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This story is a work of fiction and contains adult situations. No character depected as engaging in sexual activity is under the age of 18. No one under the age of 18 should be reading past this disclaimer. All characters are copyright Radical Gopher.

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PINS AND NEEDLES - Part XVII

"I don't understand," muttered Gwen. "No matter how hard I try I can't sense Cypriana's presence anywhere. I can feel her influence..."

"I know," replied the djin. "It's like she was here, but now she's not."

"Is it possible Dr. Aryan already expel her from the dream?"

Sapphire looked around. "Maybe... But I still get a sense of something out of kilter. If Aryan were in control, there'd be some order or logic to this dream. It still feels... confused."

Since entering the painting the two women had found themselves traveling down a long, dark corridor. The few doors they'd come across led nowhere. The further along they traveled, the more it became obvious the passage was slowly curving to the right and descending.

"This is taking too long," the skunkette muttered. "Maybe we should try shifting directly to where she's hiding."

"If we do, then it means we have to interact with the dream. She'll know we're here."

"That'll will happen sooner or later anyway," Gwen replied. "If we go straight to her, even if she senses us coming, she'll have almost no time to prepare. Add the fact you're in here with me, which she probably doesn't expect, and we can still get the drop on her."

Sapphire thought about it for a moment, then nodded in agreement. "Why don't you do the honors," she said, linking arms with the skunkette.

Gwen smiled, then closed her eyes and focused. She pictured the unicorn in her mind and reached out, imagining that she were standing no more than a few feet in front of her. The dancer took a deep breath, held it... and nothing happened.

"Cypriana's not here," she said, looking at Sapphire.

"Let me try," the djin said. She repeated the same steps as the skunkette. Again, nothing happened.

"Maybe we should join Victor. If he's with Dr. Aryan he might have already gotten her to..." Gwen's eyes suddenly went wide and her body shook. Something... some piece of herself, of her soul felt as if it had been brutally ripped away. She looked over at Sapphire. The djin was on her knees, shivering violently and clutching at her womb. The skunkette knew instantly they were both feeling the same thing. Something had happened to Victor.

* * * *

Saul sat down next to Pepper and handed her a couple of aspirin and a glass of water. "Here... I found these in that private bathroom over there."

"Thanks," she muttered, popping the tablets in her mouth and drinking about half the water. "I don't know where this headache came from, but it almost feels like a migraine."

"Maybe its all this magic we've been dealing with. I'm still having a hard time getting my mind around the idea."

"We should try looking at it the way Vic does."

"How's that?" asked Saul.

"He told me he just thinks of it as a new and undeveloped kind of theoretical physics. Something that goes beyond what we know now, but that somewhere, somehow it hooks in with Quantum Theory."

"No wonder you've got a headache," her partner chuckled. He saw Pepper wince in pain. Sitting down beside her Saul reached up and began massaging the vixen's temples, hoping to relieve some of the tension.

"I think that when we're all done here, we'll go home and take a vacation from our vacation," Saul rumbled. "That way we can forget all this magic nonsense and re-hook into reality." Pepper seemed to tremor for a moment or two and Saul looked at her worriedly. "Are you alright? Should I stop?"

"No," the vixen replied. "I just feel a little queasy and light-headed... Almost like... like..." Her voice faded and for a instant her expression went blank.

"Like what?" Saul asked.

Before he could get an answer he was interrupted by a thrashing sound. The detective looked up and saw Victor, moving convulsively on the bed. Rising, he was beside the Zorr in only two steps. Pepper's cousin was shaking violently, his limbs rigid and flecks of both blood and foam spackling his muzzle. Both eyelids were open and his pupils were the size of pinpricks.

Saul held the todd down with one hand and tried to feel for a pulse. The Zorr's heart was beating so rapidly he couldn't count it. Victor suddenly went limp. "Pepper... you'd better get over here and help me. Something's wrong. We need to wake them up!"

"No... No, I don't think so," came the unexpected reply.

Saul's head jerked up. He stared, unbelieving at his partner. She had her service weapon out and aimed at him. The expression on her face was one he'd never seen before. Anger, sorrow, happiness, frustration... he'd seen them all at one time or another; but never this, never cruelty. When she had spoken her voice was half an octave lower and held a mocking, seductive tone.

"Pepper?"

The vixen laughed. "Sorry... your friend isn't home at the moment, and may never be again for that matter, unless you do exactly what I say. Now... very slowly and carefully, take out your weapon and drop it on the floor in front of me."

Saul stood bit by bit and did as instructed, carefully moving between his partner and the others. "Pepper... it's me. Saul... your partner... remember?"

"Saul?" the vixen replied. "Short for Solomon I take it." She looked the giant up and down briefly. "My, for a human you are quite tall, aren't you?" she grinned, licking her lips. "What are you, exactly... part hill giant?"

"Hill giant? Pepper... what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong... Solomon," the Zorr smiled. "It's just your friend, Pepper, isn't here any more. You can call me Cypriana."

"I don't understand," Saul responded, taking a step toward the vixen.

"Uh Uh! No you don't. You can stay right there where I can see you. Just because I'm new to this body doesn't mean I can't tap your friend's memories and know how to use this," she said, waving the pistol.

"You've taken over her mind?"

"More or less," the mage replied. "It's rather intriguing. I've done this kind of thing dozens of times. Of course, that was before Kurok and I were trapped in the tapestry. Ensnaring peoples' minds becomes second nature for one such as I, but this is the first time I've done it without the aid of magic. Do all constructs have this... what should I call it... slave button in the back of their minds?"

"I wouldn't know." Saul replied.

The vixen pursed her lips. "Somehow, I think you do." She glanced down at Victor who by now was barely breathing. "I know he doesn't have one, but his... cousin... does. Not that it matters. You and your friends will be dead soon enough," she replied, brandishing the pistol to emphasize her point.

Saul chuckled mockingly

"Do you find that idea funny?"

"In a way. I thought you were some kind of all-powerful, evil witch," the detective taunted her. "Yet here you are threatening to kill me with a gun."

The vixen's mouth curled into a malevolent smile. "How clever for you to have noticed," she teased, "especially considering you are a mundane." She chuckled to herself. "Well, since you are about to die I might as well satisfy your curiosity. First, you must understand that despite what you've been told I am not a witch... I'm a necromancer."

"So?"

"So?" the sorceress said, slightly annoyed with Saul's tone, "to make a long story short, Kurok and I draw our magic, our power, from death. With our true bodies trapped in the tapestry, neither of us have any power until we... how should I say it? Send someone to meet his or her maker."

"You mean murder them," observed Saul.

"Well. If you want to be crude about it..." she said, raising the weapon and cocking it. "Yes!"

* * * *

Victor had never known such agony. His body refused to respond to him other than to jerk and writhe on the cold stone floor. He dimly wondered if he was having a heart attack. It was possible. Both Gwen and Sapphire had warned him that any injury suffered while dream walking could be mirrored in the real world.

Kurok looked down on the Zorr, sneering at Victor's torture. "So, little toy... How does it feel, to be stabbed through the chest?" He laughed. "Does it hurt? What color is your suffering? White hot... like a heated poker being driven through your heart?" The lion growled, scraping his claws across Victor. "You don't have to answer that. I already know. I remember when you rammed that broken sword into my chest. Well... as they say... no good deed goes unpunished." He turned away, then paused and looked back at the todd. "Don't worry," Kurok added. "Even though you probably wish you were dead right now, I won't let you die. Not yet anyway. First I want you to watch me while I rend Krystalla apart, piece-by-piece."

The lion circled to face Alyssa. The human was leaning against one wall, shakily standing on her feet. Kurok watched in amusement as she straightened to face him. The ragged welts scarring her back and thighs slowly closed. Her face was tired but determined.

"What do you think you are doing... toy?"

"What I have to do... What I would have done long ago if I had understood!" She pushed her hand into the wall, sending ripples racing around the room. A portion of the ceiling abruptly shaped itself into a rectangle and slammed down where the lion stood. Kurok dodged, roaring in anger.

"You DARE!" he snarled. "You are nothing... NOTHING... save a pawn for MY thought... MY will!" He roared and the shadows closed in from all sides, throwing the world into darkness.

"Your thoughts?" Alyssa challenged from the blackness. "I don't think so... not here...not it MY dream." A small sphere of light coalesced in front of her, expanding outward, burning away the shadows surrounding her. "I have no fucking idea who you are or where you came from, but as of right now you are out of here!"

The light suddenly filled the whole room, bleaching out shadow and color alike, leaving behind it an eerie photo effect like over exposed film. The shadow spike that had impaled Victor vanished. The todd groaned and tried to push himself back to his feet. He knew that while he might be physically unharmed, he was mentally exhausted, and in here that was what counted. He looked up. Through the brightness he could barely make out the vague shapes of Kurok and Dr. Aryan.

The lion roared his defiance again. A swirling cloud of sand began filling the room, scouring and blasting everything it touched. Victor yelled a warning and threw himself flat against the stone. Caught in the sand storm's path Alyssa felt her skin being slowly peeled away. She staggered back against the wall, screaming. Unable to focus, she once more surrendered control of the dream to Kurok.

In an instant she found herself shackled to the wall, dazed and confused by the haze of pain she felt. At a nod from Kurok her skin grew back, once more unblemished. He looked down on the human with distain. "Are you now quiet finished... toy?"

A small object suddenly slammed into his back, ripping and shredding his hide. The lion howled in pain and rolled, trying to dislodge it. Victor jumped clear, flapping his small wings. He spat a fireball at Kurok, catching him in the face once more and igniting his mane. The necromancer dove into a nearby wall, smothering the flames, momentarily leaving the pseudo-dragon alone with Alyssa

Victor went over to her, but the woman appeared to be in shock and unable to respond. Her efforts had drained her completely.

A slow, deep, echoing laugh rolled across the room like thunder. "As you see you cannot win. Not here. Her mind is too exhausted to put up more than a token struggle." A figure stepped out of the wall. It was human in form with dark, sun-baked skin. His robes were similar to those of an Arabian caliph, only blood red with black trim and he sported a black goatee peppered with streaks of gray.

He looked at Victor and smiled evilly. "It was a valiant effort... and one that was rather impressive for a powerless mundane such as you. But now, I grow bored with this game. It ends now." He waved a hand. The pseudo-dragon vanished, replaced by Victor's normal form. "Oh, and by the way," Kurok rumbled, "thank you for your help in breaking her will."

He waved his hand. The Zorr was catapulted through the wall and out of the house. He found himself falling, tumbling uncontrollably through the air. Closing his eyes he tried to focus on his dragon form, but he found himself unable to change. The last thing he saw and felt was the ground.

Satisfied, Kurok turned his attention back to Alyssa. Kneeling before her he placed both hands on either side of her head and gazed into her eyes. "Finally... you and I will be one. With your mind and body I can finally step free of the tapestry, break its curse and rule as I was destined... as a god!" He smiled, then suddenly stiffened in alarm and turned, releasing Dr. Aryan. Two figures stepped from the wall, one a Lappe, the other a blue-furred Zorr.

Sapphire turned to Gwen. "You go find Victor," she instructed. "I'll handle Kurok." The skunkette hesitated for a moment, then silently nodded and disappeared.

The necromancer smiled wickedly at the djin. "Well, if it isn't Krystalla, come to claim her pet construct. I'm sorry to say you just missed him." Kurok glanced at the vixen's figure and his eyebrows shot up in amusement. "OH MY! Now this is just too much. You're carrying HIS child." He laughed derisively at her. "Krystalla... the all powerful... reduced to carrying the child for a half-human fox."

"I would be careful, Kurok... as I once said, your arrogance will be your death."

"Are you threatening me?" He laughed again. "You forget... I know your limitations. You cannot kill, not even in here in this dream where I am as vulnerable as your 'pet' was."

"Was?"

"Come now Krystalla... Don't fain ignorance. You shared a bond with him... slave to master. You know he died here while dream walking. You know what that means."

Sapphire lowered her head and closed her eyes. She remained silent, desperately trying to quell the feeling of panic; of fear and loss that washed through her. Outwardly, she remained stoic, even as she felt a potency building within her that confirmed those fears.

"It must gall you to think your own nature prevents you from ending my life, no matter how much you believe I deserve it The irony is that even if you were to go against your nature, you cannot kill me here... Not now!" He gestured with one hand and the landscape changed from that of a dungeon to a Roman arena. "You see. I control her dreams now. Her thoughts, her will are now mine and soon I shall walk the world once more, free of your curse."

The djin saw that Dr. Aryan was still with them, trapped within an iron cage that hung suspended above the arena floor. She smiled grimly and gestured. There was a blinding blue and white flash of energy that washed over everything, yet changed nothing.

Kurok laughed. "Do you see now? Nothing can change here unless I so will it. You are powerless."

"Perhaps she's powerless... But I'M NOT!"

The necromancer whirled and found himself standing face to face with Alyssa Aryan. All the emptiness, the exhaustion, the defeat had vanished from her face. Her eyes were crystal clear and blazing with anger. "Maybe she cannot kill you... but this is my dream and I most certainly can." Doors opened along the arena walls... hundreds of pale-yellow eyes peered from the darkness there; accompanied by a chorus of growls that seemed to shake the walls of the arena itself.

"I like your choice of setting, Lord Kurok," Alyssa said. "I've always been something of an admirer of classical architecture."

Kurok gestured, but suddenly found he could not influence the dream any more. He shifted back to the form of a Numidian lion and tried to run, only to find he was collared and chained to a pillar in the center of the arena.

"Tell me," Alyssa asked... "Have you ever read Julius Caesar? My favorite quote from that starts 'Cry Havoc...' but then, I'm sure you know the rest."

* * * *

Saul couldn't believe it was happening again. He was staring down the barrel of Pepper's gun, waiting for her to fire. It was the kind of thing that got old very fast.

Standing next to the bed the detective heard Victor take a long, deep breath. His body trembled and he abruptly let it out in a long, tired sigh. His chest did not rise again. Saul cursed and reached down, feeling for a pulse. There was none.

"Step away from him," Cypriana ordered.

"Pepper... please! We need to help him."

"Oh don't worry. I'll help him. But first, I think I'll feast on your essence. Then I can deal with the others at my leisure." The sorceress braced herself and pulled the trigger... or at least tried to. It was almost as if her hand had locked up in a painful cramp.

"What the hell?" To her dismay Cypriana watched as her arm began slowly, inexorably curling back, raising the gun away from her partner. Saul took a step forward and the gun hand shot out again, warning him off.

"Let go you crazy bitch." Cypriana seemed to be yelling at no one other than herself. "Stop it... STOP IT!" Again, her arm curled back and down until the weapon's muzzle was planted firmly underneath her chin.

"WHAT... NO! NO! YOU'LL KILL US... YOU'LL KILL US BOTH!

Pepper's body shook violently as if every muscle were straining against itself. A thin trickle of blood seeped out of her nose pad. It was joined by a similar thread that soaked the fur around her right ear. The shaking became more violent.

"NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO.............. YES!" There was a wailing scream of fear and rage. The vixen's head jerked and the gun went off with a roar. Pepper collapsed onto the carpet.

"PEPPER!" Saul leapt forward and knelt next to his partner. An angry red welt ran diagonally along the right side of her muzzle where the bullet had grazed her. Black powder burns darkened her fur along that side. The vixen opened her eyes and looked up into Saul's agonized face. She smiled ruefully.

"She's gone... I scared the bitch out of my head." Pepper took a breath and sat up. She gestured toward the bed. "I'm okay! Help him... Help Vic. Please!"

Saul stood and went back to the bed. He lifted Victor off, laid him flat on the floor and began administering CPR. Pepper joined him about a minute later. The two detectives worked silently for several, very long minutes. Their efforts were rewarded when the todd took a gasping breath on his own and coughed. His eyes blinked open and he looked around in confusion.

"What just happened?"

Pepper wrapped her arms around him and hugged him gently. Moments later there was a moan from the bed and Gwen sat up. She looked around frantically. "VICTOR?"

"Down here!" he replied.

The skunkette practically fell off the bed scrambling to reach his side. She clasped him to her crying. "Oh gods! I couldn't find you... I couldn't find you anywhere in the dream. I though you were... were..." She sobbed with relief.

The todd wove his fingers through her hair, comforting her. "I'm alright. Everything's going to be alright now."

"What the hell is going on here?" came a confused voice. "And why exactly is everyone naked?" Alyssa Aryan sat up and looked around. "Professor Peabody?"

"Welcome home," Victor said.

"What's happening here? What's going on?"

The todd chuckled ruefully. "I'm sure we can explain everything just as soon as my mate wakes up."

"You mean Sapphire?"

"Yes," Victor nodded.

"Well...Where is she?" Aryan asked.

The Zorr looked next to Alyssa, but there was no one else on the bed. The blue-furred vixen had vanished.

To be concluded.