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CHAPTER 5

Paul's display of the keys was cut short by a flash of light behind the group. Ace, Kathy and Caravello did not turn to see, but Peter and Paul stared as the Ancient One's dead body disappeared.

"Wow," Peter commented to himself more than to the group. "So that's how it happens."

Ace saw Peter's reaction and took a brief look behind his shoulder. "Oh, yeah, Pete. Clean up is a breeze once you kill them. They're like the quicker-picker-upper."

Ace smiled at his joke and the others took it in stride for once, too exhausted for even a good-nature groan. Paul put Gene's keys into his jacket pocket and looked at Kathy. "So what do we do now? How do we find them?"

Kathy did not even have to think about Paul's question. "Well, there's a strong possibility that they could be at Gene's apartment."

"But how would she know where that is?" Paul questioned.

"How did we know where to find you all in the first place, Curly?" Ace replied. "We had to have some idea of your normal whereabouts in order to make sure we found you. Susie would know Gene's place just out of necessity."

Peter sighed in relief. "So there's a good chance that they may be okay?"

"Possibly," Ace stated. "It's also possible that she may have interpreted 'home' to mean her home and took him back to the war-zone where the Ancient Ones are. It's also possible she may have taken him to her old home to London. It's also possible that she could have just completely lost it and they're sucking vacuum in space as we speak."

"Ace!" Kathy and Caravello angrily shouted in unison.

Ace could not see Caravello's expression as he had turned away the moment he had spoken, but Ace could see Kathy's stern look and tried to recover. "Uh . . . hypothetically speaking, of course." "So they could be practically anywhere," Peter said in disappointment.

"Well, the only way to find out is to go searching for them." Kathy turned to Caravello, then walked around him until she was in his vision. "I can start with Gene's apartment in Connecticut and Ace can do a quick search ­"

Caravello snapped out of his thoughts once Kathy began discussing her plans for the group. He frowned as he cut her off. "No. We've wasted too much time as it is. We've got to get started on finding the break in the timeline."

Kathy was taken aback by Caravello's words. "What do you mean? We've got to find out what's happened to Susie and Gene."

Paul saw Kathy getting defensive. "I agree with Kathy," Paul said to Caravello. "After all, you forced us into this, the least you can do is make sure we're safe."

Caravello turned to Paul with no reaction on his face. "He's with Susie. If there's anyone that can make sure he's safe, it's her."

"I don't know, man." Peter chimed in. "The way she was talking to him earlier I think she would just as likely drop a boulder on his face than on one of those spider-things we just saw."

"Aw, Susie's okay, Pete," Ace waved a hand as if to wipe away Peter's impression of Susie.

"She may hate his guts ­ and that seems to be a normal impression with him ­ but she would never do anything to physically hurt him. Mentally, that's another story."

"I don't know, man," Peter said.

Caravello spoke up. "Trust me. I know. As long as he doesn't go wandering off again, he'll be safe with her."

"But we really should make sure." Kathy interjected.

Caravello shook his head. "We just don't have the time. The longer we spend away from getting to the heart of the problem, the better chance Blackwell has of stopping us."

"But they could be in danger," Paul moved over to Kathy as he spoke to Caravello. "Someone should find out for sure that they're okay."

"We don't have time for this. End of discussion. Sorry, folks." Caravello tried to make the last comment sound humorous, but the stress in his voice made the comment sound more rude than funny.

"What is wrong with you?" Confusion filled Kathy's face as she tried to decipher Caravello's actions. "This isn't like you at all. You act like you don't care what has happened to Susie."

Caravello blinked a couple of times as he let Kathy's words sink in. He then began walking towards Ace and Peter.

"I thought you loved her," Kathy cried after him.

Caravello immediately did an about-face and began walking quickly back to Kathy with a gloved finger pointing at her. "Don't tell me what I'm thinking."

For a moment Paul thought he would have to move between the two, yet his concern was tempered when Caravello stopped a couple of feet from Kathy. Kathy, however, stood her ground and stared coolly and defiantly into Caravello's eyes as he spoke.

"Don't tell me about my feelings. Don't tell me what you think you know about me. I don't care if you are an empath or the Amazing Kreskin, you don't know what's going on inside my head right now. So just drop it."

"Hey," Paul spoke up, "you don't have to talk to her like that."

"Mr. Stanley," Caravello said without even looking at him, "I appreciate it if you would just butt the hell out for a minute or I'll do it for you."

Kathy spoke before Paul could respond to Caravello's threat. "If this was the other way around, Susie would be looking for you."

"And she would be wrong in doing so. Tell her, Ace."

Ace nearly jumped when he heard his name mentioned. He stammered a bit as he tried to piece together his thoughts. "Uh . . . Kathy, he's right. Um . . . you see . . . every minute we waste, Blackwell has more time to track us down and stop us from finding the change in the timeline and fixing it. Heck, he may even have wanted Susie and Gene to disappear so we would go chasing after them. It may even be a trap."

"But you don't know, Ace." Kathy shot Ace a glance then looked back at Caravello who was still watching her every move. "You can't be sure, Paul. She could be in serious trouble."

"And if we go after them and it is a trap? Then what, Kathy?" Caravello said the words with no humor.

"Then we find a way to get out of it. Just like we always have."

Caravello shook his head. "This isn't like the old days, Kathy. We can't take the risk. This is our last chance to fix the world and nothing can stand in the way."

Caravello studied Kathy for a moment, but still saw that his words had no effect on her stance. Grinding his teeth, he turned back around and once again started towards Ace.

Kathy called after him. "Nothing stands in the way of your plan? Not even her love for you?" Caravello halted. He watched the wind blow through the grass for a moment, refusing to turn to face Kathy.

"No. Not even love."

Caravello moved forward and was about to speak to Ace when Kathy raised her voice to the group. Caravello, Peter and Ace all turned and could feel the fury building inside of Kathy as each word left her lips.

"I, not for one minute, can't believe that our destiny comes down to discarding our friends like rubbish when we still have the ability to do what's right. You," Kathy said, pointing a finger so quickly at Caravello that he felt as if a knife had gone into his chest as she stabbed it forward, "may have forgotten what we stand for, but I haven't. If one of us falls, we all fall and I would rather be at my friend's side doing what is right ­ no, what is the only thing we can do ­ than lose sight of our humanity by leaving our friends to die."

Caravello could not decide if he felt numb or anger with each word Kathy spoke.

Kathy's eyes were moist, leaving her to hold her head higher to avoid the possible tears she felt inside her. "You loved her, Paul. You came along at a time when we needed you and you saved her when all was lost for her. Not once, but twice. When I saw you two together at times, I felt that there was always the chance things would be right with the world because it seemed so right with you two. I thought . . . I thought . . .."

Kathy's voice gave out, although she tried to keep her head high. Paul wrapped a hand around her arm in concern and Kathy turned to see his face.

Caravello felt the need to do the same as Paul, but knew it would make little difference. "Kathy, you have to understand. We have to be rational about ­"

Kathy twisted her head back to Caravello. "No, I don't have to understand. We're humans. At least I am. And if I want to do something that damn irrational in order to save my friend I will."

Kathy looked over Caravello's shoulder to Ace. "Ace, will you help me find Susie?"

Ace opened his mouth, and then just as quickly shut it again. He shook his head. "I can't, Kathy," he spoke with concern edging his words. "You should listen to what he's is saying."

Kathy tried not to show the surprise on her face. She instead looked over at Peter. Kathy saw that Peter's attention was directed solely on Ace and she immediately could tell that he was looking to Ace for guidance and would follow his lead on the matter.

She turned back to Paul, who was next to her. Who had been beside her during most of the battle that had just occurred. Who still had his hand around her arm.

"Paul?"

Paul did not even need to hear the question again. "I'll help you, Kathy. I want to find Gene just as much as you want to find Susie."

Kathy turned back to Caravello, showing what little triumph she could on her face. "Goodbye, Paul. I hope you save the world, but we have to save our friends."

Caravello started approaching Kathy and Paul. "Kathy, if you'll just listen to what ­"

Without another word, Kathy lifted her hand. Within a second the two were gone, leaving Caravello to stare into empty space just as he had when Susie and Gene disappeared.

Peter watched Caravello ball up a fist and begin punching it into the open palm of his other hand.

"Nuts . . . damn," Caravello muttered. "Damn . . . damn . . . damn."

Caravello faced Ace and Peter for a moment then spoke. "Okay, let's go."

"Waitaminute," Peter said, "What about the others? What are you going to do about them?"

"We can't wait, Peter," Caravello said as he walked back to the two. "And we don't have a choice."

"I don't understand," Peter shook his head. "You've got a choice."

Ace understood Peter's confusion. "You should have told her. We should have let her in on it." Peter was even more confused by the comment. "What are you talking about?"

Ace looked at Caravello, but when no response came, Ace turned to Peter. "There's another side to the coin here, Pete. You see, when we were fighting in the war, Blackwell seemed to always be one jump ahead of us. At the time we thought it was just because he could follow us somehow on the Elders' homeworld. Survey us somehow, y'know. But Paul and I began to suspect that it was more than that."

Caravello finally spoke up. "We thought there might be a spy among us. But we couldn't be for sure if it was Kathy or Susie. Heck, we weren't even sure about each other until we had those flashes of the alternate history hit us. Now Susie disappears with one of our only links to the proper past and it's quite possible that they're both in the hands of Blackwell."

"Or worse," Ace continued, "that it's a trap to get the rest of us."

"And now, Kathy has gone after them. Dammit, Ace, I thought it would be too risky and now I've probably sent them into a trap."

"Hey, Paul, you weren't alone in this. I was thinking the same thing."

"Well, shouldn't we go after them?" Peter asked.

Ace replied quicker than Caravello could. "No. If we do, we could be falling right into a trap. Besides, if we find out where Blackwell had changed history and fix it, then they'll be safe no matter what."

"How?" Peter was trying to grasp all the information spilling forth, but it was still not quite clear in his mind as to what was going on.

"It works like this, Peter," Ace replied. "If we go back and fix the past so that you, me, Gene, Paul and Paul here became the Guardians, then Blackwell will never have had the chance to change the past anyway. Therefore, Susie and Kathy will both have gone back to their original pasts and be safe from anything happening to them now. Understand?"

"No. If we stopped Blackwell in the original timeline, then how did he get to change the timeline in the first place?"

"Er . . . um . . ." Ace tried to find an answer to Peter's question. "Uh, that we don't know. How did you get so smart all of a sudden anyway, Pete?"

Caravello chuckled a little at Ace's befuddlement. "Okay, you've got us, Pete. We're not sure how, but that's beside the point now. All we can do is see what will happen once we fix the timeline."

Peter thought about it for a second, and then shrugged. "Not like there's a lot I can do about changing your minds. I mean I can't go anywhere. But don't you need Paul and Gene?"

"If we had all three of you together it would have been easier to piece together where the timeline changed. Still, we can work it out with just your help, Peter."

"Well, what do you need me to do?"

"Think back," Ace said in as soothing of a voice as he could muster. "We know for a fact that the three of you were destined to be together, and you obviously know each other. Therefore, there must have been a rift at some point that sent you all on different paths. That must be the point where Blackwell made the change. Once that occurred, you were no longer in the right place at the right time for the Elders."

Peter shook his head up and down in understanding as he thought back over the years. "Well, that's pretty easy then. I know exactly when it happened."

"Okay then," Ace said, grabbing hold of Peter's hand and that of Caravello's hand as well. "Take us there."

"What?" Peter said, feeling somewhat embarrassed about holding another man's hand. "You mean, I just think of it and we'll go there."

"No, I'm holding your hand because I think you're cute," Ace smirked. "Of course I mean just think of the place and we'll go there. I can read some minor thoughts in your mind when I'm in contact with you. So can Paul here. Kathy could do it better and clearer, but . . .."

"Uh, okay," Peter said. He squinted his eyes as tightly as possible as he concentrated on where they were to go.

Ace burst out laughing. "Uh, Pete, don't have a conniption. Just think about it casually. I'll get us there from that."

"Oh," Peter opened his eyes and felt some frustration and further embarrassment sweep over him.

"It's okay, Peter," Caravello said, feeling sympathy towards Peter. "Ace takes a bit of getting used to."

"That's for sure," Peter commented.

"Okay, I think we're ready," Ace replied, ignoring the other two and their comments.

"Wait," Peter said. "There's still a question I can't quite figure out."

"Yeah?"

"Why do you suspect Susie more than Kathy as being the spy? I mean, sure women in general turn on you, but what's the difference? What makes Susie so much more of a suspect than Kathy?"

Ace looked at Caravello then turned to Peter. "Because Susie knows Blackwell better than Kathy does. She might have been swayed to help him because of their past together."

"I don't understand."

Caravello took a breath and then looked at Peter just as Ace raised his hand to send them into Limbo. "Susie and Blackwell used to be lovers."

Peter felt the hair on the back of his head rise as the bright light engulfed them all.

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Artwork by Larry Blake
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