Mirror Cycle

                            By:

                         Fox Cutter

    Chapter 3

As luck would have it, the nearest fold was only a hundred
feet down the next turn. So, as Ravindar heaved the body of
our attacker over his shoulder, I went back to the allay to
grab my backpack.

Dashing past him and Rhea, I ran to the fold and yanked it
open. Jumping through, I came out into the fold room at the
house. I dropped my pack and grabbed a pair of temps, then
jumped back through to the other side, closing it in the
process.

As soon I was back on the street, I went right down to my
knees. Rhea was already there, head bowed slightly. I shoved
the temps over her ears. They would stay on long enough to
get us all to the other side.

Getting back to my feet, I spun around, opening the fold to
Praxis. We stepped over the threshold, and half way across
Prid. Right into the middle of a busy street corner.

Rhea jumped through after me. Ravindar followed a bit more
carefully, the body slung over his shoulder. Closing the
fold, I paused for a few seconds to get my bearings.

"This way," I said, starting off in the proper direction. I
was moving at breakneck speed, or at least trying to. The
people on the street were blocking the way. We were in the
business section of town, after all.

We had to hurry. I didn't know if Elena could do anything
with a completely dead body. I was hoping that as long as he
was only mostly dead, something could be done.

"Can you clear a path?" I asked Ravindar, shoving past a
small crowd of people. The fact that my oversized companion
had an almost dead body over his shoulders didn't seem to
phase anyone.

He came to a sharp stop, taking in a deep breath. "Everybody
get the hell out of my way!" he bellowed out.

That got most peoples' attention, but they just stopped in
their tracks and stared at us. A few open mouthed, but no
one was moving out of our way.

Rhea then chipped in, pulling herself back and letting out
an ear splitting roar. Now, a lion's roar is jarring enough,
but there was nothing like a lion on Prid, or in the zoos.
This added to the effect. People scattered off the sidewalk
for us.

With the way clearer than before, we once more were moving
at a dead run. My feet we're starting to get sore from the
pounding they were taking on the pavement. I didn't have
shoes on; Oria's species just didn't use them, and I
followed suit in this form. I just didn't have the calluses
built up yet to do this type of thing.

We continued at that heavy pace, pushing past the few people
who managed to keep in our way. Of the three of us, I was
the farthest back. Rhea and Ravindar we're moving at a good
pace, but I was starting to fall behind.

Our destination was in sight! The front lawn of the 'Data
and Troubleshooting Services of Kenterra' offices was just
around the corner. We cut across the grass, ignoring the
path, and burst through the front door into the lobby.

Inside we were meet by a dozen very well armed dragons, the
particular kind from Elena's world. Their uniforms were
bulky, thick, and well armored. Each had the distinct look
of just waiting for us to do something wrong so they could
do their jobs.

Motioning for the others to stop, I took a few steps
forward, my tail lashing back and forth behind me. "I need
to see Elena right now. It's an emergency!" I called out to
whoever would listen. I glanced back at Ravindar; my
attacker was still breathing, but it was slowing down. "Come
on, people, we don't have time to waste!"

There was a slight commotion from the back of the room, one
of the guards was talking to the receptionist, in less than
hushed tones. Then the guard, looking a bit, annoyed snapped
an order to the others in a language I didn't understand. In
response the guards fanned away from the door that led into
the rest of the offices.

"The director's in hir office, at the end of the hall," the
guard said in thickly accented Prid Standard. Obviously
learnt, and not spoken with a translator.

I snapped my head towards him, running right past. For a
second I got a look at myself in the large sheet of glass
behind the receptionist's desk. I was a sight, dirty from my
trip into the stairwell, my hair was a mess, the ponytail it
was in (I had longer hair in this form, and my pigtail had
transferred into a ponytail) was coming loose. My ears were
flat down on my head, and there was no doubt I was pissed.

That lasted only a moment, though. Then we were through the
door, and moving down the long hallway that ran the length
of the office building. Of the people that usually worked in
the office, I didn't see a one, everyone was staying out of
our way.

We came to the large door at the end of the hallway. It, too
was guarded by a dragon who was holding a gun half his own
size. The other guard was an otter Theriamorph, but not in
armor. Sie was dressed in some kind of kilt getup, and was
holding a staff in hir paw. I suspected sie was just as
deadly as the guard, if not more so.

I started to tell them to open the door, but the otter was
already doing it for us. Sie said nothing, but just stood
aside to let us through.

On the other side of the door was Elena's office. It was a
large room, and dark. Once the door behind us closed, the
only light came from the bank of video monitors that lined
the wall behind the desk. The outline of a 'taur form was
visible behind it.

"Elena, I need your help," I said, taking a step forward.

There was a pause. "Step closer so I can get a look at your
companion," sie asked. Hir voice sounded bad, rough and
raspy, like it hurt for hir to talk.

We all shifted forward, the tension in the room was growing.
We didn't have much time to deal with this kind of play.

"I recognize Fox and Ravindar, but who is the lady lion?"
sie asked with a slightly worried tone, hir silhouette
shifting slightly. "Sie doesn't appear to be Oriana."

I shook my head. "I'm Fox. That's Rhea now." I told hir,
taking another step forward.

"Ah! I see, you've twained yourself. I suspected you were
planning something of this type, but nothing quite like
this." There was a pause, and the light over the desk
snapped on.

Elena looked like hell, or something worse for that matter.
Hir throat looked raw; the fur was stripped off and the skin
seemed to have been ripped open at one point. Hir right eye
was gone, leaving an empty socket that was disconcerting to
look at. Hir muzzle had been rent open, then healed badly,
leaving it deformed. There was a strange gap of skin over
hir muzzle.

Sie coughed, "So, why do you need me?" sie coughed again,
harder this time, hacking a bit. Although sie was in no
condition to be seeing anyone, sie must have known this was
going to be important.

I snapped a look to Ravindar, and he stepped forward,
dropping the body hard onto the desk. Our captive's face was
pale, and his skin was clammy. His breathing was shallow and
slow, and it rattled, loudly enough to make me think there
were only a few more breaths left.

"This man tried to kidnap me thinking I was Oria. His
compatriot tried to kill Ravindar in the process," I hastily
explained. "We were able to get some information out of him,
the fact that he was working for Cain for one. He doesn't
seem to know I have more than one body."

Sie smiled, a decidedly unpleasant thing to view. "And you
wish for me to see if he has any more information, yes?"

I nodded. "Everything he knows about Cain, his operation,
and most of all, where he is located. I will not take an
assault on my family lightly."

Sie looked down at the body, setting hir paw over his chest,
licking her lips slightly. "I can provide that for you if
you wish, and more. When I interrogate a prisoner, I can get
far more information than you would think."

"I understand. Right now I'm just focusing on Cain," I
paused for a second, glancing at my attacker, then back to
Elena. I gave her a slight smile, "But you can keep him when
you're done."

"Really now?" sie asked, a look of hunger showing in her
good eye. Sie walked around the desk, looking over the body,
then back to me. The damage wasn't limited to just her face.
Sie had a series of bite and claw marks all down hir body. A
few places were clearly missing large chunks of flesh.
Everything was somewhat healed, but didn't look healthy.

"I shall accept that as your payment," sie quipped. "I need
the opportunity a good meal would provide." The last part
was said more to hirself than for us.

I understood this for what is was, our cue to leave. "So I
see. Have fun. We'll be back at the house. Stop by once you
have the information we need. I'm sure you already know
where the fold is."

Sie gave a slight nod of hir head, most of hir attention
focused on hir meal.

"Come on, let's get back home and clean up," I said it more
as an order than anything else. Quickly we filed out of the
room, leaving Elena to hir 'interrogation' as we headed back
towards the exit.

"I never expected you to have that in you," Ravindar
commented as we stepped out of the doors of the office. Much
to the relief of most of the staff that we saw, Rhea was
right by my side, panting a bit, and looking like she could
use a good lay down.

"What, to give my would-be kidnapper to Elena?" I
questioned, feeling a bit queasy about it myself.

He gave me a sharp nod. "That, and the fact that he won't
survive hir questioning."

"I knew that going in," I told him as we stepped back onto
the sidewalk, trying to look casual. "Hell, I never doubted
how sie would get the information. I was half doing that as
a gesture to hir, and half to make it clear that I
understood the implications of what I was doing."

He snorted softly, "Sie may not be around much longer
hirself. I do not quite understand what you hope to achieve
by this action."

I chuckled, "I know hir, I've seen hir in action before and
know exactly what sie is. When I called hir a vampire, I
meant that literally. You'll see when sie comes by the
house. Until then, we have other things to plan. Like what
to do next?"

"Next we call the Guild," he told me matter-of-factly, "and
put armed guards around the house, and your family. If Cain
wants Oriana we have to insure that he won't get her."

I nodded. "Do you think he knows what happened to his men?"

"I did not see any communication devices on our attacker.
They may be simply one of many teams hunting Oriana."

I nodded again, wrapping my paws behind my back. "Cain wants
Oria to get me to come to him. Get me mad, so I play by his
rules in this battle."

"Yes," Ravindar said, quickly sliding back to step behind
me, once more in a defensive position.

I said nothing more as we walked back to the fold. After the
events of the past-- I did a mental calculation-- maybe ten
minutes, I was starting to feel a let down as the adrenaline
wore off.

I was thinking, though, Cain wanted Oria to get to me. I
understood the plan, it made sense in its way. Basically, he
and I were the same person. Not exactly a good side, bad
side type thing. He just wanted different things.

Like getting his hands on my wife!

What struck me as odd was that he apparently didn't know
about the curse. This almost made sense, we had kept it low
profile since it started. He just might not be aware that I
had two forms.

Or rather, he knew that I did, but not about the split in
forms. To him, Rhea and Ravindar together was me and
Ravindar together. So the morphic lioness had to be Oriana.
That made more sense.

So what to do? The fact that I was now split was an
advantage for now. How to use it, though? Well, he wanted
Oria, and as far as his men knew, I was her.

Perhaps I should let them capture me, thinking that I was
Oria. That would be something they would never expect. The
thing is, it would only work if they could believe that we
didn't know what had happened. A bad assumption to go on.

My best hope was that my attacker knew where Cain was, and
we could move on him before he found out what happened. That
was iffy at best, though.

Shaking my head, I opened the fold back into the house. We
all stepped through, and I closed it behind us. "Call the
Guild," I told Ravindar, "And do what you said. Right now I
don't care if we know there around."

He smiled, "Yes, sir," then stepped out of the room.

I sank down to my knees, all my strength draining from me,
the fold snapping closed as I lost my concentration. Holding
myself up on my arms, I tried to keep myself calm without
getting ill.

Rhea was right there next to me, nuzzling my shoulder with
her nose. I glanced at her, noticing that she had some blood
on the side of her mouth, party dried and flaking off her
fur.

I sighed, wrapping my arm around her neck and burying my
face into her scruff. "You did a good job getting that guy,"
I told her, my other paw stroking her sides.

'Thank you,' she thought to me, lowering herself into a
laying position. 'I didn't want him to get away.'

I nodded, eyes closed, smelling her fur. There was still
touch of a medical smell from the lab, and a kind of a
chemical smell that reminded me of a factory. It took me a
few moments to think of where it had come from. I finally
settling on that it must have been remnants of the mixture
of chemicals used in the birthtanks.

To think, if it wasn't for Ravindar's quick reflexes, he
would have been dead, and I would have been captured. I
never saw it coming, but he and Rhea had known something was
wrong. I never saw it.

I sighed again, pulling myself up from Rhea. "This has
really shaken me up," I told her, as if she couldn't tell.
It's not every day something like this happens. It made me
glad I had Ravindar as a bodyguard.

"I'm going to need ships," I said. Noticing that there was a
mask of grime where my face had touch Rhea's fur, I added
"And I definitely need a bath."

I pulled myself to my feet, "But first, Oria." I stepped out
of the room, leaving the door open for Rhea, and walked to
the living room.

I was expecting to find Oria there; instead I found Kalie.
She was playing with Beca, rolling a ball around between
them. Kalie was all smiles and Beca was laughing up a storm.
The twins were asleep, curled up against each other just
beside Kalie.

"Hey, there," I said, getting her attention. "Where's Oria?"

She turned to look at me, letting out a gasp. "Fox! What
happened to you? You're a sight!" she paused, tilting her
head, "and," she paused again, "am I seeing things, or are
there two of you?"

Rhea was by my side, having just come into the room. She
walked around Beca and came to the twins, sniffing at them
gently. She then flopped on the ground and curled up next to
them.

I would have laughed if I had the strength to. "Yes, there
are two of me now. That's what was going on this morning.
Rhea has her own body now. As for what happened to me. Some
of Cain's men tried to kidnap me, thinking I was Oria."

A frown crossed over her muzzle, along with a worried
expression. "I see. That's not good at all. Oria went in to
take a bath about twenty minutes ago-- you might want to go
join her, your fur is a mess."

"Right," I answered, giving her a smile. "You keep watch
over the kids, and talk to Ravindar if you see him. He's
arranging some stuff."

She nodded an affirmation, and I left her there, heading to
the bedroom and undoing my pony tail on the way. Oria liked
to take three or four hour long baths, just to sit and soak,
read, or anything else that crossed her mind. Now, with the
huge tub that was part of the master bathroom, she could
float in as much water as she could use.

The idea of joining her was a good one. I didn't even bother
to look at myself once I got into the room. I just closed
the door and started to shed clothing as I went towards the
bathroom door.

I paused outside the door to finishing stripping down to my
fur, before I opened it and stepped inside. The room was
humid, but Oria loved the steam, and it was made to take it.
Every surface was tile, and it had fabulous ventilation, and
a shower big enough for Rhea to fit in easily, along with
others.

"Fox?" Oria gasped when she saw me, standing up in the tub,
sending a sheet of water cascading off her body. "What
happened to you?"

I shook my head, walking over to the tub. "Mind if I join
you?" I asked, waving a paw over the water.

She nodded, and I stepped down into the water. The tub was
just slightly raised over the floor, and the hot water felt
good as I sank into it. It slipped up over my legs, then
waist, then chest, and up over my head before I finally rose
up.

"Fox," Oria said, back down in the water, her paws on my
shoulders. Her hair spread out over the water as we both sat
in it. "What happened."

I told her everything that had happened, from the attack to
seeing Elena. She took this all in as I spoke, a look of
shock on her face. Shock and worry, she liked this as much
as I did. Which was not at all.

She just shook her head once it was all done. "You made the
right choice taking him to Elena," she commented, a grim
look on her face. "Sie'll be able to get the information
from him, and from the sound of it, sie could use the meal."
The way she said it left no doubt she understood what that
meant, and seemed to think it was a good idea.

"Now the question is... what to do next?" I said, pulling
myself to her, wrapping my arms around her and holding her
close.

"You have a plan, don't you?" she said, whispering it into
my ear in a conspiratorial tone of voice.

I nodded. "Yes, I have a plan," I said with a smile. "I'm
going to let him catch you."

   To Be Continued...

-----

This story is copyright 2000 by Fox Cutter, hardcopy
reprints limited to one per person, all other rights
reserved. This story may not be distributed for a fee except
by permission of the author, and this copyright notice may
not be removed. Elena is copyright 2000 by Chris Bradford,
and used with permission.