Obey Your Master

"Oh no, nothing as stupid and wasteful as that." Aloysius said, grinning lazily. "You see, I'm no unreasoning savage, my dear. I am a gentleman- revolutionary who can trace his bloodline back to French and British nobility. And I plan to remake this world into a place more fitting of a man of my stature."

"And how do you propose to do that?"

Still smiling, Aloysius took out several Magic cards and showed them to Astra. They had names like "Armageddon", "Wrath of God", "Stone Rain", "Boiling Seas" and other pleasantness.

Aloysius said "Soon it will be time to put your remarkable powers to the test. I intend to smash this overcrowded world, destroy its futile systems and reduce human society back to the Stone Age. Then, upon the ashes I will build a gold-plated Shangri La - a perfect paradise where the chosen few will live in harmony!"

Astra laughed. "You're an evil, deluded, twisted psychopath, Aloysius, and I would rather die than help you achieve your mad vision."

"Don't be so sure." Aloysius said. "I recieved my hypnotist's license in eighth grade, and thanks to my mom's current employment I have access to some rather interesting... pharmaceuticals. Not to mention the other, cruder methods at my disposal. I'll wager you my entire house that I can get you to cooperate with me before midnight tonight."

He walked away, leaving Astra to fume alone among the plastic girl figurines. She realized that most of the figurines bore signs of mutilation - as if from miniature torture tools - and a shiver ran down her spine.

Meanwhile Betty was negotiating a strange obstacle. She had followed the kid from the store to his house, when she had bumped into an invisible wall that seemed to run diagonally through the building. Betty could slip along the invisible wall and into the house, examine everything in the kitchen and living room, even go down into the basement where Aloysius' father was asleep in an alcoholic stupor - but she could get get to the stairs that led up to Aloysius' room.

A little annoyed, Betty decided to follow the invisible wall to see where it led. She felt along the wall out the other side of the house, across the street as cars rushed by, through another house where a couple was making out, and into an alleyway...

...where she was confronted by Madame Zelberta, in full voodoo battle gear.

"Evil spirit, you cannot hide from me!" Zelberta shrieked, waving a rope of burning incense, garlic and shrunken heads. She chanted in a foreign tongue, sprinkled holy water around Betty, then assumed a strange stance and hit Betty over the head with her purse.

"Ooh!" Betty said. "That hurt!"

Zelberta squinted, as if Betty was coming into focus. "Oh yes, evil one! Soon I can see your true form... huh? You just some girl, huh?"

"I could've told you that." Betty said peevishly, rubbing her head. "Wait... you can see me?"

"Of course I see you." Zelberta chuckled. "I am Madame Zelberta the All Knowing, master of physical and spiritual realms, speaker in tongues, summoner and banisher of spirits. I also do birthdays and bar-mitzvahs, but not on Tuesday through Wednesday - that Zelberta time."

"Oh, okay." Betty said. "Hey, maybe you could help me! Someone I know is in serious danger, but I can't get through this invisible wall here. Maybe you could help me get her out of this creepy kid's house?"

"Invisible wall?" Zelberta said suspiciously. "That serious juju. It take massive part just to keep spirits out of a small area."

Betty tapped the invisible wall to make sure it was still there. Just what was going on?

1. Betty convinces Zelberta to help her save Astra.
2. Zelberta insists on trying to exorcise Betty.
3. We rejoin Fred, in the midst of carousing and drunkenness.

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