by Jonathan S. Coolidge, D.O.

It was a dark time for the Lykosan Empire. Although Suidhne Dreamsail and her company destroyed the telepathic monster known as a "gheidei" and successfully reactivated the ancient vessel Wolven One, the Empire continued to decline into a growing landscape of political turmoil and insurrection. As the Lykosan Imperial Armada in turn stepped up its enforcement of law, imperial agents learned that a growth of local resistance movements was coalescing into an organized rebellion.

After learning of revolutionary propaganda accusing colonial Viceroy Koheen of the planet Shohan Prime of engaging in evil acts of "racial cleansing" against the Cunae and Ehlan Sidhe, Danit of Cuna, the Lykosan chief ambassador to alternate realms of existence, with his companion Nialle, set sail aboard a courier vessel to that remote colony to investigate the matter.

Meanwhile, in Collinwood, Suidhne Dreamsail and Pengarthe Ash browsed their world's Internet using the controversial Blotster music file-sharing service, which made possible online trading and downloading of music in the form of "dm5" digital music files. Yet even as they downloaded rare and underground music, legal actions against Blotster threatened to shut down the service, threatening freedom to the Internet...

Twin moons were visible against the backdrop of space, over the horizon of a brightly lit desert planet. Against this background, a small courier vessel raced away frantically, dodging a volley of plasma bolts and energy blasts. The large, triangular front hull of a leviathan Lykosan Imperial Armada cruiser followed behind in close pursuit, flanked by enormous weapon assemblies and followed by a massive cluster of ribbed modules forming the belly of the ship, accompanied by gigantic dorsal and ventral fins and tapering to a sharp tail lit by two bright thrusters.

"This is madness!" Nialle ranted, as she and Danit briskly moved through a corridor rocking from the blasts outside and filled with the confusion of frantic crewmembers running through the hallways. "We'll be destroyed, smashed into tiny bits of who-knows-what!"

"Just stay close to me; I haven't used Crossover yet today, so if worst comes to worst, at least about five people can make it out of this." They made their way through the chaos into the recesses of the ship.

A number of crewmembers took up arms and positioned themselves as the outside volleys came to a halt. Suddenly, a huge clanking shook the vessel; they were being docked inside the imperial cruiser. One of the walls then lit up as a seam began to cut through the courier ship's hull. The wall suddenly exploded, and a boarding party of armed troops stormed in, firing hand-held weapons.

A single tall, dark figure then emerged, cloaked in black, stepping forward. The face was hidden behind the mask of a royal guard space suit, and as it came forward, all became quiet except for a slow, hissing breath sound emanating from the intruder.

It took its helmet off, revealing the face of Treveska, a Lykosan captain, slightly involuted and catching a breath. She abruptly sneezed and shook her head about in a series of circular motions. "Now I can breathe."

One of the Lykosan troopers approached her, carrying the bizarre, somewhat skeletal form of an Ehlan Sidhe being. Treveska grabbed the creature and held it by its neck, looking into its eyestalks.

"What have you done with the plans for the prototype astral phase drive?" As she interrogated, she squeezed the creature's neck. This did not appear to bother the Ehlan Sidhe creature, as his mouth was a vertical slit in his chest, and his head consisted only of two eyestalks with tufts of hair attached to a rudimentary stump.

"We didn't intercept them." He answered calmly. "We're on a peaceful mission." The creature's eyes rolled upwards with a sigh. "We're a diplomatic vessel."

Treveska eyed the creature with intense scrutiny, continuing her interrogation. She asked sarcastically, "if this is a diplomatic vessel, then where is the ambassador?"

"Uh, here," Danit answered, making his way through the gauntlet of readied weapons. "I am Danit of Cuna, Lykosan Imperial Functionary A-45, ambassador to the Crossover Realms."

Nialle approached, accompanying him. "Yes, it's us. Remember him and me? We fought the floating brain, and I healed your arms and legs? Peeling your crew out of the walls, and afterwards the Rite of the Gold Moon with His Royal Highness-does that ring a bell?"

Treveska slapped her forehead briskly, putting the Ehlan Sidhe down, and then turned to one of her boarding troopers. "They did it again!" She turned to the others. "Hold your fire, everyone! We're withdrawing!" She then turned towards Danit and Nialle. "I'm really very sorry about this, especially after all you've done for me. This is the third time this month, too. I've been tracking revolutionary activity, and someone from Lykosan intelligence seems to think every ship with an Ehlan or Cuna on board is spying!" Treyella backed towards the forced entryway, gesturing her troops back out. "I'll get some people to fix this for you, and I'll make this up to you over dinner or something. I'm really sorry."

"It's okay," Danit answers, looking around at the surrounding smoke as people reoriented themselves. "No one was seriously hurt."

"What about my pride?" Treveska answered, throwing her arms up. "This is really getting annoying!" She backed out, through the hole in the ship, into a boarding clamp, as a repair crew began delivering assorted panels and other parts.

Nialle turned to Danit. "You were saying something earlier, about this being a simple ride?"

"We'll be transferring to a small courier vessel, the L.I.A.S. Vidor. I'm sure the rest of it will be uncomplicated," Danit replied.

"Yeah, right," Nialle said, folding her arms. "I've got a bad feeling about this."

"Duplicating copyrighted works and posting them on the Internet? Are we into that again?" As Suidhne said these words, she stood on a circular platform, her face obscured by a pair of virtual reality glasses along side a combination of headphones and a microphone. Her gloves, shoes, and several other articles of clothing emitted infrared light, which her circular platform and guardrails received and transmitted to a computer box in the otherwise naturalistic wood-lined room. Melody and Pengarthe watched on a nearby computer screen, also present but less immersed in the digital realm. A simulation of Suidhne was in a simulation of a nightclub, surrounded by a number of partying strange creatures. Some danced to loud music, while others talked and exchanged items. The person she was talking to had long, slender elven features similar to Melody, but with a strange cyan complexion and midnight blue hair.

"We have to be careful to make sure that artists are still getting paid for their work. Historically, that's always been a serious problem." He gave Suidhne a small, shiny black and silver trinket depicting what appeared to be a dog wearing oversized headphones; it had one bright white eye and one dark one, creating a somewhat crazed, somewhat humorous appearance. Written on the back was the word "Blotster."

"With that aside," he continued, "there's a lot of stuff that's out-of-print. The record companies can't be losing any profits out of anything they aren't selling anymore. And, I'll be the first to admit I downloaded tons of dm5's I already had on tape. They may be forced to shut down soon, so you'll want to move quickly. I really recommend a group called 'Moonstone.' I've looked all over the place, but the only place I've found anything by them is off Blotster."

A floating rectangle popped up in space, floating near the two of them. In it, the images of Melody and Pengarthe appeared, sitting next to the computer terminal, with Suidhne's physical form in the background, mimicking her virtual realm motions. Melody asked with vigor, "Moonstone? That's the name of the band?"

"Yes," the blue elf answered. He looked closely at the window, and at Suidhne's bleached white body, partially covered with electronic gadgetry. He then looked at her virtual form. "You're Awakened?" "Yes, Blue. And that is Pengarthe Ash and Melody Dreamsail, two close friends of mine at the Morgana Residence. I really do look like this. Melody, Pengarthe, meet Blue Ghost."

"It's ironic, isn't it? So many people log on and escape to this virtual fantasy realm so that they can become something else, and yet when a few of us really do get that opportunity, we become outcasts treated like a contamination. I'm Awakened, too, but I refuse to live in an asylum. Sure, the Morgana Residence offers a 'natural environment' for our kind, but I can't help but think of the 'relocation camps' before the Global Wars." Suidhne and Blue Ghost pressed the front surface down on the hand-held Blotster trinket, clicking it.

A blaze of light shimmered around the two of them, and they instantly teleported to an elaborate hotel-like place, filled with digital streamers and terminals listing songs, albums, and musicians, while a crowd of exotic people plugged away at the array of devices or chatted among each other. The place was a strange hybrid of Las Vegas and Wall Street. Overhead, a gigantic version of the Blotster logo appeared, with a central message board welcoming visitors. The floating panel showing Melody and Pengarthe in physical reality accompanied Suidhne as she approached one of the ATM-like terminals. Of some seven choices listed on the screen of the terminal, Suidhne touched the word "find." The terminal responded with a blank screen and a blinking cursor and spoke with an Australian accent, "Ploys enta ya seach request."

"Moonstone," Suidhne answered. "I'm looking for Moonstone."

"Oahwroytee then." The screen blinked for a moment, and then spewed up a list of songs and names. "Two hundred and nonty-eight entries." Suidhne pressed on the screen to scroll through the list, sorting through a number of entries other than what she sought: "Under the Moon - 09 Stone Heart, by Puma Sisters," "Twin Moons - 03 Tone For Meditation, by Laura Vanderweld", "Carry the stone - 01 Full Moon, by Tran, Pham, and Chen", "Moonlight in Darkness - 09 Stone Drunk, by The New Beasts"...

"I'm looking for a music group named 'Moonstone.' Can you narrow this down a bit?"

"Os you wish, me lady," the computer answered. "On entry, a music video." The terminal displayed a single song. "Siege of Dream Haven - 01 The Overture, by Moonstone."

"I know that song," Melody interjects from the floating window.

"I'll take it." She taps the panel over the song, and a cord pops out of the terminal. Suidhne plants its end on her arm, and a second floating window appears, with a flashing series of images as the file transfers. Suidhne looks at the terminal, knowing that any song available on Blotster had to be posted by someone. Someone calling himself "Creator" placed this one. Some of the images depicted a young elven maiden singing-a woman who looked very much like a younger version of Melody Dreamsail, but without her third eye. Others were stylized images of magical beings engaged in wildly dramatic conflict. Still others depicted other musicians accompanying the younger Melody. Once the download finished, Suidhne turned to Blue Ghost. "Do you know where we can find this 'Creator'?"

Blue Ghost addressed the terminal, pressing the screen a few times. "Sorry, mate," the terminal answered. "He ain't online. Wanna vidmail'em?"

"Yes, please." The image of a television camera materialized next to the terminal, accompanied by a somewhat cartoonish camera technician wearing headphones and a Blotster T-shirt. He gestured with three fingers up, then two, then one, and then raised his thumb. The terminal depicted Suidhne and Blue Ghost as they stood there.

"This is Blue Ghost and Suidhne; we downloaded your posting of Moonstone's song, and we were wondering first where it came from and second whether or not you have other copies of their works. We can be reached at my V-mail address 'Blue Ghost @ Worldscape,' or at Suidhne's address 'Suidhne @ Morgana dot Collinwood. End message, and include a written footnote spelling 'Suidhne' for him." The camera and operator blinked out, and the terminal displayed "message sent." Blue Ghost asked Suidhne, "What kind of name is 'Suidhne'?" She shrugged in response.

As the small Lykosan courier L.I.A.S. Vidor continued on its way toward Viceroy Koheen and Shohan Prime, Danit and Nialle made their way to its central bridge area, ducking under a few dangling cables and side-stepping a small leak of greenish fluid on the floor. The furry captain greeted them, the two remaining bridge crew monitored panels and display symbols around amid a cluttered grouping of instruments loosely held together. "I think we may have stumbled upon a life form. I was just repairing the harmonic resonance compensators in the primary sensor array when I noticed something unusual."

"Unusual readings?" Danit asked.

"Isn't that an engineer's job?" Nialle asked.

"Yes, Madame Nialle, it is. I'm the ship's engineer. As for what I noticed,"

"Wait," Nialle answered. "I thought you were captain."

"I do both jobs around here, since we're a little short an engineering crew right now. Anyway, the resonance compensators appear to have gone out when a momentary surge of energy passed by earlier, suggesting..." A bright flash from the view screen interrupted him, and the ship rattled. The floor suddenly jolted and tilted, knocking everyone over, slamming Danit into a wall and causing the captain to stumble into a stack of electronic components, which tumbled to the ground and rolled about. They pulled themselves back up as the ship rocked about, as if riding on turbulent waves. A brilliant, gigantic butterfly-like energy form appeared on the viewer, drifting away from the courier ship, into space beyond.

Danit ran to the viewer and stared at it. "That's a Creator! I've heard legends about those things!"

"Oh Hell, the resonance compensators are out again," the captain answered.

"Danit, I think your butterfly thing created a mess," Nialle answered, looking around. "What else do they create?"

"They're from Cunan legend. They're powerful faeries that travel from world to world, observing civilizations; they're called 'creators' because they also have a passion for making art of all kinds. I think this one wanted to take a look at us." He watched the ethereal form recede. "But, it looks like he's got something else to attend to right now."

Suidhne, Pengarthe, and Melody sat at a side table in a place that combined elements of a coffee shop and an electronics shop, sipping herbal teas and looking around. Low-key alternative rock played, accompanied by the casual chat of a few college-age people in scattered tables and around a bar. A few people sat at computer terminals, playing video games or browsing web pages. One person in the background stumbled around a circular platform, wearing numerous wires and virtual reality glasses.

"This looks like a techie's hangout," Pengarthe said, looking around. "Blue Ghost should be arriving with his group in a few minutes. I trust we'll know them when we see them." At that moment, a group of three people in Gothic attire entered, one of whom was a blue-skinned elf. The other two consisted of a young man with a spiked Mohawk hairstyle and an Oriental lady with a long black dress. The elf pointed towards Suidhne. "Just a hunch," Pengarthe told Suidhne and Melody, "but I think they're here."

"Suidhne, I am Blue Ghost. This is Spike 99 and Clarissa." The three of them sat down with Suidhne, Pengarthe, and Melody, unloading portable online devices and various data storage discs as Suidhne introduced Pengarthe and Melody. Blue Ghost then answered, "We've looked all over for Creator, but haven't found him."

"We were wondering if you found anything," Spike added. "Now we're curious."

Clarissa looked closely at Melody, eyeing her with her doll-like face and prominent black lips. Melody returned the gaze with her own enigmatic presence, blinking her third eye. Clarissa then commented, "You look a lot like the lady in the music video."

"I am she. That was my music band a number of years back. We weren't too well known here, but we were quite popular, how shall I say, overseas."

"I hope you don't mind my asking," Spike answered. "But, you only had two eyes back then, but you were obviously already Awakened."

"I was born an elf," Melody answered. "Actually, I am part human, but it isn't the first thing most people notice. The eye is a long story that is rather personal."

"We haven't found anything on Creator either," Suidhne answered. "We really want to know, too, as we'd like to find out where he got them."

"Do you have any more of Moonstone's works?" Blue Ghost asked. "Your song 'The Overture' was quite interesting."

Suidhne and Pengarthe both looked at Melody, who answered, "I have them over at home, but it's a bit far away. We'll have to get back to you on them."

"Surely you don't mind its being posted on Blotster?" Clarissa interjected. "That is, after all, how we discovered you as an artist."

"I don't mind at all-I have nothing against being traded on Blotster," Melody answered. "We're looking for Creator for different reasons. How shall I put this." She stopped to think for a moment. "He found one of my lost works, and I am hoping he might have others. In the mean time, I'll be happy to post what I have of Moonstone on Blotster myself."

"That is, if it's still there," Spike added. "As you know, the recording coalition is suing for copyright infringements, and the government has been threatening to shut Blotster down."

"They've talked about it for almost a year," Suidhne replied. "But, Blotster is still running. They could have shut them down by now, if it were really a greater threat than my old movie tape recorder."

"That's were the conspiracy theories kick in," Blue Ghost answered. "At least a few sources think the Feds are on Blotster, looking for ways to incriminate people. And since everyone has downloaded a dm5 at one time or another in their life, they can bring charges on anyone they feel like bringing charges on. So, if they need to arrest someone, they just dig up whatever they've downloaded in the last few years. That's why I always use stealthware."

"That, and all those annoying billboards," Spike added. "Stealthware can save a lot of hard disk space."

Nialle dimmed the lights to her cramped quarters on the courier ship Vidor, clearing a small stack of data panels off a bed, and then lying down on it. She pulled the covers up, only to find her bare feet exposed. She sat up, pulling the covers over her feet, and then laid back down. She pulled the covers up to the lower part of her breasts before the lower end came lose, leaving her feet uncovered again. With a sigh, she got up and pulled the covers off the bed, turning them sideways and re-tucking them. They again came short, and with a fit of momentary frustration she threw them to the floor. Nialle shed her thin, silk evening dress, reaching for her warm, tight-fitting vinyl body suit. She stepped inside and stretched it over her arms and chest, and then reached around to zip her back. As she closed her collar, she dropped herself on top of the mattress.

Nialle looked at the ceiling, at the curved, intricate wiring, while listening to the steady hum of the ship. Her eyes slowly closed as she drifted off to sleep. Suddenly, one of the background humming noises stopped, alerting Nialle back awake. She turned to her side and curled up on the mattress, grabbing a thin, undersized pillow to support her head. She heard a few gentle rubbing sounds as she settled down, her body heat warming her. Nialle glanced at a nearby cluster of raw electronic instruments and organic shapes in the wall. Out of one tiny alcove, she thought for a moment she could see a pair of tiny red eyes looking back at her.

As Danit came to his and Nialle's quarters, he heard a shriek inside. He rushed in, alarmed but ready to fight. Nialle stood on top of the bed, staring at the floor hysterically. "There's something else in here! I don't know what it was, but I think it looked sort of like a mouse."

Danit looked around, but could not find anything. "You can get down; I'm sure it's not harmful."

Nialle held her ground on the bed. "I don't want that thing crawling on me!"

"It's not going to crawl on you. It's probably more afraid of you. Once it saw you, it probably..."

Nialle screamed again, and then shouted, "There it is again!" Danit barely saw something scurry out of the corner of his eyes. "It was a mouse with six legs!"

Danit approached Nialle, standing on the bed with her. "OK, I think I know what it is. It's an osqueri, and it's not harmful. You can get down now-you'll be all right. They're actually edible; back in Queen Moira's days, these used to be a Lykosan delicacy." He took Nialle's hand, and the two of them stepped down.

Suddenly, the osqueri appeared again, this time charging straight at Danit, who gasped, grabbing Nialle and jumping back on the bed. The six-legged mouse then ran back towards a hole in the corner. Danit jumped off the bed, lunging at the creature with great agility. He then calmly showed Nialle his catch. The osqueri wriggled its nose, sniffing at Danit's fingertips and looking up at Nialle with beady eyes.

"See, they're harmless."

Nialle assumed an enchanted expression. "It's cute!" She looked more closely at the creature, working up the courage to pet him. Suddenly, the mouse slipped loose from Danit's grasp, bouncing off Nialle's belly.

Outside in the hallway, the Frellas, the navigator, heard Danit's and Nialle's screams from their quarters. He rushed to their assistance, only to find both of them rushing outside, closing the door behind them. "We're going to need new quarters," Danit stated.

Suidhne, Melody, and Pengarthe followed Blue Ghost and his companions Spike and Clarissa to an unremarkable apartment complex hidden in the layers of architecture of the Collinwood metropolis. Inside, they made their way past dimly lit, musty corridors into a cramped one-bedroom dwelling stuffed with cluttered pieces of technology.

"It may not look like much out here," Blue Ghost said, "but I've got a small network in here that can get all six of us virtual. It's like being able to send each of you into another reality."

"Here we go again," Pengarthe said, leaning to Suidhne.

"Just how important is finding 'Creator'?" Spike 99 asked. "There are places in the virtual realm that really shouldn't be there-places that make Blotster look as legitimate as your neighborhood Bear Scout cookie business." He turned to one of numerous computer screens, which instantly came on, displaying a series of cartoon turkeys dropping through a text-filled page. Spike looked back at Pengarthe, Melody, and Suidhne. "You'll like this. I'm turkeying an Anti-Awakened site."

"Turkeying," Suidhne asked. "That must be a new term-net hacker lingo changes so often."

"Same thing as 'stacking' or 'strawing'-I'm sending them a copy of every letter or entry on every public exchange forum that supports the Adaptively Impaired, until they either run out of memory or their server crashes. They'll be down awhile, too, because I've discovered that Traditionalists and other Neo-Fascists make lousy software engineers. Just about every site dedicated to bashing magic or the Awakened takes too long to load, has one bug or another in it, or is just plain badly written. They're just asking for hackers to have at them."

"As for finding Creator, a group of hackers known as the Order of the Rubber Chicken created their own tracking program, based on one they stole from the Feds. Since the Feds wouldn't acknowledge the existence of the original program, they couldn't officially bring any charges on the hackers for stealing it. Since then, it's gotten around, and I think we can use it to find out more about Creator, since he hasn't turned up on any of the hacker community's cool guy exceptions list."

"Once we find him, we'll tell him how we did it, so he won't be vulnerable to real threats," Clarissa adds. "That's part of our code of honor."

"Where do we start?" Melody asked.

"We start by going to Blotster, the one place we saw his handiwork," Blue answered, handing each of them a cluster of wires and devices. "Would you prefer screen or virtual?"

"We're all pretty spoiled," Suidhne answered, putting on the instruments. "Once you've actually been to other realities..."

"Hot damn, then; let's go!" Spike 99 plugged in each of them and entered a few keystrokes on a keypad.

The six of them were then standing in the simulation of a busy downtown area, filled with noise and floating billboards blinking frantic advertisements. In one hectic street corner an enormous screen dominated, displaying advertisements alternating with the name Front Gate Technologies. "Behold, the Antichrist!" Spike cheered. "Front Gate has made all of this possible-all of these commercials, all of the obsolete software that crashes while you're still installing it, all of the spy software secretly telling companies all about your favorite pornography sites, all the out-of-date data definitions you need to reinstall-everything you see before you. This is the home site of the largest software company in the world. But, there is one thing mightier." Spike held up a small trinket depicting an eagle. With a bright flash, the frantic landscape disappeared, and the six of them stood at the front entrance to a large, domed white building rowed with numerous columns. "And that is government."

Floating in front of the entrance to the building was a panel suspended in air, listing options such as "browse the Federal Archives," "Register to Vote," and "Click here for Tax Information." Spike then added; "But, enough of my black book macros. Let's find Creator." He drew a Blotster icon out of his pocket, clicking it, transporting the six of them into the bustling casino of the Blotster site.

"Welcome to Blotster, mates," a wandering anthropomorphic black cocker spaniel told the group, with the accented voice of a young lady. "I wont to caution ya that this site may be brought down soon." He hands out a set of six blue tokens. "These little deals hea can tell ya how you can do ya part fer the future of online tradin."

"Thank you, lass," Blue answered. He held up a small, diamond-shaped gem and placed it over the canine figure's head. Her jolly expression became a blank stare for a moment, and a panel appeared in space with a momentary blur of images. She then went about her business, greeting other people. "Creator was on terminal J-39." He looked around, and then pointed, "that way."

They followed a number of terminals with people sorting lists or listening with headphones or watching movies on terminal screens, before reaching a particular one. A full-figured, balding man dressed as a physician was in the process of stepping away from the terminal at that moment; he vanished in a spark of lights, logging off the network, leaving the terminal vacant. Blue came up to it. Rather than selecting an option on the screen, he pulled a wire out of his arm and placed the other end over the screen. The wire opened up, producing tendrils that draped over the screen. Blue's arm transformed slightly, suggesting a strange, spider-like creature in some respects. A floating panel appeared beside him, flashing images. "He was visiting a number of metaphysical shops. Creator lives in the city Kaylan, on 3440 Langley Avenue. He is unmarried..."

Clarissa groaned, suddenly becoming very nervous. "Blue, we have to get out of here. I just discovered a linking program. We're being tracked, and there's a timer. I think the Feds are on their way."

Blue abruptly unplugged himself from the terminal. "I'm pulling us out!" He abruptly disappeared in a spark of light, and then Suidhne, Pengarthe, and Melody found similar energy flashes and sparkles drawing them back into Blue's apartment. "We have to leave now!"

Clarissa added, "Fifteen minutes, forty-five seconds!" She started grabbing devices and metallic blocks, throwing them hap hazardously into a sack.

"We'll take the back stairs, down the alley on the left side of the entry way, and down three blocks to the local mechanics shop."

"I know a better place," Melody answered. "How about the Orange Club?"

"Are you crazy?" Spike answered. "That's on the other side of town!"

"Then that will give us an alibi, too," Melody answered. "It will take two portals to get everyone. It's time we showed them Crossover."

"What are you talking about?" Blue asked, as he finished grabbing his share of devices. "We're running out of time."

"Trust me," Suidhne answered. "When the swirling blue light appears, jump through as fast as you can." She gestured into the air, and static built up into a brilliant outpouring of blue and white light, creating a small, whirling hurricane shape within the corner of the room. Suidhne and Pengarthe jumped in, followed by the three hackers. As the portal closed, Melody created and passed through a second one.

They were now in an area between the parking lot and the Orange Club. Loud rock pounded from inside the building, and a single onlooker looked a second time at the six people now standing next to the brick wall.

"Now all we need to do is show the Feds we're here on the other side of town," Pengarthe told the three hackers, as they looked around with their mouths open.

"How did... Was that some kind of magic?"

"That's how we visit other realities," Melody answered.

The L.I.A.S. Vidor deactivated its space-warping shell and decelerated towards a misty blue, white, and brown planet and its single small moon. "We're coming upon Shohan Prime," one of the bridge crew stated. "We should receive contact at any moment."

Danit and Nialle stood with the captain on the main deck of the small courier, watching the blue gibbous world before them grow larger. Their vessel rattled and groaned slightly as they decelerated, and both Danit and Nialle could feel uneven fluctuations in the ship's artificial gravity, making standing upright somewhat tricky as well as a little nauseating.

"This is Shohan Prime colony to Lykosan Imperial Armada Starship Vidor. We are tracking your position and sending confirmation of landing vector data." One of the bridge crew fidgeted with a control panel in response to the transmission. She then turned her seat around to face Danit, Nialle, and the captain.

"Danit of Cuna, I understand your previous assignment was as chief navigator. I respectfully yield this post to you, sir."

"Thank you," Danit answers, as he came to her station. "But I have full confidence in your ability."

"I appreciate it, sir, but I also have duties over at the science station, monitoring the environmental impact of the colony as well as weather patterns."

"So, you're the scientist and the navigator," Nialle asked, as a metal plate fell behind her, breaking loose from the ship's vibrations.

"Yes, Madame. I am also the chief medical officer."

"You're the doctor, too?"

"Well, I'm the chief medical officer. I'll be a physician in another two years."

"Don't worry, Nialle," Danit answered, taking the navigation station. "I'm driving."

"What do you do?" Nialle asked the other Lykosan, sitting across from the navigator's station.

"I'm their son. Right now I'm learning how to repair Kirishan warp shell resonance mechanisms."

"OK," Nialle sighed. "So it runs in the family."

The Orange Club had a mellow atmosphere, generated in part by the gathering of Gothic poets each night to exchange stories and lamentations. This night was no exception, as pale and dark figures traded use of an open microphone in the main lounge room. A side bar featured a wall of TVs above it, all showing the same station, but with colors purposefully variously out-of-tune, creating a psychedelic appearance. In this case, they were tuned to the news. Suidhne, Pengarthe, Melody, and their newly found ally Blue Ghost watched with concern.

"...Were engaged in a Federal raid of a suspected hacker headquarters in the apartment complex. It is believed by police reports that the location was one of a number of sites involved in the trafficking of illegal dm5's. Federal agents are currently hunting for the hackers responsible. In other news, increasing demand has appeared for Aconium and Bellonacea, two of the herbs used by the Adaptively Impaired..."

"If they would just legalize dm5's," the bartender commented as he sorted glasses, "all this bullshit wouldn't be necessary. In other countries where dm5 trading is legal, crime rates are lower-it's amazing just how much of our tax dollars are going into this government terrorism."

"Try being Awakened," Blue Ghost commented. "I bet you the hackers they're after are Adaptively Impaired."

"Well, I'd argue the point if you were wrong, but you're not. It's always the Goths, the Pagans, and the Adaptively Impaired they go after. No one goes after the well-dressed businessman, but you know they download dm5's just as much as everybody else. We get plenty of you Awakened around here, so we've had to put up with the same crap you've had to." He flipped a bottle of red wine and then poured its contents into a glass, adding in a spray of soda. He then slid the elixir to Blue Ghost. "On the house."

"It is almost as though..." Suidhne thought out loud. "It's almost as though there's an active conspiracy to get rid of us." Even as Suidhne spoke, a stirring of activity began pouring in from the neighboring dance room. People ran out in a confusing mob. Pengarthe pulled Suidhne towards him protectively, and Melody stood closer, listening to the increasing activity, backing towards an exit.

Clarissa and Spike ran up to the three of them and their friend Blue Ghost, shouting over the noise. "The Feds are here! They're shutting the place down!"

"This way!" Pengarthe shouted back, as they made their way into the crowd. "We'll hide in the crowd," he spoke, closely into Blue Ghost's ear, barely talking over the general commotion as people fled towards a back exit.

"They're not after us," Spike added. "They're after the deejays! They're cracking down on dm5s again!" Smoke began pouring around the halls, and as the six of them left with the crowd, Suidhne could make out the shape of two men in black Teflon armor wearing gas masks, carrying rifles. Outside, several armed men in black uniforms grabbed random people from the crowd, pummeling them to the ground as the others fled. Nearby, a large van featured bore the ominous label "Rapid Intercept Assault Army," indicating a special Federal police division notorious for brutality.

Suidhne and the others made their way through an alley and down several blocks, accompanied periodically by the scattering of other individuals. They watched carefully around each corner, looking for additional assault troops. Just around one corner, Melody spotted a single guard soldier, wearing a black vest with the letters "R.I.A.A." and carrying a machine gun. She gestured the others to avoid heading down that path and guided them quietly up a thin metal stairwell, into the back entrance of an old theater.

The Vidor floated over the township of the Shohan capital city, parking next to a large, ornate stone building surrounded by a courtyard of blue, green, and yellow foliage. Overhead, a brilliant orange and red sunset decorated the sky, and beyond, the first lights of the evening were appearing in the curved structures of the small city beyond. The Vidor blinked landing lights as struts emerged from its underside, and the craft dropped gently onto a lighted platform, as a procession of Lykosans approached to greet the ship's passengers and crew.

"Welcome, travelers," said a light gray lead Lykosan in regal, ornate attire. "I am Koheen of Ervenoft, Viceroy to the Shohan Colony of the Lykosan Empire." He spoke with a deep, rich voice, carrying a certain charisma. "Welcome to Shohan."

"Greetings, your grace," Danit answered, bowing respectfully. He had sprouted ornate feathery outgrowths from his back, and his complex, layered leather armor gave the appearance of an elaborate faerie noble as much as a Lykosan royal official. A tall, ornate conical headdress completed the appearance. "I am Danit of Cuna, Lykosan Imperial Functionary A-45."

Nialle advanced, curtsying briskly in her skin-tight vinyl jumpsuit. "I'm Nialle of Collinwood." She pointed towards Danit; "I'm with him." She leaned towards Danit with a pout of frustration, whispering, "why didn't you tell me what to wear?!?"

"I see," the Viceroy answered. "Please, ambassador, come with me, as I am sure there is plenty that you wish to discuss." Danit responded by taking Nialle in arms and walking down the corridor created by two long rows of Lykosan officials. As the two of them passed down the gauntlet of formal officials, Nialle drew closer to Danit's complex, feathery outer surface.

"What you have on is fine," Danit whispered to Nialle. "Queen Moira herself was naked except for a large brooch most of the time."

Behind them, the three Lykosan escorts from the L.I.A.S. Vidor followed behind, in their usual, scruffy armor plates as the five made their way into a large palace. As they entered a large pair of doors, Danit turned towards Koheen. "Viceroy, I have only second-hand information about the events that have been transpiring here, but there are some who accuse you of engaging in ethnic purging against the Cunae and Ehlan Sidhe among your colonists. I am here to clarify the matter with the Empire."

"How quick and to the point you are, Ambassador!" Koheen maintained his calm, reassuring tone. "We have had difficulties with a radical Cunan independence faction, but the majority of our Cunan and Ehlan population live quite comfortably here on Shohan. It is quite likely that you have been exposed to their propaganda-they have lied about us, creating a myriad number of stories and accusations about all kinds of atrocities we have allegedly committed against people like yourselves, Mister Danit of Cuna and Ms..."

"Nialle," Nialle answered.

"Ah, yes, Nialle it is." He paused for a moment, with a moment of contemplation. Then, he continued. "If you should meet one of these radicals, he will no doubt tell you about how I am forcing the Cuna to live in poverty or like slaves, or how I have ordered one or another execution or other cruel act, but it is all simply their attempt at getting me out of power. They simply don't like me, because I am too vigilant at cracking down on Cunan radical activity, rather than simply looking the other way while the terrorists conduct their illegal arms trade and random acts of violence. Simply put, this is about control."

"I see," Nialle answered, keeping a certain look of reservation.

Suidhne, Pengarthe, Melody, and Blue Ghost made their way through the back of the theater building, wandering around a series of dressing rooms. Spike and Clarissa split off to exit through the front stage, while the other four stayed, hearing sounds of stirring behind one of the dressing chamber doors. Melody listened closely, hearing a muffled high-pitched growling and the sound of someone or something pulling against restraints, as others walked around.

"She bit me! The thing actually bit me! Someone, get me a towel or something, I'm bleeding all over my coat here."

Melody could make out a loud mumbling sound, as if someone were trying to shout something while gagged. Then, someone answered. "She'll be out in a minute."

Suidhne peered under the door, seeing five men gathered around an elf-like woman with a large, black mane of hair emerging from not only her head but also down her neck and back. She was bound in a leather halter and harness, with a black rubber ball securely fastened in her mouth. She tried to pull out her gag but was unable to break the straps around her cheeks and bridge of her nose, holding it in place. She then tugged on her harness, chained to a nearby pole. She had long, pointed ears and gracefully large, upswept, glossy black eyes surrounded by prominent black brows and lashes, a very feral Awakened individual.

Suidhne stormed in, with Pengarthe and Melody and Blue Ghost close behind. "What is the meaning of this? Why have you restrained this woman?"

"Where did you four come from?" One of the men asked. "You shouldn't be here!" The feral woman pulled towards Suidhne and the others, held back by her restraints, as she reached towards them with her hands, with muffled cries, evidently for help.

Melody placed her hands together, and then fanned them towards the elf lady's captors. A series of electrical sparks flew out of them, striking two of the men, knocking them down and holding them at bay momentarily. Pengarthe jumped forward and pummeled another one to the ground, while Blue Ghost and Suidhne faced off against the remaining two, who reached for a counter top containing several potions and elixirs amidst a small assortment of curious items. Blue Ghost and Suidhne wrestled with them, keeping them just out of reach of the counter, until one of them managed to reach the counter long enough to knock one of the potions to the floor. The bottle shattered, and the fluid contents splashed on the floor, emitting smoke. The man struggling with Suidhne dropped his hand into the spilled solution and then over Suidhne's face as she wrestled with him. She wriggled against his grasp, and then became increasingly flaccid, finally dropping to the floor. The man himself started becoming weak as well, backing away from the billowing smoke from the floor. The others started weakening as they inhaled the swirling fumes. The restrained feral woman tugged in vein against her leather harness and chain as the smoke drifted around her, but she remained bound, and then she, too, succumbed to the effects of the vapors, dropping to the ground. A bright red light then flooded the room.

A woman dressed in white entered the room, carrying a glowing red orb and accompanied by two guards fanning the vapors away. One of the men, still conscious, looked up at her. "We found you four more, Madame. That brings you to a quarter million."

"I'll have to bill you for the knockout potion," she answered. "That'll cost you a small bundle." She knelt down and looked closely at Pengarthe, lying asleep beside one of the fallen men. She studied him closely, stroking his coarse features and long, curled horns. She ripped open his shirt, running her hands for a moment across his firm chest musculature. "Maybe we can write off the knockout this time. We'll auction the others; this one's mine."

Nialle paced around the guest bedroom in her flowing red formal dress, while Danit sat up in a large bed, studying a portable electronic notepad. Nialle looked out an ornate vertical window at the outside city beyond, which consisted of complex curved stone formations and shapes suggestive of adobe huts. A few vehicles strolled by on nearby streets, and lights sparkled and flickered from the distance. Inside, the room was large and open, composed of curved marble with oval countertops and complex, weaving furniture designs.

"I should feel at home, seeing how weird this place looks," Nialle commented.

Danit put down the panel and lifted himself up, approaching Nialle. "What do you mean?"

"Ever since I've Awakened, I've been used to being strange. Here, however, everyone thinks I'm Cuna like you, and I fit in. Ever since I've known you, we've been going from one strange place to another, going through things." She embraced Danit, bending down to place her head against his shoulder. "There was a time when all I worried about was whether or not my belly stuck out a little. I never thought I would miss being normal so much."

Danit stroked Nialle's hair affectionately. "You thought your belly stuck out too much?"

"Yes, imagine that. I always wanted to be skinnier." Her voice began to quiver slightly. "Then, I Awakened and became this thing. Now, everyone thinks I'm anorexic. Someone from the fashion industry told me I'd be perfect if I could have my ears surgically trimmed. They probably wouldn't mind the fact that my eyes are nothing but two big black pupils." By now she was in tears, sitting at the bedside. Danit sat next to her, petting her neck reassuringly. "I'm just tired of being treated like some strange monster!"

"Are you saying that you would rather not look the way you do?"

"No. I've learned through all of this not to get so caught up in body image crap. This is who I am. I'm just tired of being singled out."

Danit lifted up the computer pad he had been using earlier, showing it to Nialle. It displayed the emblems of the Cunan and Ehlan civilizations, as well as a list of treaties. "That's what this is really about-this Cunae Sidhe treaty business. Before the Lykosans came, the Ehlans and we were at each other's throats. Now we're divided not by race so much as by ideology and belief-those who support the Empire and those who want independence. Sadly, reading through all of these different manifestos, treaties, and declarations, I simply find that..."

A low rumbling interrupted Danit's rhetoric, and the room began quaking. A series of loud booms erupted around them, and the floor began to crack open, caving in. Nialle jumped up, concentrating on the floor, as a swirling blue Crossover portal formed. "Here we go again!" She and Danit jumped into and through the portal as bursts of flame erupted all around them.

At the same instant, Nialle and Danit landed some distance away within the city that was earlier outside the window. Danit quickly grabbed Nialle, dropping her to the ground, smothering stray bursts of fire on her dress. Overhead, flames billowed out briefly before the spiraling whirlpool of the portal collapsed. Then, the night sky was clear except for rising smoke over the capital building a few blocks away; the building had become a blazing inferno. Danit turned to Nialle. "I can still create one more portal; there could be survivors. I have to see!"

As he started towards the rising flames, Nialle grabbed his arm, tugging him back. "Wait, Danit! Don't they have a Fire Department?" He pulled himself loose from her, and the two ran the distance between them and the capital building, before coming upon a crew of armored emergency workers hastily cooling the fire with water and gas compounds, while rescuing people from collapsing rubble. The youngest member of Danit's and Nialle's Lykosan courier escort family was among a growing crowd watching the blaze as the workers began pulling out bodies. Danit could hear the director of the rescue operation talking into a communicator device.

"Yes, it looks like some sort of explosive device.... I can't jump to any conclusions.... Maybe or maybe not; this could be the Cuna revolutionaries, but there's something a little funny here. I can't pinpoint it.... No, no sign of them. We rescued two of the pilots, but we can't find either the ambassador or his companion."

"Here we are!" Danit shouted.

"Just a second; I found them!" As some of the rescue crew came towards Danit and Nialle, the leader put down his communicator and approached. "It looks like you two were pretty lucky; you must have made it out just as it happened."

"A few first degree burns, some cuts..." One of the other rescuers started commenting, holding up some form of medical scanning device. "But..." He looked at Nialle.

"You have no idea what I am, because my blood is purple and I have three spleens." Nialle answered. The medic nodded as Nialle threw her arms up with disgruntlement. "So much for feeling at home!"

"She's not Cuna. She seems sort-of like the human species, but not quite." He then addressed Nialle directly. "Any medicine I give you may or may not work because of your unique physiology."

Suidhne found herself disoriented for a moment, unsure of where she was or how she got there. She felt a tight pressure all around her, pressing her skin, and she felt hot and sweaty. She slowly, groggily opened her eyes, first seeing only a blur. She began to remember running from Federal military troopers. As her vision slowly came into focus, she remembered the brawl with the men in the theater dressing room, and the captive Awakened woman. Suidhne could see her hand, encased in a black vinyl glove continuous with a form-fitting body suit. For some reason, she was inside what could have been Nialle's outfit. As she sat up, she could feel a chain jingling behind her. She turned around, discovering that she was fastened to a metal pole.

Suidhne abruptly became alert, with a sinking, claustrophobic anxiety settling in. She reached around the back of her neck, feeling a padlock locking her outfit's collar and securing it to the chain. She yanked on the small article, tugging a few times, but it was securely locked. She began to wriggle, tugging on her collar and on the edges of the tight vinyl suit along her bust line as well as on the seam in the back. However, she remained entrapped, her hands, feet, and body sealed inside the slick coating, creaking with each movement. She ran forward until the chain held her back, and then she yanked on her metal tether. Finally, she attacked the column itself, consisting of a six foot rod topped with a large silver ball. The chain ended in a metal ring around the column, one too small through which to pass the orb topping the column. She struck at the pole several times, first with her hands and then the side of her shoulders, but it would not move.

"Pengarthe! Melody!" She cried out. "Someone, get me out!" The room around her was small and dimly lit but well furnished. She found herself on a raised platform, surrounded by a few items of contemporary furniture. The place seemed designed to display a centerpiece where she was confined. She could hear someone approaching from outside. A tall, muscular woman in ornate garb entered.

"Ah, you're awake," she commented, inspecting Suidhne. "You're a rare specimen indeed. In fact, I've never seen anything like you."

"Can you let me out?" Suidhne asked, already anticipating the answer.

"I could..." she answered. "But I won't. You see, there is an auction tonight, and some people are willing to pay a lot of money for a prized find such as yourself."

"...You're selling me... as a slave?"

"'Slave,' 'pet,' there's no need to be so derogatory here. You're an endangered species, and there are some who would much rather see you safe with them than having to struggle out there. You are a thing of beauty!"

Suidhne lurched forward, trying to grab her captor. However, her chain kept her back, tightening against the back of her neck with a slight jingling click. "I am not a thing!" She shouted. "I am a conscious being with rights!"

"We'll see how you feel after a year or two-you'll be so much more comfortable in your new life. We're very selective in our buyers."

Though it was considered rural and somewhat dated by Lykosan imperial standards, the medical facilities on the Shohan colony were still far more advanced than anything Nialle had seen before. Danit and Nialle's escort crew from the Vidor would easily have been declared dead on Collinwood, neglecting their lycanthropic body habitus. However, through a series of tissue reconstructions by some unknown means, most of their bodies' major burn wounds were repaired. Some of the others who came in apparently dead were already sitting up, talking as intravenous fluid dripped and electric current flowed through acupuncture pins. However, they still could not save everybody. As Danit recounted his experiences to law officials, omitting Nialle's use of Crossover powers, Nialle watched as a covered body was pulled on a bed, out of the triage center. The young Lykosan from the Vidor appeared sorrowful as he came up to Danit and Nialle.

"Both of my parents are dead. One was killed instantly; the other lost too much brain tissue before help could arrive."

"...I'm sorry," Danit offered.

"This was so...senseless, too," he answered.

As a large, muscular brute hoisted a metal orb on top of the brass pole to which Suidhne's chain leash was moved, he turned rotated it slightly and then reached for a key chain, selecting a key and turning a lock at the base of the silver ball. After he stood back, another two men released Suidhne from their grasp, leaving her restrained again by her chain and garb. Pengarthe, Melody, and Blue Ghost were with her, each chained by various means to poles, each just out of the other's reach. Several vacant poles were just beyond them, with their ball mounts sitting on the floor beside them. Across the room, the feral elf woman was similarly restricted, still murmuring, tugging on her gag as her thick mane of hair shook about.

Pengarthe, restrained by a fully revealing leather harness, lurched towards Suidhne, but could not reach her. "Are you hurt?"

"No," she answered. "They've been very careful not to injure their 'endangered species.' She tugged on her collar and then on the zipper seam on her back. She then sat back in frustration. "Nialle isn't going to be too happy when she finds out she's been wearing slave garb. I don't have any magic that can get us loose; how about you, Melody?"

"I'm afraid I don't, either." Melody was in an ornate but revealing chain mail attire with a metal bra and collar. Her familiar blue robes were gone. "We can't use Crossover as long as we're bound like this."

"Then we'll just have to wait until after we're sold." Pengarthe answered. Hopefully, at least one of us will be able to escape and find the others afterwards."

"Without your special teleporting powers, it will be a little harder for me," Blue Ghost said. "But, I'll see what I can do." He, too, was in a revealing harness, and his computer equipment had been taken.

Suddenly, the guards came in again, carrying another struggling Awakened individual. She had a small build with prominent, gracefully tapered ears and a pair of curled, insect-like wing buds on her back. They carried her over to one of the poles, sliding a ring over the pole, connecting to her chain and vinyl bra. They then locked the ball on top and left. The faerie woman curled up, covering her otherwise naked form, looking at Blue Ghost. Her oriental features looked familiar to the others.

"Clarissa?" Blue Ghost asked.

"They got you, too?" She asked, quivering. "We heard a commotion, and these people grabbed Spike and me. They...tied us down, and forced some sort of...potion down our throats."

Suidhne gasped. "They made you Awakened?"

Clarissa looked up with solid black eyes. "It happened so quickly! I'm still...changing."

"So, if they can't find a pet to sell, they'll make one," Pengarthe answered.

"Why not just sell the potion itself," Suidhne answered. "There's at least a few people out there who would pay good money to be what we are."

Clarissa looked up at her, shaking. "Not like this." She curled her knees up, wrapping her arms around them. Her eyes started watering. "...This hurts..."

The men returned, dragging in Spike 99, who now had a green complexion, with complex, tattoo-like patterns forming over his chest, shoulders, and the exposed sides of his head. They linked him to another pillar and left. Spike looked at the others with his now bright green irises.

"...I'm one of you, now."

"Thank you for agreeing to meet with me." Danit, Nialle, and their Lykosan companion sat in a small house as one of the Viceroy's attendants thanked them. "First of all, I will be up-front and honest; I am not what I appear to be." His fur suddenly receded, his arms split, and his head partially collapsed as he underwent a strange conformation change, revealing himself to be an Ehlan Sidhe. Nialle jumped back startled for a moment, but Danit and the Lykosan kept their composure. "I am an Ehlan Sidhe, and I am spying," he continued to speak, through a vertical slit in his chest. "But, I am not part of the interstellar Ehlan / Cunae Sidhe revolutionary movement. I am simply part of a local resistance against Koheen's regime."

"You, of course, heard him telling us to expect to hear something or another about atrocities," Nialle commented.

"But, please continue," Danit said. "We don't exactly trust Koheen," Nialle added.

The bizarrely shaped creature held up a small disc in one of its lean, nearly skeletal divisions of its lower forearm. "This will speak for itself." He inserted it into a tabletop computer, and a nearby view screen began displaying grainy, somewhat pixilated footage of what first appeared to be a military execution. The image shook around, as though filmed by an amateur with a portable camera.

Several somewhat cachectic Ehlan and Cunae Sidhe stood lined up against a wall for a moment. Then, a burst of lights struck them, flickering across the group, causing them to topple, smoldering burnt. A single Ehlan still stood, walking forward slightly with an unsteady gait, shrieking in pain, until a second round of bursts struck him, causing his form to break up into several pieces. The camera, quivering somewhat, turned towards a group of Lykosan children holding rifles, in turn held at gunpoint by three times their number of armed imperial soldiers. They turned around, crying and sobbing at the graphic scene they caused, but the soldiers pushed them back into line, taking away their weapons. The camera then focused on a body in a corner nearby; it was the charred remains of another child. The camera then moved towards a figure in full Imperial armor except for a fully exposed head. The camera focused on him; it was Viceroy Koheen.

"I had to stand there, watching this," the Ehlan Sidhe told Danit, Nialle, and their escort. "I could not do anything to stop it at the time, but I could at least film it. I know that footage can be faked, but I will swear to you under mind probe that this is what happened. Koheen made those children kill those people, and he executed those who would not cooperate."

"...I believe you," Danit offered. "And as the official Lykosan ambassador, I want you to help you any way I can. This violates everything Queen Moira stood for when she founded the Empire."

"Those people who were executed, what were their crimes?" Nialle asked. "Was it for being revolutionaries or just being Cunae and Ehlan Sidhe?"

"They were Yuri monks. That was their crime."

"The Yuri are pacifists!" Danit exclaimed. "There is no reason for anyone to kill them."

"They maintained that their temples were outside his direct control. They refused to acknowledge his claims of superiority, and so he ordered the temples destroyed."

"How did this happen?" Danit asked, provoked.

"It snuck up on us. We were struggling on the colony, having financial difficulties and limited supplies and resources. We, the Ehlan and Cunae, advocated living off of the land, working with the native ecology and materials. It worked well at first, but internal group politics became involved about how to distribute what we collected. Viceroy Oskowmodvia of Ehlan had us on a traditional Parliamentary system, but Koheen's group wanted communal distribution of goods. Koheen was first seen as a radical. But, we had a series of disasters-our computer equipment broke down, our supply ship was lost in transit, and a harsh winter hit us, followed by a long drought. Under the pressure, Koheen gained followers, who arranged a coup d'état. He quickly became entrenched, until even his followers couldn't stop him. No one can stand up openly, because everyone else is too afraid to support that first voice."

"Then the Yuri were made examples," Danit observed. "Lykosan history is filled with such dictators. The Empire was supposed to prevent this sort of thing from happening."

"The same thing happened many times on my world, too," Nialle added. "A series of hardships would give someone too much opportunity too quickly. A series of laws would restrict certain groups more and more, until suddenly one morning the people would wake up slaves."

"There's a good chance we won't be able to make it out of this," Melody said. "The Awakened are known to have magical abilities, and they could use countermeasures."

"As long as one of us can get free, he or she could at least try," Pengarthe answered.

"Even so," Melody answered, "my instincts tell me this will not escape quickly."

Three guards entered, accompanied by a woman dressed in formal white attire. She turned towards Pengarthe while writing down notes on a notepad. "The goat-man with the ram horns is already taken. We'll start with the one with the unicorn horn." Two of the men grabbed Suidhne as she cried out, while the remaining one unlocked her from her metal pole. She squirmed and wriggled as they grabbed her arms and legs.

"Suidhne!" Pengarthe cried out as he stretched against his harness.

"Pengarthe!" Suidhne stretched out a free hand as she was carried. She continued to wriggle and squirm as the woman and her three men carried Suidhne down a dark hallway and through a curtain, before a well groomed, darkly dressed audience in a smoke-filled old hall. Graceful columns and an old, sparkling chandelier created a sense that the place was once glorious. Now, it served a darker purpose. The men dragged Suidhne against her efforts towards another pole, located at the front of the stage. She screamed "No!" several times, but she soon found herself once again locked in place. The guards stood back, and Suidhne stood, yanking on her chain and collar, alone in full view before some fifty people.

"This specimen can no doubt bring great pleasure. Besides the enigmatic unicorn horn, you will also notice the exotic white skin of her face and hair, in sharp contrast to the attire we have given her. This is probably the only chance you will ever have to own a live unicorn. Bidding starts at two hundred thousand dollars." A number of people raised their hands. "Do I hear two-fifty..."?