index


Message-ID: <30793asstr$992326205@assm.asstr-mirror.org>
Mime-Version: 1.0
From: J R D <jrdss@micronet.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" ; format="flowed"
Subject: {ASSM} WITCH CHRONICLES 012c (tg, fantasy, lots of stuff)
Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2001 02:10:05 -0400
Path: assm.asstr-mirror.org!not-for-mail
Approved: <assm@asstr-mirror.org>
Newsgroups: alt.sex.stories.moderated,alt.sex.stories
Followup-To: alt.sex.stories.d



Now, onto the boring stuff

-------------------------

DISCLAIMERS

-------------------------

This story contains scenes of an erotic and/or controversial nature, 
and is not intended for the perusal of minors.  Further if perusal of 
such material is considered illegal in your area or immoral by your 
religion or personal beliefs, you should likewise bypass this story.

This story remains the property of the author.  Permission is granted 
to download, photocopy, copy and repost so long as any such action 
contains these disclaimers, and no attempt is made to profit from 
this story.

All characters in this story are the creation of the author, and any 
resemblance to real persons, alive or dead, are purely coincidental.

This story may contain aspects of fantastic science or magic.  The 
parameters of what this science/magic can accomplish are completely 
at the discretion of me, the author, and, as such, I make no 
apologies for any rules of "real" physics, chemistry, biology, or 
magic that may be broken within the story.

-------------------------

Now onto the fun stuff

-------------------------

[Dorina Tempus]

I was waiting for the reports on our assault when Lois came in. 
"Give me the good news."

"I wish I could.  The force was wiped out."

"IMPOSSIBLE!  Heavy losses were expected, but the headquarters of the 
Light Alliance and everyone in it should have been destroyed!"

Lois just said, "The teth-kiran is alive."

I was too stunned to speak.  In a mystic connection with the killer, 
I had felt the she-demon die, yet she was alive?  I couldn't explain 
it, but her wish giving powers were the only possible explanation.  I 
punched a hole in the wall.  "Any more news?"
"Monica is back.  She says she has good news."

"Send her in."  Lois left to be replaced immediately by Monica.  "Report."

"The Beckman boy is dead."

"Good.  Tell me how it happened.  I need a lift."

"Since being assigned the mission, I have had to fight the Beckman 
boy four times.  Do you want me to detail all those battles?"

"No, just the last one."

"We met on the tops of the buildings of East L.A.  I brought seven 
hounds along with me.  I sent them against him, and they fought for a 
half hour with him eliminating them one at a time.  When only three 
were left, I dove in personally.  We fought for a while until he 
realized he stood no chance and tried to run.  I brought in my 
remaining three hounds and cut off his means of escape and forced him 
back into the fight.  The remaining fight was brief and ended with me 
running my arm through his gut."

"And you're sure he's dead?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Good, and since I'm sure you want to get back to your sister, I give 
you a two day leave."

"Thank you, ma'am."

After she left, I sat back and relaxed.  I thought to myself that it 
was one less thing to worry about.

If I only knew.

************

[Travis Beckman]

I spent weeks dodging Monica Pratt, fighting her every once in a 
while, sometimes driving her away, sometimes running from her. 
Finally, I was in my hotel room trying to figure out what to do next, 
when a pigeon landed on the window sill.  When I turned towards it, 
she morphed into Cammy.  I breathed a sigh of relief and said, 
"Welcome back."

"Thank you.  How have things been in my absence?"

"Rough.  That metal bitch who took Bambi in the first place, who 
happens to be Monica Pratt, Louise's sister, has been chasing me all 
around the city."

"Well, together we should be able to destroy her."

I thought for a few seconds.  "No, we're going to let her destroy 
me."  Cammy remained silent as I outlined my plan.  She would change 
into a copy of me, engage Monica, but then "let" her strike the final 
blow, putting a little bit of herself on Monica when she did.  We 
could follow the scrap of her back to the main base of the Dark 
Alliance.

When we implemented the plan, everything went off without a hitch. 
We followed her back to the base.  Our foremost fear at that point 
was that she'd teleport and we'd lose track of her, but she hadn't 
used teleportation in any of our previous conflicts, so we took the 
chance.

The chance paid off.  She didn't teleport and we followed her   back 
to a shopping center in the heart of town.  We stayed out of the area 
and watched.  We must have seen a dozen mages and a couple hundred 
Dark Alliance agents come and go.  Finally, Cammy said, "I can't 
pinpoint the pieces of me exactly, but I just felt my parts, the one 
on Bambi and the one on Monica, pass within ten yards of each other."

"That's good enough for me.  Let's go get backup."
We returned to the mansion, only to find it in total disarray.  Half 
the mansion was gone, and the rest showed signs of severe fire 
damage.  I looked around a bit before a normal looking man stopped me 
and started interrogating me.  Before he could get very far, Aunt 
Sarah intervened.  I went over to her and got and gave a welcoming 
hug before asking, "What happened?"

"Dark Alliance attack.  We'd've been wiped out if Daphne hadn't come 
back a couple of days early."

"What about the kids?  Are they okay?"

"Yeah, we packed them into the classroom when the attack started. 
They had some rough moments, particularly when the building caught 
fire, but the extra shields kept them safe.  Now we just need to 
prevent them from doing this again."

"Then an attack to eliminate the main base sounds like just what the 
doctor ordered.  I found it."

"Are you sure?  You found the main base?"

"I'm sure."

There were enough people around that I was overheard and the story 
spread like wildfire.  Only a short while later, we were mobbed with 
people wanting all the details they could get.  Sarah yelled for 
silence, and when things quieted down, she said, "We all want to deal 
with the Dark Alliance once and for all, but the last thing we want 
is to rush off willy-nilly and make an unprepared attack against the 
main base of our enemies.  Without a doubt, those defenses will be 
the best they've got."

Someone nearby asked, "So what're we supposed to do?  Just ignore them?"
"Of course not.  We make a coordinated attack.  We do it right.  I'm 
going to take Travis and Elizabeth Welker and go to Houston to 
coordinate everything with Sam and the Vice-President.   The attack 
on the domes goes off day after tomorrow.  We'll have to decide 
whether the attack on the main Dark Alliance base will occur before, 
during, or after that attack."

There was a lot of grumbling, but no one could dispute what was being 
said.  Jenny was placed in charge of getting a strike force ready, so 
that they would be ready to go when plans were finalized.  Things 
went fast after that, and only five minutes later, Aunt Sarah, Mrs. 
Welker, and I were teleporting to Houston.

************

[Elizabeth Thompson Norman]

We got the word that Aunt Sarah and a couple others were coming to 
Houston with important information.  I was there when they arrived 
and was surprised when I saw Travis arrive with Aunt Sarah and Mrs. 
Welker.  I almost knocked him over hugging him.

We had to wait for James Cameron and Elisa Hoffman, Lin Su's 
replacement as head of the White Sisterhood while she was 
incommunicado in D.C.  After they arrived ad we went through the 
initial pleasantries, we went with the veep to Sam's hangar. 
Everyone with a magical talent worked together to seal the building, 
so I knew this was going to be big.  Once we were finished with our 
shields, Sam asked, "So what was so important that you couldn't tell 
us, even with a magic message?"

Aunt Sarah just said, "Travis."

We turned to Travis.  He said, "I've found the main base of the Dark Alliance."

Sam asked, "Are you sure?"  Travis nodded.  "So the question becomes 
when do we attack the base?  I would say simultaneously with the dome 
attack."

The veep asked, "Is that wise?  Splitting our forces like that?"

James said, "We won't really be splitting anything.  The main base 
will be too well fortified for any normals.  It would just take too 
much time to prepare them.  It'll have too be an all magically 
enhanced attack force.  As for the domes, D.C. is the important one. 
The others just need lots of damage heaped on them, so normals with 
the enhanced weapons backed up by local magic talent will do.  D.C. 
will require some heavy hitters as backup, but again knocking the 
dome down is the big thing.  Lin Su's got to be in place or we're 
screwed.  Hitting the main base on a simultaneous attack will keep 
the Dark Alliance from being able to send reinforcements."

Elisa said, "So we've got two attacks.  Who goes where?"

I suddenly got a flash of prescience.  I saw the inside of an ancient 
Greek temple.  I saw Daphne, Jenny, Wanda, Andrea, Jasa, and Sarah 
walk in.  They walked to the middle of the room, heard something from 
the outside turned to look, and Daphne, Jasa, and Andrea ran into the 
temple while everybody else got ready to fight the queen bitch 
herself, Dorina Tempus.

At the same time, Sarah, Sam, and I all said, "The Temple of 
Dalinor."  I was shocked, as were they.  Mutually shared, spontaneous 
visions are incredibly rare and always significant.

Elisa asked, "What about it?"

Sam said, "We've got to send people there, at the same time as the 
other attacks."

"Is that really necessary?  I know the idea was to use the Temple of 
Dalinor against the Dark Alliance, but with two attacks already, it 
seems to add unnecessary risk."

"Ever since the war started, Dark Alliance spells have occluded our 
prescient senses.  For three of us to flash on the same thing makes 
it extremely significant."

"Okay, who goes?"

"Daphne, Jenny, Wanda, Andrea, Jasa, and Sarah."

"Now wait a second.  Daphne, Jenny, and Sarah are the three most 
powerful magical entities we have.  Can we afford to commit all of 
them to this?"

"Dorina will be there."  That squelched all argument.  Everyone knew 
of the prophecy regarding the final fight between Dorina and Jenny.

Mrs. Welker said, "Okay, but I'm going to be there, too."

"No."

"Now wait a second.  If you think I'm going to leave my daughter with 
that woman, think again.  I'm going to be there."

I said, "If you do that, then Jenny will likely be distracted at a 
crucial moment in trying to protect you.  She has to do this without 
you."

"What about Andrea, Jasa, and Wanda?"

"Andrea and Jasa wont be fighting.  They and Daphne will head 
immediately into the interior of the temple as soon as Dorina 
arrives.  And thanks to the link that Wanda and Jenny share, she can 
only help.  Besides, aren't you forgetting someone?"

"Who?"

"Bambi.  Jenny can handle herself.  Every person not on that main 
base attack increases the likelihood of her getting hurt."

She closed her eyes, at war with herself.  Finally, she opened her 
eyes and said, "You're right.  Bambi needs me more.  I'll be on the 
base attack."

"As will Lynnette and I.  We'd be too worried about Bambi."

Travis said, "Cammy and I are going to be on that force, too."

Sam said, "The rest of us here will go to D.C."

The rest of the night was spent working out the details before 
anybody on base attack or going to the Temple of Dalinor went back 
home.  As soon as we got there, Mrs. Welker and Daphne went off in 
private to wish for the location off the Temple of Dalinor.  As soon 
as they got back, Daphne, et. al., headed off without telling anyone 
where they were going.  Better to keep the locale secret.  It won't 
keep Dorina away, but maybe it'll buy some time.

************

[Dorina Tempus]

It was the day of the attack on the domes.  There was no way the 
Light Alliance was going to keep that assault secret.  We still 
hadn't found the sorceress who had freed the spont, so I doubled the 
contingent posted to the White House.

What wasn't expected was when Lois reported, "There's something going on."

"Explain."

"A group of the most powerful mages the Light Alliance has went to 
Houston.  When they came back with council Witch Elizabeth and her 
wife, Elizabeth Welker went off in private with the Witch Daphne. 
When they returned, Daphne and her wives, and Jenny Welker and her 
wife all teleported out without relating their destination to anyone 
else.  Later, operatives in Arizona reported seeing them flying in a 
straight line towards the Grand Canyon."

I knew immediately what had happened.  "They've found the Temple of 
Dalinor.  The Welker woman used Daphne's wish granting powers to find 
the temple."  I started to get ready to leave.  "I'll be going after 
them."

"Are you sure that's wise?  The Light Alliance attack is later today, 
and we have reports that all the sorceresses and Witches in the city, 
as well as any who can make it to the area, are massing for some kind 
of attack."

Fact is, the main base was the only target that made sense for a 
local massing of forces, but I had to deal with the temple.  "Can't 
be helped.   Alert the base commander to be ready for an attack."

"Can't the Temple of Dalinor wait?"

"No.  If the teth-kiran discovers the secret of the Temple of 
Dalinor, everything we want to achieve could be destroyed."

"Should I go with you?"

"No.  You'll only get in my way."
"Any last orders for me?"

"Yes, get Bambi and keep her in here with you.  If the Light Alliance 
does attack, kill her immediately."
"Yes, ma'am."

I slapped a stasis spell on my brat, then went to the transport 
center and teleported to Arizona.  Maybe I was wrong that the 
teth-kiran could undo everything we wanted to achieve, but I couldn't 
take that chance.

************

[Bambi Welker]

Things had gotten into a rut, and I think I might have gone stir 
crazy, but before that happened, a couple of guards came and got me 
and brought me to a luxurious bedroom/office where Lois was waiting 
for me.  She dismissed the guards and asked me to sit down.

After I sat, I asked, "Is this where you ask me to join again?  Offer 
big things if I sign up?"

"There will be no more offers, Bambi.  One way or another, it's all 
over today."

"Oh."

"Bambi, I also have orders about you.  We may experience a Light 
Alliance attack.  If that happens, I have orders to kill you."

"You'd do that?  You could do that?"

"I don't have a choice.  I've sworn allegiance to the Dark Alliance. 
I can't break my word."

There was only an awkward silence between us for a while.  Finally, I 
asked, "Could you tell me more about yourself?"

"What's to tell?"

"Tell me more about your time before the Dark Alliance.  About how 
they got you involved."

"Why?"

I shrugged.  "It'll help pass the time."

We talked for a while.  Most of it I knew.  She used to be a he with 
a mom, dad, and two brothers.  The Dark Alliance then inducted his 
mother, by promising her the daughters her husband wouldn't give her. 
Like all the promises of the Dark Alliance, it was twisted.  In order 
to gain the daughters she wanted, the mother was forced to transform 
her sons into girls.  Her youngest son had more power than she did, 
so the Dark Alliance offered him one of their wishes in return for 
joining.

As we chatted, I heard it.  Sounds of battle as people assaulted the 
outer shields.  Lois turned to me, a knife in her hands.  "I'm sorry, 
Bambi.  I really am."

************

[General Keith "Katharine" Wilfred]

Everything was set up.  At exactly 9 A.M. E.S.T. we attacked the dome 
with everything we had.  It took a lot longer to knock the dome down 
this time than it did the last time, but it did go down.  Once it 
did, a huge amount of Dark Alliance troops rushed us.  They were 
mostly transformed troops, and far more than just the military we had 
attacked with.  I assumed that the Dark Alliance had increased their 
numbers with other transformees, perhaps police and national guard, 
perhaps even civilians.  I briefly lamented having to fight those 
controlled by spells, but only for a second before I ordered the 
troops forward.

************

[Quentin Dargent]

It was finally time.  After all the waiting and dodging of patrols we 
had done, it was time to attack the White House and destroy the dome 
generator.  We got as close as we dared, then waited just a little 
while more.  I saw the dome flicker and Lin Su yelled, "Go!" and we 
charged the White House.  As the dome went down, we saw a huge force 
run out to meet us.  It was at least twice as large as we expected. 
This was going to be a real fight.

************

[Jenny Welker and Wanda Adams]

INT:  After you got to Phoenix, then what?

Jenny:  We went to the top of the building we were in, and Daphne 
told us where we were headed, the bottom of the Grand Canyon.

Wanda:  Then Daphne demonstrated an advantage to her Transformation. 
She wrapped her arms around Andrea and Jasa and took off into the air.

INT:  You wouldn't think that a human with wings could fly, but as 
the war revealed, it does happen.

Jenny:  Yeah, when a Witch Transforms, they gain an instinctive 
ability to use any ability their change implies.  A Witch who gets a 
prehensile tail needs no practice to use it as dexterously as their 
own hands and fingers.

INT:  And wings give an instant ability to fly.

Jenny:  Exactly.  After Daphne took off, Sarah said, "Sometimes I 
wish my Transformation had given me wings."  Then she chanted,

"Eagles' wings and eagles' sight,
Give me now the power of flight,"

then took off flying.

Wanda and I cast similar spells and followed them.  We arrived at the 
Canyon, following Daphne right to the entrance.

INT:  Pardon my interruption, by why head right to the temple? 
Wouldn't it have been wiser to tae a more circuitous route?

Jenny:  Perhaps, but we couldn't take the chance that the Dark 
Alliance had some way of finding the Temple of Dalinor on their own 
and arriving before us.  The temple was shielded against detection by 
powers that no one understands, but with magic, you can't take 
anything for granted.

INT:  But didn't the Witches' prophecy have Dorina Tempus arriving after you?

Jenny:  With the exception of the prophecies that came out of the 
Temple of Dalinor, no prophecy is ever a hundred percent accurate. 
Even with all the Witches seeing it, there were no guarantees.

INT:  So what'd the temple look like?

Jenny:  From the outside, it looked like the front of an ancient 
Greek temple had been carved in the side of the cliff.  The temple 
had actually placed itself inside the side of the mountain.  Inside, 
the temple looked like one of those idealized places that you see the 
gods lounging in in the movies.  Everything was made out of marble 
and ivory and looked freshly made.  There were braziers and lit 
torches in mounts all around the room providing more than enough 
light to see by.  The room was a long rectangle with a path down its 
center and a row of columns running along each side of the path.  At 
the end of the path was an open door frame at the top of a set of 
stairs.

We all walked down the path.  When we got to the center of the room, 
Daphne said, "It's so pristine, so beautiful."

Before we could respond, we heard from behind us, "Just like it was 
fifteen years ago."

We turned and saw Dorina Tempus.  Sarah yelled, "Daphne, get inside 
the inner temple.  We'll hold her off."  Daphne immediately ran to 
the entry while Wanda, Sarah, and I got ready for Dorina.  Sarah had 
the Hexatar staff, and both Wanda and I had a collection of combat 
spells mastered.

Dorina casually sauntered into the room, not seeming concerned about 
any of us.  She commented, "You really shouldn't have her run off. 
You're going to need all the assistance you can get."

I said, "You sure are cocky."

She responded, "Like you, my specialty is combat, I'm as powerful as 
all of you combined, the only one of you who has anywhere near my 
experience is a pacifist, and you just sent your most powerful member 
running.  Why shouldn't I be cocky?  Perhaps you should call her 
back.  I can wait."

Sarah said, "If anything were to convince me not to call her back, 
that'd be it."

Dorina shrugged.  "Your funeral.  I'll just kill you first, then 
her."  Then, before any of us could respond, Dorina ran right at us. 
Just before she got to us, she jumped to the side, bounced off a 
column and flew between us, blasting us as she flew by.  Wanda and I 
both flew back, but Sarah used the Hexatar to throw up a quick 
shield.  Dorina engaged Sarah in a fight as Wanda and I got up.  We 
joined the fight, trying to overwhelm Dorina with sheer power.

It didn't work.  Dorina easily held her own and then some.  Wanda was 
the first to fall, with Sarah falling shortly after, leaving just me 
and Dorina alone.  After a bit of fighting, I threw her back, but she 
flipped in midair and landed on her feet.  She took a combat pose and 
said, "You realize that only one of us walks away from here?"

"Yes, I do."

"Good.  I wouldn't want you dying unaware."  She then charged me.  I 
took everything I had and blasted at her with all the energy I could. 
I felt a twinge and fell unconscious.

************

[Bambi Welker]

Lois advanced on me, knife ready.  I backed up, terrified for my 
life.  "Please, Lois, you don't have to do this.  You don't owe the 
Dark Alliance anything.  You don't owe Dorina Tempus anything."

"Dorina cared for me when my mother didn't."

"Your mother did care."

Irate, Lois asked, "Then why'd she make me a girl?!"

"She didn't know what she was getting when she wished for daughters. 
She didn't know the price she'd have to pay.  You're a dark sorcerer; 
you have a dark wish.  Did you know the price you'd have to pay? 
Were you informed of its cost in advance?"

Lois hesitated.  "No.  I wasn't."

"And neither did she.  I bet if you ask, she'd say that she thought 
she'd be getting little sisters for you, little sisters you could 
play with, and care for, and protect like your brothers did with you."

Lois's grip on the knife grew shaky.  "I would have liked that."

"Don't you see?  You've been angry at your mom, and what she did was 
wrong, but the person you really should be angry with is whoever 
brought her into the Dark Alliance in the first place, whoever 
exploited her desires so she'd wind up hurting you."

"But Dorina brought her in."

"Then you should hate her."

"But Dorina cared for me."

"And what'd she really ever do for you?  Indulge you?  Whisper nice 
things?  How many times did she let you do things that hurt others? 
How many times did she let you do things that hurt you?"

Lois shook.  Finally, she dropped the knife, screamed, put her hands 
to her head, and went to her knees.  I went to her side and asked, 
"What's wrong?"

"My oaths, my magic tried to make me obey them, but I didn't want to. 
It tore me up inside."

"I'm sorry.  I didn't want to hurt you."

"I know.  I don't blame you."  Lois took the knife and stood up. 
Seeing the fear in my eyes, she said, "Don't worry.  This isn't for 
you.  I used my dark wish to hurt those who had hurt me to hurt 
Dorina by burning out my need to obey my oaths.  I'm the only 
sorcerer on the planet who can do that."

"So now what?"

She walked over to a crib in the corner of the room.  "We need to 
stop Dorina.  She's gone after your sister and the she-demon Witch at 
the Temple of Dalinor.  There's something there that she's afraid of 
the Light Alliance finding."

"Are you going after her?"

"No, no one can stand against Dorina in a one on one confrontation. 
But she has to obey the rules like all of us.  The cost of her wish 
is that she has to be pregnant or nursing a child at all times, 
although she can offset the hindrance with temporary time freeze 
spells."  Lois waved her hand over the crib, and I heard a baby start 
fussing, for food, I think.  Lois then raised the knife above her 
head as though to strike.

I ran up and grabbed her arm.  "What are you doing?"

"If I kill the child, Dorina will be unable to deal with anything or 
anyone until she gets pregnant again."

"If you kill that baby, it'll doom your soul forever.  She's an innocent."

"It's one life for the thousands that Dorina will ruin or destroy. 
Isn't it worth it?"

"No, there's got to be another way."

She looked me in the eye, but then looked me up and down.  "You could 
deal with her."

I was shocked.  "I can't kill, her or anybody."

"You don't have to.  If the baby is fed by someone else, it'll still 
render Dorina helpless.  You can feed her."

I looked down at my own breasts.  Truth was, I had mostly forgotten 
about that.  Elizabeth had cast a spell on my breasts starting 
lactation so that I could feed little Jimmy while she and Lynnette 
were busy with the war.  I didn't get many chances to use it before I 
was kidnapped by Monica.  Now I was being asked to use it to stop the 
world's most dangerous woman.  How could I say no?

I picked the child up and sat in a chair.  I bared my breast and put 
the girl to my nipple.  She immediately latched on and started 
suckling.

************

[Dorina Tempus]

After eliminating the Witch and Jenny's lover, I faced off with the 
woman who was the last hope of the Light Alliance.  I taunted her a 
final time before charging at her.  She blasted at me with everything 
she had.  I used a personal shield to absorb the brunt of the blast 
and get close to her, and then punched her with a power fist, 
knocking her out.  After the blast, both she and I were naked, but 
that wasn't relevant.  Looking at her unconscious form, I said, "So 
much for prophecies."

I turned to head downstairs when I felt a spell of mine at the base 
being undone.  I figured the base was being attacked, and some shield 
spell of mine had been undone.  I didn't feel I had the time to deal 
with it then, so I just headed towards the inner temple.

I was just outside the door when I felt it, the hated urge, the 
overwhelming need to procreate.  I was barely able to cast a spell to 
let me see my room in the base.  There I saw Bambi Welker feeding my 
child.  For whatever reason, that bitch, Lois, had betrayed me and 
thrown in with Bambi.

As I blacked out, losing myself to the urge, I realized the mistake I 
had made.  The prophecy had said that I would be defeated by the 
daughter of Elizabeth Welker.  I had not thought it would be Bambi 
because she had no sorceress power, but she was the daughter the 
prophecy spoke of, not Jenny.

I awoke within this anti-magic cell.  I was asked to make a 
statement, and now I have told you everything I am going to.

[Transcriber's notes:  This ends the statement of Dorina Tempus. 
Although others tried to ask her other questions, she refused to even 
acknowledge their presence.  Shortly after she was left alone in the 
cell, a scream was heard.  When they checked on her, a totally 
charred husk was all that was found.  Although exactly what happened 
is unknown, it is generally felt that her dark masters immolated her 
for failing to conquer the world.]

************

[Daphne Newell]
************ THE RESTORATION ************

[The following events detail the event known to the world as The Restoration.]

I ran down the steps to the inner temple.  I was willing to help with 
Dorina Tempus, but somehow I knew a different destiny awaited me 
within.  Downstairs, we found nothing that Mrs. Welker hadn't 
described to us.  The room was a rectangle, approximately twice as 
wide as it was deep.  On the wall opposite to us, right in the 
center, was a human face.  All the walls were made of some dark 
black, non-reflective material that made the torches on the wall, 
fewer per length of wall than upstairs, less effective.

Andrea asked, "Now what?"

"Between the three of us, we have nine questions we can ask of the 
oracle.  Let's ask quick."  I reached out and touched the wall beside 
the face.  The face's eyes opened.  "Oracle, how can we defeat the 
Dark Alliance?"

In a deep bass, it said, "Penetrate the deception beside truth and 
love the one who has known only her parents' love."

Jasa sarcastically said, "Well that was helpful."

I said, "That's the way it works sometimes.  The trick in most 
prophecies is decoding the truth from obscurity.  Oracle, how can we 
destroy the domes that the Dark Alliance has used to trap the human 
cities?"

"Love the one and he who has transcended her works will do that."
"Great, one question left.  Okay, where is the one we must love?"

"Behind the construct of the dark manipulator."

"Great.  Any idea what it's talking about?"

Jasa shook her head, but Andrea, who was studying the wall, said, 
"Maybe.  Daphne, love, can you get me a more intense light source?  A 
flashlight should do."

"I'll need some help."  We squared off and she threw two punches at 
me, and I blocked both, more than enough focus to conjure a 
flashlight.  I gave it to Andrea.  "What's up?"

She turned it on and flashed the wall.  She looked along the wall, 
from the face to the side wall, around the room, and back to the face 
again.  Finally, she said, "It's worn."

"What is?"

"The wall by the face.  Every other wall in the room and an area 
around the face that extends to the floor is as pristine as 
everything else in the temple, but this wall shows signs of age, 
almost imperceptible in the regular light, but there."

"What does it mean?"

"I don't think it was built with the temple.  I think it was added to 
hide something."

Jasa said, "Daphne, is it just me or do you feel something behind the wall?"

I extended my senses and did feel something.  "It feels like another Witch."

"Maybe the one we need to love?"

"Let's find out."  I used my body's superhuman strength and double 
ax-handled the wall.  It shattered inward; then the entire wall 
disintegrated.  The face was now mounted on a black obelisk that 
ended a foot short of the ceiling.

We stepped into the area I just opened up, and Andrea said, "Daphne, 
it's you."  In the area behind the obelisk was a statue of what 
appeared to be me on my knees, hips straight, with a pained look on 
my face.

Jasa looked at it and said, "Almost," and pointed to its crotch. 
Where I retained the penis of my male youth, the statue was fully 
female.

I looked at it and said, "It's the source of the life force we 
sensed.  It...  She's alive."

Andrea said, "The half-breed.  She's the half-breed."

"What?"

"Remember the story your aunt told us, about the daughter of the 
Witch and human sorcerer?"

I remembered.  During the dark ages, just before the last major war 
with the Dark Alliance, Witch society was separatist and 
exclusionary, forbidding contact with humans.  That didn't stop a 
human sorcerer and a Witch from falling in love and conceiving a 
child.  Before the child was born, the couple was forced apart, and 
the child was eventually born into Witch society.  When the child 
failed to Transform on her twenty fifth birthday the then oldest age 
for Transforming, it was assumed that she was just a normal human and 
the mother was stoned to death for polluting the bloodlines.

Six years later, the child Transformed, more powerful than any other 
Witch before her.  Dealing with a life time of abuse, she went 
ballistic, attacking both Witches and sorcerers until disappearing 
right before something wiped out most human magic potential.

I asked, "What makes you say that?"

"I'm not sure."  She reached out and touched the face.  "It's so 
tragic, whoever she is.  Alive but trapped in stone.  We have to free 
her."

We heard sounds of fighting from up above.  "We don't have time for 
me to try to work out a counter, so if we do this, we'll have to use 
my wish giving power."

Andrea got behind me and reached behind me and took my boobs in hand. 
Jasa went to her knees, took my dick, and popped it into her mouth. 
I love both my wives dearly, but Jasa definitely had the magic mouth. 
Conversely, Andrea was best at stroking my breasts, so this was this 
the fastest way to get me off.  The two worked together and had me 
exploding into Jasa's mouth.  There was a magical glow and the statue 
became a living, breathing girl.

She immediately fell back, her hips connecting with her heels, and 
she started sobbing into her hands.  Jasa was the first to her side, 
but the girl threw off Jasa's hands, crying, "Leave me alone.  I just 
want to die."

I went to my knees in front of her and pulled her hands away from her 
face and held them.  "No, no, no life should be ended early.  You are 
a valuable person."

"What do you care?   I'm just a miserable half-breed."

"I'm just a quarter-breed.  My grandmother was a Witch, but my 
grandfather and mother were normal humans.  Things are different from 
your time.  Human/Witch relations are accepted, and their offspring 
treated like any other family member."

She turned her head away.  "Then you don't know what it's like to be 
me.  Do you have any idea what it's like to be hated just for who you 
are?"

Jasa put her hand on the girl's shoulder.  "I do.  I'm homosexual. 
I've been laughed at, ridiculed, and even threatened because of it."

She snorted.  "Witches don't care about loving your own sex.  Don't 
try to tell me that's changed."

"I wasn't always a Witch.  I was born human.  My current state is the 
result of a wish I made when loving my dear Daphne."

She looked up with a hopeful look in her eye, but then turned away 
again.  "No, you're trying to trick me.  Only mother loved me as a 
child, and after I Transformed, those hypocritical Witches only 
wanted to use me.  I thought Ruth loved me, but she just used me, 
too."

Jasa wrapped her arms around the girl.  "Who was Ruth?  What did she 
do to you?"

"She was a sorceress.  She said she was the daughter of a sorcerer 
and a normal woman.  She said her mother was killed when she was 
young because she had displeased her father.  She said she was forced 
to kill her father to keep him from molesting her.  I felt sorry for 
her, thought she had led a life worse than mine.  I don't know if any 
of it was true.  She turned out to be a Dark Alliance sorceress.  She 
used our pasts to convince me that it would be better if humans and 
Witches never had any magic.  I allowed her to make a wish to stifle 
human magic potential.  She then said she just wanted another batch 
of sex to prove her love to me, but she instead used my orgasm to 
trap me in living stone."

We all wrapped our arms around her.  She broke down in tears and 
returned our embrace.  We sat there for a while before she finally 
settled down.  Jasa asked, "Feeling better?"

"Yeah.  Thanks."

We then heard a loud flash and then silence.  I said, "Oh, great.  We 
forgot about Dorina Tempus."

"Who's that?"

"Head of the modern Dark Alliance.  Nastiest, most powerful bitch in 
the world.  If Jenny can't handle her, we're going to need both of us 
to deal with her."

"I can't really help.  I was never trained.  My attacks were all rage 
driven.  I'd only be a hindrance fighting a trained, powerful, Dark 
Alliance sorceress."

Andrea asked, "Great.  Now what?"

"I guess we could use my wishes to deal with her."

I said, "I'm not sure even that could stop her."

"In here it could.  The Temple of Dalinor amplifies the wishes of a 
teth-kiran.  That's how I was able to affect all of humanity.  We 
could wish her away, or turn her into a fish or something."

I thought about it.  It would be great to stop Dorina, but I was also 
thinking of everybody else, too.  It would be a hollow victory to 
beat Dorina Tempus, only to lose the rest of the world to the Dark 
Alliance.  I said, "We need to make things right.  We need to restore 
magic to the world.  We need to undo your previous wish."

"I can't undo my own wishes."

"No, but I can.  I proved that when I undid the wish making you stone."

"But what about that woman upstairs?  She might kill us if we don't 
deal with her."

"If she comes down here, I'll hold her off while you three escape. 
Get someplace and get...  Oh, geez, I don't even know your name.  I'm 
sorry."

"My name is Kari."

"Okay, Kari, you and the others will get out of here while I deal 
with Dorina.  They can get you to someone to train you.  Maybe once 
you're trained, you can then succeed where I failed."

"You're willing to sacrifice yourself for me?"

"If I have to.  I'd rather try my first plan.  Let's restore magic to 
the world.  Kari, you know the wish you granted better than anyone 
else here.  If you unwish it, then that would be most effective."

"But to do that, I'd have to... make you orgasm.  You'd have to let 
me do whatever I wanted."

"I know.  I trust you."

"But you barely know me."

"I know you've suffered.  What you've done is to lash out.  But those 
who hurt you are long gone.  We're here to help you, to be your 
friends, and that begins with trust.  I'll trust you and you can 
trust me."

She just stared at me for a while as tears came to her eyes. 
Finally, she broke down in sobs.  I wrapped my arms around her and 
asked, "What's wrong?"

"I feel so ashamed.  Here you are, willing to sacrifice yourself for 
me and for your friends.  I started this.  It was my granting the 
wish of that sorceress that started it all."

"Oh, hun, the Dark Alliance has been manipulating people for 
millennia.  They exploited the abuse you suffered and used you. 
Don't blame yourself.  Will you help us?"

She nodded and took my breasts in hand.  She rubbed passionately, 
trying her best to please me.  It took longer than it normally 
would've because I was afraid that at any minute Dorina would walk in 
on us, but I managed to block out those thoughts as she rubbed me all 
over.  Eventually I exploded in orgasm, releasing my wish power to 
Kari.  She made her wish.  I felt the power amplified by the temple 
and streak out into the world.

************

[General Keith "Katharine" Wilfred]
We fought the Dark Alliance with everything we had.  Problem was they 
fought with a berzerker rage, not caring for self or friend.  We were 
also hampered by the fact that we knew that many of these transformed 
soldiers were once our allies.

We were well on our way to losing when something happened to change 
the entire fight.  I was with the Captain.  We only had one guard 
with us.  The Dark Alliance had penetrated close enough to eliminate 
the others, and both of us were fighting them as often as we were 
directing our own troops.  A brief lull in their assault allowed us 
to push them back when one Dark Alliance man broke through and came 
at us.  Only the one guard was between us, everyone else was being 
held up by the fight.

That was when IT happened.  A rumble from the west had us look that 
way to see a wave of brownish light streaked with every other color 
you could think of coming at us.  It passed over us before we could 
take two breaths. I felt a strange tingle and a surge of energy.

The soldier guard between us and the Dark Alliance agent dropped to 
the ground.  The man grinned menacingly and stepped over the soldier. 
We shot at him, but this was a Dark Alliance agent, not a 
transformee, and he was equipped with a shields of some kind.

Before he made it completely over our soldier, a hand reached up and 
grabbed him by the balls.  The soldier stood, changed from before. 
Where previously there had been a well built human male, now stood an 
incredibly muscular minotaur in the rags of what had once been a 
U.S.M.C. uniform.  He looked the Dark Alliance man in the eye and 
said, "Hi, have you met the ground yet?" and, in a move that makes me 
cringe every time I think of it, turned him upside down, with nothing 
more than his one hand grip on the man's crotch, and proceeded to 
beat his head into the ground.

I looked around.  Approximately fifteen to twenty percent of the 
fighters on both sides had undergone a similar Transformation and 
were now beings right out of myth.  There were centaurs and angels 
and demons and werewolves and almost anything else imaginable, and 
all of them were on our side.  The Transformation had shattered the 
mind control spells that had once held them.

Not only had numbers shifted, but they had a control that was 
astounding.  The fliers had a maneuverability and speed that the Dark 
Alliance fliers couldn't hope to match.  The centaurs moved with the 
speed of a car with the control of a Lippizan stallion.  The 
minotaurs were inhumanly strong and the werewolf claws tore through 
even magic shields.

************ END RESTORATION ************

This was a whole new fight.  It almost didn't matter as we saw a red 
energy beam straight up from the capitol.

************

[Quentin Dargent]

We fought with a passion born of desperation.  We were badly, badly 
outnumbered.  Most attacked Lin Su, and she managed to hold her own, 
but made no head way.  Beryl and I were besieged with more than 
enough of our own opponents and were separated early on.  I knew she 
was okay (relatively speaking), but couldn't get close to her.

I was beginning to think we were doomed when a flash of energy rolled 
through D.C.  About twenty percent of the opponents dropped.  When 
they got up a bit later, they had become creatures out of some fairy 
tale, and they were working for us.  They were augmented by a force 
of others; I assumed civilians who had also Transformed.

They helped clear the field, and I saw the White House.  The 
President and First Lady were defending it personally.  Beryl had 
gotten close and tried to attack the First Lady.  The First Lady 
blasted her with a spell and I felt Beryl go unconscious.  I felt the 
rage rise and, not even knowing what I was doing, lashed out at the 
First Lady, passing out afterwards.

************

[General Keith "Katharine" Wilfred]

When the beam got about 1,000 yards up it started to form a new dome. 
I watched with the same fascination one has watching a wreck.  I 
figured it was all over, that Lin Su had failed to destroy the dome 
generator and we were about to be trapped under the new domes. 
Before it happened, we heard an explosion go off, and a wave of 
energy rushed from the base of where the beam was coming from.  It 
rolled over us, moving outward at a fast clip.

When I looked back to the battle, things had shifted completely over 
to our side.  Whatever the energy was, it had shattered the control 
of the Dark Alliance mind spells.  All of the transformed men were 
once again working for the U.S.A.  The remaining Dark Alliance agents 
still had their magic toys, but with the Transformed soldiers backing 
us up, it was all over but the clean up.

************

[Bambi Welker]

The sounds of battle reached us as I fed the baby in my arms.  I 
asked, "What's her name?"

"I don't think Dorina ever named her.  She just called her 'the brat' 
or 'the whelp.'"

"That's horrible."

"Yeah, it is."  Another blast reached our ears.  "I should go now. 
The base defenses will be occupied with the attackers."

I grabbed her arm.  "No, don't.  If you go out there, you may have to 
fight, and that might mean you'll get hurt.  Stay here."

"And when your friends arrive, I face a life of imprisonment.  I am 
still a Dark Alliance sorceress."

"Lois, I can talk to them.  We can work something out.  I care for 
you.  I don't want to lose you."

She stared at me for a while, wrestling with it.  Finally, she said, 
"Alright, for you, I'll stay."

Then we just had to wait.

************

[Travis Beckman]

We massed close to the Dark Alliance base, then waited until exactly 
6 A.M.  We chose that time because the mall over the base that they 
were using as cover wouldn't be open yet.  We then attacked with all 
guns blazing, figuratively speaking.  They, of course, responded in 
kind.  No quarter was asked nor given by either side.

Cammy, Elizabeth, Lynnette, and I got separated early on, but I knew 
they could handle themselves.  I was out to find Bambi.  Oh, if I 
could find and free any other captives, I would, but Bambi was my 
primary concern.  I had to find her.

I went through the base, destroying any Dark Alliance agent I met, 
until I reached the cell block.  After dispatching the attendant, I 
started tearing the doors off.  Most of the cells were empty, and the 
few that weren't didn't have anyone who knew a thing about Bambi.

Until I got to the cell that held Louise.   When I shattered the door 
in, I saw both Monica and Louise at the same time.  Monica growled, 
"You!  I killed you!"

I responded, "Not even," and leapt into the room.  Monica easily 
dodged my swings, but she wasn't what I wanted to hit.  I danced 
around the room, finally stopping near the door, Monica on the 
opposite side of the cell.

She said, "You missed," and was then surprised when Louise back 
kicked her into the wall.

Louise, who I had just freed, got between me and Monica and said, 
"Go!  I'll deal with my sister."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, now go find Bambi!"

I debated it and finally backed out of the room.  I would have 
stayed, but Louise seemed to have a personal grudge to settle.

************

[Louise Kravitz]

I've been asked to say what went on between me and my sister in the 
cell, so here goes:

After Travis left, I charged at my sister, she charging back.  When 
we met, she just grabbed me and threw me to the side.  I'm not sure 
what I was thinking.  My main advantages required some open space to 
use.  I was just so angry at her.

Anyway, she tried to leave to get Travis, I guess, but I tackled her 
and threw her back.  Standing in front of the door, I said, "You'll 
have to kill me to get out of here."

"Oh, no.  I'll deal with that sword wielder then come back and force 
you to accept your femininity."

"Idiot.  I accepted my femininity a long time ago."

"Then why do you fight me so hard in being Alice?"

"Because Alice is your creation, a girl as much slut and slave as female."

"No, your lying to try to get me to go easy on you."

"Alice is a fake, a thing, a parody.  As Louise, I'm a strong, well 
adjusted wife and mother."

"A mother of what?  Some poor, adopted, welfare kids?  So what?"

"Even were they adopted, it wouldn't make me any less a mother, but 
they are my kids, born of my loins."
"Impossible.  You were born male.  You can't give birth."

"Now I know you're an idiot.  Look around you.  Look at yourself, for 
god's sake.  With all the things you've seen these people do, is it 
really all that shocking to think they could give a person born male 
the ability to give birth?"

She seemed at war with herself.  Finally, she said, "No!  You're 
trying to trick me!" and leapt at me.  I spun around and back kicked 
her.  I barely got my equine body turned around in that small space 
(sometimes being half horse is a real pain).  When I kicked her, I 
heard a sickening crunch.  When I turned back, I saw Monica on her 
back, her chest caved in.

I went to her side.  "Monica, I'm sorry.  I didn't want to hurt you, 
not really."

Gasping, she said, "That's... okay.  I don't think... I wanted... to 
survive that.  I'm sorry, Al-  Louise.  For everything."

"Why'd you do it, Monica?  Why'd you torture me?"

"I really thought you'd be happier as a girl.  I was right about 
that, I think."

"But why torture me?  Beat me?"

"I don't know.  I guess it wasn't enough for you to be a girl.  You 
had to be the same kind of girl I was.  I wasn't a good girl."

"We can fix that.  We'll get you out of that armor, and my 
father-in-law can help you, and we can be sisters, real sisters, Mon."

She stiffened up.  "Too late.  Do me a favor, Louise.  Save Ivan. 
Don't blame him.  I talked him into it.  Please don't hate him."

"I don't."  I know that sounds strange, considering how much pain he 
and my sister put me through, but thanks to dad's (Sam's) help, I had 
really put all that pain behind me.  If Monica or Ivan had come back 
to me with kindness rather than aggression, I would've greeted them 
with open arms.

"Will you save Ivan?"

"I will."

She then gasped her last, stiffened as straight as a board, and her 
armor grew over her.  She wound up looking like a female version of 
the statuette on the top of an Oscar.  That's where they found me, 
kneeling by my sister's body, crying my eyes out.

************

[Bambi Welker]

Lois and I waited as the sounds of battle rang in from outside the 
room.  At one point, the sound of fighting was right outside the 
door.  When it stopped, I heard Travis call out, "Bambi?!  Bambi?!"

I ran to the door and opened it.  I saw my dear love and called to 
him.  He ran to me, and we embraced.  While we were standing there, 
Elizabeth and Lynnette came up and joined the hug.

After far too short a time, we loosened up a bit.  I said, "Everyone, 
there's someone I'd like you to meet."  I turned, expecting to see 
Lois, only to be greeted with an empty room.  "She's gone."

Elizabeth asked, "Who's gone?"

"Lois.  She's... a friend."

"Another captive of the Dark Alliance?"

"Not exactly.  She... was a Dark Alliance sorceress."

"A Dark Alliance sorceress?!  Bambi, you can't trust any of them."

"It's not like that.  Please, Elizabeth, promise me she won't be hurt."

"Bambi, I can't promise anything, but as long as she doesn't try to 
hurt anyone or try to fight too hard, she should be okay."

"I understand."

We sat back and waited.  Thirty minutes later, a man came in and 
said, "Council Witch Elizabeth, we've done it!  There are a few 
pockets of resistance, but the base is ours, and I've received word 
from the east.  The primary dome generator was destroyed, causing 
every dome generator on the planet to self destruct.  We've also 
found the captured Witches.  Aside from being scared, tired, and 
hungry, they're all in tact.  The war is over!  We've won!"

There was much rejoicing after that.  As I left the building, mom 
found us and we had a joyous reunion.  We all collected outside, 
where a man gave me an envelope he found addressed only to me.  I 
opened it, and inside was a letter from Lois.

It read:

"Bambi,

Sorry for ducking out without warning, but if I stayed there, the 
result would have been my imprisonment.  They can't trust me enough 
to do otherwise.

I know you want to believe in me, and I know you want to trust me, 
but I don't trust myself.  I'm not sure how much of what I told you 
was honest emotion or just pretty words to engender sympathy.  I 
think I love you, Bambi, but I can't be sure.  I need to find myself.

If all goes according to plan, I should be able to sneak out of the 
base.  Since the Light Alliance will be preoccupied with those Dark 
Alliance agents who will be actively fighting, and I'll be trying to 
sneak out, I should make it.

I did some really horrible things, Bambi, and I need a chance to make 
up for it.  Do me a favor, though.  There are a couple of boys I was 
forcing through a mundane transition so I could sex them.  Please get 
them the help they need.  Thanks.

Wish me luck.

Lois"

I made a silent wish for luck for Lois, then told mom about the boys.

Now I just need my big sister with me to make my family complete.

************

[Daphne Newell]

After we canceled Kari's earlier wish, she asked, "Now what?"

I took her hand in mine and said, "Now you come home with me.  I've 
got a wonderful family that'll be more than willing to adopt you."

 From the door, I heard, "Or you could come home with me."  We turned 
and saw the man who had been only described before.  The man we knew 
only as The Master.

What surprised us was when Kari said, "Daddy?"

The Master stepped up to her and said, "Hello, child."

Kari just stared down at him for a bit before saying, "Where were 
you?!  Why didn't you save mommy?"

He shook in pain.  "Your mother was one of the most powerful Witch 
seers of all time, but she didn't tell me she was going to die.  She 
did tell me about the first Dark Alliance war that would be coming 
up, and that we had to try to awaken the Sphinx.  Before I went into 
the pyramid, she made me promise not to come out until I had found 
the means to awaken the Sphinx.  Not knowing why, I did.  Once I was 
inside, that was when she was killed.  Bound by my promise and 
knowing she considered it of paramount importance, I had no choice 
but to continue on.

"I found the controls, but lacked the skill to use it.  The only 
thing I managed was to tie my life force into that device, and turn 
myself into an unfeeling thing like Lynnette did.  But I didn't have 
my family available to pull me back from the cold.  I wasn't shaken 
out of it until I heard your psychic scream of despair when you were 
betrayed by the Dark Alliance sorceress.  I rushed in here to find 
you sealed in.  I slipped past the wall and found you, but there wa 
nothing I could do.  Only the power of another teth-kiran could save 
you.  It was the most frustrating thing in the world.  All the extra 
power I had gotten from the Sphinx, and a nearly immortal life, at 
least until someone really did wake him, and I couldn't do thing one 
to save my daughter.

"For 1,500 years, I suffered.  Then Daphne Transformed.  If the 
Temple of Dalinor had been accessible at the time, I'd have gotten 
her and saved you, but at the time, it was at the top of Everest, 
then it shifted to the bottom of the Pacific, both locations 
inaccessible to even me.  I had no choice but to let things play out 
as they would."

Kari said, "I... remember your visits.  You came often, but with long 
absences."

"The absences were when the Temple of Dalinor was inaccessible. 
Otherwise I came as often as I could.  Please forgive me, child."

Kari trembled for a bit before yelling, "Oh, daddy!" and throwing her 
arms around him.

They hugged before the Master turned to me and said, "Thank you." 
And in a twinkle of light, both he and Kari disappeared.

Jasa said, "I guess we go upstairs and see what happened to everybody else."

************

[Jenny Welker and Wanda Adams]

INT:  So you were knocked unconscious?  What happened?

Jenny:  I wasn't sure.  At the time, I thought I had knocked myself 
out with my own spell.  Dorina Tempus later revealed in her 
confession that she knocked me out, but before she could do anything 
more, was rendered insensate by my sister.  Details available through 
the local government documents office.

INT:  Then what happened next?

Jenny:  I woke up to Daphne slapping me awake.  Dorina and I were 
naked, and Jasa and Andrea were tending to Wanda and Sarah.  The 
first thing I did was grab Dorina and teleport to the main White 
Sisterhood base and get her into an anti-magic cell.

INT:  But that wasn't the end of that part of the story, was it?

Wanda:  No.  Daphne was telling us what she went through as we left. 
As soon as we were clear of the entrance, there was a big flash of 
light and we turned to see that it had disappeared.  The Temple of 
Dalinor hasn't been seen since, and even Daphne's wish granting power 
can't find it.

INT:  Incredible.

I'm being signaled for a break, so as soon as we get back, we'll 
discuss some of the post war changes the world has gone through in 
the last few years.

************

[Lewis Remus]

After the battle was over, I went looking for Chris.  When we had 
gotten separated in the battle, I realized I didn't want to go 
through that again, so as soon as we met, I got on one knee and 
proposed to HER.  Her response was, "But we're both guys."

My response was, "No, you're a girl, and I'm a guy."  She hugged me 
and squealed.  Chris is such a girl.

************

[Quentin Dargent]

I woke up in an infirmary tent with a headache.  I looked around and 
saw Beryl.  As soon as she saw me, she called out, "He's awake!" 
climbed up on top of me, and kissed me.  Then she said, "Welcome 
back, hero."

Lin Su then came into the tent.  "Welcome back to the land of the 
living.  Has young Beryl told you what you accomplished?"

"No."

"Pretty much the single handed defeat of the Dark Alliance.  After 
Miss Pritchard struck down Beryl, you tapped into your potential ad 
cut loose with a blast of pure magic energy.  She tried to shield, 
but it was just too much.  She disappeared in a puff.  Just as you 
finished her, the dome generator started rebuilding the domes.  You 
just adjusted the path of your beam, burned through the ground, 
foundation, and anything else in the way, and destroyed the 
generator.  When you did, all the control spells on anyone the Dark 
Alliance controlled were dispelled.  Of course, the bad news is that 
the resulting explosion blew up the White House, but considering the 
alternative, no one should complain."

"What about the President?  What about him?"

"After you destroyed the First Lady, he just... collapsed in place. 
He's still in a coma."

"We won?"

"Thanks to you.  But now I've got to get back to my family.  I'll 
check in on you while you're training, but you two probably want to 
be alone.  Later."

After she left, Beryl and I snuggled and kissed for a while.  At some 
point, I heard someone clear their throat.  I looked up and saw 
Darren, still sporting a pair of boobs.  He asked, "Can we talk?"

Beryl glared at him.  I asked her to leave us alone for a minute.  As 
she passed him on the way out, she gave him the ugliest glare she 
could.  Problem was, with her cute elfin features, she still looked 
cute to me.

After she was gone, I sat up, rocking as the headache hit me.  He 
went to my side like the chivalrous gentleman I knew he was.  It made 
me damned uncomfortable.  I said, "Thanks, but I think that's why 
you're here and why we've got a problem."

"Let me guess, you're not really interested in being my wife?"

"Sorry, but the person you fell in love with doesn't exist.  It was 
nothing but a construct, created by the President to keep me under 
control."

"Are you sure?  I could make you very happy."
"Sorry, I'm just not into guys."

"I understand.  Believe it or not, I wish you well."  I could tell he 
was hurting, but there was nothing I could do for him.
After he left, Beryl came back in and sat beside me.  "Are you okay?"

"Just got a massive headache."

"Sounds like an overload headache.  Want to know how to fix it?"
"How?"

She took my breast in hand.  "Sexual release."  After sex, I found 
she wasn't fooling.  It did help.  I just wonder what mom and dad are 
going to say.

************

[General Keith "Katharine" Wilfred]

Late that night, after a day of heavy clean up, I retired to a tent 
with Captain Callender.  She seemed preoccupied by something so I 
asked about it.

Se said, "I'm kind of torn."

"How so?"

"You know how I said I wasn't really interested in being in the military?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I've decided I can do a lot of good in the military.  I'm 
going to stay."

"So?"

"What about you and me and the fraternization rules?"

"First, fraternization rules are only strictly enforced where 
fraternization would interfere with morale or commission of duty. 
Second, I was going to retire anyway.  I mean I just saved the world. 
How do I top that?"

"So we could get married?"

I just kissed her as an answer.

************

[Jenny Welker and Wanda Adams]

INT:  We're back.  We've discussed the events of the war, and are now 
going to discuss its effects on the world.  Let's start with the dome 
generator destruction.  Its destruction didn't just disrupt mental 
control spells, did it?

Jenny:  No.  When the generator blew, when every generator blew, the 
release of dark magic energy contaminated anyone who had been 
previously transformed by dark magic, including those troops who had 
sieged D.C. at the start of the war.  It would be two years before 
the contamination would dissipate enough to allow them to change back.

INT:  By that time, most chose not to.  I believe that almost sixty 
percent of the men stayed as shemales.  The women all changed back, 
but the only thing affecting them was a spell on their clothes.

Jenny:  But it does bring up a result of the war.  Since the women 
couldn't cover up, Congress passed a law exempting them from public 
nudity laws.  Of course, that resulted in lawsuits from nudists 
demanding the same rights as practice of their creed.

INT:  And then there are the Whit-chara, those transformed when the 
suppression wish was ended.

Jenny:  Yeah, the ancient term, Whit-chara, is being used to 
differentiate them from spell casting Witches.  Whit-chara have no 
spell casting despite their full body Transformations.  Anybody with 
a Witch in the last seven generations of their lineage Transformed, 
and many now have fur.  Some are very, very furry, which makes 
clothes very uncomfortable.

The Whit-chara joined the nudists, asking for the right to go without 
clothes.  The case went all the way to the Supreme Court.  They ruled 
that each state had the right to determine their own public nudity 
rules, but each had an obligation to consider special considerations 
of the health of their citizens, like fur on a Whit-chara.

A lot of states with disproportionately high percentages of 
Whit-chara decided just to get rid of their nudity laws.    Most 
states averaged fifteen percent, but California, Texas, Florida, and 
Washington had much higher numbers, as high as thirty-five percent in 
California, and they all just junked their nudity laws.

INT:  But that wasn't the only change.  Let's go over what happened 
by going over the major players in the war.  Let's start with those 
involved in the final fight in D.C.  The hero of the war, Quentin 
Dargent.

Jenny:  Quentin Dargent was immediately promoted to Captain after the 
battle.  He took a temporary leave and went into magic training in 
the Sisterhood.  Upon his return, he was promoted over Major to 
Lieutenant Colonel and placed in charge of the new U.S. Military 
Magic corp.  It's got a few sorcerers, but it's mostly normal 
soldiers enhanced with spells or items working together under the 
U.S.M.M.  Not a separate brach of the service, but a collection of 
divisions from each.

INT:  Lin Su.

Jenny:  Semiretired, living in Okinawa, raising her family, working 
on her third child.

INT:  Sam Kravitz.

Jenny:  After the fight, Sam retired from council work to his ranch 
in Australia, but a few months later, he was dragged out of 
retirement to become a full time mental health practitioner.

INT:  But that does bring up another effect.  Thanks to magic, the 
fields of plastic surgery as well as the fields of mental health, 
psychiatry and psychology, per se, have almost totally disappeared.

Jenny:  Magic has become a commodity in the world.  It's eliminated 
plastic surgery because a magic transformation, for the same price, 
is safer, faster, and more controllable.  Mental health fields have 
fared better because it takes Witch spells to do mental work, and so 
few Witches have chosen to get good at mind work.  But a few hours of 
even poor Witch mind spells can do more good than years with the best 
psychotherapist.

Magic as a commodity has had other far reaching effects, like in 
security.  In the year following the end of the war, more than a few 
criminals broke into places protected by magic, only to find 
themselves trapped, or their tools, guns, safe cracking stuff, and so 
on, rendered useless.

Then there's the effect on education.  School security has increased, 
particularly on private college campuses that can afford more 
powerful and intricate defensive spells, but even state colleges are 
safer to be on.

INT:  Of course the downside is that in many places, the panty raid 
has become a thing of the past.

Jenny:  You're referring to the protections around many sororities. 
Many sororities have put protective spells around the areas that are 
off limits to men.  Depending on the resources of the sorority, as 
well as the deviousness of the person buying the spell, the spell 
might do anything from change the intruder's skin color to changing 
his sex.  Few guys are willing to go on a panty raid if it means 
they're going to have to wear panties later.

INT:  But that does give us cause to discuss the legalities of 
induced transformations.

Jenny:  Yes.  In a case brought by the parents of a football player, 
the courts ruled that induced transformations are legal so long as 
they are both temporary and the reasons for enacting the changes are 
clearly defined so that everyone knows the consequences of their acts.

INT:  You've discussed the security advantages magic has granted, but 
those aren't the only changes magic has done to education.

Jenny:  No, there are the changes to history classes.  There are 
classes on the war, as well as changes to other classes detailing the 
activities of the Sisterhood, the Brotherhood, and the Dark Alliance 
behind the scenes.

There are also classes on magic and its effects, and then there are 
the diversified understanding classes.  Colleges around the U.S.A. 
are offering classes where one goes through lessons in understanding 
minorities by actually transforming the student into a member of the 
minority.  Many campuses are making it a class or two a prerequisite 
to graduation.

There's actually one private high school doing something similar, but 
only in gender issues.  They require one year be spent as your birth 
sex, one as the opposite sex, one as a shemale, and the final year 
can be spent as any of the above.

INT:  Before we move on, let's discuss the different kinds of 
transformations.  Many of our older viewers don't get the differences.

Jenny:  There are three kinds of transformations, sticky, sealed, and 
permanent.  To understand the first two, you have to understand that 
every physical object has a pattern to it.  Sticky and sealed spells 
create an alternate pattern and overlay it upon the recipient of the 
spell.  The sealed spell has a protection to keep the spell from 
actually contacting the base pattern, making it easier to remove.  A 
sticky spell will eventually stick to the base pattern, making 
removing the spell extremely difficult and sometimes even dangerous.

INT:  How long does that take?

Jenny:  Depending on the spell and the recipient, anywhere between 
four and seven months.

A permanent spell is just that, permanent.  It involves a permanent 
alteration to the pattern.  The biggest difference between the spells 
is detecting them and cost.  Although all spells can contain stealth 
elements, for the same effect, sealed spells are easier to detect 
than sticky.  Permanent spells will reek of magic, but only for about 
a week, then the magic goes away.

Costs are in direct proportion to the ease of detection.  Permanent 
spells cost the most, sticky spells the least.

INT:   Any last thoughts on transformations?

Jenny:  Yes, with the rebirth of magic in the world, anyone can cast 
minor magic, and if you get enough people together, even minor 
transformations are possible.  Problem is, these spells are most 
often sticky.  More than a few people have bought discount 
transformations from con groups in order to experiment, only to find 
that portions of their body were contaminated by a sticky spell.

INT:  How does on deal with a sticky spell that has contaminated their bodies?

Jenny:  Get a practiced sorceress to do it.  The slow way is to 
slowly decontaminate the area by adding a seal to the area.  It's a 
very long, drawn out process that can take years.

INT:  Like the victims of the Dark Alliance spells?  It took two 
years to work that out of their system.

Jenny:  Basically.  The victims had the Dark Alliance dome generator 
contamination to deal with.  That added a year to the wait.

INT:  That's only a year for a full body change.

Jenny:  Yes, but the transformation was mostly cosmetic.  The women 
only had their clothes changed, and the men were only given the 
appearance of women.  There were no genetic or interior biology 
changes.

INT:  You said that was the slow way.  Is there a fast way?

Jenny:  Yes, like a cancer, the contaminated area can be cut out of 
the body.  After about a month with the contaminated area, the body 
can be transformed back to its original state.

INT:  Back to the players in the war.  How about General Keith Wilfred?

Jenny:  He retired right after the war, marrying his aide, then 
Captain, now Major Marie Callender.  She's posted to the U.S.M.M. 
He's stayed private except for his testimony at the Supreme Court 
about a year after the war.

INT:  Which brings us to two other soldiers at D.C., Lewis Remus and 
Chris Conrad, two who might otherwise have remained unknown were it 
not for their engagement.

Jenny:  The case of Remus & Conrad v. U.S. Government.  It's being 
called the case that shattered the G.L.B.T.  Remus & Conrad were 
soldiers who were transformed in the initial siege by the Dark 
Alliance.  Being forced to take the appearance of a woman, Conrad 
discovered he really was a she, and she and Remus fell in love.

Immediately after the war, the two tried to get married, only to be 
blocked by special interest groups.  Fundamentalist religious groups 
argued that the two were the same sex and a marriage between them 
would be a homosexual marriage and thus illegal.  On the other hand, 
the G.L.B. part of the G.L.B.T. argued that they were heroes of the 
war, and it would be unfair to prevent their marriage despite their 
being the same sex.  Meanwhile, the couple, as well as the Trans 
community argued that one was male and one was female, only the dark 
magic contaminating their bodies kept them from making that real, and 
since they were differing sexes, there was no legal issue.

The battle was incredibly passionate and filled with much vitriol on 
both sides.  The homosexual advocates accused the Trans community of 
selfishness because they weren't supporting "the cause."  The Trans 
community accused the sexual orientation advocates of trying to bury 
Trans needs under their own issues just for the sake of "solidarity."

The case culminated in front of the Supreme Court.  The big 
determining point was General Wilfred's testimony.  He testified that 
despite the changes to his body, who he was had not changed, and it 
wasn't his body, current or previous, that told him, but rather an 
inner surety of self.  The Supreme Court ruled that sexual identity 
could not be determined by external forces, and, in the new age of 
magic, since not even genetics could be determined by genitalia, it 
would be foolish to attempt to determine one's gender by it.

INT:  And for those of you who missed it, last week's "Where are they 
now?" on this channel revealed that Remus & Conrad were married right 
after the Court ruled.  As soon as their contaminants resolved, Remus 
went back to his old male body, and Chris magically got a female 
body.  They're expecting their first child sometime next Christmas.

Jenny:  Now, in most states, changing your sex is as easy as changing 
your name.  Most states still require a marriage be between on male 
and one female but it's kind of a moot point.  A few states require a 
Witch's endorsement in order to change sex, claiming that a Witch's 
spells were not "external."  There are a couple cases pending to 
overturn those requirements, but most will just go through the 
federal records and change sex there.

In terms of marriage, Washington and Florida now allow same sex 
marriage, and California abolished all requirements for marriage 
between humans.

INT:  Okay, moving west, anybody in this country knows, but why don't 
you tell us about once Vice-President Bartell.

Jenny:  Like you said, anybody in America should know then 
Vice-President Bartell assumed the office of President immediately 
upon cessation of the war, and was reelected last year.

INT:  And the once President?

Jenny:  Still in a coma.  He felt himself to be an impotent failure 
when his second wife died in the war, and he just gave up.

INT:  Heading further west, let's detail what happened to those 
involved in the assault on the main Dark Alliance base starting with 
your sister.

Jenny:  Bambi got her dream and underwent a transformation into a 
full genetic female, then married Travis Beckman, Elizabeth Norman 
Thompson, and Lynnette Thompson Norman.

INT:  Since, in Witch culture, a married person takes the last names 
of  all their mates, her name is now...

Jenny:  Bambi Welker Beckman Norman Thompson.

INT:  Cumbersome, but it does bring us to the next people.  Travis Beckman.

Jenny:  Married to my sister and now back in college going for a 
degree in business management.

INT:  Lynnette Norman Thompson Welker Beckman, or whatever order she prefers.

Jenny:  Lynnette divides her time between teaching and research on 
the connection between quantum physics and magic.
INT:  Elizabeth...  Let's just skip the last names.  Your sister's wife.

Jenny:  Elizabeth has become a very active Whit-chara rights 
advocate.  After the war, more than a few religious advocates tried 
to paint the new Whit-chara as devil spawn, in league with the Dark 
Alliance.  Elizabeth took it on herself to stand up and protect them.

INT:  Since we've brought up the opposition faced by the Whit-chara, 
it seems a good place to discuss the oft despised C.O.T.W.

Jenny:  The Cult Of The Witch, a group of religious nuts who think 
that any Witch or Whit-chara is a saint blessed by god.  Mostly 
harmless, but Witches, who have spent their lives in seclusion, hate 
the attention.  There are more than a few Whit-chara who have 
exploited the Cult, and a few cases of the Cult kidnapping Witches or 
Whit-chara and forcing them to be private, enslaved gods to be 
worshipped, but mostly they're just a bunch of loudmouths.

INT:  Okay, what about your mother?

Jenny:  Mother has chosen to withdraw from public life and has asked 
me to keep her private life private.

INT:  Then on to the last players in the war.  Let's start with Daphne Newell.

Jenny:  Daphne went back into law practice and was recently made U.S. 
attorney general by President Bartell.

INT:  And her wives?

Jenny:  Jasa is back in the emergency room as a doctor, and Andrea 
has retired to be an at home mother.

INT:  And Sarah?

Jenny:  Mostly retired.  She still has her position as chief Witch 
trainer, but she now serves mostly as supervisor.

INT:  Which brings us down to you two, the White Sisterhood, and the 
Collegiate Brotherhood.

Jenny:  The White Sisterhood and the Collegiate Brotherhood have 
undergone a major reorganization.  Since many gender barriers have 
been shattered in the wake of the war, the training components have 
been grouped together into the White Collegium.  The combat parts 
have also been grouped and together with an international force have 
become the D.A.E.F., the Dark Alliance Elimination Force.

INT:  Under your command.

Jenny:  I'm just the field commander.  Others actually run D.A.E.F.

INT:  But it does bring up something.  Most of D.A.E.F.'s activities 
have been in Europe.  You'd think that with the entire continent 
having been trapped for so long, Dark Alliance activity wouldn't be 
tolerated.

Jenny:  That's the problem.  Nothing magic is tolerated well.  Many 
Whit-chara were beaten the very day they Transformed.  The 
oppression, prejudice, and hate strengthen the otherworld demons and 
make dark magic easier in Europe.

INT:  Why didn't it happen in North America or Asia?

Jenny:  To a lesser extent, in North America, it did.   When the 
domes lifted, the Americans got a better description of what 
happened.  Even so, most Witches and Whit-chara prefer to avoid 
northeast America.

In the Orient, with the exception of the big cities, they only spent 
a couple weeks under Dark Alliance domes.  Further, in the Orient, 
the mystical has always existed easily beside the modern, so when 
they spend two weeks getting tortured by demon worshipers only to 
have all the mystic beings of legend appear and defend them, most 
just took it in stride.

INT:  So that just leaves two people, the Master and, if rumors are 
true, his teth-kiran daughter.  Is he really 1,500 years old, and 
where is he now?

Jenny:  [shrugs]  According to reports, yes, he is a millennia and a 
half old, but he hasn't made a public appearance since he disappeared 
with his daughter.

INT:  So I guess that wraps it up, except for one thing.  Before this 
all started, you had transformed a sexist ass into a shemale slut. 
What happened to her?

Jenny:  After things had settled down, Elizabeth bought a new house 
for her new family.  She, Bambi, and a bunch of us went to mom's 
house and to get her stuff.  When we walked in the door, we saw Candy 
on her knees, doing it with her canine lover.  Bambi saw her and 
exclaimed, "Oh my god!  We forgot Candy!"

INT:  So what'd you do?

Jenny:  Set her free.  A year of existing as she was had destroyed 
the abuser within.  We even offered to change her back, but she 
refused.

INT:  I guess that's everything we can cover.  I'd like to thank both 
of you for taking time from your busy schedules to come here.  [to 
camera]  Tune in next week when we'll interview Tiger Long, Asian 
martial arts action star and Whit-chara werecat.  This has been 
Richard Cronos.  Good day.

************ ************
************ ************

That's the war, at least everything the public knows.  A few 
questions persist.  What really happened to Dorina Tempus?  Who was 
Dorina Tempus and where did she get her phenomenally high power? 
What happened to Lois?  What is the current state of the Dark 
Alliance?  And, of course, who is the Master?

Bet most of you think you know the answer to that last one.  Bet most 
of you are only partly right.  I have, in ICQ, email, and various 
chats, asked that question to many, but no one has gotten it all 
right.  The Master has connections to more people than most realize. 
Who is he?  You'll find out in WITCH CHRONICLES 13: AFTERMATH.

But I want to see how obscure I got.  Ever since his introduction in 
WITCH CHRONICLES 7, I have been throwing in clues to his identity, 
some of which referred back all the way to WITCH CHRONICLES 1.  So 
anybody who can tell me the full identity of the Master will get an 
advance copy of part 13 (the only real reward I've got, sorry). 
Partial answers don't count	!

When will part 13 be out?  When you see this, I will have already 
written the basic draft, but others might bring up unanswered 
questions I want to include.  Assuming no one gives me any revising 
questions, anybody getting an advance copy will get it in four days, 
public posting will be in seven.

If someone can give me a revising question, they will get an advance 
copy which will be sent as soon as revisions are finished.  Public 
posting will be two days later (or as soon thereafter if RL 
interferes).

Keep in mind, I may keep some questions unanswered for further 
stories.  I'm not finished with the WITCH CHRONICLES world yet. 
Anybody asking such a question will get an advance copy with the rest.

As a final note, congrats to Little L.  Others may have guessed that 
Bambi was going to be the one to thwart Dorina, but Little L was the 
only one to voice the guess to me.
-- 
----------

All comments, suggestions, etc. may be sent to me at jrdss@micronet.net
I can be reached while online at ICQ# 37222294

-- 
Pursuant to the Berne Convention, this work is copyright with all rights
reserved by its author unless explicitly indicated.
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| alt.sex.stories.moderated ----- send stories to: <ckought69@hotmail.com> |
| FAQ: <http://assm.asstr-mirror.org/faq.html>  Moderator: <story-ckought69@hotmail.com> |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|Archive: <http://assm.asstr-mirror.org> Hosted by Alt.Sex.Stories Text Repository |
|<http://www.asstr-mirror.org>, an entity supported entirely by donations.         |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+