And of Rebecca and Other Matters?

Astra 9

"What about Rebecca?" I ask Synizn. "Did you have any luck in unearthing any memories of hers?"

Despite having already known from Cuthbert that her condition is irreversible, I'm rather curious at what does remain.

....

Call it morbid curiosity if nothing else. Frankly, under other circumstances I'd be rather against (as well as the rest of us) playing "peeping Tom" with another person's memories. The mind, after all, should at least be the last place of privacy, right?

Well, however, this is hardly ordinary....all considered. Point in fact, all considered, any memory fragments may well provide vital clues that may well nigh prove pivotal in any new search of the lands around. See, such unique memories would definitely stand out in the "scans" that would make a detection spell that much easier to pickup. That is what my husband and the other mages tell me, anyway. Being that whilst I know a bit more than the average layman, I still find I must defer my trust to them in such matters (being rather out of my league in such as this).

Synizn pauses, tilting his head and seeming to wonder how to proceed. Clearly I see in his face he's rather not happy with something.

"Well, I did get a few bits and pieces here and there," he explains, "One was a glimpse of the inside of what I felt was a subway car...probably a New York one all considered. Seems that, and this is just a guess, Rebecca whilst she was Stacy had a similar history as our Stacy. From the snatches I got after that subway memory suggest she was having memory difficulties. Everything before that are so......degraded and miniscule.... Aye, their just mere crumbs and not much more. Nothing I can really get anything off of except vague feelings and such! There....however....is a problem here that....."

He pauses, tail waging showing his annoyance...and perhaps chagrin. "Well, I'll get to that problem here in a moment," Syizn continues, "Probably for the best, all considered. There was a rather large memory segment left over. Really clear and fact! However, that could be well be expected.....when it's her last one she had in her prior life."

He goes on and shares what he saw: Whilst Stacy was trying to recall if she had had any coffee, Johnson went on: "Looks like someone wanted to prevent the deal going through, but they must have miscalculated how quickly the poison would act or else how long the negotiations would take."

As he spoke, Stacy started to feel increasingly giddy. Then there was a brief moment of excruciating pain, causing her to scream out, and she lost consciousness.

[7386]

"She died from poison," I say softly to myself, "What a cowardly act....whoever did it."

Would rather die, if I had a choice and such as that had not became an impossibility, in combat than something like that. That and my heart felt....

That crime would never be avenged, I had a feeling. There just was no conceivable way to somehow go off to do justice in that situation.....

"Aye," Cuthbert says softly.

The demifox mage sighs as Andrea pats him on the shoulder.

"It's alright," she says, "You did what you could....and it is for the best....really."

They go on to say that they were able to get enough of a print through Rebecca's memories from this life, but as for the rest.... Well, that's where they kind of peter out....

"Pardon?" I ask, clearly wondering what the demifox mages are speaking about.

"It was like those memories of her prior life had been slowly dissolving even before I looked into her mind for her prior life memories," Synizn says, shaking his head, "Looks like the Angels were taking care of their oversights, eh? Well, while my spell was gentle as I could make it, it only is accelerating the process. Whilst Rebecca would soon lose any trace of her prior life, memory wise, even before now....it's going to be gone now within hours of now! Perhaps for the best, considering how....people generally rather would not like to remember their own death and such."

The last was delivered with a slightly ironic, slightly sad tone of voice. Several family members (like Fred 8 and Joan 2) had vague memories of their own death....and tended on trying NOT to remember such things. Family and friends helped, but still it was not something I myself would want to remember, even vaguely!

All there soon agree that we'd tell the others that our magic "out in the field" wasn't enough right now to help with those with amnesia. We just didn't mention the fact that we wouldn't have been able to help under any circumstances. Why bring such hurtful matters up which will only needlessly complicate the situation?

Later, when asked about this conference, we shall just truthfully say we were consulting with each other, trying to figure out the best course of action on helping our patients. After all, it is true...if not in the way the curious think.

As for Karen.....

"What to do about her?" I ask the others, "Did your examination perhaps give you anything that might....?"

"I don't know," the demifox sighs, "A tricorder scan would clear the question up on whether she has that chaos energy within.

"We left all high technology behind," he sighs, "Cuthbert's revolvers being the exception, of course...."

"But you never really developed magic spells to detect chaos energy," Cuthbert says, not really asking, "Never really felt it was needed, I take."

Andreas and the other mages' nods said it all.

"Well, here's what we've got to do," I say, "Basically, beyond keeping an eye on her, we can't do anything overt. Can't drive her away because that'd lead up to questions and the New Amazons turning on us for turning against one of their own, I fear."

It is not something I like. It's like playing Russian roulette or something similar. However, we hardly have a choice. Besides, driving her away won't do. Her mere presence here on this world still could queer things for us, no matter how far away she went. Killing her, not a choice due to ethics, was also out.

I keep remembering how the Scott told us about them keeping on kept on coming back every time death happened. Chaos energy might be used up that way, but unless we kept on doing again and again (something I loath to even think about) until it was depleted, we'd be wasting our time.

We are NOT going to compromise our ethics or we'd become monsters. As much of a hindrance as that might seem, it was also one of the reasons why the Rules and Agents liked us and gave us so much leeway as Champions! Hell, I remember seeing that one Master that had been forced upon the Celestrials, via a Challenge result, as a Champion. Rules and Agents being as they were do not want monsters as Champions, and whilst the Master was such....they "fixed" him mentally so he was no threat to anyone. That evil Time Lord was more of a puppet, now, than anything else. He was now a plastic puppet with a plastic personality and plastic smile. "Creepy" as Eddie Dean put it, but hardly undeserved.....

Now, I'm not saying we saw the Master's fate as a threat. Rather, it just shows us some kind of trust the Rules and Agents have in us....knowing that our ethics kept us in check and such. Otherwise they'd only have taken us in as Champions under

Soon breaking form our "consult" we, after giving tips on how to camp camouflaged to the New Amazons, we retire for the day.

Though tired, I see that Cuthbert and Joan 2 are smiling at each other as they go off to their camouflaged place. Joan 2 leans on Cuthbert's shoulder and actually giggles a little at whatever he'd just said. Couldn't hear exactly what it was but it sounded....er...colorful. The way the demifoxes are smiling and clucking their tongues makes me believe I'm right on that score.

Wedding night and all that.....

Later.....

Princess Illura herself needs to awaken her new . . . er . . . friends.

1. Cuthbert and Joan 2 are blissfully asleep, naked in each others arms, until....

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