GO WEST

Chapter 14: "Closer to Fine" (or: "Pray your Gods")

They came in the wake of the great battle, a new union, a joining of three mutant teams of old. Fate had thrown them together after the great revival, the rising from the ashes, and the fall of the decadent ways of old. Seven young mutants, struggling to deliver their message to a world going mad.

It began with the darkness of the stage, and with the first long, sustained notes from Rahne's synthesizer. Warlock added effects, then, from the sound of wind and crickets to the distortion of the forthcoming guitar. The lights came up behind Rahne very faintly, making her a black silhouette against a midnight-blue background. A faint spotlight came into being, outlining Danielle, who stood at the opposite side of the stage with her Stratocaster guitar, her ethereal, distorted notes providing the only sound over the pedal-tones of the synth, the staccato noise of Sharon on her temple blocks, and the artificial crickets and birds. The lights came up a fraction brighter, so that the audience could see the outline of Ric's huge drum kit and Sharon's elaborate percussion set-up. Light glinted from the metallic rims and cymbals, and on the rows of chimes, which Sharon sounded by softly waving her tail across them. She added the clock-tower ringing of temple bells then, as Dani's guitar sounds faded to almost inaudibility.

The song changed in intensity then, going from a surreal background to a sense of forward motion. The spotlight on Dani grew brighter, and the notes from her guitar were now crisp and focused, driving them onward. Ric joined in, then, brushing his cymbals lightly as the tension grew. The guitar grew louder and louder, until, finally, they hit the downbeat.

The lights came up full, and the crowd roared as Sharon and Ric slammed on their cymbals, and Marie-Ange joined them with a loud, heavy note on her bass, giving a foundation for Dani's wailing guitar. They moved all around her as she continued the same arpeggiated chord, and the accompaniment grew in complexity, with Ric giving a series of rolls on his toms while Sharon added in orchestral timpani, just for the new depth. They ended the intro to the intro with a sustained chord, which gradually faded, the sound of Sharon's tail over the chimes coming more into prominence once again.

Ric led them into the intro itself with a couple of pickup-beats on his drums, and then more or less turned the body of the song over to Dani and Angie, who came up to the front of the stage side-by-side, the former playing lead, while the latter played a fairly complicated bass line, her long fingers moving over the strings with grace and fluidity. Anyone who thought that a classically trained musician wouldn't know how to rock and roll would just have needed to see her up there with Dani to learn the opposite. Both women flipped their long hair around as they played, enjoying the attention of the crowd, playing off one another, standing at one point back-to-back, then face-to-face, grinning at each other and otherwise just having a marvelous time being under the lights.

The beauty of the intro was that it gave each of them a chance to shine. At one point, Angie and Ric both dropped out, and Dani raced across to Sharon's percussion session to play a brief duet with her. Catseye gave her a rapid-fire accompaniment on, of all things, an octave's worth of cowbells. Rahne came in then with the synth, and Dani wandered over to her, while Ric and Angie joined back in, but left the other two to carry the song for the time being.

They all came together then, winding out the end of the intro under the whirling stage lights, changing timings seemingly at will, getting back into their places as they headed into the body of the song, signaled by a slowing of the tempo and the re-entry of Sharon's temple bells. Here, at length, Doug joined them on the stage, microphone in hand and an acoustic guitar slung over his back. To him was left the job of the words, and the message.

To seek the sacred river Alph, to walk the caves of ice...
To break my fast on honeydew, and drink the milk of paradise...

"Good morning," he nodded to himself.

A look at the clock revealed that it wasn't even a quarter past noon, which was far too early to be awake, given that they hadn't arrived back from Lila's place until about five that morning. Still, he doubted that he'd be able to sleep. He was still too psyched from the concert, and from the events that had followed. He decided to get dressed instead, and try to make something of the remainder of the day.

As he dressed, the images of the dream replayed in his mind. This wasn't the first time he'd had a music video dream -- most of his were to songs by the Who, though. It was a nice image, seeing the seven of them together as a band. He made a mental note, though, to try to either dream a new instrument for Warlock next time, or to go to sleep playing music with more synth.

After attacking his hair with a brush for a while, he made an attempt to gather it back into a ponytail. He'd been growing it out for months, now, but it was still barely a handful in back -- more a rabbit-tail than anything else. It was exasperating, was what it was. For the first time in his life, he could grow his hair long without anyone bugging him to cut it, and it was refusing to grow. Dani and Angie had hair down to the waist, and all he could manage was a rabbit-tail.

He reminded himself that it could be worse -- after all, his hair grew plenty faster than Rahne's.

Leaving it to hang around the back of his neck, Doug crept out of the room, stepping quietly to avoid waking any of the others. He spotted Warlock in the whatever-room, plugged into the cable TV; Warlock liked to download data from the TV while recharging -- he said it was a good way to see historical programs he might otherwise miss. Leaving his friend to his "research," Doug headed out into the main hall, and circled around toward the kitchen.

He heard soft guitar sounds coming from the depths of the large family room, so he made a detour to check it out. In the back of the cavernous space, he found Dani sitting on one of the couches, playing what looked like a brand new guitar. She looked up at him and gave him a smile and a nod. "Morning."

"I take it you couldn't sleep either?" Doug asked, sitting in the couch opposite hers.

"Nah," she grinned. "Had too much fun last night to want to sleep for long. That was a hell of a show."

Upon closer inspection (and a bit of squinting), Doug noticed that the guitar was, indeed, new. It was an acoustic, like her old one, but had a set of electric pickups and a few knobs. The other, more conclusive evidence was the new case sitting next to her old one. "So when did you pick that up?" he asked.

"About an hour ago. It was an impulsive thing, you know? After that show, I was just... inspired, so I got me a cute new Fender that'll plug in if I should ever happen to get an amp. It's a beauty, too. Good sound."

Doug nodded and listened for a while. Dani was mostly just going from one chord progression to another, but then she started in with an Indigo Girls piece. "Nice," he told her. "You've gotten really good with that."

"Thanks," she nodded, looking over at her left hand and checking her fingers on the strings. "It was sheer hell living in Asgard for all that time without a guitar, I can tell you."

"Yeah, I'll bet," he nodded.

She played on, and Doug got up, crossed the room, and opened her old case. "Mind if I take a look at this one?" he asked.

"Be my guest," she nodded, not stopping in her song.

He pulled out the older guitar and sat back down on the opposite couch, watching Dani carefully. He checked his posture, then set the guitar over his leg the way she had done, and placed his fingers on the strings hesitantly. He began to pick away, listening to the intervals between the strings, and checking the positions of the frets. After a while, he tried a few chords, with some success.

Dani wasn't paying too much attention to what Doug was doing, as she was intent on her own song. Most Indigo Girls music was played on two guitars (usually Amy Ray playing rhythm while Emily Saliers played lead), and the effect was difficult to duplicate on a single guitar.

It wasn't until she was midway through the next song that she realized that Doug was playing along with her. Not only that, but he was playing the rhythm part, freeing her up to do the more intricate, not to mention more fun lead guitar. Grinning at the sound, she let herself ham it up (quietly), and found that she was able to fit a lot more in without the rhythm bogging her down. They were a smashing duet right from the start.

Just to test him, she went on to an unplugged Who piece, which of course he followed along with perfectly. In mid-verse, she switched over to Dylan's "Tangled Up in Blue," and after a measure of confusion, he joined in. They played that one for a while, and she looked over at him. "That's great! I didn't know you knew guitar. How long have you been playing?"

"First time," said Doug, not looking away from his fingers as he went on playing.

After a while, noticing the sudden silence from the other side of the room, Doug looked up to see Dani staring at him accusingly. "What?" she asked, in her Don't-Mess-With-Me-I'm-A-Valkyrie-You-Know voice.

"Honestly, I've never played before. I'm just trying to do what makes sense." He couldn't help smiling at her shock. "Dani, it's me, remember? The guy who can learn Portuguese in five minutes? Compared to a language, this is nothing."

"You," she said slowly, "make me sick, you know that? Do you have any idea how long it's taken me to be able to play this well?!"

"Um, I'm sorry," he said, in a mock-meek voice.

She started laughing in spite of her aggressive words. "I. Am going. To kill you. Yes. In fact, I can see a death image hovering over you right now."

"Look, I can't help it if I'm good at this kind of thing!"

"Doug, didn't anyone ever tell you that nobody likes a smart-ass?"

"I must've missed that class."

"Yeah, I can imagine."

In spite of the humor, Doug was looking excited. "I never made the connection before, learning musical instruments the way I can learn languages. I wonder if it'd work on any instrument?"

"If what would work on any instrument?" Marie-Ange asked from across the room. She and Sharon had wandered in at the end of the conversation, looking, quite accurately, like they'd just awakened.

"Oh, geez, I hope we didn't wake you," Doug grimaced.

Angie sat down next to him on the couch and gave him a small kiss on the cheek. "Non, we woke up on our own." He looked into her eyes and smiled, ignoring the evil grin they were getting from across the room.

Sharon leaped up on the opposite couch, still in cat-form, and gazed over Dani's shoulder. "What playing, wishbringer?"

"Nothing much. Mister Lingo here just took the five-minute guitar course, the bum."

"Angie, why don't you join us?" Doug asked. "The piano's finally in tune, after all."

"Alright," she shrugged, amiably. "What would you like to play?"

"Ummmmm... how much Elton John do you know?" Dani asked.

"Most of it," she replied. "He's one of my favorites." She got up from the couch, and sat down at the bench of the upright piano. "Perhaps 'Rocket Man?'"

"Sounds good to me," Doug agreed.

They started with that, Angie on the keys, Doug playing rhythm, and Dani improvising a lead part. For a first time playing together, it came off remarkably well, so they went on to a few more of John's older pieces. Sharon listened attentively, swaying back and forth with the beat. After a while, though, she got up and sprinted out of the room on all fours.

"What, did we play something wrong?" Dani asked.

"Dunno," Doug shrugged. "Maybe she lost interest."

They went back to the Who then, Doug taking the lead this time while the ladies followed him. "I didn't figure you'd know this one," he commented to Marie-Ange.

"I don't," she told him. "I'm faking it."

"Ah."

Quite suddenly came the sound of a horn very close by, and Doug and Dani both looked around sharply to see that Sharon had returned, and had a tenor saxophone in her hands. They both stopped playing then, and just looked at her, in shock.

Catseye stopped playing as well, and looked from one to the other. "Did Catseye err?"

"Where in the world did you get that?" Dani asked, incredulously.

"Is Catseye's sax!" she smiled, happily.

"You play the saxophone?" Doug gaped.

"Didn't you know?" Marie-Ange asked, giving him an impish grin. "I thought I told you that we played together in a jazz band."

"I was thinking drums for some reason," Doug admitted.

"Noooono, Jennyluck played rat-a-tats," Catseye beamed. "Catseye played horns. Sax is favorite, though."

"This is surreal," Dani said, shaking her head. "Where'd you get that thing, kittycat?"

"Is Catseye's," she shrugged. "Got it when went to MassAc for redhair's violin. Always wanted to play again someplace."

"Who's makin' all the noise out here?" came Rahne's sleepy voice, as she, too, followed the sounds into the room.

"Hello, pretty redfur!" Catseye grinned, hugging Rahne to her with one arm. "Catseye playing sax. Is good, yes?"

Rahne looked at the horn dubiously (at first glance it seemed larger than she was), and then back up at Catseye. "Aye, well I suppose so, but isn't it a wee bit early?"

"Ah, it's nearly one, fuzzy," Dani admonished her friend, smilingly. "Join the show. We're putting a band together."

"Rahne, you play piano, yes?" Marie-Ange asked her.

"Aye... a little."

"Take over for me, then. I'll be back in a moment."

Without another word, she got up from the bench and was off down the hall. Rahne looked puzzled, but took a seat at the piano anyway. "I dinna think I c'n keep up with all of ye," she warned them.

"Ah, just wing it," Dani told her, before starting into one of the songs Hawkwind had played the night before.

A few songs later, Ric joined them as well, followed by Warlock. "Geez, you guys just can't get enough, can you?" Ric said, looking at the impromptu band skeptically.

"Ah, come on in, guys," Dani waved. "Do you play anything, Ric?"

"You're kidding, right?" Ric replied, arching his eyebrows at her.

"We'll teach him," Doug nodded. "We still need a bass player and a drummer."

"Well, one of us can cover for the bass, if it comes to that," Dani pointed out.

"This is true. Wanna learn to play the drums, Ric?"

He gave Doug a blank stare. "I guess so. I don't suppose you've got a spare drum set lyin' around?"

"Leave that to self!" Warlock grinned, quickly transforming himself into a fairly standard drum kit. He poked a head up from the body of the bass drum. "Is this suitable?"

"Hey, not bad, 'Lock!" Dani nodded. "Been paying attention in those music classes, eh?"

"Self has watched selfriendrummerHarris on numerous occasions, and self emulates his setup."

"Cool," Ric nodded, seating himself on the provided stool a bit skeptically. "Whoops, can't do it. No sticks." He sounded almost relieved.

"Self will provide sticks," Warlock replied, extending two sticks from the toms and detaching them. Ric caught them before they hit the floor.

"Uh, great. I, ah, still don't know what the hell I'm doin', though."

"Self will instruct. Strike drums and cymbals as self lights them."

"Cool," Ric nodded.

After a few quick drumming lessons, Ric was starting to catch on. He had a long way to go before he could start competing with Neil Peart, of course, but that went without saying. Warlock was able, however, to instruct him in a couple of very basic rhythm patterns, which he then just played over and over while the rest of the group just jammed.

After a while, Marie-Ange returned from wherever she'd gone, carrying what looked like a brand-spanking-new guitar case in one hand and a small amplifier in another. As the group played on, she plugged in the amp, opened up the case, and pulled out a long-necked fretless bass made of a polished black wood. By the time she had it set up, plugged in, and slung over her shoulder, the music had completely stopped.

"Oh, didn't I tell you I play bass?" she asked, innocently.

"Um, not that I remember," said Doug.

"Well, I did once say that if it has strings, I can play it," she grinned at him. "What did you think I played in that jazz band, then?"

"I was guessing piano."

"Ah, no," Catseye grinned. "Gempaul played keys."

"I'm going to regret asking this," Dani put in, "but when did you learn to play bass?"

"I did it for a living, actually," Marie-Ange replied. "There was a time that I ran away from home and lived in Paris, playing bass in a jazz club that didn't care about my being underage."

"Wild," Dani nodded.

Doug looked around the room, and couldn't help but be amazed. It was almost like the dream; even most of the instruments were the same. "You know, we'd make a pretty good band, the lot of us," he said, softly.

"Oh, like we'd ever have time," Dani chuckled.

"Yeah, besides, if we did start a band, we'd never make it," Ric added.

"Why's that?" Doug asked him, surprised.

Ric shrugged, then grinned. "We'd never be able to figure out what to call ourselves!"

"D'oh!" Dani groaned.

"He has a point," Rahne laughed. "We still havena' found a good name f'r ourselves as a mutant team, much less a band."

"Well, we're not a mutant team," Dani told her. "I have decided on this as a solid fact."

"And what brought you to this conclusion?" Marie-Ange asked her.

"Simple," Dani smiled, looking around at the lot of them. "We lack two of the essential components of every mutant team."

"And those are..?" Doug prompted her.

"Well," Dani explained, patiently, "we don't have a guy who's built like a Mack truck, and we don't have any women with huge hooters. Ergo, we are not a mutant team."

Ric, Doug and Marie-Ange burst out laughing at this description, but Sharon looked from one to the other, quizzically. "Woman with big owls?"

"Never mind, Catseye," Doug snorted. "Yeah, I guess we couldn't go around calling ourselves 'Go West' if we wanted to be a band. We'd get sued into oblivion."

"Self suggests name 'New Mutants' as being more suitable for band than for team," Warlock pointed out.

"Well, it's no less weird than some of the other names out there these days," Ric nodded. "Hey, we work at it, I bet we could open one'a Lila's shows one of these days!"

"Right now, I'll be happy to get through finals, thanks," Dani admitted. "Might be fun to get together now and then, though."

"Yeah," Doug nodded, giving them a slow grin. "Yeah, it would..."

Massachusetts Academy, Snow Valley MA
Monday, 6 December 1993 4:22 pm EST

Jennifer Stavros had been picking locks since the tender age of seven, so getting past the lock on the room formerly inhabited by Marie-Ange was a small task. She'd merely had to wait until Mikey had left the desk downstairs to go relieve himself, then let herself in while no one was looking.

The suite was silent, of course, as she closed the door behind her, and mostly dark -- only the faintest traces of the remains of daylight came through the small windows. Jennifer padded across the room, pulled the chair out from the desk, and sat down. For a while, she just looked around the place.

Once they had finished photographing the area and getting as many samples as they could, Frost had recruited some low-ranking Security folks to come in and clean up both this room and Sharon's, for all the good it did. There were still bloodstains on the floor, Jennifer noticed, from where Manuel had been lying...

She tried not to think about that. It had been weeks, now, since the attack on the school had taken her two best friends away from her, and she had come back here, if for no other reason than to remind herself that it had happened. They had done a good job with the place -- her books were up on shelves, her CDs were neatly stacked on their wall-rack, the chests of drawers had been put back in place... hell, even the door was attached.

Over the break, they were going to come through here and put all of Angie's and Sharon's things in storage, then replace the carpeting and furniture. Frost had told Jennifer that this was to make sure they'd have a place ready for the two when they returned, but Jenny knew better. Even the Headmistress had given up, and with new additions to the Hellions being made almost daily, it wouldn't be too long before they needed the rooms.

So Jennifer had come here, memories or no memories, to get a look at the place before it was gone. Maybe she could find something here -- a part of Angie's life that she could hold onto as a memory, before it was all taken away and swept under the rug.

Something came to mind, then. Over the previous summer, Angie had done up a new deck of tarot cards, using members of the Hellions in all of her depictions. This one had been Jennifer's favorite -- she was shamelessly proud of the way she herself looked on the Wheel of Fortune card.

Apologizing silently to her friend, Jennifer opened the bottom drawer of the desk, where she found several bundles of colored silk. She pulled them out, and began unwrapping them one by one. Each was a different deck, each card meticulously hand-painted by Angie. She scanned each one of them in turn, and saw some familiar images (ones that Angie had used in training or in combat), but she couldn't find the one with the Hellions. She checked a couple of the other drawers, but found no trace of them.

"Hell," she whispered, wrapping them back up and putting them away. She went on looking through the desk drawers, and in the top one, found a bundle of letters with the return address of A. D. McAudry in La Jolla, California.

"Doug," she nodded, allowing herself a small smile. She remembered that Angie had been the only member of the Hellions to know of Doug's return from the dead, at least until the Mutant Fair, and had exchanged letters with him up until the day of her disappearance. For a moment she considered opening these as well, but then she decided against it. Jenny would be the first to admit that she was not a particularly moral person, but she had to draw the line somewhere.

As she put the envelopes back in the top drawer, though, she noticed a single 3.5" floppy disk lying amid the clutter of the drawer. The label was marked "THESES BACKUP."

Jennifer picked up the disk and stared at it for a while, then she rolled the chair over to Angie's computer desk and fired up her Macintosh computer (Mac's Mac, as Jenny had called it -- even with the rest of the school running on PC-compatibles, Angie did all of her personal work on a Mac). The screen lit up, bathing Jennifer's face in its pale glow, this being the only illumination in the room. She popped the disk into the drive, and double-clicked on the disk's icon, bringing up a list of files.

Among them, she found one entitled "ReligiousStudies-MA," another called "Music-MA," and a third named "VisualArts-MA."

She blinked a few times in surprise. "Oh, gawd, Angie..." she whispered, not entirely sure she believed it.

Sure enough, though, as she called up the files one by one and scanned through them, she realized that these were Marie-Ange's Masters Theses. Angie had always been known to work ahead, but Jennifer would never have guessed that she'd have written them weeks ahead of time.

Most of them, anyway. The Music and Art papers were all but finished, except for the bibliography files, which were separate, and the clip-art visual aids, which were all noted, but not yet included. The Religious Studies paper was only about half-done, and when checking the date the file was last accessed, Jennifer saw that she'd been working on it the afternoon before she'd vanished.

"Well," she whispered, sitting back in the chair and staring at the screen. "Way ahead of me like always, weren't you, kid?"

After a few moments, Jennifer became aware of a psychic presence reaching out to her, and she recognized it as Miss Frost.

*Jennifer,* the Headmistress asked, gently, *what are you doing in there?*

"Miss Frost, would you come on up here? I think you should see this."

McAudry House, La Jolla CA
Friday, 10 December 1993 8:11 am

"Oh, hell, have I got everything?"

"Relax, Chief, it's just a weekend trip. Do you really need the guitar?"

Dani fixed Doug with another of her Valkyrie looks. "Doug. It's my guitar. My new guitar."

"Exactly. Do you want to put it through baggage claim?"

She considered this for a moment. "Hm. Nah, gotta bring it. Let's motor. You ready?"

Doug nodded, slung his satchel over one shoulder, and picked up his overnight bag. "Ready as I'll ever be."

They came out of Dani's room, then, and into the whatever-room, where the other five were gathered. "You guys all set?" Ric asked, jingling the Volkswagen keys in his hand.

"We'd better be, if we're gonna make this flight," Doug nodded, consulting his watch.

"Selfriends," Warlock said, patiently, "self wishes to reiterate that self is more than willing to transport selfriends to schoolplace Greenbriar for weekend meeting."

"You've got better things to do than cart us around, 'Lock," Dani said with a smile. "Seriously. We'll be fine taking a commercial flight this time."

"Self wishes to be of service to..."

Dani shushed him by leaning over and giving him a kiss on his metallic cheek. "Thanks, 'Lock. If you really want to do me a favor, you can go out to the ranch today and take Brightwind out for his weekly fly. Take my truck, have a roadtrip; it'll be great."

"Ooh!" Catseye exclaimed. "Catseye would like to go with 'Lectro to horseyplace too!"

Warlock looked at them skeptically. "Are you certain, selfriends?"

"I'm certain that we're running out of time," Doug pointed out. "We gotta split. You guys hold down the fort while we're gone, okay?"

There was an extended moment of goodbyes and well-wishing. Rahne gave Dani a huge hug, Catseye did the same for everyone (even those not going), and Angie stepped into Doug's arms and gave him a small kiss on the lips.

"You gonna be okay, sweetie?" he asked her.

"Bien sûr!" she replied. "I'll keep myself occupied with painting new cards. It's very relaxing."

"I'll have to take your word for that. You and Sharon look out for each other, okay?"

"We shall. Go on, now, you'll miss your plane."

"Right." Doug reshuffled his bags around his person, gave her one more quick kiss, and then he, Dani and Ric headed out, amidst a flurry of goodbyes from the other four.

Once they were gone, Warlock tried to approximate the human gesture of slapping his hands together briskly. "Observation: Self shall do as ChiefrienDani suggested and roadtrip to McAudryRanch."

"Can come with, 'Lectro?" Catseye asked, giving him the soulful-eyes look.

"Self would be pleased at company of friendCatseye on roadtrip! Do selfriends RahneandAngie wish to accompany self as well?"

"Och, 'Lock, I'd love to, but four of m' finals are on the first day, an' I should study."

"Awwwww," Catseye frowned. "Redfur studies too much. Is four-day weekend! Plenty of time other days. Are sure?"

"Aye, really, I must."

Catseye turned her pouty look on Marie-Ange. "Will redhair come with?"

"Non, ma chatte, I have... much to do here as well."

"Awww. Would be better if Catseye not went?"

"No, Sharon, please, do go." Marie-Ange took her friend's hands and smiled at her. "Tell the family hello for me, and give Woodlock a pat, though, please."

"Okay," she sighed. "Bye, then!"

Without another word, she shifted into her cat-form and loped off down the spoke hall, her claws skittering over the tiles. Warlock gave the two ladies a somewhat disoriented look. "Self will be off, then, as frienDoug says. Self wishes selfriends a pleasant interim!"

"Aye, you too, 'Lock," Rahne smiled.

He, too, was off. There was a long silence, and then Rahne and Marie-Ange looked at one another warily.

"Alors," Marie-Ange began. "Just the two of us, then."

"Aye," Rahne nodded, slowly.

There was a lengthier pause, and eventually, it was Rahne who broke. "I'll be... in m' room."

She retreated from the room, trying not to look hurried. Marie-Ange watched her go, then sighed inwardly.

Something would need to be done about this.

Interstate 8, Japatul Road exit 9:27 am

Warlock pulled the truck off the interstate to make the interchange to highway 79. He looked over at Catseye to see that she was sticking her head out the passenger's-side window, letting the wind blow through her mane, and was also grinning like a maniac.

Before reaching the mountain highway that would take them to Julian, Warlock pulled the truck over and brought it to a stop. Catseye brought her head back into the cab and looked over at him. "What stopping for, 'Lectro?"

"Self recalls frienDani mentioning that friendCatseye wishes to learn to operate motor vehicles designated 'stick-shifts.' As vehicletruck is manual transmission, self suggests now as excellent time to instruct friendCatseye in its use."

She widened her eyes at him. "Really, 'Lectro?"

"Affirmative, selfriend."

Catseye unbuckled her seat belt, then scooted across the cab to give Warlock one of her big hugs. "Thankyou, 'Lectro! Catseye will learn well, 'Lectro will see. Come, we do fire drill from China now, yes?"

Warlock cross-referenced this colloquial phrase, found a match, and realized that Catseye was suggesting they get out and switch seats. He put on the parking brake, then shut down the engine. He and Catseye then got out and switched sides. She excitedly took the driver's seat, taking a moment to adjust the mirrors to compensate for their difference in height. They strapped in, then Catseye looked over at him and smiled. "Now what?"

"Leftmost pedal is clutch," he instructed. "Center is brake. Right is accelerator/gaspedal. Right foot operates gaspedal and brake, left foot operates clutch."

Catseye peered down at the pedals. "Um, foot cannot cover both brake and gas, 'Lectro."

"Not used at same time, selfriend. One facilitates movement, the other inhibits it. Alternate foot pressure on either pedal to increase or decrease speed."

"Ahyes," Catseye nodded, sagely. "Pedal to metal and four on floor, yes?"

"Negative." Warlock showed her the diagram on the gearshift handle. "Five gears of forward movement, designated one through five. One gear of retrograde movement, designated 'R' for reverse. Place left foot upon clutch and practice shifting."

Catseye pressed down on the leftmost pedal and started checking for the positions of the six gears. As she did, she began to giggle, then she started imitating the noises of a racecar. "Vrooooooom!" she growled, the pitch getting higher and higher before she shifted. "Vroooooom!"

"Selfriend," said Warlock, patiently, "moderation must be practiced in operation of motor vehicle, to reduce risk to selves, motorist-entities, and pedestrian-entities."

"Catseye not get to burn rubber, then?" she asked, sounding almost disappointed.

"Self advises against it."

She sighed. "Okay. Gears here, push clutch to shift. Is good, yes?"

"Excellent. To proceed, turn key while depressing clutchpedal."

"Yes, Catseye remembers this part," she nodded. She turned the key, and the engine began turning over.

"Now depress gaspedal repeatedly to facilitate internal combustion."

She looked at him sharply. "Truck going to go boom?"

"Negative. Combustion within engine."

"Ah!" she grinned, the light dawning. She pumped the gas pedal, and the engine roared to life.

"Now release, and allow engine to idle," Warlock went on.

She did so, and the roar faded to a low rumble. Grinning at her success thus far, Catseye turned and beamed at Warlock. "What now?"

"Place vehicle in gear."

She looked down at the gearshift. "Which?"

"Gear designated '1,' of course," Warlock told her, momentarily surprised that she would not know.

"Will get there slow, then, yes?" she asked, confused.

"Negative. Selfriend will proceed to higher gears as speed increases, but each must be used in turn for engine to operate smoothly."

"Oh!" she nodded, as though this were the answer to a question of universal import. "Yes, this is good. Catseye muchglad to know this. Thank you, 'Lectro!"

"Selfriend is welcome. Proceed when selfriend is ready."

Studying the gearshift very meticulously, Catseye placed the truck in first gear, then looked up at Warlock. "Now?"

"Pull handle located to left and below steering wheel to release emergency brake."

"Done," she nodded, pulling the handle in question.

"Proceed by releasing clutch and simultaneously depressing accelerator."

She did so, and the truck lurched forward before stalling out.

"Catseye did bad thing, yes?" she asked, looking over at him again.

"Affirmative, but fault may be attributed to self. Repeat process from beginning, but upon reaching this stage, release clutch slowly while depressing accelerator."

"Okay," she nodded, starting the engine up again. She shifted into neutral, then back into first, and did as he instructed. The truck began to move forward slowly. "Aha!" she crowed. "Moving now! Is good, yes?"

"Affirmative. Check mirrors and over shoulder for traffic, then proceed to steer into exitlane. Does selfriend perceive stopsign ahead?"

"Yes, is right there."

"Upon reaching stopsign, selves will stop truck. Signal to turn left onto crossroad, and proceed after stopping by turning left onto road designated 79."

"Ah," she nodded. "Where is signal?"

"Small handle on steering column," Warlock pointed. "Lightly pull in downward direction to signal left turn."

She did so, and the small turn-indicator light began blinking from the instrument panel. She grinned at him again.

"Eyes front, selfriend," Warlock warned her. "Must watch road, mirrors, and instruments at all times."

"How can Catseye watch all three?" she asked, confused again.

Warlock remembered then that not all creatures had as detailed of a sensory input as he himself. "Alternate focus of attention. Majority of attention should be placed upon road, with glances to instruments and mirrors at regular intervals. Observation: stopsign is imminent."

"Oohyes! Catseye hit brake now, yes?"

Catseye jammed her right foot down on the brake pedal, and once again they lurched to a stop, the engine stalling out.

"Feh!" Catseye huffed. "Truck likes Catseye less than rabbitcar did, even."

"When depressing brakepedal," Warlock told her, gently, "selfriend must simultaneously depress clutchpedal with left foot, then begin process of acceleration anew from first gear, as when engine was started."

"Hmmmmm," she nodded. "Okay, Catseye try again, yes?"

There came the blaring of a horn, and both looked back to see that another truck had pulled up behind them, the driver looking rather impatient with them.

"Negate feelings of apprehension or tension, selfriend, and proceed operation of truck with proper caution."

"Oh, is okay, 'Lectro, Catseye knows what to do," she grinned. She then rolled down her window, stuck her head out to look back at the other truck, and then (to Warlock's alarm) gave the driver an obscene gesture involving one outstretched finger. Warlock was not particularly well-versed when it came to human gestures, but he knew that this one had a definite negative connotation.

After a moment's pause, the driver of the other truck screeched back a few feet, then went around them with all speed. Even its engine sounded angry.

Catseye got herself back in the cab, then noticed Warlock's expression of alarm. "Is okay, 'Lectro," she assured him. "Catseye see people do this many times in movies."

"Perhaps," he said, carefully, "selfriend should proceed with driving now. Self suggests selfriend... refrain from further... nonverbal communication."

Rahne looked up from her book at the sound of a knock at her bedroom door. "Come in," she called out, and immediately regretted it. With Ric out of the house for most of the day, there was only one other person it could be.

Marie-Ange opened the door, stepped inside, then closed it behind her. She gave Rahne something of a smile, then found a place to sit down.

"We need to talk, you and I," she said at length.

For a moment, Rahne had a brief, vivid flashback to the talk she and Rictor had had soon after his return. It had begun almost exactly like this, and she wondered if it would continue along these lines.

"Do I make you nervous, Rahne?" Marie-Ange asked, breaking the silence.

Well, there was one difference. Ric's first question had put her on the defensive right away. Marie-Ange's seemed to be involving the both of them.

"Why d'ye say that?" Rahne asked in reply, dodging the issue.

"Because, quite simply, you seem to get nervous whenever I'm around you. It's not as bad when we're with the entire group, but when there are fewer of us... Are you aware you're holding onto your book with a death-grip?"

Rahne looked down and noticed that she was, in fact, clutching the book tightly, her knuckles white. She set it aside and laced her fingers, hoping that this would take the attention off them. "What're ye drivin' at, Tarot?"

"For starters, why do you call me by that name?"

"'Tis the name of yuirs I know best."

"It's a codename, used to protect my identity in public. Rahne, this isn't public. I cannot remember a time when you've called me 'Angie' like everyone else does. Why is that?"

Rahne did not answer. Marie-Ange studied her face for a moment. "Are you frightened of my being here? Are you afraid to get to know me?"

"I dinna wish to talk about this," Rahne said in a low voice.

"Why not?"

Rahne rolled her eyes heavenward. "What d'ye wish t'hear from me?"

"The truth would be a good start. What have I done to make you so uneasy?"

"What is it Douglas always says... 'D'ye want the whole list, or just the top ten?'"

Marie-Ange crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair. "Tell me what you're feeling."

"If ye insist, then. The truth is that I dinna like ye, I ne'er have liked ye, and I doubt I ever shall like ye."

The words hung in the air between them. For her part, Marie-Ange did not react, beyond blinking a couple of times. "Very well. Would you tell me why, at least?"

"D'ye really need t'ask?"

"Obviously I do."

Rahne made vague gestures in the air with both hands. "Look at ye! Ye practice witchcraft, an' sorcery, and the Lord only knows how many other black arts!"

"Oh. So this is an 'occult thing,' as Jennifer always described it?"

"Dinna joke about this, lass. Ye've chosen a dark road, an' Satan has his hooks in yuir soul a'ready."

"I doubt that," Marie-Ange shrugged.

This brought Rahne a moment's shocked pause. "How can ye say that?"

"Because I don't believe in Satan, not in the way you do. Your Satan does not dominate my life, nor does he have any claim on my soul."

Rahne shook her head. "I'd say Lord forgive ye, but I dinna think ye'd accept it. Ye jus' keep yuir cards and yuir black magic t' yuirself. I want no part of it."

After another silence, Marie-Ange took a slow, even breath. "So... you dislike me for being an agnostic?"

"Ah, is this the new word f'r 'pagan,' then?"

At this word, Marie-Ange's face finally creased with something resembling anger. "Are you aware, Rahne, that out of the seven people in this house, you and Rictor are the only Christians? Douglas and Sharon are atheists, Warlock has nothing really close to religious tenets, and Dani, your best friend, is herself a mythological entity who spent most of the last two years living among the 'pagan' gods of the Norse myths! Why me, and not them?"

"Jus'... look at ye!" Rahne repeated. "If ye'd just strayed from His path, that'd be one thing, but ye go out of yuir bloody way t'do things that're wicked, and forbidden, and ye have no shame!"

"And why should I? I have a gift, Rahne, a gift that I have no wish to ignore, or deny. We all have our gifts, and we all have our insights. I choose to use mine."

"Ye spit in the Lord's face, is what ye do!"

"I do nothing of the kind. I use my gifts to help other people. I use my knowledge as a teacher, and I use my talents in ways that I hope bring happiness to other people. I live my life for the world, Rahne, and my only wish is to make the world a better place in any way I can. Why would God hate me for that?"

Rahne looked her in the eye and growled "What d'ye know of God?"

For just a moment, Marie-Ange looked down to collect her thoughts. "Funny you should ask me that. Did you know that before my career at the Academy was so rudely interrupted, I was a few weeks and half a thesis away from a Master's degree in Religious Studies?"

"What has that t'do with anythin'?"

"What it means is that I know your God. I know your God, I know Haroun's God, I know Manuel's God and my mother's God, I know the Gods of Danielle's tribe, I know the Gods of the Norse... Don't tell me that I don't know God, Rahne. I know more than you may care to think."

Rahne sprang to her feet. "An' wha' good is this? D'ye think tha' knowledge is goin' t'save ye? D'ye think that studyin' the Lord like some bloody lab rat is what religion is? Ye say ye know, but ye dinna believe! An' I willna' sit here an' let a pagan witch tell me about God!"

This said, she stormed out of the room, and slammed the door behind her. Marie-Ange sat there quietly for a while, then took a deep breath.

"Bon," she said, quietly. "Now we're getting somewhere." She stood up as well, and followed Rahne out.

McAudry Ranch, Julian CA 10:18 am

Catseye pulled the truck to a stop in the gravel "parking lot" outside the fenced-off pastures, then shut down the engine and beamed at Warlock. "Catseye did well then, 'Lectro?"

"Selfriend performed quite admirably given circumstances and conditions," Warlock replied, diplomatically. He considered that it would be best to keep her confidence high. After all, he could (hopefully) have the engine re-tuned by the time frienDani returned...

They both hopped out of the cab then, and Sharon stretched mightily. "Ahhhh. Catseye feel muchgood to be out of cramped space. How wishbringer is able to drive with such little space, Catseye knows not."

The ranch was already abuzz with activity at this hour, and Warlock picked out three riders out among the pastured horses. He zoomed in on them, then cross-referenced their profiles in his memory, and quickly recognized them as PapaMike, UncleMatthew, and BrianMcAudry. "Self should greet riders," Warlock pointed out, "but it would appear riders are otherwise occupied, so selves should proceed to stable complex."

"Sounds good to Catseye," Sharon nodded. She led the way then, more bounding along than actually walking. Warlock followed along behind her.

They found Doug's cousins Brynn and Lon inside the stables, feeding the horses. Brynn managed, in spite of the work, to give them a cheery smile when she saw them come in. "Dave! Sharon! What're you doing here?"

Warlock made an effort, then, to speak in English. It was still difficult for him, considering that it was far less precise than his own loosely-translated way of speaking (within his own mind, anyway), and it required considerable "thinking down" to be able to converse at a human pace. "Danielle asked us to take Brightwind for his weekend fly," he explained. "She will be out of town for much of the weekend, and may not be able to come out."

"Huh, that's too bad," Brynn nodded. "Kellen was looking forward to seeing her again..."

"Can I fly with you too, Dave?" Lon asked, as expected.

"Lon, you ask that every week," Brynn sighed, wearily.

"If Papa Mike would approve, I am certain Brightwind would agree to it," Warlock pointed out.

Lon's face fell. "He never lets me do anything."

"Ah, is okay, littleLon," Catseye grinned, crouching down beside the (much) smaller boy. "Come, we go play outside, yes?"

"Okay!" Lon grinned. Catseye picked the boy up, set him on her shoulders, and bounded out of the stables with him.

Brynn chuckled. "Well, he was supposed to be helping me with the feed," she commented.

"Self- I will assist you in his place, Brynn McAudry," Warlock offered. He picked up one of the heavy feedbags effortlessly, and carried it to the next stall.

"I think Lon might have a crush on Catseye," Brynn pointed out. "Ever since y'all brought her and Angie out to meet the folks a few weeks ago, he's been asking about when she'd be coming out again."

"Perhaps Lon just enjoys having someone with whom to play."

"Could be that," she nodded. "I imagine it's tough for the little bugger, living out here with no one his age. When I was coming up, I had Brian and Jesse to play with, and Doug whenever he came out, but Lon's the last, and all of us are usually to busy with chores to play with him."

"By my understanding, Sharon never had a true childhood," Warlock noted. Not that he had ever had anything close to it himself, he added in the privacy of his own processors.

"Must be that 'inner child' thing I keep hearin' about," Brynn smiled.

They finished with the grain, then, and headed back around to Brightwind's stall. The winged stallion looked up at their approach and made a horsey snorting sound.

"Hey, big guy!" Brynn smiled at him, reaching to pat one of his wings. "Dani's not going to be able to make it today, so Dave's here to take you for your fly."

Brightwind nodded, as if to imply that he'd known this already. He shook out his wings, and allowed Warlock and Brynn to lead him out into the sunlight.
 
 

Meanwhile, out near the lake, Lon and Sharon were lazily tossing stones into the water. Lon was teaching her how to skip them, showing her which shapes were best for skipping, which angles got the most bounces, which grips and which throwing styles gave the best results, and so on.

"Hey, Catseye," he asked her after a while.

"Yes?"

"How come you got a tail, anyway?"

She looked back over her shoulder, and lashed the appendage in question a couple of times. "Because Catseye is a cat, of course. All cats have tails, except maybe poor Manxcats. Is a good tail, yes?"

"Yeah, it's cool!" he nodded. "But how come you got a tail even when you're a girl, and not a cat?"

Catseye looked momentarily confused by this. "Is Catseye's tail," she shrugged. "Have always had it. Would be strange not to have tail. Is like Catseye's cat's eyes." She crouched down next to him and widened her eyes at him. "Catseye has funny eyes, maybe, but is just how Catseye is, yes?"

"You talk funny," Lon grinned. "How come?"

"Awwww, Lon not like Catseye's talking?"

"It's just funny. Kind'a like Dave. He talks like the Terminator sometimes, always goin' 'Affirmative' and 'Negative,' and stuff like that."

"Yah, 'Lectro talk funny, too," she giggled. "Catseye likes, though. Is good way to talk, yes?"

"Yeah, I guess. Can you talk regular English, though?"

She leaned close, took a few cagey looks around as though preparing to tell him a big secret, then beckoned him closer, so she could whisper in his ear. "Don't like to," she told him. "Is icky. This talk more fun."

Lon giggled. "You're silly."

"Of course!" she grinned. "Is secret to life, littleLon. Laugh much, be silly, and live forever, yes? Come, what game we play now?"

"Can we play He-Man?" Lon asked, brightly.

"Oohyes!" she nodded. "Lon will be He-Man, and Catseye will be Battlecat, yes?" She shifted into her cat-form, and he jumped up onto her back.

"Ride, Battlecat!" he cried, dramatically. "Skeletor's gonna attack the ranch!"

"We stop him, yes?" Catseye growled in reply. "Hold on, we go fast now!"

She dashed off to find the evil one's minions. Lon held onto her mane for balance, grinning from ear to ear.

McAudry House, 10:26 am

Marie-Ange eventually tracked Rahne down to the study on the opposite side of the house. Rahne was sitting at the large mahogany desk that had once belonged to Douglas's father, furiously pretending to read her book. Marie-Ange leaned against the doorframe and regarded her. Rahne, however, did not look up, nor acknowledge her presence.

"Rahne," Marie-Ange began, "you do not have to like me, but I will not let you ignore me."

In reply, Rahne slammed her book shut and glared up at her. "What in heaven's name d'ye want from me?"

"Acceptance. I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere. You all invited me to stay, and I'm staying. You showed no protestations before."

"I didnae argue b'cause Douglas was glad t'have ye here. That w's most likely my mistake."

Marie-Ange crossed her arms. "What exactly does that mean?"

"Ye're a bad influence on him," Rahne said, simply. "Ye say Douglas doesna' believe in God? I know f'r a fact tha' he once did. Did ye talk him out of it?"

"Contrary to what you may think," Marie-Ange replied, narrowing her eyes, "I am not Satan. Douglas had a crisis of faith, brought about by dying and coming back to life -- not once, but twice. He told me about this in his letters. Perhaps if you were capable of listening without theistic fervor, he would have told you, as well."

"I canna figure what he sees in ye," Rahne growled. "Ye're not good enough for Douglas, lassie. He deserves better."

"I beg to differ," she whispered. "And I daresay that Douglas does as well. We make each other happy. I love him, and he loves me. Is this what has brought on your more recent animosity, Rahne? The fact that Douglas and I are in love?"

Rahne flinched, as though the words themselves wounded her. She looked away, unable to stand up to the other girl's gaze.

"I don't understand," Marie-Ange went on, quietly. "I cannot understand why you hate me as you do. I have met many mutants in the last five years of my life, and most of them are very open-minded and tolerant. We've had to be. We are perhaps the most feared, most oppressed minority the world has ever known. If we cannot be open to others, and listen to others, how can we ever overcome the boundaries between us? And if we do not allow ourselves to be understood, and shut ourselves away behind dogma and fear, how will anyone ever come to know us, and not fear us?"

For a while, they were both silent. Rahne looked a little less tense, but she continued to look away. Marie-Ange took this as a good sign, and found a place to sit down and continue.

"Among our kind -- and I do say 'our kind,' because like it or not, you and I are more alike than different -- there are those who cannot find it in themselves to be tolerant of others. You may have heard of some of them. The Acolytes, for example, who slaughter humans out of their sheer hatred of them. It is easy to hate, and to lash out at that which is different than you, but you yourself are 'different,' Rahne, as am I. We cannot afford to be blinded by fear, lest we become like these others."

Still, Rahne did not reply. Marie-Ange shifted slightly and went on. "From what I have gathered, you dislike me for not believing in God, and for practicing the occult. The only reasons you've given me, though, are religious dogma. You hate me because God tells you to? You believe in a God that would teach you to hate that which is different from you? Is this the way you want to live your life? Is this the way you want the world to live? Who taught you this?"

"Reverend Craig," Rahne said at last, in a low voice.

Marie-Ange blinked. "And he is..?"

"The man who raised me," she sighed. "I was a ward of the church, an' he taught me the Lord's word."

"So... what you've told me today, about spitting in the face of God, about the devil having a claim on my soul... these were his teachings?"

"Aye," she nodded.

"Then your life is governed by Reverend Craig, and not by God."

Again, Rahne flinched. For a long time, there was silence.

"Rahne?" Marie-Ange asked, carefully.

Rahne took a shaky breath, and it was all too apparent that she was beginning to cry. Marie-Ange knelt down beside the other girl, then, and took her arms. "Rahne, look at me. Look at me. What's wrong?"

"Reverend Craig..." she managed.

"What of him? What did he do?"

"He... when I... b'came a wolf f'r the first time, he... he told me I was wicked, an' tha' I was the devil's daughter, an'... he tried t'... he tried t'..."

She could not go on. Marie-Ange held Rahne to her, shushing her. "He is not here now, though. He's behind you. Let him stay there."

"I ne'er understood," Rahne went on at length. "I tried so hard t'be good, an' proper, but all my life all he could tell me was how wicked I was. An' when my mutant power came, he..."

Marie-Ange nodded. "Then you know how it feels to be hated for what you are."

They sat together in silence for a while. After Rahne calmed down and wiped her eyes, Marie-Ange took both of her hands and looked up into her eyes. "Have you ever considered," she asked, delicately, "that he could have been wrong?"

"Wrong about what?"

"About God's will."

"But he... he was the Reverend! He was the mos' learned man in the church, an'..."

"That's as may be, but you've lived your life by his interpretations of the scriptures, and not your own. And in so doing, you only further the same fear and hatred that he showed you. Do you want to live your life in his image?"

Rahne shook her head slowly. "I... I dinna know wha' else t'do, though."

"That may be because you've lived your life thinking that there is only one truth- the truth he set out before you. The truth is something we must each seek for ourselves. Some find their truth in the Bible. Some find it with the teachings of Muhammad, or Krishna, or Buddha. Some find it after decades of self-examination. I find my truth in my cards." She shrugged. "I cannot find your truth for you, and neither can Reverend Craig."

"What should I do, then?"

Marie-Ange thought about this. "I would suggest reading the Bible, cover to cover, and seeing how you yourself interpret it. Not how Reverend Craig taught you, but how you perceive the words. Then, you can make your own decisions on what you wish to believe. And I hope the Old Testament scares you as much as it did me, and that you pay particular attention to the New Testament, and the words of Christ."

At this, Rahne looked more than a little surprised. "Have ye read the Bible?"

"Several times," Marie-Ange smiled. "There is much to be learned from it."

"But... but ye dinna' believe in God?"

"Non, not in the way you do. That doesn't mean I cannot learn from the teachings of Moses, or Christ, or the words of the prophets. That is what being open is all about. I understand Christian doctrines, but I cannot call myself a Christian, any more than I can call myself a Buddhist, a Theosophist, a Baha'i, or a Muslim."

Again, there was a long silence. Rahne looked away, then. "'msorry," she whispered.

"Quoi?"

"I'm sorry... f'r what I said t'ye."

"C'est bien," Marie-Ange smiled, softly. "They were your Reverend Craig's words, not yours."

McAudry House, 2:33 pm

When Ric finally returned from his trip to the airport and the library, he was ready to drop. Enough with the studying, already!

Trudging around to the living wing, he was nothing short of stunned to find Rahne and Marie-Ange sitting in the whatever-room, laughing their heads off at God only knew what. He stood at the mouth of the hallway for a moment and watched them, eyes wide.

Rahne noticed him first, and then Marie-Ange looked up at him as well. They then both burst out laughing again. Rahne nearly fell off the couch, she was laughing so hard.

"Ohhh-kay," Ric nodded. "What did I miss?"

"Oh, nothing," Rahne managed, once she was able to speak.

"Oui. Nothing at all."

After a pause, both girls busted up laughing yet again.

Ric went to his room, deciding that he didn't really want to know.

Greenbriar Academy, Greenbriar CT
Saturday, 11 December 1993 2:54 am EST

When all was said and done, Doug had to admit that the trip out to the Greenbriar Academy would have been a lot easier had Warlock brought them directly after all. With a delayed connector flight, he and Dani had arrived at the campus with just enough time to drop off their things in a guest suite before the first event of the weekend got underway.

Said attraction was a speech in the "Underground" section of the school, where the twenty-odd mutant students were trained. The speaker was one A.C. Kokiadis, a non-mutant who nonetheless had been close to various members of the Greenbriar faculty for some time now. Doug had first learned of him through telepath/cyberpath Erin Kilvarough of Greenbriar, during one of their now-customary Friday night cyberspace meetings.

After an interesting start, in which Kokiadis seemed determined to discredit himself as a legitimate speaker, he went on to drive home a very basic point that so many mutant organizations seemed to lack insight into: that the first step to peace between humans and mutants -- between humans of all kinds -- was friendship, and that being a friend was more often than not the most courageous thing anyone could do. Doug had cringed visibly at a comment early on in the speech about how the teachers were a step removed from solving the problem, but then once he hit the main point, Doug almost said to himself "Oh, is that all?" Friendship, in his opinion, was integral to being a teacher in the first place.

After the speech, Doug, Dani, Erin, A.C., and several of the Greenbriar faculty were taken to dinner, at a nice Italian restaurant, by Headmaster Alexander Blackwood himself, and it was an eye-opening experience for all concerned. The last time Doug had visited Greenbriar, he had been there with a message and an attitude, but now, he was able to relax and enjoy the company of the others.

Well -- mostly enjoy it, anyway. There was one unfortunate precaution necessary in being around as powerful a telepath as Erin. He and Dani both were using Warlock-made psi-screens to shield their thoughts. They could not afford to have knowledge of Marie-Ange and Sharon "overheard." It had made for some tension between Doug and Erin, but they dealt with it.

After dinner, though, the tension seemed to evaporate as the two Go Westers retired to Erin's faculty suite along with Erin herself and A.C. They stayed up well into the following morning talking, exchanging stories, and even, as was becoming increasingly more common, having an impromptu jam session, with Dani on guitar, Doug playing his harmonica and singing, A.C. playing a set of bongos he'd retrieved from his car, and Erin just singing along and laughing.

Eventually, though, Erin decided to call it a night, and very nicely asked them all to leave. Doug went back to the guest suite, while Dani, not tired at the moment, went for a walk around the campus with A.C., but not without an admonishing comment from Doug to A.C. about having her home by 10 pm sharp. It was somewhat refreshing for Doug to talk with someone who was as much a smart-ass as he himself.

Upon reaching the suite, though, he completely failed to fall asleep. He had too much going on in his mind, including more guilt than he was comfortable with. With a sigh, he picked up the phone and dialed Erin's extension.

After a few rings, it picked up. "This had better be good," Erin said in a sleepy growl.

"Sorry, didn't mean to wake you."

"Sure you did. What is it, Doug?"

He immediately dodged the issue. "Tell me about A.C."

"Doug, can this wait until morning? Please?"

"No, seriously. Is this guy for real?"

"Quite."

"I'm just wondering if the MassAc is ready for someone like him. Why did Miss Frost offer him a job, anyway?"

"Because with Tarot missing and with her other assistant taking a potentially permanent sabbatical, she has no one left to help her run the mutant school. Apart from being an all-around swell guy, A.C.'ll make a good teacher, particularly given his views on mutant rights."

"That's cool. I only hope Miss Frost has reformed as much as she's been letting on, or he might be in deep real soon."

"Even after the Mutant Fair, you don't trust her?"

"My dear, this is me, remember? I don't trust anybody."

"So you've shown," she replied. She was tired enough not to care that the words stung, and Doug more than felt it.

"Uh, yeah. That's why I called, really."

"Oh?"

"You asked earlier why Dani and I came here under radio silence, as it were."

"Yeah. As I recall, you said it was an unavoidable precaution. Doug, what are you hiding from me?"

Doug sighed, then took a deep breath. "I know something you and a lot of other mutants would like to know, but if I tell you, it'll put you in a serious moral dilemma, and I don't want to subject you to that."

"My. Always looking out for me, aren't you?"

"Look," he told her, "I've been agonizing about this. If I keep this from you, I'm worried it'll ruin our friendship. If I tell you, it could ruin lives. You'd have to promise me you won't tell anyone."

"It's that serious?" she asked, sounding much more awake now.

"Yeah, Erin, it's that serious."

There was a pause from the other end of the line. "Okay," she said at last. "How about this? I promise to keep it to myself, provided it won't put anyone else in danger. How's that sound?"

"That'll work. You sure you want to hear it?"

"After all this build-up? You bet I do."

"Is this line monitored?"

"Of course not. Tell me."

"Okay. I know where Tarot and Catseye are."

There was a long silence, and then Erin seemed to shake off her shock at the other end. "You do? Where?"

"See, that's just it. I promised them I wouldn't tell anyone where they've gone. Suffice it to say that they're both alive and well, but they insisted to me that no one find out about this, particularly anyone at the MassAc. They don't want to go back, Erin, and I'm willing to respect their wishes. And you know that if this gets back to Miss Frost, she'll hunt my ass down and make me tell her, reform or no reform."

"I don't... understand. What happened? Why don't they want to go back?"

"They just don't."

Erin took a few deep breaths. "Shit, Doug," she said, quietly. "You were right -- I don't know if I like this. I mean, I'm glad they're okay, but... Christ, they're the most sought-after mutants on the planet right now, and they don't want to be found?"

"Can I trust you not to tell anyone?"

"But... what about all their friends, for heaven's sake?"

"Goes for them, too. I don't like it either, and I told them that, but they have their reasons."

"Well, there has to be something we can do. Some kind of anonymous tip we can leave with the MassAc that'll let them know that they're okay, but that they won't be back."

"What, like an anonymous piece of mail?"

"Maybe... No, that wouldn't work. They have a psychometric, and she'd be able to 'read' who sent it. Maybe a carefully-placed, untraceable message on Multivac?"

"Maybe, but you and I would be obvious suspects for that one, and she might come asking questions."

"This really sucks, Doug," she informed him.

"I know. I'm sorry about keeping it from you this long."

"No problem. I'm beginning to wish you'd gone on doing so. This isn't going to be easy to just sit on, you know."

"I know. I'm sorry. But for the record, you'd better not tell A.C. either, especially if he'll be working at the Academy eventually..."

"And this is... some other building I can't remember the name of," A.C. informed Dani. "Really, I'm sure it's very important, whatever it is."

Dani chuckled in the cold post-midnight air. "Well, Ace, you may be a pretty good speaker, but you're a lousy tour guide."

"You are too kind, my lady," he said with a mock bow.

They found a cement bench to sit on (Dani briefly wondered if cement benches were becoming a requisite for campuses), and briefly looked up at the stars. "Hey," A.C. asked at length, "what's the story between you and Aaron, anyway?"

For a moment, Dani wondered why A.C. was asking about her and Erin, but then she recalled that A.C. still only knew her and Doug by their assumed names. The illusion sometimes drove her batty, particularly this late at night. "Oh, Aaron," she nodded. "We're good friends."

"How good of friends?"

"Extremely good. I could ask you the same question about you and Erin, you know. How close are you two?"

"Oh, he seems like a nice guy, but we've only just met."

"Har har."

"Well, I'll take whatever laughs I can get at this hour. Erin and I are good friends, too. We thought about going further with it for a while, but it just... didn't happen."

Dani laughed out loud. "We've got more in common than I thought, you and I."

"Really? Funny, you don't look Greek or Italian..."

"Silly. No, seriously, let's compare here. How long have you known your Erin?"

"Years," A.C. nodded. "She's one of my oldest friends. You?"

"Yeah, he and I have known each other a good long while, too. And am I to assume you and she were once... shall we say... romantically involved?"

"Ah, shall we say, briefly? How about you?"

"Oh, the same."

"One night stand?"

Dani smirked. "I wouldn't say that. Too... shallow. It happened last summer, which was a really stressful and tense time in both of our lives, and we sort of... found each other. It was like a bad movie. Our eyes met, and the rest is history."

"That's really close to what happened to us," he nodded. "Any regrets?"

"All in all, no. I think we're both better for the experience. It was... extremely... weird, considering how long we've known each other, but with... that behind us, it was like we broke down the last wall. If we could go that far, there's nothing we can't tell one another now. We share everything. He's a royal pain in the ass sometimes, but I love him."

"How did you two meet?"

"You first," she grinned.

"Oh, I met Erin at a party. She'd only developed her powers recently at the time, and she wasn't doing so well with all the people there. I took her home, we exchanged numbers, and the rest is eleven thoroughly interesting and at times very confusing years. Now, what about you?"

"Not a party," she shrugged. "We met in a dance class, which was weird enough, but then, against all probability, he and I ended up doing the mutant hero thing together. We have a long and complicated history as far as that goes, but I won't do him the disservice of telling you all the fun bits before he gets the chance to." She chuckled. "He tells 'em a lot better than I do anyway."

"I dunno, Erica, that's pretty vague," he chided her. "You must not have been very visible in your heroism, then, 'cause if I'd seen someone looking like you in the papers or on TV, I think I'd remember it."

"Flattery will get you everywhere," she laughed. "Noooono, we were very low-profile. The whole thing was quite literally a whole lifetime ago for Aaron and me both. And that will be your last clue."

"Piffle. I thought you'd at least tell me what your Abilities Beyond Those Of Mere Mortals are. Other than the obvious."

"I read minds," she grinned, wolfishly.

"Oh, God, not another one," he moaned, slapping his forehead.

"Only to a point, though," she assured him. "I can find a person's greatest desire or greatest fear, for starters."

"Really?" he asked, almost soberly.

"Yes. And no, you can't have my hair. I'm using it."

A.C. burst out laughing. "Is it that obvious?"

"Do the words 'open book' mean anything to you?" she snickered. "No, seriously, it's an interesting perspective, especially considering that in most cases, I sense them without even wanting to."

"I guess that would be strange," he nodded.

"Does it make you nervous?"

"Naah. I think being around Erin this long desensitized me to the whole mind-reading thing. I like to think I've made a concerted effort to clean up my brain, though, I'll admit."

"Good man. We should get along smashingly. So, are you here for the weekend?"

"Yeah, for a while, anyway. I need a break from all of these dead-end interviews."

"Definitely. Well, Aaron and I will be here all day tomorrow -- or today, rather -- and most of Sunday. I hope we run into each other again."

"Does this mean we're calling it a night?" he asked, with mock disappointment.

"Lemme show you something," she told him. After taking a few looks around, she concentrated, and created a very small projected image of herself dead asleep in bed. "This is my greatest wish right now," she grinned.

"That's amazing," A.C. said softly, looking at the tiny hologram she'd created. "You're cute when you're asleep, you know that?"

She dispelled the image, then got to her feet and stretched. "I'll see you in the morning, Ace."

"Or the afternoon," he shrugged. "No kiss on the first date, eh?"

She leaned over, gave him a loud kiss on the forehead, then helped him to his feet. "One of these days we'll get you and Aaron together for a flirt-off, how does that sound?"

"Oh, can't wait."
 
 

Next: "Bravado"

Go West #14: "Closer to Fine" ("Pray Your Gods")
by Jeremy Bottroff, 1 March 1994

This story (c) 1994, 1999 Jeremy Bottroff

"Closer to Fine" performed by Indigo Girls, words and music by Emily Saliers, (c) 1988, 1998 Godhap Music (BMI), from the album INDIGO GIRLS

"Pray Your Gods" performed by Toad the Wet Sprocket, lyrics by Glen Phillips, music by Glen and Toad, (c) 1991, 1998 Wet Sprocket Songs (ASCAP), from the album FEAR

"Xanadu" performed by Rush, lyrics by Neil Peart, music by Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee, (c) 1977, 1999 CORE Music Publishing (ASCAP) CAPAC, Canada, from the album A FAREWELL TO KINGS

Haroun Al-Rashid (Jetstream), Brightwind, Lila Cheney, Marie-Ange Colbert (Tarot), Reverend Craig, Manuel De la Rocha (Empath), Emma Frost (White Queen), Danielle Moonstar (Mirage), Douglas Ramsey (Cypher), Rictor, Rahne Sinclair (Wolfsbane), Sharon Smith (Catseye), Jennifer Stavros (Roulette), Warlock, Acolytes, New Mutants, Massachusetts Academy (c) 1999 Marvel Entertainment Group

Brynn McAudry created by David Olson and Jeremy Bottroff, (c) 1998 Ol' Sambu and Wolfsong

Lt. Mike Chapman, the McAudry family (Michael, Brian, Matthew, Kellen, Lon), Paul Spangler (Gemini) created by Jeremy Bottroff, (c) 1999 Jeremy Bottroff

Alexander Blackwood, Erin Kilvarough (Oracle), The Greenbriar Academy, and the city of Greenbriar, Connecticut created by Michael Jones, (c) 1999 Michael Jones/Everbard

A.C. Kokiadis created by Keith R.A. DeCandido, (c) 1998 Keith R.A. DeCandido/Albe-Shiloh

A.C.'s speech, Go West's visit to Greenbriar, and the whole deal are chronicled very effectively in "Piled High and Deep" and "On Cue: The First Annual Greenbriar Pool Tournament" by Keith R.A. DeCandido, which should be over on the Greenbriar page, or the Human Touch page, or both

The Mutant Fair is over on the Greenbriar page, as previously indicated.

Harris Finkelstein created by Mr. and Mrs. Finkelstein.

The big music video scene that leads off the chapter is actually an extension of the dream sequence at the beginning of Act II of Late Show VIII.  Or rather, it's just another one of those trying-to-write-a-scene-to-a-song-the-author-likes thingies, in this case "Xanadu."

Woodlock (c) 1999 Warp Graphics

Masters of the Universe, Battlecat, He-Man, Skeletor (c) 1999 Filmation

Oh, hell, I don't remember which studio owns the rights to the Terminator, but no infringement intended, really.

Warlock teaching Catseye to drive a stick?  What was I thinking?