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  "I‚I think we did it," Cat eeked out, holding her head. They staggered to their feet, weak as can be.

  "Yes, Cat," Jimmy said. "We did it." They all looked at each other. "We better get out of here before someone sees us. I'll catch up with you tomorrow." They nodded, and in a flash, teleported away. Jimmy went over to Karen and looked at her. He saw her stir, and he grabbed her hand. She pulled back, and pulled herself to her feet. She leaned in to him, and without warning, their lips met. She kissed him, softly at first, but then more intensely as he seemed to kiss her back. When they both let go, and their eyes opened and met, she looked back in amazement. It was then she smiled‚just a little bit‚.and with the snap of her fingers, she was gone. Jimmy stood there for a moment, not sure himself what just happened, but when he heard voices behind him, his reaction was to activate his teleporter‚and he too vanished into nothingness.

  Chapter 16 - A Little Spellbound

  * * *

  16

  "A Little Spellbound"

  Jimmy opened his eyes and found himself in a field of grass, with land stretching as far as he could see. He slowly sat up, and stood up, dusting off his blue jeans and golden buttoned-down shirt. He looked at his hands, and at his shirt‚.a shirt he was unfamiliar with and had never worn.

  "How peculiar," he thought to himself. Suddenly a light breeze rushed by him, and he closed his eyes. He turned around and opened them‚.and for a second he saw a vision of Lauren.

  "Get out of my mind!" she screamed. "I hate you!" Jimmy was startled, and the vision vanished. He staggered backwards and bumped into something. When he turned around, he looked at a woman in a moderately conservative white dress, her long flowing blonde hair adorned with a single flower. It was only when she turned around, he recognized her.

  "Chrissy?" Jimmy asked.

  "It's so peculiar," she replied. "It's like I'm wandering in a dream. Is this your dream or mine?" She pondered for a second, then a wave of thought consumed her. "No. This has to be your dream. Then why am I here? It's almost as if I'm a part of your memory."

  "I don't understand it either," Jimmy says, feeling a bit guarded. "I feel lost."

  "Karen referred to this as 'the field of the mind'," she replied. "A dream, a memory, a realm. She and I walked on neutral ground. This would appear to be your ground‚.and you let me in?"

  "Does this have something to do with the Ultimate Power?" Jimmy asked.

  "Maybe," she replied. "You seem so real." She went to touch Jimmy's face, and storm clouds rolled in. The wind picked up and the weather became violent. "The storms represent turmoil." Suddenly a gust hit her, and she was swept into the air and away. "Jimmy!"

  Jimmy attempted to run after her, but stopped dead in his tracks when he came face to face with another woman‚.someone he was very unfamiliar with.

  "Don't you remember me?" she said to him, staring at him with malice. "You have no idea, do you? How many times did I lay next to you? I knew what you wanted, but it didn't matter! And you had the GAUL to look me in the eye and want to be more than friends? You don't even realize how pathetic you are! Did you honestly think I would ever love YOU? You make me sick!" The storms raged louder, and suddenly Jimmy's mind became ravaged in nightmare.

  "NO!" he screamed, as he turned to run. But when he did, his eyes opened‚this time for real.

  * * *

  Jimmy sat up in bed, broken out in a cold sweat. He looked down at his hands, and they were the same. He did notice that he was not dressed, and that the outfit he had seen really didn't exist. He shook his head and got up from the bed, getting himself dressed, and leaving for breakfast. As he was walking out the door, he looked back and outside his window he could see a light snowflake falling as a flurry moved in.

  "How can something so pure‚.be so cold?" he asked himself as he left.

  * * *

  Walking down the stairwell, Jimmy noticed his breath condensing before him.

  "Damn heating system broke again?" he said to himself. "Getting early winter weather, and they can't even think to fix the heat?" He noticed a lot of other people there were bundled up, except for the one TC, Chuck. He was in shorts and a t-shirt. He's as hairy as an ape, so most people just shrugged it off to good use. Jimmy quickly ran through the lobby and into the cafeteria, managing to pick up a few items, including a bowl of cereal before heading to his usual table. As he approached though‚.he saw three people he never thought would be sitting together. Ron, his friend and colleague from down the hall, Bridgett, the not so modestly bitchy classmate of Jimmy's who always had a tendency to be grumpy, and Janie, Jimmy's first ex-girlfriend. He shook his head and gently sat down, staring at the three of them. Silence continued as Jimmy went to lift his spoon out of the bowl, and the whole clump of milk and cereal, frozen into a block, lifted out of the bowl with it.

  "Ice cream, anyone?" Jimmy asked nonchalantly, trying to break the ice. No one commented. After some silence, Jimmy spoke again. "So what on earth are the three of you doing here, let alone sitting at the same table together?"

  "I transferred in," Janie replied. "It's a long story. But I'm also heavily involved in the music department here. You really need to come see us perform." Things between her and Jimmy had been awkward since back then, and at least to him, it showed.

  "Yeah," he replied. "I'll have to." He turned to Bridgett. "What about you?"

  "Um‚.I go here?" Bridgett sneered.

  "I mean at this table," Jimmy said.

  "To be honest, I really don't know," she replied. "But I'll stay anyway."

  As they continued to try and enjoy breakfast, Jimmy suddenly grabbed his head. His ears began to ring, and the whole room began to spin. He suddenly started to dart in and out of consciousness, as though something in his mind were trying to draw him in. He heard a scream‚a voice out of nowhere, and he fell out of his chair to the floor. He began to shake and spasm, and as he slipped further and further into unconsciousness, his visions took the form of him lying next to that woman in his dreams‚the two of them wrapped up in one another's arms, his hands caressing her body‚.but all the while popping out of consciousness briefly to the screams in his ears. The TCs cleared the area around him as everything for him went black.

  * * *

  Jimmy awoke a half hour later in his bed, surrounded by the TCs and his friends. He slowly sat up and looked over at Ron.

  "What happened?" he asked.

  "You fell out of your chair and went into some kind of trance," he replied. "It was tough, but we got you up here."

  "The last thing I remember was seeing these visions," Jimmy replied. "All I could feel was pain‚.and not know why. Am I going insane?"

  "Yes," Bridgett sneered.

  "Come on," Janie said, "this is serious."

  "So you have no idea what happened?" asked Mike.

  "I don't know," replied Jimmy. "It felt like it was tearing my mind apart."

  "You sure it isn't anything physical?" asked Matt, the Resident Director. "Are you allergic to anything?"

  "Maybe it's the milk," remarked Charlie, another of the dorm's residents.

  "I think I'll be fine," Jimmy replied. "I think I just need some rest."

  "If you say so," Matt replied. "Try and get some rest and take the day off from classes. Come on everyone, let's go." At that, they all left Jimmy's room, and he locked the door behind them.

  "I have a bad feeling about this," Jimmy said to himself as he began to send out a distress beacon from his TD. He sat down on the bed, and in a split second, a flash of light appeared behind him.

  "I felt your pain," Karen said.

  "How?" Jimmy asked.

  "The Orb is bound to you," she replied, "and I am bound to it. I felt your pain and heard your cries. But I don't understand what is causing it."

  "I'm not sure myself," said Jimmy. "I've been having these crazy dreams lately. There's this woman in my dreams‚.it's as if I should know her, or even feel something for her, but I don't. I don't understan
d what about it is driving me mad." Lauren and Chrissy arrived shortly afterwards.

  "I was in the middle of a class," Lauren said. "I heard there was a commotion in the cafeteria. What happened?"

  "I was having these dreams," Jimmy said. "At first, I saw you, Lauren. Then Chrissy‚.I actually spoke to you for a while, but you were whisked off by a storm‚..and then I was approached by this strange woman yelling at me, as if I had forgotten her. While I was at breakfast, I seized up and passed out, with the visions of this woman screaming‚.and the pain was unbearable. The dreams started after we became Ultimate Warrior."

  "A side effect of the merge," Karen replied. "That is why you saw Chrissy and Lauren. For a time, your consciousnesses became one. When this happened, your memories became intertwined."

  "That explains a lot," Chrissy said. "I actually remember walking in the field of his mind. Like I was an independent part of his dream, interacting with him, and everything around me. I wasn't sure if the dream was his or mine." Lauren carefully stepped back, fully aware now of her own visions, and not wishing to express them.

  "Your powers are growing," Karen replied. "You were right in your assumption. Unlike the neutral ground you and I met on, you were in his mind, and in his realm. The terms were his. The storm was HIS turmoil. The storm took on the form of this woman. I can feel the hurt as the words leave my lips‚.it's that great." Karen let out a deep sigh. "With your help, perhaps we can walk into the realm of his mind, carefully, and find out who or what this is that is causing the turmoil."

  "You know I will do whatever it takes," Chrissy replied. At that, Chrissy set down her helm and kneeled with Karen in front of Jimmy. Karen squeezed the orb in her hand, and the energy from it began to flow. She held on to Jimmy's head with her other hand, and then Chrissy grasped his forehead as well, completing the connection. Lauren could only watch in awe as the three of them went into a deep trance, their eyes rolled back inside their heads, energy flowing between the three of them.

  * * *

  In a flash, Chrissy and Karen appeared in Jimmy's dream, the realm of his own mind. They looked at one another, and Chrissy turned around.

  "Where is Jimmy?" she asked. Just then a giant pocket watch came swinging at her. Karen dove and pushed her out of the way just in the nick of time. The two got back to their feet and turned to see the watch indeed swinging back and forth. "What is that?"

  "I'm not entirely sure," Karen replied. "But it has something to do with all this. Look at the clouds. You know there is turmoil, but there's also something holding it at bay."

  "A blockage of some sort?" Chrissy asked. "What could possibly be blocking the turmoil?"

  "More importantly," asked Karen, "why is it being blocked? Burying issues doesn't solve them, it just represses them and keeps you from dealing with them. Without dealing with the problems, the turmoil never goes away‚and you are left with this."

  "Look over there!" Chrissy shouted. Jimmy was standing on one side of the pocket watch, while the woman was on the other side, the watch continuously swinging between them.

  "Who are you?" Jimmy screamed.

  "You can't forget me!" she shouted. "I won't let you forget me, or the fact that you meant nothing to me! You can't hide from me here, or out there! I will see to it you get what you deserve!"

  "Chrissy," Karen said, "You can interact with the dream. Please help me." Chrissy nodded as the white dress suddenly transformed into the silvery armor of the Avatar of Wisdom.

  "Trust me, and I will trust you," she replied. She placed her hand on Karen's shoulder, and energy flowed between them. Karen screamed out.

  "Strength of my ancestors, empower me!" Her hair turned bright red and her clothes changed to the deep red dress of the Red Witch. Her eyes turned hazel with a brown speck in the iris, and as she held out her hand, energy flowed from the two of them at the mystery woman.

  "Open your mind to me," Red whispered. "You will not take him from us. Open your mind‚..I will make you open your mind‚release him‚TABITHA RELEASE HIM!" At that, the beam was violently broken, and in a flash, everyone and everything was gone.

  * * *

  The three were flung apart, and after a few moments, staggered to their feet.

  "Her name is Tabitha," Karen said.

  "The name sounds familiar," Jimmy said, rubbing his head. "But I have no idea who she is or why she's invading my mind." Karen began to pace around the room nervously.

  "The encounter had to have been very intimate," Chrissy said softly. "It would have to be to be as powerful as it was."

  Jimmy walked over to the window, unable to speak or think. But then, looking out the window, something caught his attention. The snow was falling much harder now, and in the distance he could see why‚.an elemental creature in the distance using some sort of magic to freeze everything.

  "I think we have a problem," Jimmy said, pointing out the window, and everyone looked to see what he saw. Chrissy and Lauren replaced their helms, while Jimmy grabbed his sword and raised it.

  "Courage, be my strength!" The golden light exploded from the sword and wrapped itself around his body. The light covered and bonded to his skin, becoming the golden armor of the Avatar of Courage, transforming him into the Hero.

  "Karen, stay here," he said. "Only come if we need you." Karen nodded. The three teleported out of the room and out to the street to confront this menace.

  * * *

  The three of them flew through the air at her, but it froze them in mid air, and they plummeted to the ground. As they hit, the ice around them shattered. They got to their feet. Chrissy looked at Jimmy and nodded, and Jimmy took off running. Chrissy and Cat began taking shots at it, but it deflected them. Jimmy quickly came at it from behind with the Light Boomerang, and it knocked it out of the sky. As it landed, the ground around it froze. It got up and let out an ear piercing scream. As they turned, they saw three witches flying at them on broomsticks.

  "Are they for real?" Cat asked. Just then they fired some sort of energy blasts at them, knocking the Triad down. The got back to their feet. The witches landed and started to close in. Just then, a streak of red came from the sky and stole the broomsticks. They were instantly shredded into sawdust, and Red came to rest in the distance, looking back at them with her trademark smirk. The witches tried to fight the Triad with more energy blasts, but they were able to use their swords to deflect them as they moved into close range. Just then, their leader shouted.

  "Weather witch!" she yelled. "Freeze them!" Before she could, Red snuck from behind her and grabbed her forehead.

  "Ah ah," she said. "I don't think so." Red began to probe her mind. "I said open your mind to me, dammit!" She gritted her teeth as she held on for dear life. The weather witch writhed in pain. "Tell me who you are‚.tell me why you torment him‚.tell me why you want to take him from me!" Chrissy and Cat continued to fight the other two witches, but the leader was closing in on Jimmy. Just then, Jimmy once again fell to his knees in pain, holding his head.

  "Your memories of her are your weakness," she cackled. "Love will kill Virtue!" In seconds, everything stopped. Jimmy looked up, and with restored strength, punched her so hard that she flew half a block away. She staggered to her feet. "How is this possible?"

  "The power that was given to me through the Triad has made me realize true love," he replied, "and most of all, why I exist. True, I exist for love, but I also exist for honor, for justice, and for righteousness. And that is all I need to defeat you!" Red was thrown free of the Weather Witch, who fell to the ground as well. Red's orb glowed, and energy flowed from it into Jimmy's sword. His hands began to glow as well, as the power began to transform his armor. Red's power faded as her form disappeared, and Karen lay on the ground. Jimmy wasted no time. With the full Triad power charging his sword, he swung at the witches, and the beam burned and disintegrated them. When it was over, Jimmy collapsed, and the power left him, transforming him back to normal. He carefully staggered to his feet, and he, Ch
rissy and Cat made their way to what was left of the Weather Witch. Karen slowly got up and looked at them.

  "Who is she?" Lauren said. "Whatever it is, she's back to normal."

  "She's Tabitha," Jimmy replied, with a heavy sigh. "I feel like I spent a lifetime trying to forget. Even before I met Janie, I felt something for her. There were times I felt closer to her than a best friend. But in the end, she could not accept me for who I was‚and the words nearly drove me past my breaking point. Imagine being so close to death that you can taste Heaven and Hell, but all you love is out of reach. I didn't know then what I know now about love‚and it nearly killed me. In order to stop the pain, I had someone hypnotize me, in the hopes of burying the memory forever. He said this wasn't the answer‚that someday this may resurface, but I didn't care. The pain was so bad that I needed something to release me from it. I hoped to never relive it‚.but now I know I have to face it."