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Subject: {ASSM} WITCH CHRONICLES 010 (tg, fantasy, lots of stuff)
Date: Sat, 16 Dec 2000 19:10:04 -0500
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Here's the next part of my Witch Chronicles series.  It isn't the end 
and I'm not sure how long or how many installments there will be, but 
here's this one.

The previous installments of this story line are republished under 
the heading "Witch Chronicles".

WITCH CHRONICLES 001 - A TG Witch's Tale
WITCH CHRONICLES 002 - Elizabeth's Story-Elizabeth
WITCH CHRONICLES 003 - Elizabeth's Story-Lynn
WITCH CHRONICLES 004 - I Was a Teenage Sorceress Pt 1
WITCH CHRONICLES 005 - I Was a Teenage Sorceress Pt 2
WITCH CHRONICLES 006 - I Was a Teenage Sorceress Pt 3
WITCH CHRONICLES 007 - Dark Beginnings
WITCH CHRONICLES 008 - Prelude to War
WITCH CHRONICLES 009 - The Year Before

If you missed any or all of the previous installments let me know and 
I'll email you copies.

Now, onto the boring stuff

-------------------------

DISCLAIMERS

-------------------------

This story contains scenes of an erotic and/or controversial nature, 
and is not intended for the perusal of minors.  Further if perusal of 
such material is considered illegal in your area or immoral by your 
religion or personal beliefs, you should likewise bypass this story.

This story remains the property of the author.  Permission is granted 
to download, photocopy, copy and repost so long as any such action 
contains these disclaimers, and no attempt is made to profit from 
this story.

All characters in this story are the creation of the author, and any 
resemblance to real persons, alive or dead, are purely coincidental.

This story may contain aspects of fantastic science or magic.  The 
parameters of what this science/magic can accomplish are completely 
at the discretion of me, the author, and, as such, I make no 
apologies for any rules of "real" physics, chemistry, biology, or 
magic that may be broken within the story.

-------------------------

Now onto the fun stuff

-------------------------

Government file 00010:
    Document classification: Events leading up to the Restoration

See also:
    Diaries of characters of the Restoration:
       Government file 00001: A TG Witch's Tale
       Government file 00002: Elizabeth's Story - Elizabeth
       Government file 00003: Elizabeth's Story - Lynn

    Events leading up to the Restoration:
       Government file 00004: I Was A Teenage Sorceress Sec 01
       Government file 00005: I Was A Teenage Sorceress Sec 02
       Government file 00006: I Was A Teenage Sorceress Sec 03
       Government file 00007: Dark Beginnings
       Government file 00008: Prelude to War
       Government file 00009: The Year Before

    The Restoration War:
       Government file 00010: The War-Opening Gambit

Note:  The events contained in these files are either personal
        diaries or the transcription of recordings made of personal
        awareness of events leading up to the Restoration.  As
        such, at times they tend to ramble and also contain a
        suitable content of material that is not suitable for
        perusal of minors.  In an effort to keep events as accurate
        as possible, no attempt to edit these files for content has
        been made, and any use of these files in any place where
        children might have access to them (history books,
        libraries, etc.) should be strictly regulated.

GOVERNMENT FILE 00010:
Subtitled: The War-Opening Gambit

[Jenny Welker and Wanda Adams]

INT:  [To the camera]  Okay, we're back from commercial.  For those 
of you just joining us, we're talking with Jenny Welker and Wanda 
Adams, the sorcerous couple who played such a major part in the 
events leading up to the recent event known to the world at large as 
the "Restoration."

[To the couple]  We had just finished the review of events leading up 
to the day the war began.  What were you doing that day?

Jenny:  Preparing for the war we thought we were going to fight. 
Then came the news reports revealing the first strike of the Dark 
Alliance.

INT:  And what a first strike it was.  In less than a day, the Dark 
Alliance had attacked and taken control of the capitals of every 
major power in the western world as well as Russia, China, and Japan. 
They had surrounded them with impenetrable domes of pure magical 
energy.  The Chinese had even tried penetrating the dome with a 
nuclear weapon to no avail.

Jenny:  Actually, the domes weren't indestructible.  They had just 
been prepared against all conventional weaponry.  Magic isn't 
unbeatable, just really flexible.

INT:  Good to know.  But what was your reaction when you discovered 
what they had done?

Jenny:  To be honest, we were shocked.  We had never considered 
government capitols as a possible target.

INT:  No offense, but it seems to be a pretty obvious target.  Why 
was it so shocking when you found out what they were planning?

Wanda:  We made a critical error when we attempted to judge what the 
Alliance was planning.  We assumed that they would be taking the same 
approach to this war that they took during the original Mage Wars, 
and would be targeting sorceresses and Witches.  And the fact is, the 
Dark Alliance had done nothing to let us think otherwise, and had 
actually gone so far as to sacrifice some of their forces in attacks 
on Witch/Sorceress strongholds to make us think we were the primary 
targets.

INT:  Even so...

Jenny:  You have to understand.  In the previous war, secular 
government institutions weren't even a target.  The darkies targeted 
magic workers because effectively we were the power back then. 
Whether you were talking about the court wizard who kept the royal 
family in place, or the weather witch who did nothing more than 
predict the weather so that farmers would know the best times for 
planting, the culture of those ages revolved around us.

INT:  But things had definitely changed over the last fifteen hundred years.

Jenny:  And that's where we made our mistake.  It was shortly after 
noon when the reports of the Dark Alliance's attacks reached us at 
Sarah's house.

INT:  So what happened?

Jenny:  We were out in back practicing battle drills when Tracie 
comes running out yelling, "Guys, guys, the Dark Alliance has 
attacked!  It's on T.V.!"

We had expected something soon, the Witches with their prescient 
senses had been sensing something big, but all details were being 
blocked by the spells of the darkies.  We ran inside and watched the 
news report of the day the Alliance attacked.  After the report, we 
just sat around, stunned.

It was my mom who spoke first, saying, "Well, apparently we 
underestimated the Dark Alliance, and overestimated our own 
importance as an obstacle to their goals."

I asked her, "So now what?"

Sarah stood up.  "We go on with our plans.  This may change our 
tactics, but it doesn't change our goals.  Unless, of course, there's 
someone here who wants to live in a world the Dark Alliance would 
rule?"  She looked around, giving everyone a chance to say something. 
No one did.  "Fine.  The Dark Alliance has made the first move.  It's 
time for us to make the second."

"But what will that second be?"

Wanda:  I said, "The first thing we need is information.  Someone 
will need to make a reconnaissance of D.C. and see what can be found 
out."

INT: So who got elected for that job?

Wanda:  After a quick discussion, Jenny and I were elected.  It was 
felt that Jenny's power and mine bonded in the link we shared would 
maximize our chances for success.

INT:  So you were on your way to war.  What was the mood like?

Jenny:  Morose.  Things were hard to deal with.  So that night, 
Wanda, Tracie, and I just sat in our room, cuddling until Tracie fell 
asleep.  At that point, Wanda and I slid out of bed and went out on 
the roof.  We stared up at the stars for a while until we felt up to 
talking.

Wanda:  I started our activities that night.  I looked to my wife and 
said, "Jen, I have a request."

"Anything."

"This... may be the last time we're able to get some alone time 
together.  I know considering what we're going into, this may seem to 
be a strange request, but would you fuck me silly tonight?"

Jenny:  Apparently, we had been thinking along the same lines, 
because I wanted the same thing.  So I replied, "If you'll do the 
same thing for me later."

She just nodded.  We both stood and undressed down to our lingerie. 
I stepped behind Wanda, took her breasts in hand and started rubbing 
them.  I wanted to take it slow and easy, but there was... an 
urgency, almost a desperate need to our lovemaking that night.  But 
whatever it was, we both needed release, and, although I had not been 
as "amateur" as I was that night since before I met Wanda, we both 
acted like we were expert lovers.  So my rubbing quickly gave her an 
erection in her panties.

Wanda:  Looking back, I can say Jenny was right, but, at the time, I 
needed her so desperately that any contact between us drove me wild. 
After only a little while of her hands on my tits, my erection was so 
hard, it almost ripped my cotton panties apart.  So I reached down 
and pulled my panties down, letting them slide from my body.

Jenny:  I pulled my own panties down.  I didn't pull them off.  I 
just pulled them down far enough to free my dick.  I got up close 
behind Wanda, and pressed my dick into her bum.  I was then surprised 
as Wanda practically threw herself backwards onto my rod.  We moved 
together with almost frantic need until I orgasmed into her.

The release was almost mind blowing.  I hadn't realized how tense I 
had been.  And after my orgasm, I collapsed to the roof, unable to 
even stand.

Wanda:  I had managed to hold off, wanting to orgasm at the same time 
as Jenny.  But I was surprised at how little control my wife had 
shown, and missed her orgasm.  I still had a raging hard-on even 
after she had filled me with her seed.  I turned to her and saw the 
apologetic look on her face, and knew she hadn't wanted to leave me 
high and dry, but couldn't help it.  I lay beside her, and kissed her 
in forgiveness.

I then gently pushed her to her back, and got between her legs.  I 
lifted those marvelous gams of hers to her breasts, put my dick to 
her ass and slowly pressed into her.  I reached around her legs, took 
her bosom in hand and rubbed her as I shafted in and out of her butt.

Jenny:  Thankfully, Wanda's always been a better, more accomplished 
lover than I was and she managed to hold off until we were moving 
together as we were supposed to as lifemates.  That orgasm was a 
simultaneous one, and brought a necessary relief to all the emotion 
of the day.  It was nowhere near our best sex, but it was necessary.

INT:  And that seems as good a place as any to take our next 
commercial break.  Sorry, folks, but we do need to pay the bills.

************

[General Keith "Katherine" Wilfred]

My troops and I had been deployed outside Washington D.C.  The 
capitol was surrounded by a bubble which shifted through the spectrum 
of colors in a steady change.  We had attempted to pierce the bubble 
with a variety of methods, ranging from simple grenades, to small 
artillery.  Nothing had even put a dent in it.  We even tried 
tunneling under, but we only got as far as the edge of the bubble, 
before our digging tools stopped working.  So we positioned ourselves 
around the dome and waited.  Our theory was that if we couldn't get 
in, we sure as hell weren't going to let anyone else out.

It was 0700 hours when one of my captains approached me, informing me 
that there was a man claiming to know some facts about those who had 
taken the capitol.  I wasn't sure if I should listen to this person, 
but I had no information and couldn't afford to pass up anything.

I returned to my tent, and sent for the stranger and a clerk. 
Transcript of interview to follow.

************

[Transcriber's notes:  Although the interview was transcribed by a 
clerk and attached to the end of the general's report, it has been 
inserted here in an effort to maintain the chronological integrity of 
events as they happened.]

Clerk's notes:  The man who had approached us was 5'11" tall, had 
brown hair, brown eyes, was in his mid-30's and was dressed in an 
overcoat.  He had been searched thoroughly and had nothing on him, 
including any identification.

General:  "My captain tells me you have information about these 
terrorists who have taken the capitol?"

Man:  "I do.  The people you face are an organization that dates back 
over two thousand years.  They have gone by many names, but they 
currently go by the title 'Dark Alliance'."

General:  "A secret organization going back over two millennia, and 
no one has any evidence of their existence?  I find this a little 
hard to believe."

Man:  "But it is true.  Keep in mind, sir, that these people have 
managed to simultaneously take the governments of almost every major 
power in the world overnight without your intelligence agencies being 
aware of anything.  It's not that much of a stretch to believe that 
they also kept their entire organization a secret as well."

General:  "Alright, assuming that these people are some kind of 
secret society, how did they manage to take the capitol?  And what is 
that... globe out there?"

Man:  "That's where the story gets a little... bizarre.  The Dark 
Alliance is a group of demon worshiping sorcerers.  The globes you 
see around the cities they took are nearly indestructible, magical 
force fields."

General:  "Oh, come now."

Major Erickson, General Wilfred's aide:  "Sir, I don't recall exactly 
who, but a famous science fiction author once said that science of a 
sufficiently advanced level is indistinguishable from magic.  I'd say 
that this is just a really high level of technology."

Man:  "Not exactly.  Science is the domination of the universe 
through its physical modification.  Magic is the modification of the 
universe through direct exercise of will.  True, at a sufficiently 
high enough level science does become indistinguishable from magic, 
but they still use totally different methods."

General:  "Do you have any proof of your claims?"

Man:  He stood up and pulled off his overcoat.  Underneath he was 
naked from the waist up.  He lifted his arms and there was a 
distortion of the light around him.  After the light returned to 
normal, the man appeared to have grown a second set of arms 
underneath the first.  "Sir, I am a Warlock, one of a subrace of 
humanity born with the potential to develop the ability to manipulate 
magic on an instinctive level."

General:  "This is astounding, but how do I know that this isn't some 
kind of trick, or that you aren't working for them?"

Man:  "Technically you don't.  But I have nothing to gain and 
everything to lose by coming to you."

************

The interview was terminated suddenly when a lieutenant came in and 
informed me that a person had stepped through the dome and was just 
waiting.  The four-armed man warned me that this Dark Alliance was 
not in the habit of making deals or bargaining unless it was in their 
own self-interest, and that I should be careful.  I thought he was 
just being dramatic, but I later discovered that I should have paid 
him more heed.

I went out to see what was going on.  Outside the dome stood a single 
man carrying a pen and notebook.  When I approached him, he asked if 
I lead the troops surrounding the dome.

I responded in the affirmative, whereupon he told me to disperse the 
forces or let the consequences be on my head.  I told him that I was 
unable to do that, he said that maybe my successor would be more 
compliant.  He then took his pen and made some mark in his notebook. 
Before anyone else could do a thing there was this whirl of energy 
around the man.  The energy just exploded out like a tidal wave, 
striking each of us.  I was going to order the man taken into 
custody, but found myself unable to move.  I felt a tingle pulse 
through my body.

When the tingle stopped, I looked down at my body to see what had 
happened.  I was surprised when I saw a pair of breasts hanging 
underneath my shirt.  I turned to Major Erickson, mostly to see if he 
saw what had happened to me.  The same thing had happened to him and 
more.  The major now looked like a woman.  His hair, once thinning 
with gray, was now a bouffant mane of blonde beauty.  His face was 
now round and cherubic, lacking any of the harsh lines he had picked 
up from a lifetime of service to his country.  And his new breasts 
were massive.  The fabric of his shirt was stretched so tight around 
them that the buttons seemed ready to fly from it.

Before I could say a word, I was overwhelmed with a desire to force 
the major to have sex with me, to dominate him physically and make 
him submit.  And judging by the look on his face, he was feeling 
something similar.  We attacked each other, ripping our clothes to 
shreds as we wrestled for superiority.  I finally managed to force 
the major onto his stomach and jammed my dick into his ass.  As soon 
as I was inside of him, he stopped fighting and meekly submitted to 
me.  I pumped away into him until I came, and when I was finished, he 
fell to the ground, mewling like a babe.

I looked around.  The major now had no more interest to me than a 
passing flea.  I looked around and saw others, all, like me, 
transformed into women, but still retaining their male genitalia, 
having sex.  I had nothing but contempt for those on the receiving 
end of the sex, but I desperately had to prove my superiority over 
those doing the fucking by making them accept my dick inside them.

I saw a "woman" moving towards me and I went at her.  Before we 
closed half of the distance between us, I was intercepted by the 
four-armed man who picked me up and carried me away.  I fought to get 
free from him thinking that I had to fuck these other women to prove 
myself.  I was vaguely aware that he had taken someone else along, 
pulling both of us away from the dome.

At some point, the urge to force myself on others disappeared.  A 
little while later, I recovered fully (mentally that is) and asked to 
be put down.  The four-armed man put me down and I got a look around. 
The dome that covered Washington D.C. was a faint glimmer in the 
distance.  The other person the man had brought along was a woman. 
She was dressed in a latex suit, the kind of which you see only in 
contraband, adult magazines.  It came complete with a bustier/corset 
kind of thing, boots and gloves, and mask.  At her hip was a whip. 
The only incongruous portion of her outfit was a simple cross and 
chain hanging around her throat.  The woman was holding the cross out 
in front of her, like a talisman to ward off evil.  I have attempted 
to recreate the conversation the three of us had in as much detail as 
possible.

She asked, "Who are you two?"

"I am, or was, General Wilfred."

At first she seemed skeptical, but there was enough of the insignia 
on what was left of my shirt that she realized that I was who I 
claimed to be.  She suddenly snapped to attention, saying, "Sir! 
First Lieutenant Marie Callender, reporting."

"At ease, soldier.  Report on what happened from your point of view just now."

"Yes, sir.  The troops were watching you and the stranger talk when 
we saw the man do something with his notebook.  Then there was that 
strange wave of energy that passed over us.  After it had passed, I 
and all the women around me were dressed like this."  She waved her 
hands down her body.  "And all the men were... like you, having been 
changed into he-she's.  But then the men started crawling all over 
each other like rutting rabbits.  And then I heard a voice in my 
head.  It was a dark voice.  It asked me, 'Don't they disgust you? 
These animals masquerading as men?  And they're the ones who rule 
you?'  Then it said, 'Join us and make it right.  You will dominate 
them.  They will be slaves before your might.'

"And god help me, part of me wanted to say yes.  I saw all the men 
making it with each other and was disgusted.  I wanted to make them 
bow and crawl before me, but then I remembered the story of Moses and 
what God thought of slavery.  I grabbed my cross which had remained 
unchanged and prayed for protection from the darkness.  God answered 
my prayer because the voice slowly faded away.  It's not gone, but it 
is so low I can't make it out.  That was when this person grabbed me 
and carried me away from the dome.  But as to why or how what 
happened happened, I couldn't hazard a guess."

I turned to the four-armed man.  "Can you explain what happened?"

"Only in the most general way, no pun intended.  The man was a wizard 
with the Dark Alliance.  That was a demonstration of their power.  I 
suppose if you had agreed to disperse your troops, they would've done 
nothing, but that would've demonstrated that you were afraid of them. 
So they did this."

"But why this?"

"Because this preys on your weakest traits."

The lieutenant interrupted.  "I am not a mean spirited slaver.  I am 
a god-fearing Christian."

"And that's probably the only thing that saved you.  They couldn't 
tailor the spell to affect every person on an individual basis.  It 
would take too much energy.  So they hit the big ones.

"For the men it was homophobia combined with a fear of loss of their 
manhood.  Change you into mostly women and amplify your sex drive and 
aggressive natures.  You start fucking each other in an effort to 
prove you're the best 'man'.  Then, when you recover mentally, your 
fear of being seen as anything less than manly makes you easy prey 
for them.  They dangle a return to manhood in front of your fellow 
soldiers' faces and tell them that they can get a chance to return to 
manhood if they serve faithfully.  When a person agrees to magic, 
even if they don't know what they're saying okay to, the energy cost 
drops immensely.  Whoever agrees is then put through magical 
brainwashing and turned into shock troops."

I asked, "And for the women?"

"Women, as a minority, are a little more susceptible to their offers. 
Combine the regular oppression they face with the class warfare 
masquerading as politics in this country, and it's a little easier to 
convince you to join them with offers of power over your oppressors."

"So these people lied to the women?  They never intended to give them 
any power?"

"Not exactly.  Recall from the lieutenant's story that they didn't 
actually promise to give them power over all men, just the ones they 
were watching.  Any woman who accepted will probably be turned into 
shock troops as well, but they will be given command over those new 
troops."

"But how can they give them command over all the men?  Surely not all 
the men will accept the offer."

"Any men who don't accept will be turned into slaves.  They won't 
like it or willingly obey, but the women will be given command."

"That's insidious."

"These people have millennia of practice at insidious."

"Is there some way to get me back to command so I can report back 
what I've learned?"

"Actually, General, you're out of this war unless you come with me. 
There's no way you can really prove you are who you were.  I'll bet 
your fingerprints have changed.  A retina print or a DNA print might 
prove it, but even if you can prove it, in an effort to understand 
what happened to you, they will subject you to endless tests."

"How can you be so sure that they won't be able to prove how to 
duplicate your magic with science?"

"Because others with far more experience with magic have worked at it 
and failed.  There is a woman currently living in California who has 
achieved some wondrous results by applying the principles of 
theoretical quantum physics to her use of magic, but even she can't 
explain all about magic."

"But if our experts-"

"General, you don't understand.  Magic isn't like science.  Once a 
principle of science has been discovered, anyone who takes the time 
to learn it can apply it.  But with magic, you must first have the 
potential before you can use it.  Even if your 'experts' can discover 
the principles behind magic, they'll never be able to apply it, at 
least not until it's too late."

I now realize that the man was right, although at the time I wanted 
to argue.  I had spent my entire life in the service of the American 
military.  I found it hard to believe that we would be so powerless 
against these strangers.  But I decided that there would be no point 
in arguing at this juncture.  I ordered the lieutenant to return to 
command to report what I could not.

It was then that I experienced my first beneficial taste of magic, 
minor as it was.  The four armed man told us to wait for a second 
before Lt. Callender returned to her post.  He then started to sing. 
Normally I wouldn't make commentary, but the man was bad.  I mean 
real bad.  The song was barely tolerable, and felt like someone was 
running their fingernails across a chalkboard.  The reason I do 
explain this is because he later explained that this was what he 
called his Crutch.

He explained that all Witches had a method of focusing their magic 
energy in order to cast spells.  It's always something hard to do, 
but not impossible.  For this man it was singing a song from 
beginning to end.  But before the man received his power he had an 
accident with his vocal chords.  And as painful as his singing was on 
my ears, he informed me it was twice as painful on him.

I asked him if there was anyway to use the Crutch against the Dark 
Alliance.  It was then that he explained the difference between 
sorcerers and Witches, and that the Dark Alliance consisted of 
sorcerers, not Witches.  Witches, he explained, are born with the 
potential to manipulate magic, and on the birthday of a year 
following a multiple of six (7, 13, 19, etc.) they undergo a physical 
Transformation, and gain the ability to actively use their power.  A 
sorcerer, on the other hand, won't develop their potential until 
sometime after puberty.  But before they can utilize their magic, 
they need to have a special kind of spell cast on them that they call 
an Awakening spell.

When he told me that there were no Witches in the Dark Alliance, I 
asked him how he could be so sure.  He then explained that most 
Witches' Transformations were not something that could be easily 
hidden, his own arms being an example.  As a result, Witches are 
insular and form close knit groups with each other.  He also 
explained that the power that the Dark Alliance uses pollutes the 
soul and drives its users insane.  He said that there was no way that 
a Witch could become attached to them without other Witches knowing. 
I personally was doubtful, but didn't argue it.

Anyways, after he finished his song, magic energy swirled around us, 
and I was back in uniform, altered to fit my new form.  The 
lieutenant was also back in uniform, but only briefly.  After just a 
second or two, her clothes shimmered and she was back in her latex 
outfit.  The man explained that whatever had changed her outfit was 
still active on her, and would change whatever clothes she wore into 
her new style.  It was probably better that way, though.  It would 
give her definitive proof of the story.

After we sent her on her way, I asked the man if he could change me 
back.  He told me that he had barely had enough power to manage the 
clothes transformation he had done, but one of the women we would be 
meeting later on was a sorceress who specialized in physical 
transformations, so she'd be the one to ask.

We continued to travel for a while to an outlying suburb.  We went to 
a large house and went inside.  There we met a man who the Warlock 
(the male, four-armed Witch) introduced as his husband, Thomas, a 
sorcerer he had met only a year ago.  We went into the basement, 
where an intricate circle filled with artwork and inscriptions rested 
in the center of the floor of the room.

Just about a minute later, the room shimmered and without any other 
portent, two women stood in the center of the circle.  The two women 
were of an almost unnatural beauty, one being an over 6' blonde, the 
other a stunning redhead about a half foot shorter than her partner. 
The most notable thing about both women was the size of their 
breasts.  Both were enormously well endowed in that department.

They were introduced to me as Jenny (not Jennifer) Welker (the 
blonde) and Wanda Adams.  They were here to recon the situation and 
to try to do whatever they could to slow down the Dark Alliance.

************

[Dorina Tempus]

I walked into the control room.  "How go the shows of force?"

My slut, dressed only in a pair of panties (she had slowly been 
making her clothing more and more revealing ever since I first took 
Lois to my bed in an effort to draw my attention back to her), said, 
"Exceedingly well, ma'am.  We've already detonated the transformation 
spells in the U.S. and China.  And we're already receiving reports 
from the other countries we were assaulting that they are starting to 
withdraw their troops without even the need for threat."

"Very good."  The heads of the countries didn't know it, but we had 
only decided to invest enough energy for three mass transformation 
spells.  We chose the U.S. and China for the large number of troops 
each had placed outside their capitols.  To be honest, I hadn't 
decided what would be the third target if there had been no 
withdrawal.  Most likely Japan, but any European country was also a 
possibility.  I turned to another subordinate.  "It's time to proceed 
with stage 2 of our plan.  Tell the groups targeting the U.N., 
Silicon Valley, and Cairo to go ahead."

I turned to walk away, but was surprised when the man said, "Ma'am, I 
don't understand why we're going after Cairo.  Egypt is hardly a 
power capable of doing anything to resist us."

The room went dead calm as I froze in place.  I slowly turned back to 
him, and coldly said, "Cairo itself is a distraction.  I want the 
pyramids.  They predate the last Dark War we waged, and despite being 
in the kill zone of the final battle, somehow managed to survive 
relatively unscathed.  Teams we've sent in since then have detected 
something there, but we've never discovered exactly what.  I want to 
know what it is."

I felt a wave of surprise run through the room as I turned and seemed 
to walk away from this man.  But before I left the room, I said, "One 
other thing."  I then raised my hand and clenched it into a fist. 
The man screamed in pain as part of his body was destroyed by my 
magics.  "I just destroyed one of your kidneys by blasting it apart. 
You couldn't take a transplant for it even if one were available. 
Question me again and I will ensure you a horrible, painful death as 
a reward."  Then I said, "Slut, be in my room in one hour.  Wear that 
red teddy I like," and left the room.

An hour later, I heard the knock on my door, and I had my slut come 
in.  The first thing I had her do was get down on my knees and suck 
me off.  I enjoyed her doing that.  Thanks to her sub-dimensional 
pocket, Lois was the better fuck, but because of my spells, my slut 
definitely gave a better blowjob.  After we finished, I ordered her 
to my bed as I began to get undressed.

While I stripped off my clothes, she asked, "Mistress, may I inquire 
as to where your attache is?"

"She's with Bambi tonight."

"I see."

"And I see that you still disapprove of their relationship."

"No, ma'am, but it isn't my place to judge."

"No, but this amuses me.  Feel free to speak your mind."

"I just don't understand why you allow their relationship.  They have 
formed an emotional attachment to each other.  Bambi Welker could 
undermine the girl's devotion to you."

"You still underestimate the control the dark power has in our lives. 
Once a part of you, it can never be denied.  Far more damage is being 
done to Bambi's self image by forcing her to use her body in order to 
continue as she is than is being done to my control of Lois."

"As you say, Mistress."

As I climbed on the bed, she asked, "Mistress, may I ask one more 
thing?"  I sighed, but said okay.  "I've noticed that each of the 
three factions in this war refer to the previous war by different 
names.  We call it the Dark War, the Witches refer to it as the Witch 
War, and the sorcerers and sorceresses call it the Mage War.  Is that 
just ethnocentrism?  Wouldn't it just be easier for all concerned to 
refer to it by the same name?"

"Very good for you to have noticed.  It's that intelligence which 
managed to get you through your college education despite being in 
our pedophilial ring.  The fact is each name refers to something 
slightly different.  The Witch War refers to the war the Witch 
renegades fought to eliminate human magical potential.  The Mage Wars 
refer to the battle the White Sisterhood and the Collegiate 
Brotherhood waged against us when we took advantage of the Witch War 
to launch our attacks.  And the Dark War is what we use to refer to 
the part we played in both wars.  Although no one but us knows what 
part we played in both wars."

"What part did we play in the Witch War?"

I started stroking her breast.  "We did nothing less than help the 
renegades win the war.  Ironically, it was seeing us start to win 
when humanity was stripped of most of its potential that convinced 
the renegades to sacrifice themselves to provide the humans with the 
power to capture our Dark Lords, reducing our own power so they could 
defeat us."

My slut was panting in lust, but asked, "How did we manage to destroy 
human magic potential?  That'd take more power than all the Dark 
Alliance mages combined."

"We used the power of the Temple of Dalinor combined with-" 
Realizing what had happened in the last war, I froze.  "By the Dark 
Ones!"

"Mistress?"

"How could I have been so stupid?!  If they find out the secret 
behind the Temple..."

My slut was asking something, but I was already off the bed and 
running back to the control room.  It was a measure of how important 
this was that I didn't even clothe myself.  As soon as I was in the 
room, I ordered the troop deployment officer, "I want an Intrusion 
and Elimination team sent to the Beverly Hills complex of our 
enemies."  The man started to protest, but I just disintegrated him 
before he finished his first sentence.  I pointed to another man and 
said, "You're now in charge of his position.   Order the team out 
now!"

The new man wisely asked, "Target?"

"Daphne Newell.  Even if it takes sacrificing every man on the team, 
the she-demon teth-kiran must die!"

************

[Elizabeth Norman Thompson]

I was in my room today.  Lynnette was working with some of the more 
technically minded sorceresses in an attempt to teach them how to 
cast the spells she invented.  Unfortunately, she wasn't having much 
luck.  It seemed that she was right, and without years of training in 
subatomic physics, others just couldn't envision what was necessary 
for the spell.

Little James started to cry a bit for food and as I picked him up, a 
tear escaped my eye.  Not because of anything James did, but because 
I was suddenly reminded that Bambi wasn't here to help.  Whenever I 
needed anything when she was here, she was right by my side to help. 
She took her duties as my wife to be very seriously and really did 
more than she had to.  Maybe it was because she felt she was to be 
denied the joy of birthing a child, but she was always there for me.

I walked over to the window, lamenting the fact that I hadn't been 
able to give Bambi her wedding gift.  I had talked it over with her 
mother, and decided to change Bambi into a full female.  Let's face 
it, with all the war was bound to entail, there was no way the world 
was going to be able to deny the presence of magic any longer.  But 
then the day of the wedding came, and when Daphne and her wives were 
otherwise occupied, we were attacked and Bambi was taken from us.

Lynn and I had been beating ourselves up since then.  When the 
diversionary attack was made, both of us raced off to the attack.  We 
headed back just in time to see that woman in the armor take to the 
sky with Bambi and Louise.  Travis and the CMS took to the sky after 
them, but it was no use.  As soon as the stranger left our shielded 
compound, she was gone.

I and a few others quickly tried to trace her, but she was long gone. 
I wanted to get together with Travis and Lynn, but Travis had 
disappeared.  When I tried to track him, I found he was just as 
shielded as Bambi was.  It was then that Lynn told me about the magic 
armor Travis had received as a gift from the Master.  I was a little 
miffed that no one had felt to confide in me, but I understood their 
reasoning.

It's now 3 months later.  I hear from Travis every week, but he and 
the CMS haven't found anything.

But today, when I was feeding James and staring out the window into 
the morning light, I said, "Travis, bring Bambi back to us."

I didn't expect an answer, but was surprised when I heard a voice 
say, "Bambi is safe for now."

I turned suddenly and saw the Master, just as everyone had described 
him.  A tall man, well built, dressed in black clothes with a hood 
that seemed to encompass the Abyss itself.  "The Master, I presume?"

"Indeed.  And you are Elizabeth Norman.  The littlest one, all grown up."

"Excuse me, but do I know you?  You seem awfully familiar."

"No.  But you should."

"But... you know where Bambi is?"

"I do."

"Then tell me.  I'll get her back!"

"How?  By storming the base and breaking down all the walls between 
her and you?"

"If I have to!"

"She'll be dead before you get through the first shield.  And even if 
you do manage to get to her, you will tie up enough of your own 
forces that the Dark Alliance will be able to win the war.  As much 
as I hate the fact that Bambi now rests in their hands, you must 
trust that Travis and the CMS will save her.  The fate of humanity 
must come first."

"So why are you here?  And why won't you come and tell the councils 
what you know?"

"As I told Bambi, there are two people who would be present at the 
council meeting who would know exactly who I am, even through the 
shields I have.  I'm taking a big risk just by being this close.  But 
regardless, I am here to give you warning.  The Dark Alliance's plans 
are moving forward.  Their next targets are New York for the 
diplomats at the U.N. building, Cairo for the pyramids, and Silicon 
Valley.  I'm not sure why they want that one.  Of the three targets, 
it is most imperative that you stop them from taking the pyramids of 
Egypt."

"Why?"

"There is an ancient magic power linked to the pyramids.  If the Dark 
Alliance gets their hands on it, they will eventually figure out how 
to work it and become unstoppable."

"But Jenny, out best warrior, has already left for D.C."

"Leave her there.  She will be able to keep enough forces busy there 
to help with Cairo.  But it is you and your wife who must deal with 
the forces in Egypt."

"But... Lynnette is barely through her apprenticeship.  She's not 
ready to engage in battle."

"But it is Lynnette's understanding of sub-atomic physics and its 
relationship to magic that might allow her to actually utilize the 
pyramids, or, failing that, to destroy them before your enemies can 
capture them.  No one else will do."

"But-"

"Elizabeth, I understand your feelings and your desire to protect 
Lynnette, but she is the only one who can do what needs to be done."

I felt tears in my eyes.  I knew that Lynn was prepared to go into 
battle for the sake of our family and children, but knowing and being 
forced to face that fact were two different things.

The Master, with real compassion, said, "Little Elizabeth, so much 
like your namesake.  Tall and powerful, but with a heart that bleeds 
far too easily.  Trust in your love, child, and you and Lynn will be 
fine.  Now go, you will now be able to prepare before the Dark 
Alliance launches its attack, but only if you go now."

I suppose I should've questioned him further, but part of me trusted 
him.  I don't know why, but I did.  "Will you at least wait for me to 
get back?"

"I wish I could, but I left my spy post as soon as I heard this.  If 
I stay too long here, I will be risking my cover.  But know that I am 
close to Bambi, and will keep her safe."  Then, before I could say 
another thing, the Master was gone, and I had felt nothing.

Shaking my head, I called for an emergency meeting of the councils 
and told them what the Master had told me.  Everyone was a little 
mystified about this man who seemed to be able to come and go as he 
pleased, but it was agreed that his warning couldn't be denied.  So 
teams were dispatched to Silicon Valley, New York, and Cairo, with 
Lynn and me as the leaders of Team Cairo.

We're about to leave, so I'm updating my diary.  It scares the hell 
out of me to realize that this may be the last thing I write in this 
book.  It scares me even more to realize that I might write again, 
but write without Lynn by my side.

************

[Dorina Tempus]

After I returned to my room, I sent my slut back to the control room. 
I sat on my bed in a meditative trance, connecting my senses to the 
strike team being sent to the Witch (et. al.) compound.  If 
necessary, I would step through and destroy the wish granter myself, 
but for now I would just watch.  The Intrusion team made it to the 
mansion without problems, but from here on out it would be nothing 
but problems.  But we did catch a break.  The Forces of Light chose 
that moment to teleport a few groups of people out of the compound.

Using the burst of energy as a cover, our team broke through the 
outer shell and approached the house.  Judging by the lack of 
response, nobody had noticed the initial intrusion, but there was no 
way we were going to penetrate the mansion shields without alerting 
everyone in the base.  So as the team got close to the mansion, I had 
half the team drop their cloaks and engage the shield openly.

The teth-kiran had to die!

************

[Sarah]

We had just sent Elizabeth and Lynn off to Cairo.  I was worried 
about them, of course, but I was also concerned about this Master 
fellow who seemed to be able to slip through our shields without a 
pause.  Damn it, those shields were the best in the world, by both 
the Witches' and the Sorceresses' admissions.  I mean it was one 
thing when he approached Bambi in the yard, but the only way he 
should've been able to get through the inner shields is to have been 
keyed to them, and only a blood relative, Elizabeth or Daphne, could 
adjust the shields to add another person without me knowing about it.

The sorceresses had told me about the Hexatar staff that the Master 
had access to, but could even that give him the ability to slide 
through the shields?  Particularly after all the upgrades made to 
them over the last year?  Now I realized that the Master had, so far, 
only helped, but his unwillingness to be brought to the council made 
me nervous.

And both Bambi and Elizabeth had said that there were two people here 
that could identify him no matter how he hid himself.  But so what? 
If he was truly on our side, why would our knowing who he was be a 
problem?  And which two knew who he was?  Bambi had said that she was 
important to him, so perhaps her mother and Jenny?  But Jenny had met 
the Master and had not recognized him.  But then again, it had only 
been a few seconds before she was teleported away from him.  But if 
not Jenny (or her mother) then who else?

I was still musing on this when the shield screeched under an attack. 
I ran to the security room.  There we had placed all our scanning and 
communication gear.  At first we had made it all magical, but taking 
the hint when Lin Kim managed to thwart all our security with nothing 
more complex than a cell phone, we upgraded with more conventional 
means as well.  When I got there, I found that a small group of mages 
were attacking the shields.  The man on duty asked, "Should I deploy 
strike teams?"

It was a good idea in principle, but I couldn't help thinking of the 
day the Dark Alliance took Bambi.  There was a massive attack, but it 
was nothing more than a diversion, giving that metal bitch a chance 
to get in and do her dirty work.  "How many teams do we have access 
to right now?"

"Seven on duty."

"Deploy two to the scene of the fight, and one to guard the doors 
closest to the fight."

"But, ma'am, we seriously reduce the likelihood of success by not 
meeting them with a force that seriously outnumbers-"

"Do it!  Then turn the scanners, both mystical and mundane, on the 
interior of the house."

The man grumbled a bit, but did as ordered.  After a couple minutes 
of scanning, he got snotty and said, "There!  Nothing!  May I now 
deploy the other forces to the fight?"

But I had noticed something he hadn't.  "Put the camera in the living 
room on the main monitor."  The man rolled his eyes but did as he was 
told.  After only a second, I yelled, "Damn!  They're inside!  Deploy 
two strike teams to the living room!" and ran out of the room.

I got to the top of the stairs that lead down into the living room. 
I saw where the darkies had made their mistake.  In the plush carpet 
on the floor were depressions where the intruders were walking, 
moving depressions.  But the strike teams, which should've gotten 
there first, were nowhere to be seen.  I figured the pinhead hadn't 
seen anything so he hadn't bothered to follow through on my order, 
and as much as I had faith in my own abilities, my specialty was not 
combat, and there were at least three dark mages here.  Thus, my 
first order of business was proving they were here.

I chanted,

"Taking this group alone, I would not dare,
So streamers of silk fill the air."

And suddenly the air above the darkies was filled with streamers. 
The streamers settled to the ground, covering and revealing six 
people at the base of the steps.

One of them yelled, "Destroy her!"

But the man in the lead said, "No!  Our primary target is the 
teth-kiran!  Two and three, neutralize this one.  The rest get around 
her and destroy the she-demon."

That scared me.  They were after Daphne!  My niece and ward!  I cast 
Mastered spells amplifying my strength, speed, and stamina (I had had 
to Master a lot of combat related spells over the last year) and 
resolved that they'd have to kill me before getting to Daphne.  So I 
charged into them, and despite it being six on one, I held most of 
them off.

But most wasn't good enough.  One, the man giving orders, got past 
me, heading towards Daph's room.  I tried to deal with the others, 
but alone, I just wasn't enough.  Thankfully, the strike teams got 
there, and freed me up to get after the man who had gotten away from 
me.

I went right to Daphne's room, hoping the man didn't know exactly 
where he was going, but it was a useless hope.  I got there just in 
time to see the man run a sword through Daphne's heart.

I looked at the man and felt cold, ruthless rage in my heart, and for 
the first time in my life, I saw a man die.  You see, that's a 
drawback to using Witch magic.  In order to kill you must first be 
able to envision a man's death.  With sorcerous magic, you need only 
envision a way to kill, and let the spell work, but with Witch magic 
you must see the end result, a man dead without hope of survival, or 
the spell adds a way out, using our compassion against us.

But after this man killed Daphne, I saw it.  I saw him fry and die and chanted,

"Hail, snow, and rain,
Die now in pain!"

And all the power I had to use flared out as raw lightning, 
destroying the man and converting him into a pile of ash.

Before the last of the ash had drifted to the ground, I ran to the 
body and took it in my arms, cradling its head to my bosom and crying 
shamelessly.  Daphne, my Daphne, my niece, my child, was dead, and 
nothing I could do would bring her back.

************

[Dorina Tempus]

I staggered back under the Witch's attack, forcing a disconnect from 
my link with the strike team leader.  I was surprised at the savagery 
of the woman's attack, but I suppose I shouldn't have been.  We had 
just killed her niece.

I was rubbing my head to dispel the headache from the forced 
disconnection when a knock on the door came.  I almost growled, "Come 
in!"

A man opened the door and said, "Ma'am, you wished to be informed 
when the strike teams were ready to attack the stage 2 cities."

I angrily said, "Fine.  You've told me.  Now send for my attache and 
get out!"  The man beat a hasty retreat from my presence.

Five minutes later Lois came into the room.  She ran to my side, 
saying, "Miss Tempus, what's wrong?"

I growled, "Magic overload, so get over here."  She nodded, 
understanding what I was going through, but at that point I didn't 
care.  As soon as she was within arms reach, I grabbed her and tossed 
her on the bed.  I was still naked from earlier, and Lois was wearing 
nothing but a robe.  I climbed between her legs, pushed my dick into 
her cunt and slammed in, feeling relief almost as soon as I did.  I 
then pounded into her relentlessly, slamming away until I orgasmed, 
the sexual release displacing the energies of the overload.  I then 
realized I had a bit of damage control to do.  I put on my best 
guilty face, and said, "I'm sorry.  It's just..."

"I understand.  There isn't a mage out there who hasn't had to deal 
with a magical backlash.  We all know what it takes to recover from 
one."

"Have sex with me?"  I was prepared to make it an order, but with 
Lois's ability to punish those who hurt her, that could be very 
dangerous.

But it wasn't an issue.  She just smiled and said, "Of course."  She 
reached over and took my dick in hand and started a hand job for me. 
I took her breasts in hand and dispelled the cloak she had cast to 
cover the size of her breasts.  I knew she didn't like to be reminded 
of the size of her breasts, but I loved to see them as large as 
possible.  I rarely disrupted that spell, but the excuse of the 
overload granted me more leeway right now.

I took her breasts and massaged and licked them while she fondled my 
own prodigious bosom.  I buried my face in her cleavage and licked at 
them voraciously.  She held me close as I rubbed my face in her. 
After a few seconds of this (as enjoyable as it was) I decided to do 
something else.  I got up and straddled her abdomen, placing my dick 
between her breasts, pressed them together, and bucked my hips, tit 
fucking Lois.  Only a short while later, I was cumming all over her 
face.

I got off of her and helped her to her feet.  "Thank you, Lois."

"It is your right, and my privilege."

I walked her into the bathroom.  "Let me help clean you up."  We went 
into the bathroom, and I cleaned her face with a washrag.  I suppose 
I could've cleaned her with my tongue, but I despise the taste of 
cum.  "There.  All clean."

"Thank you, ma'am."

"I suppose you'll be wanting to get back to Bambi now."

"Only if you don't need me anymore."

Playing the manipulation angle, I said, "Part of me will always need 
you, my dear, but I think we're finished here for now."

"Yes, ma'am."  She kissed me and started to the door.

"Lois, my slut is in charge of spying on the Welker girl's diary and 
informs me that the girl has formed an attachment to you.  But she 
also informs me that the girl thinks you are growing attached to her."

Lois snorted.  "The Welker girl is a naive child who has been raised 
on stories of fairy tales and happy endings.  She's seeing what she 
wants to see.  Bambi Welker is nothing more than a woman I can have 
sex with."

"That's good.  The dark forces do not tolerate treachery.  I worry 
about you getting attached and trying something stupid."

Lois shook her head dismissively.  "Check the records, ma'am.  I have 
taken a couple young men from the porn ring and have started them on 
a regimen of hormones with the intent of eventually transforming them 
into women like Bambi.  Since I can only use mundane transformation 
methods, it will take some time, but I intend to have a stable filed 
with once-men women.  Bambi is only my first."

"I knew you wouldn't disappoint me.  But there is something I want 
you to do with the Welker girl."

"Yes, ma'am?"

"Convince the girl to join us.  Her intellect could be of great use to us."

"I will... do my best, ma'am."

"You seem hesitant."

"It's just that if she joins us, we will be obligated to transform 
her into a full woman as promised.  My little teen playthings would 
be better than nothing, but will not be as far advanced as Bambi for 
some time yet."

"Make her another offer.  Tell her that in return for her servitude, 
we will take her family alive and do them no physical harm.  Then 
tell her that she can only accept one of our offers.  If she has gone 
this long without accepting our offer, then the safety of her family 
will be the greater lure."

"Thank you, ma'am."

After she left, I smiled.  Perhaps the girl would accept our offer. 
It was doubtful, Bambi was too smart for that, but it would keep her 
off balance.  The cell should've been escape proof to a powerless 
child, but I wasn't taking any chances.  If my time as a mage had 
taught me anything, it was that the concept of impossible was just an 
illusion.

************

[Elizabeth Norman Thompson]

We stepped out into the basement of the house of our allies in Egypt. 
Our allies had been warned to expect us and the heads of the local 
group were there to greet us.  The two leaders were a Witch who 
looked like Bast (a cat headed woman) and a sorceress of Egyptian 
descent.  [Transcriber's notes:  Although Elizabeth's diary does 
contain the introductions of all in the room, these two are now 
active agents within the Egyptian secret service, and, as a favor to 
their government, we have omitted all reference to their real names. 
The Witch and Sorceress are hereafter referred to as Bast and Isis, 
respectively.  As introductions are made, the four head to the 
street, Bast casting spells to appear normal, and Isis getting behind 
the driver's seat of the car.]

As the rest of us got into the car, [Bast] told me, "We've deployed 
our forces throughout the city, along with a couple sorcerers at each 
pyramid.  No doubt, if the Dark Alliance stays true to form, they'll 
attack the city at the same time as they go for the pyramids, using 
each as a diversion for the other.  But we'll get there first and 
ambush them as they try to take the pyramids."

"I have been informed that somewhere within the pyramids is a device 
that we might be able to use to help win the war."

[Isis] commented, "We know about that, and we think we know what it 
is, but if you can  figure out how to use it, let us know.  There 
isn't a sorceress alive who hasn't felt the power hidden within the 
pyramids, just by getting close, but only recently has anyone even 
found the source of that power, much less figured out how to work it."

"Isn't a sorceress alive?  What about Witches?"

"For some reason, Witches don't sense the power.  No one knows why."

"But you say you've found the source of the power?  Why haven't you 
told anyone about it?"

"Elizabeth, I am not only in the White Sisterhood, I am also in the 
employ of the government.  I have taken certain confidentiality oaths 
not to reveal what has been shown to me to anyone, and, as you may or 
may not know, once a sorceress has given her word, her own magic will 
work to ensure she keeps it.  The only reason I can discuss it now is 
because I know that you know it's there."

We traveled the rest of the way with [Bast] and [Isis] briefing us on 
the protective measures being taken by our forces in the protection 
of the city.  We got to the pyramids, and, sure enough, to me they 
were nothing more than really big hunks of stone, but through our 
link I could sense that Lynnette was feeling something really 
powerful here.  Lynn and [Isis] took a careful scan of the pyramids 
and decided on one to investigate.  (Personally they all seemed much 
the same to me.)

We went up to it, and, like the others, were off limits to the 
general public.  The government had closed access to the public to 
protect the pyramids, ostensibly from unintentional vandalism, but 
[Isis] stepped up, flashed an I.D. of some kind and the guard let us 
by.  As we went into the bowels of the pyramid, [Isis] commented, 
"The perks of working for the government."

We got into the deepest level of the pyramid and [Isis] said, "Now 
it's time to show you ladies the real reason why the Egyptian 
government closed the pyramids to the public."  She pressed on a 
pattern of rocks in the side of the wall.  There was a shimmering of 
light, and suddenly the entire wall disappeared.  Behind the now gone 
wall was a large chamber.  Right in the center of the chamber was a 
large glowing ball of light.  The ball was translucent and in the 
center of the ball was a collection of smaller balls of darker light 
floating in seemingly random patterns around each other.  Although I 
still felt nothing, it was clear that both [Isis] and Lynn were awed 
by the sight.

[Isis] said, "A few decades ago a child wandered away from a tour and 
got lost.  While waiting for someone to find him, he noticed a 
pattern of discolorations on the wall and started pressing them in 
different patterns, stumbling onto the right pattern by accident. 
The searchers found him just as the wall faded and this came into 
view.  The government convinced the kid that it was a new attraction 
they were working on, and promptly sealed all the pyramids.  They 
have since found similar chambers with similar glowing orbs in a 
couple other pyramids, but we sorceresses know that all the pyramids 
are imbued with power of a similar nature."

I asked, "Anybody have any guesses as to what it is?"

"Not a clue.  The hieroglyphs around it say something about it being 
used to awaken the guardian of Egypt, the ones we can decode, that 
is.  Most of the symbols on the walls are like nothing previously 
seen and thus totally indecipherable."

At that point, I heard Lynn mutter, "In all my dreams, I never 
thought that I'd see the day."

I turned to her.  "Lynn, do you know what this is?"

"I'm not 100 percent sure, but I think it's quantum technology."

"Quantum technology?"

"You know what organic technology is?"

"Well, theoretically, it's a machine which is at least part living matter."

"Quantum technology is kind of the same principle, except instead of 
being made out of living matter, it's made out of raw quantum... 
stuff.  At that level the distinction between energy and matter is a 
bit hazy."

[Isis] asked, "Can you figure out how to work it?"

"I have no idea.  It may take a while though.  This thing is pretty 
immense.  No telling how much is inside this thing."

"Immense?  It's only a couple feet across."

"You don't get it.  A quantum particle, a quark, is infinitely small. 
Compared to a quark, a proton is planet sized, and an atom is the 
size of a solar system.  This...  Well, imagine a machine the size of 
a galaxy.  If, inside, it's a fairly simple machine, then I won't 
have a problem, but if it's a multi-function machine with a lot of 
complex parts then it could take millennia just to scratch the 
surface."

Just then the entire pyramid shook with a massive explosion.  I said, 
"I don't think we've got millennia.  More like milliseconds."

[Isis] took charge.  "Lynnette, you see if you can figure that thing 
out.  Judging from that explosion, I'd guess we're going to need it. 
Elizabeth, [Bast], come with me.  We're going to have to engage the 
Dark Alliance directly."

The three of us ran up to the surface and found chaos.  There were a 
half dozen men on floating disks flying around just our pyramid, 
attacking the guards with sticks that shot bolts of mystic force. 
Looking around, I could see that each of the other pyramids were 
similarly besieged.

[Bast] and I dispelled the spells that covered our Transformations 
(we'd need the energy for the fight), and engaged the infernalists. 
The guards were almost defeated when we jumped in, but still had this 
surprised look on their faces when they saw this cat-woman and this 
demon-tailed lady come to their aid.  [Isis] jumped in a few seconds 
later, yelling, "The city forces are too besieged to help, ladies. 
We're on our own!"  I was disappointed, but not surprised.  The odds 
didn't look good, but we fought on.

I lost track of time, but it seemed like the battle went on forever. 
We managed to hold our own, but, at some point, I saw a dome form in 
the distance, and knew we had lost the city.  I felt magic flying 
from the city towards us and knew it to be Dark Alliance troops.  I 
saw the sorcerers defending one of the other pyramids fall and the 
darkies fly towards the entrance, and I despaired, thinking we were 
lost.

But then it happened.  There was an explosion of light from inside of 
the pyramid that the darkies were about to get into, blowing the 
infernalists back, but leaving everything else untouched.  The top of 
each pyramid then started to glow.  It looked like that symbol on the 
back of the U.S. one dollar bill, minus the eye.  Beams of light 
traveled down the corners of the pyramid to its base.  The light then 
traveled along each base to the other corner until each edge was 
glowing.  The line along the base started moving upwards, filling 
each side with light.  I figured Lynn had worked out how to use that 
thing, and wondered if she was okay.

I turned and saw that [Bast] and [Isis] were still fighting, but 
seemed to be holding their own, so I ran back into the pyramid.  I 
know I probably shouldn't have, but I had to find Lynn.  I went 
through the wall of light covering the entrance and down into the 
depths of the pyramid.  There I found Lynn standing next to the ball 
of light, her hands on its sides, fingers spread widely.  Her eyes 
glowed with the same light being emitted by the ball, and from the 
angle of her head, it looked like she was staring deep into its 
depths.

I called out, "Lynn?"

She replied, "Hello, Elizabeth," but it sounded so mechanical, so 
emotionless.  "You should be with our allies.  They may need your 
assistance."

"I had to see if you were okay."

"I am fine.  Now go.  I need to concentrate in order to awaken the 
guardian of Egypt."

I got the distinct feeling I was being dismissed, but I knew Lynnette 
was right, so I returned to the surface.  There I saw [Bast] on the 
ground, wounded.  [Isis] was off to one side fighting with an almost 
berzerker rage.

I ran to [Bast]'s side and asked, "What's wrong?  What can I do?"

"Nothing.  Maybe a healer could save me, but there are no healers close."

"No!  I won't accept that!"

She just grinned a cat's grin.  "It was a pleasure meeting you, 
Council-Witch Elizabeth.  In my next life, I shall treasure this."

It was then that the pyramids started the next step.  The energy 
flowing up the base of the pyramids touched the glowing tips and then 
suddenly flowed upwards into that tip, making each glow with the 
intensity of a small sun.  A beam of light then burst from each tip, 
beaming towards a point about ten to twenty yards above the Sphinx. 
Any dark sorcerers in the path of the beams just disappeared, snuffed 
out like a candle flame.  The others chose that moment to beat a 
retreat back to the city.

[Isis] ran back to us, pushing me out of the way to get beside 
[Bast].  "[Bast].  [Bast], don't die.  I don't want to lose you.  I 
love you."

[Bast] said, "I just wish it was the way I wanted.  I wish you'd be 
my lifemate."

"I'll be your lifemate, if you'll just stay with me."

"I wish I could."

[Isis] turned to me, anger in her eyes.  "This is your fault!  If you 
hadn't run off, she wouldn't be hurt!"

I turned away, too guilty to respond.  [Bast] said, "[Isis], love, 
don't.  This is war.  Death is always a possibility."

The pyramids then started their next stage.  Light was collecting in 
a ball at the nexus above the Sphinx.  The ball then burst downward 
in a column of light, flowing into the Sphinx.

I turned back to the ladies.  [Bast] said, "[Isis], love, I wish I 
could stay with you.  I'll even pretend you really meant it when you 
said you'd be my lifemate."

"But I did mean it."

[Bast] smiled, then cringed in pain.  "[Isis], before I die, touch me 
like I'd like to be touched.  I told you I'd never ask again after 
you told me you only liked guys, but I am dying."  [Isis] reached up 
and stroked [Bast]'s breast, tears flowing from her eyes.

I then heard a cracking sound from the Sphinx.  I turned and saw the 
Sphinx cracking.  The outer shell of rock burst apart, and the Sphinx 
stood up.  The man-lion stretched like someone waking from a long 
sleep.  It looked around and muttered something I couldn't understand.

He looked over, saw us, and pointed a finger at [Bast].  A beam of 
light shot from it, struck her, and instantly healed her.  She sat 
up, as I heard in my head, "Sisters, lend me your memory."  I felt my 
mind being scanned, knowledge of the world's situation flowing from 
my mind.  When the scan ceased, the Sphinx, anger in his eyes, said, 
"Excuse me," and strode towards the city.

I turned back to the girls.  [Bast] looked down, saying, "I won't 
hold you to your earlier words.  I know-"

[Isis] then slammed the cat-girl to her back, and pressed their lips 
together, eliciting the most astonished look from [Bast].  When they 
broke, [Isis] said, "I'm not letting you out of it."

"I thought you said you didn't like girls.  Not sexually, at least."

"I don't like girls.  I like A girl.  I love you, dear heart." 
[Bast] threw her arms around [Isis] and hugged her tightly.

I turned back to watch the Sphinx, dancing a spell to amplify my 
senses.  The huge man-best approached the dome and struck it with his 
fist, shattering it like cheap crystal.  He reached into the city, 
grabbed something and destroyed it, detonating a huge explosion of 
magical energy.  When that cleared, somehow I knew that all the Dark 
Alliance soldiers were gone.  He then waved his hand and a dome 
formed, covering the land as far as the eye could see.

He then ran back to the pyramids.  He went to one knee before me, 
saying, "Council-Witch Elizabeth, greetings."

I was stunned.  "Who...  What are you?"

"I am the first, and apparently only, sorcerer-Warlock, and Egypt's 
sworn protector.  I was born to a sorcerer and a Witch, and when I 
didn't Transform by my 19th birthday, my sorcerous power was 
Awakened.  But then, on my 43rd birthday I Transformed into this. 
Late in my life, though, a great evil threatening the land was 
foretold and I was placed in magic stasis."  In a melancholy tone, he 
said, "I just wish I had been awakened during the last war.  This was 
once such a beautiful land."

"I'm sorry.  But can you help us defeat the Dark Alliance?"

"With both sorcery and witchcraft at my command, I am a most powerful 
ally, but I am also bound to this land and cannot leave it.  But I 
declare the Dark Alliance my enemy, and, as much as I can, I will aid 
you.  I think also, I might act as teacher.  From what I have seen, 
much of the art of magic has been lost in the millennia of my sleep. 
But before anything else, I would meet the mages who awakened me to 
thank them."

"It wasn't a group.  It was just one, my wife, Lynnette."

"Just one?!  The Matrix was never meant to be used by just one.  It 
is too powerful.  Go to her now!  She may be injured!"

I took off at a dead run to the interior of the pyramid.  I found 
Lynn unconscious on the floor.  The ball of light was gone, but I 
didn't care.  I picked up Lynn and teleported right home.  But right 
before I did, I heard a voice (the Master's, I think) say, "Your 
children will be the key to saving her."

So now I'm home.  Lynnette hasn't moved since we got here.  None of 
the healers can find anything wrong with her, but she's unresponsive 
to any stimuli.  I keep the kids by her side, hoping they'll do some 
good, but so far nothing.

On another note, Daphne's officially dead, but I can't worry about 
that now.  Great Maker, help Lynnette find her way back to me.

************

[Dorina Tempus]

I was in the control room when the reports came in.  "We've taken New 
York and Cairo, but both forces met stiffer resistance than expected."

"And Silicon Valley?"

"A failure, as planned."

"Good.  How many prisoners did we take?"

"Less than a dozen."

"Why so few?"

"There were more sorcerers than expected.  On all three counts, it 
appeared that our opponents were prepared for us."

"How?"  The man shrugged.

Before I could say another thing, there was a magical rippling, and a 
charred body appeared in the room.  He was barely alive, and I knew 
he was the commander of our Cairo strike team.  "What happened?"

He was barely able to speak.  "City lost.  Defender of Egypt, the 
Sphinx... alive.  All but me... dead."

"Damn.  They figured out the pyramids before we did."

The man grasped my arm desperately.  I was tempted to destroy him for 
his impertinence, but before I could, he said, "They were ready for 
us!  Council-Witch Elizabeth was there!" and died.

That explained it.  If the Witch Elizabeth was there than no doubt 
the sorceress Lynnette was there.  But why were those two there? 
They were American.  Why were they in Egypt?  Then I had an answer. 
"The Master."  We knew he was spying on us, but had yet to find him. 
But it was time to take that wild card from the deck.

************

[Sarah]

[Transcriber's notes: To be honest I'm not sure why I was ordered to 
split this from Sarah's previous entry.  This is a direct 
continuation from the last entry, and should've been placed there.  I 
suspect a general wanted to try his hand at drama, but mine is not to 
question, just to follow orders.]

As I sat there bawling, I felt a hand on my shoulder.  I looked up to 
see Jasa.  "I'm sorry," I told her.  "I couldn't save her."

Jasa had a look on her face, a look not of sorrow, but of concern. 
"Aunt Sarah, you need to make sure we aren't being watched from 
outside the house."

I was mystified and a little angry.  "Jasa, don't you understand? 
Daphne's dead!"

"Aunt Sarah, please!  Those people may have brought sensory links in 
with them, which means the shields are compromised.  Seal the 
shields, then we'll talk."

I didn't understand it.  Jasa had loved Daphne so much that, as 
Jason, he had tracked her down 4 years after they had graduated from 
high school, but she didn't seem to be fazed in the slightest by 
Daphne's death.  I was stunned and wanted to argue, but couldn't 
think of a thing to say.  So instead I turned my attention to sealing 
the shields.

"Seeds are planted, and soil tilled,
Let the holes in the shield now be filled."

I felt the magic swirl and repair the weaknesses created in the 
shield by our intruders.  I then turned on Jasa, prepared to tear 
into her for what I saw as callous insensitivity.  But before I could 
say a thing, the closet door creaked open and I saw Daphne stick her 
head out.  I looked from the living Daphne to the body on the floor. 
Even to my own magical senses, the two were almost identical.  But I 
didn't care.

As Daphne stepped from the closet (followed by Andrea), I ran to her 
and took her in my arms.  She hugged me back, saying, "I'm sorry, 
aunt Sarah.  We didn't have time to warn you."

We separated a bit, and I asked, "How?" looking back to the body.

"It was Jasa's idea."

Jasa came over.  "When the alarms went off, I knew, somehow, that 
they were after Daphne.  That prescient sense I got from becoming a 
Witch, I guess.  I also knew that if nothing was done, they would 
kill her.  We were in the middle of some love play, so, with Andrea's 
help, I pushed her over the edge and used the wish energy generated 
to create a simulacrum indistinguishable from the real thing."

"I'm just glad you're alive."

"No, she's not.  Aunt Sarah, the Dark Alliance was willing to throw a 
dozen men to their death in order to get to Daph.  If they find out 
she's still alive, they'll try again, but with more forces. 
Officially, at least, Daphne must remain dead."

I didn't like it, but I had to admit that Jasa was right.  We talked 
about it and came to the conclusion that not only did Daphne have to 
remain dead, but she had to go elsewhere.  My house had become the de 
facto headquarters of the war effort.  If Daphne stayed, eventually, 
someone would notice she was around and word would get back to the 
Dark Alliance, and they'd come after Daphne again.

************

[Bambi Welker]

Yesterday was... eventful.  Early yesterday morning, Lois gave me 
their offer of leaving my family physically untouched if I'd join 
them.  I pretended to consider it, but I've read too many stories 
where the devil or a Djinni or some other thingy grants a wish, but 
twists it into something else while still granting the letter of the 
wish.

A couple hours later, Lois came through the door, but this time, when 
the door opened, I wasn't frozen.  Right behind Lois, a couple men 
walked in.  Lois said, "Come with me.  Dorina wishes to speak to you."

I was at the desk in the room, and stood.  "Can I have some clothes?"

Lois stood there for a second before saying, "No."  I sighed and 
followed her out of the room.  You know, the discomfort of heels and 
bra straps might get a lot of complaining from women, but I'd gladly 
wear the most uncomfortable, and even painful, clothes out there just 
to be out of here.

We went to the main communication room where Dorina Tempus waited for 
us.  The two men who came with us parked themselves by the door, and 
Lois went over to stand beside Dorina.  Queen bitch turned to me and 
asked, "Have you thought about our offer?"

It had only been a short while, so I wondered what the rush was. 
"Will you promise me, here and now, that if I work for you, my family 
will come to no harm whatsoever?"

"You heard Lois give you our offer.  Do you accept it?"

"Let's not play word games, Miss Tempus.  The question I asked is not 
exactly the same as the offer Lois made.  If you promise me that my 
family will come to no harm, either at your own or the hands of any 
Dark Alliance agent, then I will gladly work for you."

Dorina smiled.  "Very good, miss Welker.  There is no way, of course, 
I could make so broad and sweeping a promise as that.  This is war 
and there's no way to ensure that every Dark Alliance agent would or 
even could keep your family from harm.  And even if there was a way, 
I'd have to strip them of their magical powers if we ever did capture 
them alive."

"So are we finished here?"

"Not quite.  You see, I have another problem."

"What's that, and what's it got to do with me?"

"My problem is this elusive figure known only as the Master.  I hear 
you've met him.  It seems he's in a position to spy on us, and I 
intend to change that."

"Again, what's that got to do with me?"

"I believe the Master holds you in some kind of personal regard, so 
I'm giving him a choice.  He needs to step forward and save you," 
then she lifted her hand and clenched it into a fist.  Suddenly it 
seemed as though every nerve in my body was on fire.  I collapsed to 
the ground, screaming in pain.  Dorina continued, "or watch you 
suffer."  I managed to look up and stretch my hand out to Lois, 
begging her to help me.  She just looked on dispassionately, as 
though my pain meant nothing to her.

Then I heard a blasting sound and the pain ceased.  I looked up and 
saw some kind of magical war flashing overhead.  I buried my head in 
my arms and waited until the flashing and blasting ceased.  When I 
looked up, I saw the Master, on his knees, held between two large 
men.  I'd say that about half of the people who were in the room were 
dead now.  Unfortunately, queen bitch wasn't amongst them.

Dorina stepped up to him and yanked off his hood.  He was an elderly 
man, maybe in his early 40's.  There was something... oddly familiar 
about him, but I couldn't put my finger on it.  Dorina studied him 
intently for a minute or so before saying, "I know you, don't I?"

The Master defiantly looked right into her face.  "We've met."

"More than met I think.  I remember killing you."

"There is that."

"Does she," Dorina nodded back at me, "know who you are?"

"No."

"Perhaps I should tell her."  Dorina looked back at me, considering 
what she was going to do.  "No.  I think I'll keep this our little 
secret for now.  Lois, take the girl back to her cell."

Lois came over and picked me up off of the floor.  I was angry and 
hurt.  I tried to push her away, but was too weak.  I was barely 
strong enough to stand up.  Strike that.  I was barely strong enough 
to pretend to stand up as Lois held me on our return to my cell.

Once there, I managed to stagger to the bed and fall into it.  Lois 
pulled the covers up over me.  I told her, "Just get out."  I was so 
angry at her.  I thought that we were at least becoming friends, if 
not a little bit more.  But she just stood there and did and said 
nothing as queen bitch tortured me to get the Master to show his 
face.  I felt so betrayed.

Then, just before she left, she gave me a small peck on the cheek and 
whispered, "I'm sorry."

For the next few hours, I just lay there and thought about things.  I 
couldn't do much else, since I was too weak to get up, and hurt too 
much to sleep.  At first, I was sure that Lois had betrayed me, but I 
started to wonder.  Did she betray me because she had no choice, or 
because she felt no real concern for me?

Then my thoughts drifted to the Master.  Who was he?  Why was he 
willing to give up a vital position of spying on the Dark Alliance in 
order to save me?

Eventually I fell asleep, my thoughts bouncing around like a ball in 
a pinball machine.  Some time later, I was awakened by the feeling of 
someone sitting on the edge of the bed.  At first, I thought it was 
Lois, and I still wasn't prepared to forgive her.  I looked up, but 
it wasn't Lois.  It was the Master, his hood down, a look of concern 
on his face.  He asked, "Are you okay?"

"I will be."

"Good, little one.  You seem to be holding up well under all this." 
He sighed and shook his head.  "It's a shame that a non-combatant 
such as yourself was ever dragged into this.  You should've been able 
to lead your life apart from this horrible war.  Instead you're now 
in the thick of it all.  I wish I could do more for you, but I have 
to go."

"Could you take me with you?"

"No.  As good as I am, there's no way I could slip us both past the 
barriers between here and the outside.  Perhaps if your power were at 
full blossom, but not now."

"What power?  My power as a woman, particularly since I wasn't born that way?"

"Do not underestimate your womanhood, Bambi.  You have had a woman's 
soul all your life.  The fact that you have had a body that didn't 
agree is not your fault.  But that wasn't what I meant.  Didn't you 
ever wonder why, with your lineage, you never had any magical power 
to speak of?"

"Kind of."

"It is an unfortunate side effect of your transsexuality and the 
society you were born into.  In many ancient cultures, if a boy 
started acting like a girl, he was more tolerated, and even allowed 
to act as he wanted.  But in today's society, you were forced into a 
role that just didn't fit you simply because of the body of your 
birth.  The resulting discontinuity that resulted acted as an 
effective block to the development of your magic.  But now, with your 
body and soul finally acting in concert, your power is beginning to 
develop.  Perhaps you've noticed that your intuition is growing?"

"Yeah.  But what does this mean to me?  Will I ever have power like 
Jenny, or even like mom?"

"No.  Your power has been stunted for too long, but that doesn't mean 
the power you have has no value.  Learn to trust your intuition.  It 
will serve you well.  But before I go, I want to give you a gift." 
He stood up, reached under his robe, and pulled out a small book.  He 
handed it to me, saying, "Here's a new diary for you.  The one you've 
got is being spied on by the darkies.  You need to continue writing 
in it, or they might get suspicious, but put your most trusted 
feelings in this.  It's shielded from their spying, but not from 
physical sight, so keep it hidden."

I had suspected their spying, but now I had proof.  "Thanks."

He leaned over and kissed me on the forehead.  "Be good, little one. 
Trust in your self and trust in your love to save you."  Then he 
faded from view.

Now I've taken the time to write down today's events in my new diary. 
I just hope the Dark Alliance is defeated soon.  I want to go home.

************

[Dorina Tempus]

After Lois took Bambi away, I turned to the Master.  "So now we 
finally have the elusive Master under our control."

He just grinned.  "My dear, you have no idea what real control is."

His smile and impertinent attitude made me want to throttle him, but 
I restrained myself.  I pulled myself together and said, "So tell me, 
how did you manage to fake your death when I killed you?  I was sure 
I felt your life force torn apart at my hands."

"Who's to say I didn't die?"

"Then how did you come back?"

"Who's to say I came back?"

I almost throttled him then and there, but somehow I got the idea 
that that was exactly what he wanted.  If this man had somehow 
managed to find a way to return from the dead, then killing him would 
just play into his hands.  "Perhaps I could get better results out of 
you if I brought little Bambi back and burned her hands off."

For the first time, his control wavered.  He grew angry and said, 
"Touch the girl again, and I WILL find a way to rip your heart out."

"So, the girl does mean something to you."

"Of course she does."

"Then perhaps we could make a deal."

"What kind of deal?"

"It's been reported that you have access to a Hexatar staff."

"I do."

"I want it.  Turn it over to me... Turn over control of it to me, and 
I'll put Bambi in a cab and deliver her back to the front gate of the 
Light estate."

"I'll need time to think about it."

"Fine.  Put him in an anti-magic cell.  I doubt even you could get 
out of there."

Too bad I was wrong.  It was about 5 hours later when Lois burst into 
my room.  I was about to lash out at her (verbally only) when she 
blurted out, "The Master is gone!"

"What?!  How?!"

"I don't know!  I checked up on him according to schedule, but he was 
just gone!"

We ran to the room, and went in.  As soon as I stepped in, I felt my 
own magic suppressed, so I knew the anti-magic was still in effect. 
Even my own prodigious magic power was useless within the bounds of 
this room.  The Master should've been as helpless as any sorcerer. 
But seconds after I stepped in, I knew that wasn't so.  One wall 
glowed and a message, just to me, appeared on it.

It read:

"Nice, little room.  Took me about 4 hours to figure out how to get 
around it.  Dark lady, I am far older than I look.  I have had many 
jobs, both mundane and magical.  I have been not only a sorcerer, but 
architect, lawyer, politician, carpenter, barber, as well as a host 
of others that even I can't remember.  The room was complex, but 
nothing I couldn't beat.

As for your offer, there's no way I could turn the Hexatar over to 
you.  The Hexatar is far too powerful to allow into the hands of the 
Dark Alliance, not even for the girl.

As for Bambi, I wasn't kidding.  Hurt her, and I will rip your heart 
from your chest.  But I realize that you might always decide to 
chance hurting her as a way to get to me, so here's my deal:  Leave 
Bambi alone and I will forgo any direct participation in the war. 
Neither you nor any other person in the war, either on the Light or 
Dark Alliance sides, will see me until the war ends.

That's the deal.  Leave her alone and neutralize me, or touch her and die.

The Master."

"Damn him!" I said.

Lois then asked, "Miss Tempus, what is it you see?"

I waved at the wall.  "Don't you see the message?"

"No, ma'am.  I see just a wall."

I glared at the message, wishing I could have my hands on him right 
then.  Without another word, I turned on my heel and strode from the 
room.

************

[Sarah]

It was the morning of the day we met the General when one more bit of 
strangeness entered into my life.  I was sitting in my room with 
Peter while he was nursing our child.  I suddenly felt this light 
tickle on the back of my neck.  I looked around and saw this glow in 
the center of the room.  Inside the glow a shape took form.  It only 
took a few seconds before a long staff, made of gold, with a hex of 
gold at the top and a ruby in its center appeared before me.  I knew 
it from Jenny's and Daphne's descriptions.  It was the Master's 
Hexatar staff.

I was mystified.  Just the presence of so powerful a magic item 
should've set off every detection spell in the house, not to mention 
getting it past the shields in the first place.  But no one came 
rushing into the room.  No one else seemed to even know it was here.

Finally, Peter said, "I think it's waiting for you."

I reached out and grasped it.  There was a surge, and, just for an 
instant, I knew everything that the staff was capable of.  But, just 
as quickly, the knowledge went away.  I knew I was still connected to 
the staff, just not sure why.

************

[Jenny Welker and Wanda Adams]

INT:  We're back from commercial.  For those of you just joining us, 
we're currently talking with Jenny Welker and Wanda Adams, discussing 
with them the events of the Restoration War.

So, Jenny, you and your wife had just teleported to a spot near 
Washington D.C. for advanced reconnaissance against the Dark 
Alliance.  What happened next?

Jenny:  We met with General Wilfred.  Then we discussed what he had 
seen.  To be honest, I didn't think there'd be much he could do, he 
was just a normal man, after all.

INT:  But that didn't turn out to be the case?

Jenny:  Hardly, but that is getting ahead of the story.

Anyways, for the next couple days we went around the dome, scanning 
it and trying to find its weaknesses.

INT: Since the dome was up for more than a couple days, I assume you 
found nothing?

Jenny:  Actually, no.  Either Wanda or I could've easily brought the 
dome down, and perhaps we would've if the military had been there to 
back us up and hadn't been transformed earlier.  But destroying the 
dome would've brought every Dark Alliance sorcerer down upon our 
heads, and much as I was tempted to try, there was no way that course 
of action would've succeeded.

INT:  So what did you do?

Wanda:  We realized that the information we had needed to be gotten 
back to the others, so we went back to the teleport locale.  There we 
got a surprise.  As soon as we went down into the basement, Thomas, 
the sorcerer there, told us that the general was going with us. 
Jenny protested a bit-

Jenny:  You did, too.

Wanda:  We both protested, feeling that it was too dangerous to get a 
norm involved.  But he told us that Lin Su had ordered it, wanting to 
talk with him directly, so we relented and teleported home with him.

Jenny:  It was when we got home that the shit really hit the fan.  It 
turns out that Lin Su hadn't even known about the general.  It had 
been James Cameron who wanted to talk to the general, and had told 
the men to tell us that Lin Su had wanted it, too.

That got everybody into a big hullabaloo.  Lin Su accusing James of 
overextending his authority.  Counter-accusations of the Sisterhood 
ignoring the sorcerers because of their relative lack of power, and 
so on.

Wanda:  Things went on like that for another five minutes or so, 
until Sarah called a halt to all the yelling and bickering.  She 
started complaining about our arguing, when she started sniffing at 
the air.  She asked, "Who the hell is smoking in my house?"

We looked around and saw the general in the corner, smoking a stogie. 
Sarah glares at him and says, "No smoking in my house!"

He just shrugged and started to put the cigar out on the base of his 
shoe.  "Well, I figured that since none of you all were serious about 
actually winning this war you're in, we all should just go ahead and 
smoke, drink, or do whatever else made us happy until the Dark 
Alliance won.

Jenny:  Lin Su was furious.  "How dare you?  I have been fighting the 
Dark Alliance for more years than you have been alive."

"Really?  I haven't seen any war between your groups.  What kind of 
battles have you fought?"

"We have fought battles to keep the Dark Alliance from destroying 
home and family.  And it is a testimony to our forces that you 
haven't seen the battles we have waged."

The general wasn't impressed.  "In other words, a shadow war. 
Battles of limited scope and effect where hiding the battles from the 
public was just as important as winning the fight.  Well, guess what? 
Things Have Changed."  He turned to the rest of us.  "All of you!  No 
longer can you be just a collection of individuals working towards 
the same goal.  You'll cross each other up as much as you do your 
opponents.  You must become a unified force, not just say so, but 
actually act as one.  That means appointing a single 
commander-in-chief for your whole force.  Someone to whom your entire 
force must answer.  A war cannot be run by committee."

Lin Su still seemed a little peeved.  She got between him and us and 
got right in his face.  "And what do you know about fighting demon 
worshipers?"

"More than you know about fighting wars.  Tell me, how many 
large-scale, open battles have you been in?  The kind where you throw 
your forces against your enemy's in a winner-take-all, 
last-man-standing, do-or-die battle?"  Lin Su remained silent. 
"None, right?  Just in the last five years, I must've been directly 
involved in a half dozen or so, and involved in the plotting and 
strategy for ten times that many at least."

"So maybe you expect us to just turn our forces over to you?"

"Hardly.  Your forces need someone they know, or at least know 
deserves his position, someone they can trust.  I could act as 
advisor or supervisor, but not as direct commander.  But if you want 
to win this war, this inner divisiveness must stop.  Period."

We milled about, but deep down we knew he was right.

INT:  So what did you decide?

Wanda:  We decided that the general was right and that we needed to 
adjourn to take a vote as to who would be elected as the supreme 
commander of the forces of light.

INT:  So who got the job?

Jenny:  Who do you think?  The most impressive, physically 
intimidating member of all three councils, Samuel Kravitz, head of 
the Witches' Council.

INT:  Physically intimidating is right.  I've met Mister Kravitz. 
His Transformation turned him into a Gryphon.

Wanda:  You've got to admit, he's an easily recognizable sight.

INT:  That he is, and judging by his form, you'd think that he'd take 
right to the role of general of an army.

Jenny:  You'd think that, but, like most of the Witch breed, Sam 
didn't much like fighting.  But it was felt that would be an asset. 
Many of the sorcerers and sorceresses had lost friends to the Dark 
Alliance in one of our many battles.  We didn't want to put somebody 
who might be prone to throw our forces recklessly against our enemies 
in some vengeance ploy in charge of our forces.  Sam recognized the 
need to fight, but wouldn't be prone to flights of anger that would 
risk lives needlessly.

After Sam was placed in charge, his first action was to take the 
general aside and confer with him to establish a chain of command for 
our forces to rally behind.  The next thing he did was to send some 
of our forces to confer with the Sphinx in Egypt.  Thanks to that 
screen the Sphinx had established, Egypt was, temporarily at least, 
free of the Dark Alliance.

INT:  So what was next for you?

Jenny:  Wanda and I were sent to check out Silicon Valley.  There was 
something about the attack pattern that the Dark Alliance had used in 
its attack that was bothering both the general and Sam.

We set out that evening, arriving in the basement of some of our allies there.

INT:  Witch or sorceress?

Wanda:  Witch.  Due to their prophetic sense, Witches knew the 
importance Silicon Valley held, both technologically and financially, 
in American culture, so about 90 percent of the magic workers in the 
area were Witches.  It was kind of a testimony to the deviousness of 
the Dark Alliance that the Witches and the sorcerers worked side by 
side for so long and never had an idea the other was there.

INT:  It seems to me that once your forces were united it would've 
made Silicon Valley a force to be reckoned with.  I believe, even 
now, Silicon Valley has one of the highest magic users to norm ratios 
of any city in the world.  Was that why the Dark Alliance targeted 
the city?

Jenny:  Not... exactly. That is what we thought, but it turns out we 
were wrong.  We were lucky, though.  When the Master told us Silicon 
Valley was a target, we bolstered the forces there with extra 
sorcerers and sorceresses, which saved more lives than we realized 
when they were attacked.

Anyways, it was only a couple hours after we got there that the dark 
forces attacked again.  It was only a few minutes before I realized 
that they were attacking... differently... weirdly.  But thanks to 
Wanda and me, we were able to keep the Dark Alliance attackers in 
check.

INT:  But what was different about the way the Dark Alliance was 
attacking?  What were they trying to accomplish?

Wanda:  It'd be another day before we found out.  More accurately 
before Lynn and the general put together what the Dark Alliance was 
attempting.  Something they almost succeeded at.

************

[Dorina Tempus]

After the Master escaped my grasp, I made the decision to make 
another strike against Silicon Valley.  It was risky, but we needed 
more captives to succeed in our primary goal.

Later that evening, after the attack was finished, I got the report. 
Twelve more captives.  With the nine we captured before we were ten 
percent of the way to our goal.

************

[Lynnette Thompson Norman]

Well, I'm back, but I'm scared of losing myself to the power again.

I barely remember my exploits in Egypt, but I do remember waking up 
in my bed at home.  I sat up and saw my two older kids, asleep around 
me.  It was a clue to how out of it I was that I felt nothing for 
them.  I felt that I was far beyond petty concerns like family or 
friends.  I slid out of bed, not waking my children.  I was dressed 
in my favorite nightgown, but thought concerns such as clothing were 
foolishness.  I disintegrated my nightgown, and noticed that my body 
was distorted.  My breasts were too large, so I fixed them.

I strode from the room and walked down the hall.  I saw people around 
me, but didn't care.  I intended to leave the house.  I knew these 
people were involved in a war, but felt that the war and all its 
participants were beneath me.

Elizabeth stopped me at the top of the stairs.  "Lynnette, are you okay?"

"I am fine, Elizabeth."

"Don't you think you should be in bed?  You had quite a shock to your system."

"I no longer need rest, Elizabeth."

"Then... for me?  Return to our room?"

"Elizabeth, although our time together will always be pleasurable to 
remember, I can no longer allow it to hold me back."

She was shocked.  "What are you saying?"

"I have to go, Elizabeth, and I won't be returning."

She didn't say anything, and I started to go around her.  She stopped 
me and asked, "What about us?  What about our family?"

"I no longer need a family."

I tried to move beyond her again, but she blocked me, saying, "I 
can't let you go, Lynn.  You're not thinking straight."

I waved my hand and Liz's hands slipped from me.  She levitated up 
and floated out of my way.  "I do not wish to harm you, Elizabeth, 
but do not attempt to impede my progress again."

I strode past her and started down the steps.  At the base, Lin Su 
waited.  "Lynnette Thompson Norman, as high ranking sorceress of the 
White Sisterhood I order you to return to your room to rest."

I ignored her order, saying, "The concerns of the Sisterhood no 
longer hold any meaning for me."

Lin Su then uttered an incantation attempting to cast a spell to 
capture me.  I caught the energy of her spell as it traveled towards 
me and flung it back upon her, entrapping her in her own spell. 
"Impossible!  Your power is but a fraction of my own!"

"Power is but a fraction of what mystic mastery means."  Sarah then 
stepped out into my path.  "Please do not try to stop me, Sarah.  You 
do not have the skill to do so."

"What of your family?  What of Bambi and Travis?"

"I have been elevated beyond the need for such paltry connections."

"And what of your children?"

"I no longer need them."

 From behind me I heard Elizabeth say, "Then don't you think you 
should tell them that to their face?"

I turned and saw Elizabeth.  She was carrying the baby and hanging on 
her skirts were Davey and Lydia.  My heart started to melt.  It was 
one thing to dismiss the value of family when they were all asleep, 
but looking into the hurt faces of your children is another matter 
entirely.  Lydia looked up at me and asked, "Poppy, do you really not 
want us anymore?"

[Transcriber's notes:  It is noted here that Lynnette and Elizabeth's 
children refer to Lynnette in different ways, Davey as female, and 
Lydia as male.  Lynnette prefers female, but neither parent has been 
able to get Lydia out of the habit of using male references.]

I couldn't answer.  Part of me, the cold, impersonal thing I had 
become, wanted to answer in the affirmative, to tell her that I 
didn't want her around.  Part of me even reasoned that since I had to 
leave, it would hurt them less in the long run if I were to break all 
ties clean.  But the rest of me, most of me, couldn't do that.  I 
knew that would hurt my family worse than anything, and, thank God, I 
couldn't do that.

Davey then looked at me and said, "Momma?" and that was all it took.

I went to one knee, opened my arms, and called, "Come to me, my 
babies."  They ran to my arms and we hugged.  Elizabeth wrapped her 
arms around me, all the time, me crying, "Don't let me go," over and 
over again.

Now I'm back to me again.  My breasts are back to their old C cup, 
despite me still having all my power.  Others have asked me how I did 
it, and I tell them I don't remember anything of that time right 
after I awoke.

But that's not quite true.  The truth is I'm afraid.  I'm afraid that 
if I start using my magic again I'll become that uncaring thing 
again.  I'm afraid to even be alone without at least one of my 
children present.

I am powerful.  I am skilled, possibly beyond anything anyone else 
could ever hope to accomplish.  I know that one day, possibly soon, I 
will be called upon to use my power to protect my family.

But, God help me, I don't know if I can do that anymore!

************

[General Keith "Katharine" Wilfred]

After some initial problems with the sorcerer/Witch alliance, they 
finally got down to the business of war.  They appointed one Sam 
Kravitz, a gryphon, as head of their military.  The man has no 
military experience, but is a commanding enough presence to compel 
respect, if not obedience from their soldiers.

To be honest, I'm not worried much about the Witches and Warlocks. 
They don't have a lot of experience, but they know that.  When the 
orders are handed down, they'll be less likely to argue.  The 
sorcerers have more experience in dealing with the Dark Alliance, but 
that may work against us.  Up till now, the sorcerers have all been 
independent agents.  They were given missions, then set into the 
field and given carte blanche as to how they were to achieve their 
mission objectives.  Now I'm worried about them arguing every little 
order that they have a problem with, not realizing that bigger plans 
are at stake.  But I can only hope for the best right now.

After Sam was appointed, he went through the ranks and established a 
chain of command.  I helped set up what positions he needed, but 
since I know so little about these people or their abilities, it was 
up to him to appoint specific people to specific posts.  I got the 
job of tactical advisor.  To fill my position, I was given access to 
all the data they had on the Dark Alliance's tactics and procedures.

It's taken me a little while to go through the stuff, but now that I 
have, a plan of the Dark Alliance has been revealed.  I noticed that 
their tactics on their Silicon Valley attack were radically different 
from their attacks on Cairo and New York.  I just wish we had their 
tactics on attacks on the capitols.  Regardless, I didn't know at 
first what was going on.  It was Lynnette Norman who found the clue.

I was in the tactical H.Q. we had established when she walked in 
carrying her daughter.  Her daughter was sucking on a fudge pop and 
her face and hands were a mess, so I warned her not to let the girl 
near the maps.  She didn't comment, but did stay near the door.  At 
some point I muttered my suspicions about the Silicon Valley attack 
not making sense, and the woman asked me why.  I explained that their 
attack lacked the focus of the other two attacks.  In New York and 
Cairo, the attack was simple.  Get in to the center of the city, 
plant their force field generator, then perform mop up.  But in 
Silicon Valley, their pattern had been slow and without purpose.  I 
felt that they were trying to draw attackers to them.

Lynnette asked why they would do a thing like that.  At the time, I 
wasn't sure, but did notice a pattern to their tactics.  The Dark 
Alliance seemed to be taking captives.  But not everybody they faced 
was captured.  They were only capturing those who had non-human body 
parts.  They were only capturing Witches.

When I mentioned this to Lynnette, she considered it for a few 
seconds before looking up and saying, "Oh, no," and running off.  I 
didn't hear about her theory until much later.

I'm not normally a praying man, but I hope to God she's wrong.

************

[Elizabeth Norman Thompson]

It was late when Lynnette came to me and told me what the general had 
told her.  I didn't get it at first until Lynn explained her theory 
as to what the Dark Alliance was planning.  I called an emergency 
councils meeting immediately.  Lynn seemed hesitant about going 
before the council, but it was her theory, therefore it was her 
responsibility to present it.

We all joined together outside.  Lin Su stood up and said, "Lynnette, 
Elizabeth tells us you have some data to present?"

"Yes, ma'am, I do."

"Go ahead then."

"Recently General Wilfred pointed out to me that, in their Silicon 
Valley attack, the Dark Alliance was taking prisoners, but only Witch 
prisoners.  I believe I know why."

"Proceed."

"All the magic users, whether sorcerer, sorceress, Witch or Warlock 
knows of the principle known officially to the Sisterhood and 
Brotherhood as 'The Law of Closest Magics,' the principle that the 
closer the origins of two spells, the more effective they are when 
brought together, either when used in opposition or in tandem.  The 
Witches don't give the principle an official title, but they do 
recognize and use it.  This explains why the person who can cast a 
counter-spell most effectively and most safely is the original 
caster."

"How does this relate to the capture of the Witches?"

"Well, what happens if you have a spell you want to cancel where the 
casters are long dead?  You use energy as similar to the original as 
you can."

One of the White Sisterhood, Elisa, I believe her name was, said, "I 
still don't understand.  Are you saying that the Dark Alliance has 
captured the Witches in an attempt to force them to cancel some dead 
Witches' spell?"

"No.  I think they plan on collecting a couple hundred Witches, 
sacrificing them, then collecting their death energies-"

Lin Su finished the statement, "And using the energy to free the true 
demons from their otherworld prisons!"

TO BE CONTINUED...
-- 
Send all comments, suggestions, etc. to
J R D
jrdss@micronet.net
ICQ#37222294

-- 
Pursuant to the Berne Convention, this work is copyright with all rights
reserved by its author unless explicitly indicated.
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