Home Free or Yet Another False Alarm?

Allan

"So . . . what is the story with you four?" B'Elanna asks our remaining young guests, awaiting a telling answer.

I must say that I myself am interested in the answer to that particular question. Something about there whole situation was decidedly off, obviously!

Depending upon the answers we get . . .

. . .

Ah, I see.

I must say, I am yet again that there are many monsters out there in the "multi-verse" who would do monstrous things.

"What do you mean that our minds have been frickin' magically altered?!" shouts the one named Hannah. "First this Star Trek crap and now Fantasia?! What, you saying that my mother and father, the memories I have of them and . . . ?!"

"What is the name of your mother?" Inquirer says calmly, with more than a trace of sadness in her voice. "The color of her eyes? The name of your dog? What details can you tell me of your hometown?"

"Tell me . . . if you can," she finishes up, now glaring at the young girl.

Belinda and the other mutter in confusion, suddenly not so sure of themselves.

. . .

See, while I am still rather a rank amateur at the Arte, I can well bloody SEE that they actually have not been . . . . given memories yet of those details by whatever curse has befallen them.

Not yet, but given enough time . . . .

A gasp and sputter interrupts my train of thought as that one girl named "Belboz" arrives, only to come up short when her eyes fall upon the girl named Belinda and one of the royal looking, dark tressed twins.

. . .

Hrmph, I see that she as of yet to chose something more to wear than that-that ridiculous swatch of cloth that covers only a small amount of her breasts and loins!

Gads, while I had gotten acclimatized to such brazen showing of flesh with Freda and Astra here until we fixed that with the Crystallic, returning them from their bawdy girl form to something more . . . normal. . . .

Makes those . . . those ridiculous "uniforms" the female "Redshirts" were wearing (those "mini-skirts") look bloody chaste by comparison!

. . .

Oh no, Allan. Let us not go off on some kind of high and mighty "prudish Victorian ranting" I'd had the misfortune at some of my fellow countrymen go upon from time to time when something offended their EVER so precious morals. Nevermind that while under the sway of that medicine . . . those drugs to ease your pain you saw the hypocrisy of society for what it was.

Be wiser than those fools and not judge, for right now there is no TIME. Bet you that if we'd taken more time we'd find out just WHY these bawdy girls kept insisting on just wearing mere slips of clothing. Maybe woven into the transformation magic was a minor compulsion that makes it feel the most comfortable as they insist . . .

Well, maybe later we might have time. Not right bloody NOW, though.

"Is that me?" Belboz blink, and blinks again at the non-sequitor of what she'd just said. "Er, I mean is she . . .they . . . ?"

Without another word, Inquirer casts a spell and the young female students from that one faux school are sleep on their feet.

"They and the others are analogs of you and your Fred," Inquirer says softly. "Magical examing spells that Prode, my father, did in the shadows while B'Elanna spoke to the Redshirts confirm that much . . . and from what we just saw and heard."

Sigin nods slightly at Probe, who's standing off in the shadows. Masterfully done, that exam without being detected (and spooking the Redshirts)....

"And at a guess they're the products of both that 'Two Girl' prophecy some of our Fred and Belboz analogs in our Family went through," Probe adds. "That and Elaine betraying you to the Amazons, I wager."

Belboz blinks, shaking her pretty head in consternation.

"But why would he betray me?" he blinks. "I was practically the only person who ever treated him decently!"

"Some of your . . . counterparts said that they began to suffer from early stages of a degenerative neurological condition that some mages are prone to," B'Elanna sighs. "Brought about by delaying implementing the transformation from man to young woman in fullfilment of the prophecy. Meaning . . .it may have altered your behavior in the short term to . . . become something that Elaine eventually hated."

Belboz blink, suddenly sighing and muttering a curse. Conceding the point but muttering a curse over it all.

"I . . . .remember some of now," she whispers softly. "I . . . d*mnit . . ."

"You did not mean turn on him AND may I add it is his own damn fault for having turned on you in the end," Probe says. "That's not much of a comfort but . . . it is truth."

I . . . cannot add anything to this discussion. Not my place.

"Is . . . there anything we can do for them?" I ask, gesturing at the sleeping girls. "It isn't too late to undo . . . what has been done."

"Very much with Vincent's magery lab," Inquirer shrugs. "Not like the other times when the victims came through and we only got to a properly stock mage lab too late except for the most extreme measures . . . "

Like, say, going off to some God forsaken restaurant in another funhouse mirror universe to buy what basically would be illicit drugs from a . . . ingelligent shade of blue (?!) who deals in narcotics?

Like say going into MY reality and hunting down a mystical material which would have taken my nation to the Moon?

. . .

Well, at least we needn't have worry about that!! Still . . .

"Good," I sigh, unaware that in reality later on we'd been only half right.

The royal looking twins . . . . Well, we remove one layer of false memories only to discover yet another (permanently entrenched) layer of false memories and identities . . . . of some Queen Justaine or some such. But this is later and we deal with it in the manner we can. Welcome them into the family as we can, accepting them as they are now. . . . even though they know that their memories ARE false . . . which is rather unsettling for them and all that but what can one do?

Even with the unexpected bounty of magical ingredients used in recent similar incidents Inquirer pulls forth from a sack she had hidden somewhere upon her person!

. . .

Oh? I want to know just where and HOW she came by that material after all the trouble and effort others had in getting even a fraction of it in the first go? Needless to say that this mechanical woman has a VERY good head on her shoulder and thus had the foresight to use that Atlantian gem to best effect before returning to Terra Prime.

She felt that with certain trends that seem to have been happening with recent visitors who'd had unfortunate encounters with magicks, a bit of stocking up on such things was a good idea. I agree, it IS a good idea.

She used the Crystallic to conjure a surplus.

Not like we could have used the blasted magical artifact upon returning to Terra Prime, being that the Rules and Agents confiscate them almost immediately. This time around we didn't even get to turn it over, it had disapeared out of Inquirer's trouser pocket and into the hands of the awaiting Rule (just like he'd said would happen next time around).

Honestly, I do believe that those Celestrials rather do not fancy such powerful magical artifacts...

Well, what to do about it? Honestly, I rather have to agree. They ARE very powerful items which I shudder to think of them falling into the wrong hands!

Still, giving fair dues old chap I believe it would have made fixing up Belboz and "his" Fred's current forms into something a bit more suited to their old lifestyle MUCH easier.

Not like Crystallics are just out there for the taking, you see.

It is a rather uncomfortable waiting time for the transporter to regenerate enough to use again safely. Took more time than expected (or desired).

"Two hours left," Inquirer muttered darkly. "We better get lucky or we're going to have to just dump her queen's regal ass on another reality and call it done. She can't remain here much longer before that blasted curse takes effect, you know."

"Yes," Queen Helia says softly, looking like she's looking at her own open grave before her.

So, let's do this!

They next find themselves . . . .

"This looks . . . very much like home," Astra says softly, looking around at the room that they remember having departed from as . . . bawdy girls.

1. But IS this were they need be? If so, then a quick trip back and then dumping off unwanted guests before FINALLY turning to help those unexpected other visitors . . .

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