "I don't know what relationship you had with your brothers." Kim paused as Chara's head came up to face hers. "But ours with you will be one of respect and patience. We expect the same."
Chara let go of Kim's arm and collected herself. "You should not have put yourself in harms way." She said softly.
"How many others in the village can speak english?" Bonnie asked. Chara just looked at her. "Do they all know that we aren't your brothers?" Again the blank stare. "Three go into the woods, two come back and they can't speak the language how long would we survive?" Chara looked at the ground in shame.
Kim pulled the flask of water out and poured some on the arm to wash the wound. "What was it?"
Chara approached and gently took Kim's arm in her hands and prodded the wound, pushing out water and blood. Kim hissed in pain. "Your language doesn't have a name for it." She spoke a word in her own tongue. "Is our name for it. An ambush predator."
"It was invisible. How did it do that?" Bonnie asked.
Chara held one hand above the wound and Kim felt searing pain begin in the wound. Kim tried to pull away, but Chara held her fast with her other hand. Kim growled low at the pain. "She said you had no winnowing. I did not believe." The pain spiked then began to fade as the wound closed. "The predator is just able to do it. There are legends about it, but most certainly are myths."
She released Kim's arm and Kim flexed the arm. Only a fine scar remained. "First thing you are teaching me is that." Kim pointed at the arm. Kim noticed Chara running a hand through her hair. "And sorry about putting you on the ground by the hair."
Chara nodded. "You were in the right." She looked at Kim. "A lifetime of protecting a younger sibling is hard to overcome." She sighed. "Thank you." She pulled out a rag and roughly began cleaning off Kim's face. "The winnowing is a ritual. A tying of the body and mind. Of pain and thought."
Kim felt Bonnie slap her back knocking off dirt and debris. "What do you mean?" Bonnie asked.
Chara seemed to think hard on the subject. "You do not have the shatterstorm on your world?"
Kim nodded. "The Mistress mentioned that, but I don't know what she meant by it."
"Well she wasn't kidding about the active fauna." Bonnie stepped up beside Kim.
Kim looked at the beast. Four limbs and it looked vaguely feline. About the size of a medium dog. "No she was not." Kim returned to look at Chara who had a confused look on her face. Kim smiled. "Usually animals that small avoid us humans, unless they're threatened or really really hungry."
Chara shook her head in understanding. "It is a very aggressive creature. Being invisible emboldens it, maybe?" Kim shook her head. "The shatterstorm is pain." She seemed to be searching for the words. "Multi colored lights in the sky?"
Kim thought. "Auroras?"
Chara shook her head vigorously. "Yes, yes. Auroras come and with them pain, cramping. Very unpleasant, before the winnowing. After, an annoyance."
Kim looked at Bonnie who was looking at her. "Is us being here going to break this winnowing for your brothers?" Bonnie asked.
Chara nodded. "I don't know. The Mistress," Chara said it warily. "She is fairly sure it will not. If it does they will have to undergo the ritual again." She grimaced. "It is not a pleasant thing."
"And us?" Kim asked.
Chara nodded. "No, you will not. The ritual is for a mind to a body. These are not your bodies."
"Fan freaking tastic." Bonnie sighed.
Chara smiled. "You will not die."
Kim just laughed. She had a witty comment prepared, but again looking beyond Chara she saw a different creature above them on the same hill the cat had come from. She pointed drawing Chara's attention. Chara drew her knife. "Fuck me, what now?" Kim asked.
"These are scavengers." She again said their name in her tongue. The one on top was joined by several more. And Chara cursed. Or at least Kim was pretty sure it was a curse by the tone. One popped into existence a dozen or so feet in front of them. It was above and teleported or something and then it was there in front of them.
"Really? Invisible predators, now teleporting scavengers?" Kim asked aloud. A shake of the head from Chara. Kim smiled. Today was just getting better and better.
The Mistress was an enveloping fog in her mind when she spoke to Kim. Kim felt something different now, but she felt it the same way she felt that fog. This was more focused, or smaller. Probing, prodding. Kim could trace it back, follow along the thread. To its source. She could feel, aggression, hunger. Kim took a deep breath and squeezed that source. The response was immediate. The creature began screaming and it fell to the ground. Its four, clawed, paws scratching at the dirt and the air. The large feline jaws open wide as it howled in pain. Kim immediately stopped. She didn't want to hurt the thing. It was the size of a Maine Coon cat without the fur and she had made it writhe in pain for no reason. Kim stepped forward. "Shit, I'm sorry!"
Its screaming stopped and stared at her with real fear. Kim took another step forward and another one blinked next to the first. "You were poking at my brain, what was I supposed to do?" Why was she talking to it? It wasn't going to understand. Kim's head snapped back. It did though. It understood. She felt that thread pulse and she knew it understood.
"Kim?" Bonnie asked worriedly.
Kim turned to Chara. "That thing understood me."
"They are too stupid to understand. What did you do to it?" Chara was still holding her knife.
Kim shrugged as she turned back to the creature. "Squeezed its brain?" Kim stepped back from the creature. "It does understand, though." She could feel short flicking glimpses of feelings. The hunger was foremost. And more began coming down and again the aggression. "I put one on the ground, I'll do it again." And fear replaced aggression and as one all of them stepped away from her. "Too, stupid my ass."
Kim relaxed. "Chara, do you people eat the thing we killed?"
Kim's question snapped Chara's focus. It took her a second to process the question. "Of course."
Kim sighed. "Listen it's been one hell of a day, can we just let them have it and get out of here? That's all they want."
Bonnie put a hand on Chara's shoulder. "Yeah, I'm with Kim on this one."
Reluctantly Chara stood straighter. "Yes, their stink when open is quite foul." She began side stepping down the path and beckoned for Kim to get away from the creatures.
Kim turned to see one slightly closer to her. "Take it." Is all she said. She tried to form accent in her mind, to show it to the filament. She couldn't really tell if it was her words or her thought they responded to, but the response was very enthusiastic. One of them, a larger one sidestepped closer to her. It was probably stupid, but Kim reached out and gave a quick scratch to the hairless back. It jumped away fearful. Kim held up her hand. "Sorry. Had to." and she began backing away.
Once she was well clear of the feeding frenzy she turned. Chara wore a disgusted look on her face. "You touched it."
Kim could feel the disdain on her face. She pulled the shirt from her skin and it squelched as the blood was now sticking to her. "Oh yeah cause a touch is going to make me so much filthier." Bonnie snickered.
The disgust faded and Chara chuckled. "Fair enough."
"How did you do that?" Bonnie pointed back at them.
Kim new she meant hurt the thing. "You didn't feel it poking about in your head? Like in the same space where boss comes in?"
It dawned on her and Bonnie nodded. "That was them?"
Kim nodded. Kim looked at Chara and sighed as she shook her head. Chara smiled. "They feed on anything. Steal prey from the hunters often. That is how they track the hunters. Most don't notice."
"Right well, I just… felt back along it and squeezed." The confused look on Bonnie made her continue. Kim held up her hand and made a fist. "Just imagined that."
Chara looked to Bonnie then back at Kim. "Perhaps it will be easier to teach you than both of you." She looked at Bonnie. "I mean no offense."
Bonnie just nodded. She learned too. "Nah, I get it."
Finally Kim saw the beginnings of farmland. If this was similar to feudal times than they weren't far from town. Sure enough in the distance she saw what looked like wooden palisades. "And the teleporting, what about that?"
Chara sighed. "Again, they just do. As with the other myths abound." She looked back at Kim. "Perhaps we can reach town without another animal attack?" She grinned.
Kim chuckled. "Where's the fun in that?"
break