“Right, this should be simple,” Aquila said as they appeared in the alleyway of the new story world and let go of each other’s hands. “Try not to stand out, get to a quiet place in the countryside, and wait it out until tomorrow morning.”

    She looked around at her companions. They were all in their usual travelling clothes. Yukari had her leather bomber jacket and wide brimmed leather hat, Natsuki had her tan houndstooth toggle coat, Cap had his own leather jacket, Sayori was in her pink cotton jacket, Yuri wore her light blue wool coat, and Kasumi had her wool sweater. Aquila idly stroked the popped collar of her black military coat. They were an eclectic lot, but on most of the story worlds they’d be fine. People would just assume they were travelling foreigners and forget about them as soon as they were out of sight.

    “So, this could be tricker than we thought,” Cap said, pointing into the street.

    Aquila turned to look and said, “Oh.”

    Almost none of the passers-by were wearing what Aquila would have called “clothes.” The men were in leather or fur loincloths, and a few wore some sort of leather vest. The women were clad in leather or fur bikinis. Some of them had a strip of leather or fabric running down the front and back of their loincloth, but most didn’t. Most of the men, and quite a few of the women, carried swords on their backs or at their sides.

    “Well, that’s going to be a problem,” Sayori said. “What sort of world did you land us in?”

    “Sword and sorcery, I think,” Cap said. “By the looks of it, not one of the better ones.”

    “In my defense, I was screening to avoid horror worlds and war worlds,” Aquila declared. “This wasn’t either of them, so it seemed safe enough.”

    “We can’t stay here too long,” Natsuki said. “Not if we want to stay hidden.”

    Kasumi sighed. “You’re right...but how are we supposed to blend in to this?”

    Yukari shrugged. “We could strip down to our underwear until we’re out of town.”

    “I’m okay with Cap seeing me in my underwear,” Yuri stated. Cap looked at her and raised an eyebrow, but didn’t appear too displeased.

    “Everybody else would be able to see you in your underwear too,” Sayori pointed out.

    Yuri swallowed. “That I’m less okay with.”

    Aquila shook her head. “It wouldn’t work for us anyway. I doubt any of our undergarments look like that.” She motioned to the passing crowd. “And even if they did, we’d all be so self-conscious about it that we’d draw even more attention to ourselves.” She paused. “Well, maybe all of us except Yukari.”

    Yukari chuckled.

    Aquila straightened up. “So, we’re wizards. Act like you own the place and know how to bend reality to your whims.”

    Kasumi smiled at her. “So, basically, act like you.”

    Aquila smiled back. “Exactly right.”

    “Their language is English,” Cap said. “We’d better all switch. Speaking Japanese will draw too much attention.”

    “You heard the man,” Aquila said in English. “We’re wizards, we’re speaking English, and if anybody asks us about our clothes, just tell them that we’re wizards and wizards wear whatever they like. Now let’s get the hell out of town.”

    Aquila strode into the street, Kasumi at her side and the others following. She glanced up and down the street. Wherever they were, it was crowded and filled with mud and stone brick buildings. Towers rose in the distance. A city, then.

    “We need to get our bearings,” she muttered to Kasumi. Her eyes fell upon a guard in leather armour. “He’ll do.”

    “For what?” Kasumi asked.

    “Directions,” Aquila replied, striding forward and waving to him. “Hello there! We’re travelling wizards from very far away, and we could use a bit of help.”

    The guard stared at her. “Shouldn’t you all be wearing robes?”

    “Robes are for old men with white beards,” Aquila declared. “All the young wizards like us are wearing this.”

    “Some of your friends aren’t,” the guard pointed out.

    “They’re the exceptions that proves the rule,” Aquila stated. “Tell me, what would be the greatest point of interest for a group of powerful wizards like ourselves?”

    “That would be the Tower of the Great Harvester,” the guard said. “They came to this city five years ago, and it is said that they offer virgin sacrifices to their god every full and new moon. Adventurers have tried to infiltrate the tower, but none have ever returned.”

    “Neat!” Aquila heard Yukari say behind her, followed by Sayori hissing, “Not now!”

    “Anything else?” Aquila asked.

    “The southern tower has become infested with monsters,” the guard replied. “The city council has summoned all available adventurers to clear it out.”

    “Very good of them,” Aquila stated with a smile. “Civic-minded to the last, I see. And what lies eastwards of the city, pray tell?”

    “That would be the haunted forest,” the guard answered. “Many have travelled there, but few return who venture off the path.”

    “A road for the truly brave! And to the north?”

    “Oh, that’s just farmland and empty wilderness,” the guard stated. “Nothing of interest to wizards like you there.”

    Aquila gave him a grin. “Thank you so much. You’ve been most helpful. We’ll remember you in our...um...spells.”

    She strode back to Cap and the others. “We’re heading north.”

    “Yes ma’am,” Cap said.

    “When this is over, I want to come back here and check out that Harvester tower,” Yukari said as they wound their way through the city streets. “That sounds like too much fun.”

    “Aren’t you worried about being caught?” Sayori asked.

    Yukari shook her head. “He said they sacrifice virgins. I haven’t been a virgin in ages. Besides, in a worst case, Aquila can just stop time or something.”

    “I don’t think we’re going to be coming back here,” Aquila said. “My war lasted months, and we’re going to want to get as far away as possible. You’ll just have to find some other evil tower to explore.”

    Yukari shrugged. “Easy come, easy go, I guess.”

    After an hour, they come to a large stone gate. Two guards in leather armour stood before it, staring at them.

    Aquila raised her hand in greeting. “Hello there! We’re wizards from far away, and we just finished our visit. I trust the path ahead is nice and uneventful?”

    The guards moved to block the way. “All adventurers have been called to arms to deal with the southern tower. Please report to the guild charter house.”

    “We’re not involved with that,” Aquila stated. “We were just passing through.”

    “Our instructions are to send all adventurers to the charter house. That includes wizards. No exceptions.”

    “We’re not adventurers,” Aquila declared. “We are wizards. We go where we please when we please. Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for...for it will go very badly for you.”

    The guards did not look impressed.

    Cap stepped forward. “Look, we’re not adventurers, or combat wizards. What we are is running late for an important meeting with some very powerful people about three days to the north. And if we have to tell them that one of our number got hurt because we were thrown into a battle by some city council order, then those powerful people – who do include combat wizards – will be very unhappy with this city. Is this really a mess you want to be responsible for?”

    The guards looked at Cap, and then stepped aside.

    “Thank you,” Cap said.

    Aquila took a deep breath as they walked under the gate and along the road into the countryside. No interference from her counterpart. At least, not yet.

    “So, that first part of your line there sounded good,” Cap said to her.

    “It was from this movie I watched in my down time during my war,” Aquila said. “I only remembered half of it, though. It was a good line.”

    “And the movie?” Cap asked.

    “The movie made no damned sense,” Aquila declared. The wind rustled the tree branches above them as they passed through a grove. “It was about this short guy who has to take some evil magic ring and throw it into a volcano. Okay, that’s fine. But he has to throw it into a volcano that is right next to the dark lord’s tower. Why would you do that? Why wouldn’t you take the ring to some other volcano in the opposite direction of the dark lord’s tower? It’s not like the lava is going to be less hot!”

    Beside her, Kasumi chuckled. “I think you may have been missing part of the point.”

    “What point?” Aquila demanded. “Lava doesn’t stop being lava if you go to a different volcano. And don’t even get me started on those giant bird things.”

    “So, you didn’t like it?” Cap said.

    “Oh, I liked it,” Aquila stated. “I watched the extended editions of all three movies. I just didn’t think the plot made any sense, that’s all.”

    Kasumi took her by the arm and laughed. “Aquila, former god of destruction, and Lord of the Rings otaku!”

    “I’m not an otaku,” Aquila stated.

    “Whatever you say,” Kasumi said with a grin.

    “Let’s just get out of sight of the city,” Aquila said. “If we can walk until dusk, we’ll be fine.”

They made camp in the shadow of a hill to hide their campfire from site. While Cap, Yuri, and Sayori set up the tents, Aquila stood at the top of the hill and stared into the distance. The city was out of sight.

    “Please let this be far enough,” she muttered under her breath.

    “Dinner’s ready,” Kasumi called.

    Aquila turned back and nodded. “I’m coming.”

    The discussion was animated and joyful, but Aquila took no notice of it. As she sat on one of the blankets Sayori had laid down for everybody, she just stared at the fire, deep in thought. There was no way her counterpart wouldn’t figure out that she existed – not after they had found the residue from her information stream powers on multiple worlds. And that meant that they were already looking for her.

    Stealth and speed, she thought. It all comes down to stealth and speed. And then there was that room the protagonist had been murdered in...

 

   “I’m turning in,” she heard Yuri tell Cap. Aquila blinked and looked around. Other than the stars overhead, the fire was the only light source. Natsuki, Sayori, and Yukari had already gone back to their tents.

    “Here’s hoping for pleasant dreams,” Cap said, a slight smile on his lips.

    Yuri nodded and gave him a sad smile. “I’ll try...after what I heard you two describe in that room, though...”

    Cap sighed. “I know. Try not to think about it. Think of something pleasant.”

    Yuri’s smile widened. “I’ll think about that lovely dance we had.”

    Cap grinned. “That should work.”

    Yuri’s smile faded. “I hope so,” she said, opened the flap to her tent and climbed in.

    “I’m turning in too,” Kasumi said, giving Aquila a kiss. “Come join me when you’re ready.” She headed off to their tent, leaving Aquila and Cap alone.

    Aquila took a deep breath. “She’s quite a lady,” she said, motioning at Yuri’s tent.

    Cap gave her a sad smile. “That she is. Someday she’ll make some lucky fellow a very happy man.”

    “She’s already making somebody a very happy man,” Aquila stated. “The question is whether he realizes it.”

    Cap sighed. “I’m not oblivious to it. I’m just not sure what to do about it. I can’t give her the life with me that she wants – with my powers even a passionate embrace could kill her. I guess the right thing to do is break it off and let her find somebody else.”

    “That would be remarkably stupid,” Aquila declared. “And it wouldn’t be what either of you want.”

    “I can’t have what I want,” Cap said. “Believe me, I tried once, decades ago, with Janey Jamison. And Janey got...look, it’s not an option, no matter how much I lov...care for them. Not without–”

    “A miracle?” Aquila asked. “The miracle that brought Kasumi back to me and saved me was a once-in-a-lifetime power that probably only worked because it was used at a certain time and place. The miracle that you need can be done on command. All you have to do is ask.”

    “And can it be undone if needed?”

    Aquila shook her head. “Once I’ve reset somebody to their original character description, it’s permanent. I can make minor additions, like giving you the ability to speak a language, but I can’t make somebody fly again or give them back their laser eyes. I’m not infinite, you know.”

    “Then that settles it,” Cap stated. “I have to be able to protect her. That’s what a superhero does for the people they care about, isn’t it?”

    Aquila sighed. “I’m going to tell you some things you don’t want to hear. The first is that I wasn’t kidding when I said that somebody like you is an easy target to somebody like me, and we are up against somebody at least as powerful as I am. Protecting Yuri through this isn’t going to be on your shoulders – it’s going to be on mine, whether you like it or not.

    “The second is that ever since you two started dating – and you are dating, even if you’re not doing it like we Japanese do – your smile has always reached your eyes. You are actually happy, and you are making her happy too. Destroying that out of some misplaced sense of obligation or nobility would be the height of stupidity.

    “And the third is that even if you did do what you’re thinking of doing, it wouldn’t make a difference. She would never leave your side for as long as she lives. So would you rather she be at your side happy, or heartbroken?”

    “You’re not making this easy,” Cap said.

    “It’s very easy,” Aquila said. “You just need to do what’s right for the two of you. And as I said, your miracle can be done on command.”

    Cap nodded. “I’ll think about it – when she’s safe.” He stared at her. “So that was what you wanted to say. Now what’s really on your mind?”

    Aquila chuckled. “Am I that obvious?”

    “You were staring into space for almost three hours,” Cap replied. “Besides, I know my best friend.”

    “And here I thought Yuri had supplanted me.”

    “Yuri is the dearest person in the world to me,” Cap stated. “But she’s not my best friend – you are. So what’s troubling you?”

    “The battle in that room where the protagonist was killed makes no sense,” Aquila declared.