On the Edge of Thirteen

"Transcontinental Flight 1313, you're free and ready for take-off."

First Officer Arcadia Selinger reached over and flipped the VOX switch for her headset.

"Roger, control, Flight 1313 acknowledge," she replied.

She looked over at the plane's pilot, Captain Hayden Knight. He gave the thumbs up, and they began the take-off procedure.

This was Arcadia's first flight with Captain Knight. She knew him thru Transcontinental Airlines, of course, and they had even served in the U.S. Air Force during the same timeframe, but this was her first time at his side, as his co-pilot.

The plane picked up speed, accelerating down the runway, until its nose began to lift, and slowly rose from off the ground at Dallas' Love Field in Texas. It continued to ascend, as the flaps were adjusted, and the landing gear retracted. Then, it smoothed out, as Arcadia settled in for a short but comfortable flight to Houston.

"This is your Captain speaking," Knight said into the intercom. "We appreciate you flying with us today. Please sit back and enjoy the flight, we'll be landing in Houston in a little under an hour."

He switched off the intercom, and settled back into his seat.

"So, Arcadia, huh?" he said, initiating some conversation. "That's an unusual name. Named after the town near Los Angeles?"

"No, Texas," she replied. "Just south of Houston, in fact. My hometown."

"Oh, so we're heading home for you then?" he commented.

"Well, yes," Arcadia explained, "but I don't have much of a lay-over in Houston. I'm doing another flight to Atlanta within a couple of hours of landing. No time to visit the old stomping ground, I'm afraid!"

The plane was reaching cruising altitude, which wasn't all that much, given the short flight. Arcadia was about to instruct the attendant to turn off the fasten seat-belt switch, when a light showed up on the console.

"Captain?" Arcadia said, drawing his attention to it, "it looks like we've got an electrical short on the starboard wing lights."

"What?" Knight said. He looked at the monitor. "I'll be damned!" he muttered. "Maintenance..." he cursed under his breath. He started unbuckling his belt, and removing his headset.

"Take over, Arcadia," he said. "I'm going aft to have a look. Distract the passengers, please."

"Yes, sir," Arcadia replied, getting on the intercom to address the cabin. She was about to say something, as the Captain was preparing to exit the cockpit discreetly.

He never made it past the curtain. An arm suddenly appeared, shoving him back. He hit the floor near his chair, startled. A man suddenly appeared, holding a pistol, pointing it in the cockpit, at the Captain and Arcadia.

"Get off the headset, bitch!" the man shouted to Arcadia, ripping the chord from her. "And don't do anything stupid... or your Captain gets it!"

***

Arcadia sat very still in her seat, as her Captain was escorted out of the cockpit at gunpoint. Another "terrorist" had come in and taken his place, keeping Arcadia in the sites of his SMG. He was wearing a jacket with the letters "ATF" on the back.

"ATF?" Arcadia asked. "What in the world are you..."

"Shut up, and just fly the damn plane!" the man said, interrupting her, and nudging her with the tip of the gun barrel.

Arcadia kept her hand on the controls, trying to look out of the corner of her eye, observing what was going on. In a few minutes, a third man came in. He was wearing a suit, and had short, prematurely white hair.

"Your captain has been relieved of command," the man said, evenly and calmly. There was something frighteningly familiar about the sound of his voice.

"I'd like you to adjust your heading to these coordinates," he said, handing Arcadia a piece of paper with numbers on it.

Arcadia took it, looking it over. "These coordinates take us way off course," she said. "I doubt we have enough fuel. We were only flying to Houston."

"The fuel is not your concern," the man said again, "only getting this plane to those coordinates. Do I make myself clear?" He motioned to the armed ATF agent with his finger. He leveled the gun at Arcadia's head.

"Yes, sir, you do," Arcadia replied, trying to keep her voice steady. She had never been in this kind of situation before.

"Very good," the white-haired man said, smiling thinly. "I figured you would want to cooperate with us."

Arcadia started entering the coordinates into the computer. She knew, of course, that any change in course would be detected by radar, and she would start receiving calls over the VOX. She figured that the white-haired man knew this, and assumed he would deal with it when it happened. In the meanwhile...

She initiated the course-change, and took the controls. Arcadia had made enough flights to know where the coordinates would take this plane - Washington D.C.

The white-haired man whispered some instructions into the ear of the agent, and left the cockpit. Sure enough, as predicted, Arcadia started receiving radio traffic. She looked over to the man, as if awaiting some response of what to do.

The man saw the flashing VOX light. He pulled open the curtain and motioned to the white-haired man.

"Mr. Prince!" he said, calling him over.

Prince came in, seeing the red light. "Ignore it," he ordered Arcadia.

Arcadia didn't respond. But she didn't answer the VOX. Prince walked out again. The agent was still keeping his gun on her. Arcadia was trying to pay attention to his movements, without letting it be obvious that's what she was doing! She didn't think this was a great opportunity for heroism, given that there were passengers' lives at stake, but she was watching, just in case something reasonable presented itself.

Her VOX set was off. On one occasion the agent peeked out thru the curtain, taking his eyes off Arcadia for a second. She used that second to quickly and quietly un-hook her belt, leaving it in position around her torso. When the agent looked again, he apparently didn't notice.

A couple of hours passed. Arcadia hadn't said a word. A relief agent had come in, younger, and obviously less seasoned. The man with the SMG went out, leaving the younger man to guard the cockpit.

Arcadia looked up at him, smiling a little coyly, seeing what kind of reaction she could provoke. He remained stone-faced and focused. She waited a couple of minutes, and slowly began to unbutton a couple of the top buttons of her blouse.

"A little hot in here, don't you think?" she stated, her voice a little softer and more seductive.

Her hands moved across her cleavage and shoulders kind of sensuously, as she drew attention to her open and revealing blouse. She made sure that a portion of her bra was visible, and started fanning herself a bit, aiming mostly at her bosom.

Arcadia could feel the man's gaze. Her movements had caught his attention. He lowered his gun a bit, so he could get a better "bird's eye" view from over her shoulder. Arcadia waited for a possible moment of distraction.

A few things happened in the next few minutes that made a distraction possible. The first thing was the air-lock indicator. The plane was experiencing a change in air pressure, indicated by the monitor on the control panel, as if a door on the plane had been opened. A few seconds later, a small aircraft appeared in front of the jet, as if it had been under it, cruising, all this time. The third thing that happened was the fuel light. The plane was nearly out, and a warning light had gone on. They were only a few minutes away from Washington D.C.

The fourth thing that happened was the strangest of all, and probably contributed the most to Arcadia's next move. As the flanking aircraft was flying away, forward and port of the jet liner, the most peculiar "thing" appeared out of nowhere, almost colliding with the craft, and very nearly hitting the passenger plane! It was a light-
brownish sort of insect-looking thing, with flapping wings, and eye modules. It wasn't much bigger than a single jet fighter, but it was very agile! It darted in from some low clouds, just missing the wayward craft. It obviously distracted the pilot of the craft, as whoever it was went into a tail-spin to avoid a crash!

And it obviously distracted the agent standing over Arcadia as well, as his gun went limp in his hands, and his mouth flapped open in shock. Which gave Arcadia her chance.

She quickly thrust the control stick to starboard, banking the plane hard side-ways. She was ready for it, but the agent wasn't. He went reeling across the cockpit, losing the grip on his gun. Arcadia bounced up, grabbing the man by the shoulders and neck, and shoving his face against the hull. He slumped to the floor, leaving a bloody trail behind on the side.

Arcadia could hear gunfire and screams coming from the cabin. She grabbed the man's gun. The other agent rushed forward, pushing aside the curtain to see what the problem was, only to receive a gun barrel upper-cut to his face. Arcadia then shoved the point into his gut, causing him to double over. She could see one more agent in the rear of the plane on the other side of the open curtain. He was armed, and there were too many passengers in the way.

Arcadia spun the coughing and gasping agent around, getting him in a headlock, pointing the gun in his back. The third agent saw what she was doing, and pushed a passenger aside, trying to get a clear shot at Arcadia.

"Drop it!" Arcadia screamed, "or your buddy gets it!"

The agent responded by reaching for the nearest passenger, apparently attempting to take a "hostage" of his own. He was stopped by a sudden change of the plane's speed and tilt, something that Arcadia recognized as meaning almost out of gas! The agent missed his reach, and his footing, tripping and stumbling to the floor.

Arcadia quickly let go of her hostage, pinning him on his back with her foot, and leveled her gun. The other agent regained his step and came up with his gun aimed. Arcadia took aim and fired, a clear shot at his chest. She hit. The man staggered back, and dropped.

Quickly, Arcadia threw the gun to the nearest flight attendant who was prostrate on the ground, terrified.

"Here, cover him!" she shouted, motioning to the pinned agent. She hastily retreated back to the cockpit.

The fuel light was reading empty, and the plane was shuddering, losing altitude and power. They were in sight of Reagan National Airport, and dropping fast. Arcadia grabbed the headset.

"Reagan Airport Control, come in! Emergency! Transcontinental Flight 1313 requesting emergency landing! Please respond!" she shouted frantically into the VOX.

Arcadia grabbed the control, trying to maintain trajectory. It was sluggish, barely responding. The starboard engine was reading dead, and the port was failing. She initiated the landing procedure. The flaps engaged and the gear was enabled.

"Transcontinental 1313," the voice over the VOX responded. "This is Reagan Control. You're cleared for landing. Rescue units are standing by."

"Copy!" Arcadia replied, and threw the headset off, concentrating on the landing.

She was coming in too low, it seemed. The wind was wrong, and the plane didn't have the power to compensate. Using all her strength, she pulled on the stick, trying to get the nose up. The plane came in, lower, lower...

Arcadia closed her eyes, wincing, as the plane set down. The wheels hit the runway, as the plane landed. Arcadia fired the reverse engines with as much power as they had, which wasn't much. But they were down! The plane began to slow, as it cruised along the runway, rolling off to the side, and stopping along the grassy strip at the end.

Arcadia ran to the cabin to help the flight attendants. They blew the emergency exits, as the rescue unit started helping passengers off. A U.S. Marshall quickly took custody of the rogue ATF agent, as a stretcher brought out the unconscious one and the dead one. Only two casualties, the one agent... and Captain Knight. The passengers were unharmed. But Arcadia was shaken!

She watched as they covered Hayden's face and wheeled him away. She walked with the Marshall towards the tower, trying to push away the reporters who were crowding in, trying to get their story.

"Miss Selinger!" they were calling out. "Can you tell us about how you were able to take control of the plane?"

"Did your Air Force training help you up there?"

"Why do you think the ATF is involved in this?"

Arcadia dodged their microphones and cameras, as she was escorted off the runway. She thought about the situation, the ATF agents, the small aircraft... and the strange bug-like thing in the air.

There were a lot of questions to be answered, and she was determined to find them!

***

There was a de-briefing, of course. Then some more. And more. Arcadia wasn't sure when it would end. But when it did, she knew exactly where to go and what to do. She hopped on the next flight to Houston.

She was given a leave of absence from the airline, and told to take some time and get some rest. She couldn't think of a better place to do it than in her hometown of Arcadia, Texas. Besides, it would give her a chance to do some research online!

***

Some interesting discoveries were made on the internet at the Harris County Library. Nothing about the ATF that was out of the ordinary, and nothing about strange aircraft in U.S. airspace. But Arcadia found some fascinating information about something going on right there in Texas! A project started by a fringe extremist group, something about doomsday, holocaust or whatever, and trying to design a spacecraft that could take people away from Earth before some futuristic disaster. Even a name, a Dr. Longbore. Could the strange flying bug be connected in some way? And could the ATF be involved?

Arcadia was surfing the net, as one of the librarians suddenly turned the volume up on a TV that was on behind the check-out desk. Heads turned to watch and listen.

"This just in from Washington, D.C." the news-caster said. "New breaking information pertaining to the near-fatal Transcontinental Flight earlier this week. Sources have provided Channel 13 with an update on the terrorist activity. Rumors that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms was involved have been proven untrue. However, we have learned that in fact the Co-Pilot on board the flight, Arcadia Selinger, was involved with a group of radical extremists based in her homestate of Texas, who are also in league with several Middle-East, Islamic factions, and is responsible for the hostile take-over of the plane. She is currently at large, assumedly in Texas, and is considered dangerous. All law-enforcement agencies have been informed. Any leads on Miss Selinger's whereabouts should be
reported to your local police or sheriff's department, or to the phone number on screen. Repeat, we have learned..."

Arcadia stopped listening, feeling the blood rush to her ears. There was a photo of her on the TV screen, for all to see. She could feel the eyes of everyone in the library upon her, as whispers could be heard, and as people began to slowly move away from her. One of the librarians made a move for the phone. Arcadia didn't wait around to hear the conversation. She jumped from her seat and bolted out of the library's front door.

She didn't get very far.

"Arcadia Selinger, put your hands on top of your head!" the officer with the megaphone shouted.

Outside the library, there were police cars, a SWAT team, and officers and agents pointing guns at her. She was surrounded.

Two ATF agents rushed up to her.

"Arcadia Selinger, you're under arrest for federal violations of hijacking, assault, and murder," the agent said, reading her rights. "You have the right to remain silent. Everything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed
to you by the court. Do you understand your rights?"

She was hand-cuffed and escorted to an unmarked car. She was put in the back seat, and was driven away.

***

She was arraigned, and remanded to state custody, without bail, awaiting federal jurisdiction. The airline was not supporting her, and the U.S. Marshall's office was unreachable for some reason.

Arcadia's lawyer, a public defendant named Celeste Kaufman, was trying to be helpful.

"I tell you, I'm being set up!" Arcadia insisted. "I was the one who SAVED that aircraft and the passengers, dammit! It was the ATF, they were the terrorists!"

"I believe you," Celeste said. "I saw the news when the plane landed. The official reports are now saying that you were placed in custody and escaped, fleeing to Texas."

"That's a load of crap!" Arcadia stated. "Talk to the airline, the U.S. Marshall! They know what happened!"

"The airline is saying that you're a loose cannon and are likely to blame," Celeste replied. "And the U.S. Marshall cannot be reached to give a statement."

"It's a set-up," Arcadia sighed. "And I'm sure the ATF is behind it. Some guy named Prince."

"Isambard Prince?" Celeste exclaimed. "The Head of the ATF? That's a very powerful enemy to have! What the hell did you do?"

"I DON'T KNOW!" Arcadia shouted, standing up from her cot. "I have no idea why I'm being targeted here!"

Celeste withdrew some papers from her briefcase. "I'm afraid we don't have many options," she said gloomily. "The feds have obviously fabricated an airtight case. There is one possibility though."

"And what's that?" Arcadia asked, sarcastically. "An insanity defense? I just about qualify at this point!"

"No," Celeste responded. "I can perhaps get you tried on State charges, instead of federal. If the state takes over your prosecution, there's a chance you can avoid a federal sentence, and be sent to a state prison. It beats Leavenworth."

Arcadia sighed and lowered her head. "Any chance of a Not Guilty verdict?" she asked, forlornly.

"Not with what the Feds have on you, no," Celeste replied, shaking her head. "I'm sorry."

"Yeah," Arcadia said. "Me too."

***

Arcadia was tried in a state court, and as suspected, found guilty, on trumped up charges. The judge pronounced sentence.

"Arcadia Selinger, having been found guilty of assault, reckless endangerment, and two counts of felony murder, you are hereby sentenced to a term of no less than 25 years and no greater than that of your natural life, to be served in the Women's Correctional Facility for the state of Texas."

He pounded the gavel, and Arcadia was escorted out of the courtroom, bound and dressed in prison fatigue.

The next day she was on a bus, being taken to P4X, what she anticipated to be her home for the next 25 years!

***

Within the spartan confines of P4X, Arcadia was stripped down, hosed off, provided with scanty prison clothing, and introduced to her cellmate, a prostitute named Jasmine.

"So what did you do to get in here, honey?" she asked Arcadia the first day.

"Nothing that warrants being in here," Arcadia replied, laying on her bunk, staring up at the ceiling.

"Well, of course, sugar!" Jasmine laughed. "We're all innocent in here, didn't you know that?"

Arcadia just sort of smiled, and proceeded to count specks of ceiling lint.

***

Arcadia managed to get by three days before having an altercation with the other girls, something that Jasmine stated must have been a record!

They were in the showers, the whole cell block. To Arcadia's left was a tall, nicely built woman, with long, sort of blondish/reddish hair. She had beautiful wide eyes, big pouting lips, and a tattoo on her lower back, near her butt. It was clear that several of the women were looking at her, admiring her form. Arcadia found herself staring as well.

She wasn't really paying attention when half the block sort of disappeared from the showers, along with the guard! Then, the Posse came in.

That's what they were called. A prison clique of the toughest women in the ward. They were well-known trouble-makers, fight-starters, and most of all, dykes. Jasmine had warned Arcadia on day one. She had stayed clear so far. But now it looked like it was unavoidable.

The main water switch got turned off suddenly. The Posse came in to the inner shower area, with only their towels around their waists. A couple of them took theirs off. It was only Arcadia, Jasmine, and the woman next to her, against a half dozen hell-bent butches!

"Well, well, well," the leader said, smirking. "What do we have here?" She made her way over to the woman standing next to Arcadia.

"What's your name, honey?" she said, patronizingly.

"Xev," the girl said, quite innocently.

"Well, Xev," the leader continued, "you're in my stall."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Xev responded, quite calmly, and not overly apologetically. She started to move aside.

The leader put her hand out and stopped her. "I didn't say you could leave," she said. The other dykes behind her started laughing.

"Well, if you're going to use the stall, then I'm going to have to leave, right?" Xev asked, seeming pretty oblivious to what was happening. Jasmine was getting very tense.

"You ain't going anywhere, bitch," the leader said, putting both hands on Xev and moving her towards the wall. The others started closing in.

"Hey, back off!" Arcadia said, stepping up, trying to intervene. "She didn't do anything to you!"

"Whoooooaaaa, a tough piece of ass, eh?" the leader exclaimed, temporarily turning her interest to Arcadia.

"Oh, shit!" Jasmine muttered under her breath, trying to back up.

"You want a piece of ass, you just might get it!" Arcadia said, not backing down. At 5'10" and 145 lbs. she looked pretty formidable. But the dyke in front of her was a couple inches taller, and probably at least 20 lbs. heavier!

"Well, I guess this is my lucky day!" the leader laughed. "I get twosies!" She thrust her arm out, trying to pin Arcadia against the wall with Xev.

Tried to. Arcadia saw it coming, taking her arm and twisting it in a martial arts move. The other woman yelled in pain, as Arcadia flipped her on the slick shower floor. The dyke went down, landing hard.

"Get that bitch!" she yelled to the other Posse members, as they charged Arcadia.

One of the women got met with a kick to the gut, another with a roundhouse punch to the face. Arcadia was in a tight spot, without much room to maneuver. But she was a lot quicker than the big butches that were nearly on top of her.

Jasmine got ahold of one, grabbing her by the hair. They started shrieking and wrestling. Arcadia just let the punches and kicks keep on flying!

When the leader got on her feet, she pushed the two girls closest to Arcadia aside.

"She's mine, girls!" she cried, and rushed her.

They grappled, ending up on the floor. The bigger woman got the advantage and pinned her, and started throwing punches at her face. Jasmine was cornered, unable to help her. And the guards had not returned...

Arcadia suddenly felt the leader's weight shift. She was thrown off Arcadia, violently. Xev then took her, picking her up, and throwing her against the stall like a rag doll. The leader smashed her head, and collapsed.

Arcadia got to her feet, ready to take on any others. But the remainder of the Posse were lying in an unconscious heap on the ground. Jasmine was fine, just scratched up. Xev was just standing there, smiling, turning the water on in her stall to wash some blood off her. Not hers either.

Arcadia looked down at the pile, then up again at Xev, amazed. "Wow..." she said. "Not bad. Thanks."

She was about to say something else when the guards came in.

"Oh, following the five minute rule?" Arcadia sneered. "As in five minutes too late?"

They just took Arcadia, Xev and Jasmine, and hauled them out, taking them to the infirmary.

"I think you got the wrong group of chicks!" Jasmine said, laughing as they were escorted out, the Posse still oozing blood on the ground.

***

In the infirmary, Arcadia and Jasmine were cleaned off, their wounds dressed. Xev was sitting on the opposite cot, watching Arcadia intently. Something about her gaze made Arcadia uncomfortable, but also excited.

Jasmine was taken back to her cell. Arcadia and Xev were left behind. Xev came over and sat down next to Arcadia.

"You know," she said, "there's something about you that looks very familiar," she said. "I feel as if I should know you."

"Well," Arcadia replied, adjusting her bandage, "you're obviously not from my hometown. Were you in the service?"

"The service?" Xev asked, naively.

"Sure, the Air Force," Arcadia replied. Xev was still blank. "You know, Armed Forces? Damn, where are you from?"

"I'm from B3K," Xev replied, as if it was completely sensible, "in the Light Universe. Although the Light Universe is gone now. We came through a fractal core on the Lexx. That's how we ended up in the Dark Zone." She made it sound pure and simple.

"Okay," Arcadia said, chuckling slightly. She was wondering if P4X was the right kind of institution for this girl!

Xev got up from the cot, and walked around a bit. She stopped, and looked back at Arcadia.

"I remember something from when I was a little girl," she said. "I don't recall much of my childhood, but I remember something from when I was being taken to the wife bank. I remember you, or someone who looked exactly like you. You tried to help me. You said the sweetest poem to me, to try and cheer me up. Then, you had to leave."

Her countenance suddenly changed, as if recalling in her mind a sad or painful memory.

"But I guess that doesn't make sense, does it?" Xev said. "I mean, that was 4,000 years ago in another universe!" She laughed, trying to make light of it.

Arcadia stood up and walked over to her. "It sounds like you've had a hard life," she said, sympathetically.

"I have," Xev replied. "And I thought it would be easier on this little blue planet. I guess it's turning out not so good. I don't know where Kai and Stan are, and I really don't know why I'm here in this... place."

Arcadia smiled. She really didn't seem like a basket-case, but she was so incredibly clueless! And yet, she had saved her life back there in the shower.

"You know," Arcadia said, trying to shift gears, "I really appreciate you helping me earlier, I mean, with the Posse."

"They're not very nice women, are they?" Xev stated. She moved closer to Arcadia. "Not like you."

Arcadia could feel the blood rushing to her head. "What do you mean, like me?"

Xev reached out, caressing Arcadia's shoulder. She ran her hand around her neck, slowly walking behind her.

"You're not like most of the people I've met here in the Dark Zone," she said. "This universe is supposed to be filled with depravity and chaos, but you... you're different. You seem so kind, so brave." She came back around, standing in front of her, nearly breast to breast. "I really like you, Arcadia."

Arcadia found an irresistable urge to move her face closer, her lips toward hers. She extended her arms to pull Xev closer to her, her head leaning in to kiss her...

"That's enough, ladies!" The medic came back in, interrupting them. The guard came in, separating them, and taking them back to their cells. Arcadia was sweating, and didn't let her eyes leave Xev until she was around the corner, and out of sight.

***

The young clergyman who had helped Arcadia escape from P4X had been very helpful in other areas as well. Under the cover of darkness, they had snuck their way to his car, parked in the field nearby, and drove away.

"They're going to be looking for you, you know," the Minister said, as daylight was creeping up from the Texas horizon.

"I know," Arcadia replied, changing her clothes in the back seat. The minister was trying not to make it obvious that he was sneaking a peek every chance he could!

"You're a fugitive," he continued. "Where are you going to go?"

"Well," Arcadia replied, trying to fit into a jumpsuit that the man had brought along, not knowing her size exactly, "I was thinking Canada. Maybe I could stay there long enough, and keep unnoticed, to where I could prove my innocence!"

"Canada?" the minister exclaimed. "How are you going to get there? I can't drive you across the United States! The police are going to be looking for you. We'll be stopped before we can reach the Texas line!"

"Don't worry," Arcadia stated, climbing in the front seat, dressed in something other than prison fatigues. "Just get me to an airstrip, somewhere where there's a plane!"

They drove on into the morning, the minister keeping to the Farm to Market roads as much as possible as to avoid attention. Arcadia noticed something as they were approaching the town of Weatherford, just west of Fort Worth.

"There!" she said, pointing off in the distance. "Take a left, over to that airfield!"

The minister drove up to the field. There were a few private planes. Arcadia gave the minister some instructions, and had him stop a ways away for her to hop out. She covertly made her way toward the planes, while the minister boldly drove on up to the office.

"Can I help you, preacher?" the attendant said as the minister got out of his car and approached, recognizing the traditional collar.

"Yes, actually," he replied, trying to play the role. "I need to rent a plane. It's quite important. I have to have some new hymnbooks delivered to a mission church in South Dakota by tomorrow morning."

"Well," the attendant said, "I always do my best to support the Lord's work. Let's see what we got." He led the minister towards the office.

Arcadia crept up to a small, single engine propeller craft. It was fully fueled, and seemed flight ready.

"Been a while since I've flown one of these babies!" she thought to herself.

She checked over by the office. The minister seemed to have the attendant distracted with paper work. But if she started the engine, the noise...

The minister came through for her.

"It seems that the plane will do nicely," he said to the attendant. "But I'm no pilot. I need to have someone fly me and the books to South Dakota, and I'm afraid I don't have a large budget."

"No problem, preacher," the attendant said, patting the minister's shoulder. "Hank's a pilot. He's working over in the bunker right now, but I'm sure he'll be happy to fly you free of charge. He's a good God-fearing Baptist, you know."

The attendant grabbed his walkie-talkie and tried to raise Hank. There was no answer.

"Hank ain't answering," he explained. "I could go fetch him in the truck, but that'll leave no one here to watch the office."

"No problem at all, my good man," the minister said, smiling. "I'll look out for things for a few minutes. I am a man of God, after all!" He emphasized his collar just for effect, and hoped that lightning wouldn't strike him dead at any moment!

This satisfied the attendant, and he hopped in his truck, heading off towards the bunker, on the other side of the field. As soon as he was a safe distance, the minister gave Arcadia the thumbs up.

Arcadia got in the pilot's seat, and started the plane up. Within a couple of minutes, she was speeding down the runway, and up and away. By the time the attendant came back with Hank, she was far above and out of sight.

"You know," the minister said, "I think I've changed my mind. It would be easier for me to just ship the books overnight delivery. I mean, they don't have to be there until Sunday, after all. Thanks anyway."

He shook the men's hands and headed off to his car.

"Hey, what happened to Sonny's plane?" the attendant commented, noticing a gap in the small group of parked planes. "Hey, preacher! Did a fellow come and sign out his plane?"

The minister turned around. "No sir," he replied. "I can assure you that no man took a plane from this field while I was here."

He smiled, got in his car and drove off.

"Damn," he thought, loosening up his collar in the Texas hear. "That gal could drive a man to leave the ministry!"

Arcadia kept at the throttle throughout the day. The fuel started getting low, and she had to set down once before leaving U.S. airspace, in rural Ohio.

The man at the gas station was quite nice, however.

"You know, Miss," he said, "there's a small airport in Canton. You could have flown in there, instead of taking your chances with the rocks in this field."

"Never can tell with these props," she replied. "This baby was on fumes!"

The man nodded, and loaded up the barrel of fuel on his truck. "Here, let's get out to your plane and get her filled. I don't want to miss 'Xevivor' on TV." Arcadia hopped in with him and they drove off towards the field where she had landed.

They passed a horse and buggy on the way. "Amish folk," the man explained.

"Where you headed, anyway?" he asked as he helped her fill up.

"Oh, just out for a Friday afternoon fly," she replied, trying to keep it simple.

"Uh huh," the man said, skeptically, noticing the Texas tags on the plane. He finished filling, and got the barrel back in his truck.

"You can be in Canada in a couple of hours if the wind is good," he said, as he hopped in the drivers seat. "Good luck." He winked and started the engine.

"Thanks," Arcadia said, smiling, and starting up the plane.

***

Arcadia was cruising along over Lake Erie a while later when she saw it again - the strange flying bug!

The thing came up along the plane's side, then peeled away, to give space. It started heading off to the right, northeast.

"Oh, no!" Arcadia said to herself. "Not this time you don't!" She changed course and began to pursue.

She was keeping a distance, but also keeping it in sight. The bug wasn't flying all that fast. It had a peculiar shape, now that she could spend time examining it. It was shaped like some sort of moth, with a tail and everything. She couldn't imagine what sort of person would build a craft like that. But whatever it was, she was going to find out what was behind it. Could it be somehow related to the ATF?

The pesky thing was darting around in front of her, with amazing agility. At one point, it dropped altitude and speed a bit, as if checking the ground for something. Arcadia saw her chance.

She throttled it hard, and overtook the moth, above and in front. She then pulled back to let it pass and to get a closer look.

There were three people inside what looked like the cockpit, behind two massive "eye"-like portals. Two were men, as far as she could tell, one in black, the other in red. The third was a woman, but she couldn't get many details. The pilot of the moth obviously saw her, and pulled ahead suddenly, as if to avoid examination.

Arcadia tried to catch up, but it was no use. The moth was too fast. It vanished in front of her, in the clouds.

"No, you're not getting off that easy!" Arcadia muttered. She peeled off and took up the direction of the flying bug. They were over Canada, and it was pretty clear from the moth's course where it was heading, assuming it wasn't crossing the Atlantic - it seemed as if Arcadia was going to Newfoundland.

***

Arcadia set down near the outskirts of a small town in Newfoundland. She had lost track of the moth, but it seemed clear that this was its destination. She was determined to understand what part this strange flying bug might play in her predicament, if any at all.

It was cold here. Arcadia found a warm parka to cover her skin-tight jumpsuit, and walked into town. It was little more than a sleepy Canadian village. She found the town's only pub and went in.

It was close to happy hour, and there were quite a few locals here. Taking off her parka and hanging it up, Arcadia checked the place out. There was a small band in the corner, playing some kind of slow traditional Irish-sounding folk music. People were drinking, laughing, joking, and having an all-together jolly good time.

Arcadia went up to the bar. "Whiskey, straight," she said to the bartender, desperately needing a stiff drink after recent events.

The man behind the bar gave her a shot, which she proceeded to gulp right down. The man sitting next to her was impressed.

"My kind of woman," he commented, smiling. He took a bottle and motioned for her glass. "Here, allow me."

The bartender snatched the bottle away from the man. "You'd better mind your manners," he said. "And if I were you, I'd get out of my pub before you get into any more trouble, you hear?"

Arcadia studied the man subtlely. He was middle aged or so, brownish hair, not particularly handsome.

"Hey, pal," she said to the fellow, "you know where I can get to a phone?" remembering the main reason for her flight to Canada in the first place.

"Well, sure, pretty lady," he replied, standing up. "I know exactly where you can find a phone." He offered to get her parka.

At that moment, a group of men entered the bar. They were a tough looking bunch. The man took one quick glance and immediately took Arcadia's parka, using it to hide his head and face, and non-chalantly went out the back door, leaving Arcadia behind.

"Hey, that the...?" she said, watching her parka walk off, but it was too late.

Sighing, she sat back down and had another round.

"Best you don't get involved with that no-good anyway!" the bartender whispered to her.

"Any chance you can point the way to a phone?" Arcadia asked.

"Sure," the bartender said, pointing behind a curtain near the bar.

"Thanks," Arcadia replied, and went behind the curtain.

There was a pay phone there. She tried to make a collect call to Celeste Kaufman in Texas. No answer. Arcadia was seriously beginning to wonder just how extensive this conspiracy was! Anyone who could possibly help her had either turned against her, or was unreachable!

She turned back to the main room, and went over to the bar for another drink. She stopped short as she saw the trio who had just entered.

There was a tall, pale man, dressed in black, and another man, dressed in red, who except for the clothing was an exact double for the fellow who was at the bar earlier. Both men fit the descriptions of the people Arcadia saw flying in the moth earlier. And the third... a woman...

"Xev?!" Arcadia exclaimed, barely able to utter the name. She couldn't believe that her acquaintance from P4X could be involved in all this!

Xev heard her name, and her jaw dropped when she saw Arcadia. "Arcadia!" she exclaimed, rushing over to her, hugging her tight.

The man in black remained expressionless. But the fellow in red seemed equally shocked.

"Arcadia?" he said, not believing what he saw, apparently. "How can... how can...?"

Xev took Arcadia over to her comrades. "Kai, Stan, I want you to meet someone. This is..."

"Yeah, I know who it is!" Stan interrupted. "But how in the world...?" He was obviously confused.

"Hey, wait a second," Arcadia said, motioning to Stan. "Didn't I just...? Weren't you just...?" She looked back to the bar, then turned back again. "What happened to your clothes? And what in the world is that flying contraption you're in? Are you with the ATF? And WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO WITH MY PARKA! I'm freezing!"

It took a while to explain. Stan was apparently not the same fellow who had spoken with Arcadia earlier. Xev had been rescued by her comrades from P4X, then had survived an ordeal with Stan on some island while filming "Xevivor." Kai was dead, and had once been a Divine Assassin on the Cluster, in the Light Universe (which was now apparently destroyed). And Stan had known Arcadia in a previous life as a heretic on some planet called Ostral-B, also in the now-gone Light Universe.

Arcadia's head was spinning. "Xev, can we talk a minute?"

The two women went over the bar. Kai started talking to the musicians, and soon began to play the piano with the band, livening things up considerably. Stan was approached by this blond named Bunny who came in, and started chatting with her.

"Xev," Arcadia asked, when she got her alone for a minute. "I have to ask you, are these two guys you're with somehow tangled up with the ATF?"

"No," Xev replied, quite innocently, taking a drink. "Mmmmmm, this is good!" she said to the bartender, as he poured her another.

"Why?" she asked Arcadia.

"It seems that I'm in a lot of trouble," Arcadia replied. "And everything seems to have started around the same time I first saw that flying bug that you and your buddies were cruising in!"

"Oh, you mean our moth," Xev answered. "It's perfectly harmless. We use it to fly down here from the Lexx."

"Yeah, I remember," Arcadia said, trying not to call her crazy. "The Lexx, the Light Universe, right. You told me about it in prison."

"Well, it's true," Xev insisted. "And I have no idea about the ATF or anything like that. The only reason we're here is because Stan wanted to visit his subjects."

"His subjects?" Arcadia asked, her head getting more dizzy.

"Yes," Xev said, taking another drink. "The president of the United States made Stan king of Newfoundland!"

Arcadia shook her head, wondering if all this insanity was contagious. "I swear, I've slipped into the 13th Circle of Hell!" Assuming there was a 13th circle.

"The what?" Xev asked, still pretty oblivious to Arcadia's side-remarks.

"Nothing," Arcadia replied. "I gotta get out of here." She took a final shot and patted Xev on the shoulder.

"It's really good to see you again, Xev," she said. "You must be the craziest girl I've ever met, but you're a real player in my book!"

She gave Xev a hug, and said goodbye. Kai was rocking the joint by now with his rendition of some catchy tune that went something like:

"Yo Way Yo
A Home Va-Ray
Yo Way Ra
Verhume Brunnen-G"

The crowd definitely loved it. "You're dark friend is quite a musician!' Arcadia commented to Xev as she smiled, and left the bar.

She made her way, shivering, back to her plane. She took off, satisfied as to the mystery of the moth, as much as could be, but still frustrated as to her predicament.

She was too far away to catch the explosion behind her...

***

Arcadia got as far as Nova Scotia. She was out of fuel, and out of financial resources. She abandoned her plane, and set out on foot, hitch-hiking to Halifax.

She was trying to find an American Consulate, or anywhere she could make contact with someone in the U.S. who could possibly help her. She never got a chance.

She was trying again to place a collect call at the Port Authority when she saw the news flash on the television.

"And now a news break from CLEX, your news station," the announcer said.

A Canadian official came on the screen. "This just in from the Ministry of Defense," he said. "A recent bulletin from Washington D.C. has been received by the authorities in Ottawa. We have reports that an American fugitive from justice is at large in Canada, assumedly in the Maritime Provinces. She is wanted by the American government for heinous crimes against the State, and full extradition has been granted. Canadian law enforcement officials are advised that this person is extremely dangerous, and should be taken by force if necessary. Her name is Arcadia Selinger."

A photo of Arcadia was shown on the TV.

"Miss Selinger," the offical continued, "was charged with the terrorist act on Transcontinental Airlines Flight 1313 a couple of months ago. She escaped from prison, and is loose. Any reports on her whereabouts should be submitted to the Ministry of Defense or local and provincial agencies. Live, from Washington, here is the spokesman for the President in this matter, Mr. Isambard Prince."

The screen changed to show Prince.

"Canadian neighbors," he said, calmly. "The American government appreciates your cooperation in helping us to apprehend this vile criminal against the American people, and indeed all people on this planet. Miss Selinger has committed grievous offenses. She must not be allowed to escape the consequences of her actions! Thank you."

Arcadia found herself sinking in the phone booth. A voice came on the receiver in her hand.

"Operator," it said, nasally.

"Uh, wrong number, sorry," Arcadia hastily said, trying to disguise her voice, and hanging up. All she needed now was for her phone calls to be traced!

Trying to keep unnoticed, she slipped out of the booth, and headed towards the terminal. She had no money, no passport, and the authorities were looking for her. It seemed as if the entire continent of North America was no longer safe! She saw only one alternative. She made her way steathily toward the docks.

***

The name of the ship was "The Volga," an eastern European cargo carrier. With a little luck, and a little hitting of a crew-woman on the back of the head and stealing her uniform, Arcadia was able to slip aboard as a stowaway.

She remained covertly in the cargo hold for a couple of days, sneaking up deck only for some food and water now and then. It was on the third day or so that she had some company.

It must have been a scheduled stop on the European Atlantic coast, although Arcadia had no idea where, not going above. All she could tell was that the movement of the ship had stopped, suggesting that it was docked. And then there was the new cargo.

Arcadia kept hidden in the hold while a couple of men carried it below. It looked like a giant coffin! Quite ornate, and definitely solid. The men found a place for it, then left, sealing the hold once more.

Arcadia was intrigued. Why was this ship carrying a coffin? Did it have a corpse in it?

Curiosity got the better of her, and Arcadia decided to take a peek. It was unlocked, and she opened it. Empty. Very plush on the inside, but empty.

"Well, it might just make a more comfy place to sleep in the meanwhile," she thought to herself, stepping inside carefully to try it out for size.

She lay herself down in it. A very good fit! She could get a very good night's sleep in something like...

Arcadia wasn't paying attention to the lid. It began to close, the shifting of weight pulling it down. Before she could sit up in the deep space to prop it up, it slammed shut! Click! Locked.

"Shit!" Arcadia cursed to herself. She tried to open it from the inside, pushing with all her strength. But it was no use. She was trapped!

Lying in the darkness, in very tight quarters, she only hoped that the Volga would reach its destination before she starved or suffocated!

***

Arcadia awoke from her sleep, opening her eyes, but not able to tell any difference in darkness. She was still encased in the coffin. But she was being picked up and moved!

"Does this seem heavier to you now?" she could hear a muffled voice say.

Arcadia felt herself and the coffin being hauled by hand, not knowing where she was headed. She kept as still as possible, not trying to give the impression of something alive being within!

She could feel herself being loaded onto something metallic, then the start of an engine, and the rough feel of a bumpy car or truck ride. More time passed.

At some point the vehicle stopped, and Arcadia could feel the coffin being unloaded.

"This way, through the gate!" she could hear another voice say.

Again, she was carried, first level, then tilted, as if she was being taken down stairs. Then, she was set down.

Arcadia could hear footsteps receding, and the sound of a door being closed in the distance. She gave the lid a push again, but it was still locked! If only someone would come and open it up...

***

Again, she was awoken by a welcome sound. The lid was being unlocked! Her muscles stiff, Arcadia prepared herself in case she had to make a quick leap or evasion.

The lid opened. A geeky looking guy with glasses and frizzy hair was standing above her, with a corpse in his arms. The body was that of an older man, presumedly a Catholic Priest, given his clothing and collar.

"What...?" the geeky man said, obviously surprised. "How the... this coffin was supposed to be empty!" He dropped the corpse on the floor.

Arcadia sat up, stretching. She took a quick look around. She was in the dungeon of a castle, it looked like. Stone walls, torches, the works. Just like something out of a Dracula movie!

"Thanks!" Arcadia exclaimed, hopping out of the coffin, trying to make light and natural of the whole matter. "You have no idea how cramped it is in there! I can only imagine how a vampire must feel after a good night's... I mean, day's sleep!"

She smiled at the bewildered man, and strutted off towards the door at the other end of the chamber.

"Out of the frying pan," she thought to herself, "hopefully into something cooler than the fire!"

"This looks like something out of a Bela Lugosi movie!" Arcadia thought to herself, as she continued down the dark, dreary underground corridor. A wind from somewhere ahead, a cold draft, blew past her. The torches lining the walls flickered. Arcadia took one, keeping it ahead of her as she walked carefully.

She reached a set of stairs. It seemed to lead up to another level. Arcadia proceeded. From a distance, from a point that she assumed was far outside this castle, she could hear the faint howl of a wolf.

She reached the top of the stairs, and continued along the winding corridor. She could hear footsteps approaching from in front of her, steady and quiet. Arcadia froze, poising herself, the torch extended. For some reason, the thought of a wooden cross and garlic crossed her mind!

The footsteps got closer. And then, as he rounded the corner, Arcadia saw him - the man in black!

"Kai?" she said, quite surprised.

Kai stopped, looking at her, his face as expressionless and void as she remembered first seeing him in the tavern days ago.

"What are you doing here?" Arcadia asked, not knowing what to say to the sinister fellow.

"I'm looking for a very dangerous person," he replied, his voice a deadly calm. "I would strongly recommend that you leave this castle at once."

He walked past her, obviously single-minded about some drastic mission that he was undertaking. He paused for a moment and looked back, however.

"If you wish to remain alive."

He then continued on his way, going to where Arcadia had just come from, disappearing into the darkness, his footsteps becoming faint once again.

Arcadia quickened her step, finding yet another staircase, and then another. She seemed to be ascending, but towards where she did not know, yet.

The corridor she was following soon came to a dead end. Arcadia stopped, moving the torch around, looking for some other path.

"Damn," she muttered, leaning back against the wall, sighing in frustration.

She lurched back, as the wall began to move, rumbling slowly. A secret door! Arcadia waited for the revolution to complete, then stepped through, into another piece of the unknown.

Her torch was beginning to fade, but fortunately, this part of the castle was better illuminated. She discarded the torch, and continued.

No sooner had she rounded the first corner, than she heard steps fast approaching. Stan came running around, bumping into her!

"Ahhhhhh!!!!" he yelled, scared out of his mind.

"Shhhhhh!!" Arcadia said, trying to hush him, steadying him, and putting her hand over his mouth.

"Arcadia?" Stan whispered. "Oh, thank you, thank you! For a minute I thought you were..."

"A vampire?" Arcadia finished the thought for him. "Not a chance."

She then noticed that Stan had a wreath of garlic around his neck. Arcadia couldn't help but snicker.

"You're really buying into all this, aren't you?" she said.

"What do you mean?" Stan said, obviously quite sure that his life was in danger. "It's true! There... there's this guy, Lord Dracul... and... and his servant, Renfield... and these three ladies... I mean, they're really gorgeous and all, but they're REALLY weird! And they want to bite my neck and drain my blood and..."

"Okay, okay!" Arcadia whispered, reassuringly. "Thank you, Bram Stoker. Now, can you remember which way you came so we can get the hell out of here?"

"No, no!" Stan replied, "I'm not going back that way!" He started past Arcadia.

"Well, you're not going that way either!" Arcadia said, pushing him back, "unless you want a date with Mr. Tall Black and Deathly!"

"Kai?" Stan exclaimed. "I knew he wouldn't stay away from this place!"

"Come on, let's go," Arcadia said, taking Stan by the hand and continuing on her way.

***

Arcadia and Stan made their way up through the castle, until they came to another dead end.

"What are we going to do now?" Stan asked.

"Here," Arcadia said, placing her hands on a portion of the stone wall. "Check for pressure points, secret doors."

"Secret what?" Stan exclaimed, leaning back on the wall. It started spinning slowly, taking Stan with it, on the other side.

"Arcadiaaaaaaaaaa!" he cried, but it was too late. Arcadia tried to wedge it, but it sealed shut. She pressed all over the wall, but it wouldn't open again.

"Stan!" she whispered loudly, hoping he might hear her, but her attempt was interrupted by another rumbling sound behind her. The wall opened in a different spot, and the same frizzy haired geek that had opened her coffin earlier came through, carrying a torch.

"You!" Renfield snarled, upon seeing Arcadia. He lunged at her with the torch.

Arcadia grabbed his arm forcefully, spinning him around. Renfield lost his grip, and the torch fell. She then pushed him aside, back down the corridor from whence she had come. He cried out, stumbling down in the darkness, as Arcadia slipped through the portal he had opened before it closed, separating the two.

"The Master will find you!" she could hear Renfield shrieking from behind the stone. "You won't escape, none of you!"

Arcadia pressed on.

***

Arcadia emerged into what must have been one of the upper levels of the castle. It was lighter here, and looked more "lived in," as much as any castle possibly could. Along the corridor that she was walking down, there was a small wooden crucifix mounted on the wall.

"What the hell," Arcadia thought, taking it down, and removing the Christ figurine, leaving the cross empty.

She walked some more, and heard some footsteps and voices ahead. Female, from the sound of them. There was a door to her left just a few paces back. Arcadia turned, and quickly back-tracked. The door was unlocked, from the outside, and she slipped in the room.

It was a well-lit bed chamber. There was a large bed here, with tall wooden spires at the corners. There was a large window, curtained and currently shut. But it was what lay upon the bed that intrigued Arcadia the most...

Xev was spread out, on top of the covers, in a sleepy, casual stance. She looked unconscious, or possibly drugged. Her eyes closed, her lips curved up in a smile, her body shifting ever so slightly every few seconds, and her voice softly moaning, pleasantly.

Arcadia slowly lowered the cross, mezmorized. Xev was truly beautiful, just as she had remembered her from P4X. She was on her back, her body curved, lying there, as if she was waiting...

Quietly, carefully, Arcadia lay the cross down on the bed beside the sleeping goddess, and crept alongside her. She ran her fingers along the blanket, as if testing a pool of water. Then, gently, she placed her hand upon Xev's uncovered, bare stomach.

Xev moaned slightly, as if responding to a dream. Her torso shifted slightly. Arcadia withdrew her hand, waiting. She felt so strange, uncomfortable in a sense, but she couldn't resist this powerful urge!

Arcadia lifted her knee up on the bed next to Xev, and carefully, trying not to disturb her, inched her way on top the blanket, next to Xev. She took her hands, again touching the smooth, lovely flesh of this slumbering beauty. Her hands cupped, she worked her way up, palming her breasts, delicately fondling her shoulders, and caressing her face.

Xev began to breath more intently, responding to Arcadia's touch, pleasurably. Arcadia then lowered herself down, her face just over Xev's mid-rift. She placed her lips near her navel, and began kissing her softly, working lower and lower. Xev's hips arched ever so slightly, feeling the tantalizing warmth of Arcadia's lips...

Arcadia ran her hands over Xev's thighs, fingering the edge of her peculiar scaly skirt. It was tight on her waist, but not impossibly so. Continuing to kiss her, Arcadia began to pull it... lower...

She was too engrossed in her work to notice the window slowly crack open, to observe the large black bat flying close to the pane on the outside, and to see the gaseous mist form and slowly creep into the room.

And her lips and eyes were far too distracted to realize that a tall, dark-haired lady was soon standing in the room, at the foot of the bed.

"What a delicious sight," the woman said softly, running her hand along one of the thin spires.

Arcadia suddenly lifted her head, and turned quickly. Xev stirred a bit, but was still out. Arcadia edged away from the bed, returning to her feet, keeping her eyes fixed upon the stranger.

She was as tall as Arcadia, with long black hair, in curls. Her face was pale, her demeanor Gothic. She had piercing eyes, and long sinewy fingers. She was dressed in black, with a low neckline that showed her lovely creamy bosom.

"Who are you?" Arcadia asked, trying to keep her voice steady. She glanced back at Xev. She was defenseless in this state, and Arcadia's cross was on the other side of the bed!

The dark lady began to walk slowly towards Arcadia's side, away from where the wooden relic lay flat on the blanket. Arcadia had her back towards a wall, the door blocked by the woman's presence, and the open window across the king-sized frame.

"My name is Desdemona," the lady replied, seductively. "And I think you know the rest, my dear."

"I don't believe in vampires!" Arcadia stated firmly, trying to convince herself more than the woman in front of her.

"Good," Desdemona replied, smiling. "Then you won't believe in what I'm about to do, either."

Arcadia's back hit the wall. She was trapped. The lady in black was just a few feet away. She gazed intently at Arcadia, their eyes locking.

Arcadia felt a powerful force, as if she was being compelled, like in a trance, to walk closer to the woman. She tried to fight the urge, but it was too strong! She felt herself moving against her will, except she felt no will, other than that of the seductress.

Desdemona extended her hand, touching Arcadia's shoulder. It felt like ice, stabbing within, painful, yet pleasurable at the same time. She drew her closer in an embrace, their eyes still meeting...

Xev suddenly moved, moaning more loudly than before, taking a bunch of blanket in her fist, and shifting in her sleep. The sound and movement distracted Desdemona. She withdrew slightly, focusing her attention on the possibly waking Xev. Arcadia felt the trance dissolve. Her head cleared, and she acted.

Her hand was inches away from one of the wooden spires connected to the headboard. It was narrow, and tipped at the end. She reached out, forcefully grabbing the upper portion, and pulling with all her might. It snapped. Desdemona turned back suddenly, but it was too late. With a single, powerful thrust, Arcadia pushed the pointy dowel into the woman's chest!

Desdemona groaned, gasping, clutching her bosom, then falling to the ground. Arcadia watched, breathless, as her pale body began to dissolve in the black robe, until the fabric went limp on the floor, void of flesh to fill it.

Arcadia placed the stake on the bed, stunned. She looked over at Xev. She was still under, her eyes still closed angelically. Arcadia exhaled slowly, then went on the other side of the bed towards the open window. She paused for moment, leaning over Xev once more.

"Sweet dreams, my darling," she whispered, kissing her once more, tenderly, on her lips. Then, she went to the window, and climbed out into the night air.

Arcadia could see above her in the moonlight a pair of dark figures dueling. It was the man in black, and his opponent... something... or someone... from the depths of hell no doubt! Arcadia had no desire to interfere or investigate.

"Enough of Walpurgis Night for me!" She skillfully worked her way down to a balcony below, then dropped a level further, until she could safely land on the dirt beneath. She looked once more at the dark castle, then ran ahead to the Transylvanian woods beyond.

***

Arcadia ran through the woods, away from the castle, as fast as she could. It was cold, misty. She could see her breath as she moved along, dodging branches and brambles. Would this forest ever let up?

After a while, she came across a road. It was narrow and windy, but a road nonetheless. She stooped down off the shoulder, and waited.

Sure enough, a pair of headlights could be seen in the distance, and the sound of a truck's engine was heard. Arcadia ducked beneath the embankment. A truck emerged, ambling slowly along her side of the road. She waited until it was passing, got a good look at the open back, and ran behind it, catching the tailgate, and pulling herself up into the covered bed.

She sat down, making herself comfortable amidst the boxes and bags of cargo. She watched the road behind her. Anything to put distance between her and that nightmare!

***

Arcadia must have dozed off. She woke up as the truck bumped over a cattle guard. It was still moving. The terrain had changed slightly, still woods, but perhaps far enough. Arcadia crouched, waited, picking the right moment, then jumped from the tail onto some dirt on the side of the road.

After a quick shake-off, she started walking, not sure where she was. Somewhere in Eastern Europe obviously! There was a full moon above, the sky clear and black, with dawn some time away yet.

It was a few minutes later that Arcadia thought she heard chanting. And she thought she could see through the trees a faint flicker, like a campfire. Carefully, she came closer to the source, and saw a clearing. Inside the clearing, there were several... people... chanting in some strange tongue, as if they were performing a ritual
of some sort. There were a few men dressed in brown robes, with hoods, holding staves. There was a woman, dressed in beautiful radiant gowns, with... wings! And there were two animals, a lioness, and... a unicorn?

Arcadia blinked her eyes in wonder, crouching behind a bush, watching this strange spectacle.

Then, something sparked the lioness's attention. Her eyes became alert, her stance ready. She sniffed the air, as if picking up a scent. Arcadia froze, thinking that she might have been discovered. The lioness leaned in to the unicorn and... WHISPERED something in her ear! The unicorn nodded, and trotted off, away from the circle, as the lioness began to move towards Arcadia's position.

Arcadia slowly began backing up, trying to be as quiet as possible. This was too strange! She got in some lesser foliage, then spun around, poised to bolt, and ran!

She only got a few paces. She ran straight into the unicorn, waiting for her! Arcadia scrambled to her feet, and tried to run another direction, but got pounced on by the lioness! Trapped!

"So, out for a sneak peek, huh?" the lioness said, pinning Arcadia by the shoulders.

"Ow!" Arcadia yelled, feeling the claws dig in to her flesh.

The lioness held her, as the unicorn hovered over her. The unicorn's expression suddenly changed.

"Arcadia?" she exclaimed, in shock.

The lioness suddenly pulled back, taking pressure off Arcadia. Looking stunned as well, she leaned in to get a closer look. Her tawny feline face broke out in a big grin, as she gave Arcadia a big sloppy lick!

"Arcadia! It is you!" the lioness exclaimed. "What on earth are you doing here?"

Arcadia tried getting to her feet as the lioness eased off. She looked at her, then at the unicorn. She could hear the sound of the people in the circle coming to see what the lioness had found.

Then... she passed out!

***

Arcadia awoke inside a peculiar looking pavilion. She was lying on a cot of sorts. Sitting next to her was the lioness, the angel, the unicorn, and one of the men in a brown robe.

"She's awake," the angel said.

"Arcadia, it's so good to see you again," the unicorn said, trotting closer, "but I'm at a total loss as to how you're here!"

Arcadia sat up, rubbing her head a bit. She looked in awe and a little apprehension of this motley crew.

"I don't understand," she replied. "How do you know me? And, no offense, but how the hell are you TALKING?"

The unicorn looked surprised. "Don't you remember me?" she said. "Silvanus? Your steed?"

Arcadia shook her head. "I don't even know where I am!"

"You're in the Glade," the angel answered. "We were preparing for the Feast of Mograth, which will take place in a fortnight. We're preparing for Oberon and Titania's return!"

Arcadia just looked in wonder. "You're Shakespearean actors?" she hazarded a guess, the play Midsummer Night's Dream being the only thing coming to mind.

"You really don't remember, don't you?" the lioness said, confused.

"Remember what?" Arcadia stated. "I've never been in Eastern Europe before, I've never seen any of you before, and other than reading C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia, I've never heard of talking animals before!" She paused, looking at the unicorn. "Mythical or otherwise!"

She felt a bad headache coming on.

***

It took a long time for Silvanus to explain. Arcadia's head was spinning. First Stan, Xev and Kai, now all this. Could she have truly lived previous lives, in some far away place? Or here in Earth's distant past?

"So, let me get this straight," Arcadia said, trying to form a synopsis. "I came here 4,000 years ago from another universe, bringing a group of people called Sal'terrans, who became the basis for the Elves' legend. I fought along side some of you against a group of exiles like myself called the Olympians, also from the other universe. The unicorn was my steed, I carried a talking magical sword, and I left in a derelict spacecraft that had originally belonged to the Valhallans, who were yet another group of exiles, except they were friendly and helped us in our battles. Do I have it right so far?"

They all nodded, as if it made perfect sense.

"So," Arcadia remarked, smiling. "When do I get to meet Mr. Spock? Or did he fly away with Darth Vader to Gilligan's Island?"

***

After some much needed rest, Arcadia spent some time talking with the man in the robe, whom she soon learned was a Druid.

"Tell me about this Glade," she said.

"I would imagine you'd already know," the Druid responded, astonished. "According to our history, you played an integral role in preserving our Order."

"Just... say for a moment that I don't know, okay?" Arcadia said. "Please, just help me understand all this."

"The Glade is a place outside the continuum of space and time," the Druid explained. "It's an ancient realm of magic, forged millenia ago. There used to be many more practitioners and believers in ancient times. Now, there are just a few. Oberon is king, and Titania is his queen. The Glade intersects time and space at many different points in our universe. There are doors, which the knowledgeable and gifted can open, if desired. Inside the Glade, time is not measured as on the outside, which is why many of our mystical friends do not age throughout the centuries. I figured that you too must have done the same thing, looking no different than the legends say from 4,000 years ago..."

"Wait a second," Arcadia said, interrupting him. "So, if I hear you right, the Glade can access the real world at different times, different places?"

"Yes," the Druid replied.

"So," Arcadia continued, "being in the Glade now, I could re-enter the real world at any time, or any place?"

"I theory, yes," the Druid stated, "although it's most commonly done from place to place in the woods."

Arcadia was thinking, pondering. Was it really possible? Given what she had seen so far... This could be the answer to her problem!

"What if I wanted to leave the Glade," Arcadia said, speculating, "say, returning to the real world at a point in time BEFORE I entered it in the woods earlier?"

The Druid considered for a moment. "I suppose it could be done," he responded. "I've never heard of it before, but in theory, I guess, yes. But I'm sure you'd have to talk to Oberon about it."

"Well then," Arcadia said, smiling and taking the Druid's arm. "Let's go see the King Fairy, shall we?"’

The Feast of Mograth was just a few days away. Arcadia gained an audience with Oberon before he and his company left the Glade to embark for London, to hold the event.

"Well, well, Arcadia," the King said, upon seeing her. "Long time no see. You've kept marvellously youthful for being on the outside for... 4,000 years!" He and Puck laughed frivolously.

"Thank you, sire, or... your excellence, or... whatever. Look..." Arcadia began, stumbling. "I need your help. I've been wrongfully accused by my government for some very grievous offences. I need to prove my innocence. If I could somehow re-enter my world from the Glade, but at a point earlier in time..."

"Ah, the joys of time travel!" Oberon laughed. "Every mortal's dream! If I had a sprig of mistletoe for every time I got a request like..."

"You would, if you didn't use them to wipe your ass!" Titania interjected.

"Silence, shrew!" Oberon yelled. "If you only knew how glad I was that the Feast was only a few days away, and I could be RID of you FINALLY...!"

"Seventy-six hours and counting!" Puck trilled, pretending to look at watch on his limp wrist.

"Enough!" Oberon said again. "Now, Arcadia, as for your request..."

"Please, sir," she said. "I know it's a lot, but..."

"If you were any other mortal, I would send you to the trees for such a demand," Oberon stated. "However, being that you have an unusual position among our folk, and since Silvanus has given you some special recommendation... I will grant your request."

Arcadia felt a great sigh of relief come up and pass from her lips. She smiled over at Silvanus.

***

"Good luck," Silvanus said, as she escorted Arcadia to the point where she could pass over.

"Thanks," Arcadia replied. "I wish I could remember you," she said. "I think we would have made a great team."

"We did," the unicorn stated. "A long time ago."

She handed Arcadia a pouch from her mouth.

"Here," she said. "Keep this handy. You might need it if you decide to re-enter the Glade at some point. It's magical dust."

Arcadia palmed the pouch, nodding, and tucking it away. "Thanks," she said, "and... farewell."

She stepped through the gate...

***

Arcadia emerged in the real world, most certainly real! She was in an alley of a busy city. A few yards away was the crossing of a large boulevard. She stepped out, looking around. Tall buildings, street signs, pedestrians, and... Model A Fords?

The cars driving on the streets were something out of an old Bogart movie. The clothing of the passers-by... where the hell... or WHEN the hell was she?

Adjusting her eyes to the sunlight overhead, Arcadia saw her first and most obvious clue. The sign on the side of the building, the familiar old white-haired patriot...

UNCLE SAM WANTS YOU!

A man in a fedora hat and overcoat passed by, glancing at Arcadia's out of style fashion, and tossing a newspaper into the trash can nearby. Arcadia grabbed it, looking at the front page:

June 6, 1944
ALLIED FORCES LAND IN FRANCE!

"Oh, shit!" Arcadia muttered under her breath.

***

Arcadia was still in shock that she hadn't noticed that she had inadvertantly stepped out into the busy street!

A car honked, swerving.

"Watch where you're going, you Crazy Broad!" the driver yelled out the window, in a thick Brooklyn accent.

Arcadia jumped back on the sidewalk, accidently bumping into another pedestrian.

"Watch where you're steppin', Lady!" the man shouted in her face, glancing in disgust at Arcadia's outfit.

"What a space cadet!" the fellow muttered, as he went on his way.

"New Yorkers!" Arcadia thought to herself. She started off down the street, in hopes of finding somewhere out of the way where she could use that dust and get out of the 1940's!

She was at a busy intersection, with some construction going on. She could see Times Square not far away. If she could find somewhere quiet, indoors perhaps...

Arcadia's plans were interrupted by a shriek. Just a couple yards away, a man had casually bumped into an older woman, and had grabbed her handbag as he was pulling away. He ran past Arcadia, bumping into her by accident, then bolting down the sidewalk.

"HELP! HELP!" the woman was shouting. "That man... he grabbed my bag!"

The commotion attracted some attention, but no one was doing much to help. The man had a big head start, and could disappear into the crowd in a few seconds.

Arcadia saw a rope nearby. It was dangling from a ladder, part of the nearby construction. The rope was golden-yellow, pretty strong by appearances, and... it was already in a slip knot, with a fairly large loop!

She wasted no time. Arcadia grabbed the rope, and starting swinging it.

"Look out!" she warned the nearest pedestrians.

She gave it some more slack, twirling it overhead. It was just then that Arcadia was thankful for her Texas upbringing, and the fact that she had spent some summers helping out on her grandpa's ranch!

The thief was almost out of sight. Arcadia gave the make-shift lasso a final swing and let it fly. It swooshed through the air, landing around the man's neck and shoulders. Then, Arcadia pulled!

It was like the man had a seat-belt on and the car had stopped suddenly. He jerked, losing hold of the bag, yanked back, stumbling backwards, and landing sprawled on his back. Arcadia tightened the rope, and started pulling, dragging the thief back a few yards.

This spectacle had drawn a crowd, and the folks around started applauding and cheering. A couple of cops came running, taking the man into custody.

Arcadia picked up the purse, handing it back to the woman.

"Here you go, ma'am," she said.

"I don't know to thank you, my dear!" the old woman replied. "That was simply amazing!"

Arcadia smiled, and was about to walk off, when a man with a camera came running up.

"Miss, Miss!" he shouted. "That was amazing! I caught the whole thing, the way you used that rope... incredible!"

"Yeah, well," Arcadia said, trying to avoid a calamity, and unnecessary attention.

"Hey, can I get your photograph?" the man said. "I'm a reporter for the New York Times. Well, sort of. I'm really an artist, comics and such. Just trying to make a living until my drawings pick up."

"Well... okay," Arcadia stated, agreeing. The people around her were urging her on.

"All right!" the photographer said, aiming and snapping the photo. "Here's the Rosie the Riveter!"

More cheers from the crowd.

"Thanks, lady!" he exclaimed.

"Any time," Arcadia replied, taking advantage of the commotion to slip away, down the street and into a nearby building.

"Wow," the photographer exclaimed to himself as Arcadia walked away. "That woman... what a wonder! Hey..."

The young illustrator smiled, his creative mind just concocting the seed of a great idea...

"Wonder Woman!"

***

"This has got to be the most unstable magical dust I've ever seen!" Arcadia thought, sprinkling some, opening up a new gate. "As if I've ever seen any at all!"

The portal shimmered, and she went through.

***

Back in the Glade.

"Let's try this again."

Arcadia shot another dose of dust into the air. The portal opened again, just as Silvanus had done before. Arcadia crossed her fingers...

***

It certainly wasn't New York, and doubtful that it was the 1940's. But it certainly wasn't a pleasant arrival!

Japanese people were running like crazy. Alarms were sounding, buildings were crashing down. It looked like the beginning of a holocaust... or the set of a Godzilla movie!

Arcadia dodged flying rubble, trying to look up at the large, overbearing form causing such destruction in the land of the Rising Sun - it was an enormous woman!

Hundreds of feet tall, more awesome than the World Trade Center (when it was still standing), she was walking through the city of Tokyo, causing demolition and terror wherever she stepped. It looked like something out of a horrible nightmare!

"No way I'm sticking around to become goo on the bottom of some Giant's boot!" Arcadia thought, pulling out another dose of dust and sprinking...

***

"Third time's got to be a charm!" Arcadia figured, once back in the Glade, except...

She was in the midst of a grove of trees, not so strange in the Glade, but these trees were singing!

"O-O-Oberon..." they chanted in unison.

Puzzled, Arcadia started walking towards a large pavilion. It was Oberon's court, for sure. Near the entrance she saw two trees... with... people "growing" inside them! And not just any two people...

"Kai...? Xev...?" Arcadia stammered.

Sure enough, Kai and Xev were encased in tree-bark, with leaves growing around them. They were singing jovially along with the arboreal chorus, to the tune of "Row Row Row Your Boat." Stan was nowhere to be seen.

"Aren't they marvellous?" a voice said.

Arcadia turned to see Puck sitting cross-legged on a nearby rock, his wand in hand.

"I especially like Kai's lovely baritone!"

"What's happened to them?" Arcadia asked.

"Oh, just a little diversion to keep them out of Oberon's way while he works on Stan a bit," Puck replied.

"Works on Stan...? Oh my God!" Arcadia exclaimed.

"Well, he is King of the Fairies, you know!" Puck insisted with a smirk.

"Kai, Xev!" Arcadia said, trying to get their attention. "Can you hear me? Snap out of it!"

"Oh, they're having too much fun!" Puck laughed.

"We can hear you, Arcadia!" Kai and Xev replied. "Come, join us in our song!"

"Some other time, thanks," Arcadia answered. She wished she could do something, but she really didn't see how she could influence the situation, nor did she have the time.

"Will they be okay?" Arcadia asked.

Puck shrugged. "I suppose, eventually."

Arcadia sighed, looking at Kai and Xev one last time. What could she do?

"Sorry guys," she said, and pulled out her pouch again. Only one dose left!

"I really hope this does the trick!" she said, and gave it a sprinkle.

"Oh, how pretty!" Puck exclaimed, as Arcadia walked through the portal. "You tinkle so well...!"

***

Arcadia emerged in a public bathroom. A man was zipping up his fly at the urinal.

"Damn!" he exclaimed as he turned around and saw Arcadia. "What, are you blind?"

"Oh, sorry!" Arcadia exclaimed. "I could have sworn this was the lady's room!" She tried to sound genuinely surprised and sincere.

The man shook his head and walked out. Arcadia followed, smiling.

"Can't even get the gender right!" she thought, tossing the empty pouch in the trash can on the way out.

She exited the men's room, onto the floor of a huge casino! The sign overhead... Circus Circus!

"Hmmm..." Arcadia thought, lookinf around. There must be a way to check...

There was a pay phone nearby. She went over, checking the change dispenser for any coins that might have gotten left behind. Her fingers found a nickel. She picked it up and looked closely.

The inscription read "2000."

"It's about time!" she thought, breathing a sigh of relief. Arcadia then turned and headed onto the floor, about to try her luck this time... in Las Vegas!

***

Arcadia had one major problem being in Vegas - she was broke! And, of course, being in Las Vegas without money was like flying a plane without wings!

She thought she saw a solution:

CAN YOU SURVIVE THE RING WITH THIS???

The promotional billboard showed a truly ferocious woman wrestler. Some kind of contest, perhaps. The prize award was what caught Arcadia's eye!

"Why not?" she thought. Arcadia had done some women's boxing in the Air Force, and she had some experience with kicking some hefty ass, men or women!

She made her way to the arena. It was a studio, really, with a caged ring. Apparently, the fights were televised.

"Just great," Arcadia muttered. "I've sunk to new depths!" thinking of how silly and fake she thought WWF was! But... money was money.

"A volunteer, huh?" the ringmaster said, as Arcadia approached.

"Sure," she replied. "Hook me up. I'll go a round or two with Helga in there." She motioned to the ferocious She-Beast in the cage.

The ringmaster gave Arcadia a visual once-over. He gave her bicep a quick squeeze.

"Oooo, a tough one!" he stated, smiling. "This ought to be a good match!"

Arcadia was shown to a locker room, where she could change into an outfit more appropriate for the arena, and for TV! She came out, ready for action.

"So, let me get this straight," Arcadia said, as she was taken to the cage. "All I gotta do is survive a few minutes in here, and I get the prize money, right?"

The ringmaster laughed. "No, sweetheart, you gotta WIN!"

Arcadia's smile quickly faded as the cage door clicked, locking her inside... with her opponent!

"Oh shit!" she said, under her breath, as the woman charged.

This behemoth was strong, but fortunately for Arcadia, not terribly quick. Arcadia ducked and dodged the initial incoming assaults, until she could think of some way to get the upper hand.

Arcadia evaded a lunge, and then side-stepped over to the cage. It was linked, and climbable. The woman followed Arcadia, just as she was counting on, and prepared for another swipe.

Arcadia took hold of the chain links, boostering herself up. Holding on, she let her legs fly out in a powerful kick, straight into her opponent's head! The force jolted the woman, and she fell back. Arcadia sprung from the cage side, landing directly on top of her, pinning her. A few quick punches disabled the giantess enough for
Arcadia to get off, and regain her stance.

The woman slowly got to her feet, enraged, and a little disoriented. Arcadia was ready, however, and threw a round house kick, slamming her against the cage, with a tingling rattle. She bounced off, only to be met with a series of punches to the gut and face. The woman collapsed.

"We have a winner!" the ringmaster shouted, opening the cage. The wrestler was dragged from the ring by a couple of attendants, dazed.

"You bitch!" she blubbered at Arcadia, as she was hauled away.

"So, Arcadia," the ringmaster said, putting his arm around her shoulder, and the microphone to her mouth. "You were quite incredible in there!"

"I've seen worse, believe me," Arcadia replied.

"I certainly can," the man continued. "Now, I'm going to offer you a choice. You can walk away with the prize money now, or... you can take a chance in the ring with another contestant and DOUBLE your winnings! How does that sound?"

"Well, I suppose one more match won't hurt," Arcadia said, grinning.

"I was hoping you would say that!" the man exclaimed. "Now, ladies and gentlemen, for your enjoyment, Arcadia Selinger vs..." he whispered in the ear of his assisant for verification, "... Xev of B3K!"

Arcadia's mouth dropped as Xev walked into the cage. Xev looked equally surprised.

"Xev? Oh my God!" Arcadia ran up to her, hugging her.

"Arcadia!" Xev exclaimed, returning her embrace. "I can't believe you're here!"

"Me either," Arcadia said. "I mean, the last time I saw you, you..."

"Whoa, whoa, Ladies!" the ringmaster said, breaking them up. "This is a fight match, not a class reunion!"

"Hold on," Arcadia stated. "I'm not fighting Xev. She's my friend."

"Hey, listen girlie!" the man said, angrily. "You agreed to fight. This is television! Now, put on a show for our viewers!"

"I don't think so," Arcadia responded, walking to the door. It was locked!

"Let me out of here!" she shouted. "I forfeit! Just give me my cash from the first match!"

"NO ONE LEAVES until someone goes down!" the man shouted. He then turned to the cameraman. "Roll 'em!"

"I'm sorry, Arcadia," Xev said, "it looks like we don't have much of a choice."

"He just better run once this match is over and I'm out of this cage!" Arcadia grumbled.

Xev sighed, then smiled, and rushed Arcadia, grappling her. She leaned in, inconspicuously.

"Arcadia!" she whispered, as she pretended to wrestle. "Pin me, I'll go down!"

"No," Arcadia whispered back. "It's too obvious! Here, just follow my lead."

Arcadia went in, grabbing Xev by the waist, picking her up and throwing her back over her shoulders and back. She deliberately hesitated in turning around to face her, hoping Xev would get the hint. She did, and put Arcadia in a full Nelson. Arcadia swiped back with her right leg, causing Xev to lose balance. Both women went down.

Arcadia rolled on top of Xev, pinning her. As much as she would have loved to do other things in this position, Arcadia knew she had to make it look real.

"Roll me over!" she whispered to Xev. Xev followed instructions well, flipping Arcadia on her side, then pouncing, pinning her down.

"Now, hit me!" she whispered, trying not to make it looked coached.

"What?" Xev asked, a little too loud.

"Shhhh!" Arcadia replied. "Just hit me! Don't worry, I can take it!"

Xev shrugged, not so happily, but brought her fist back, and socked one to Arcadia. Arcadia's body went limp.

"We have a winner!" the ringmaster shouted, opening the cage door, and holding Xev's hand up in victory.

Arcadia was on her feet in a second. She grabbed the man, throwing him against the cage. The cameras were still rolling.

"I outta rip you a new one!" Arcadia seethed, checking his pockets.

"Don't stop!" the lead cameraman shouted. "Are you getting this? This is great!"

Arcadia spun the ringmaster around. "Give me my money, NOW!" she ordered.

"I can't believe you would force me to fight my friend," Xev commented.

"Show business," the man groaned, clutching his throat.

"Yeah, there's no business like it," Arcadia grinned, tightening her grip. "Now, pony up!"

"Dammit, we're on national television!" the man cried.

"I don't care!" Arcadia shouted in his face. "I've had a REALLY bad week! Now, LET ME HAVE IT!"

The ringmaster reached in his jacket and withdrew a wad of bills. "Here, take it, you whore!" he screamed, trying to dramatize it.

"Thanks," Arcadia replied, stuffing the money in her boot. She then gave the man a quick knee in the groin, and let him sag to the ground, doubled over in pain.

"Take care of yourself, okay, Xev?" Arcadia said, giving her a quick hug.

"I will," Xev replied. "You too, Arcadia. Hey, we had fun at least, right?"

"Always," Arcadia smiled, as she ran out of the arena.

Arcadia checked the wad of bills once she was out of sight. It wasn't much. Well, this was Vegas! Maybe she could get lucky...

She made her way to the gaming room. Arcadia had always been pretty good with Blackjack. What the hell?

She sat down at a table. There were a couple of other players. A big fellow wearing a cowboy hat was next to her.

"Well, howdy darlin'" he said, with a thick, and familiar, Texas drawl. "My name's Tex. And what can I call you?" He was obviously trying to get fresh!

"Arcadia," she replied, trying to ignore him. She put her bet down, the whole wad!

"Say, gal!" Tex exclaimed. "You're one loaded little lady! What else you got in there?" He started running his hand playfully down her leg, towards her boot.

Arcadia grabbed his wayward hand, twisting it hard, and jerking it up.

"Ahhh, dammit!" the Texan yelled. Arcadia wrenched his arm around his back, and held it for a moment before letting go.

"Not today, Bubba!" she said, evenly.

When his arm was relaxed, the man got up, and took his chips, heading to another table.

"Ready, lady?" the dealer asked.

Arcadia nodded, and got her cards. She had a queen and a five. Fifteen. Not the best start. The dealer was showing an eight.

"Hit," Arcadia said, wincing with anticipation. The dealer dropped the card. A six! Twenty-one! Arcadia breathed a sigh of relief. But the dealer still had a card coming...

He drew. A jack! His other card was a four! Busted! Arcadia couldn't help but smile.

"Pot goes to the lady," the dealer said, not too happy. Arcadia took her chips and went to cash in.

She then noticed the ATF agents entering the casino. What was it that the ringmaster had said? National television? Damn!

Trying to keep out of sight, Arcadia headed towards the elevator. The chips would have to wait! She got in and headed up.

She got off somewhere mid-level, and entered the hall. It was a mess! There was a room service cart spilled over in the corridor, and a couple of doors off their hinges, as if they had been broken down! Carefully, Arcadia began walking down towards the fire escape.

She heard some voices shouting from down the hall. She quickly ran towards the first open door and slipped in.

The room was out of sorts, the bed all tassled. Whoever was making the noise was coming down the hall. The door was broken, anyone could see inside. There was only one quick place to hide. Arcadia dived under the bed.

She could hear the footsteps pass. She breathed a sigh of relief. But she had the distinct impression that she wasn't the only one hiding under this particular bed. She did a quick roll out from under, then reached back in, grabbed hold of something and yanked.

"AHHHHHHH!!!!!!" the voice said, in a chilling scream. It was Stan!

"You scared the shit out of me!" Arcadia cried.

"You?!" Stan cried back. He got to his feet, trembling. Arcadia couldn't help but notice a wet spot on his crotch. He was trying to cover it up.

"Arcadia, what are you DOING here?" Stan exclaimed.

"Never mind," Arcadia replied. "You gotta help me get out of here!"

"Good idea!" Stan agreed. "That-that-that THING is loose!"

"What thing?" Arcadia inquired, doubting that he was referring to the ATF.

"You know, that-that big, ugly..." Stan stammered. "What, didn't you SEE it?"

"I've been occupied," Arcadia stated. "Come on, let's split!"

"No argument here!" Stan grabbed his hat and followed her out the door.

The two of them made their way down the hall to a staircase. "This way," Arcadia said, opening the door, and heading down.

Halfway down, she could hear footsteps and voices ascending. They were trapped! Arcadia grabbed Stan.

"Come here!" she ordered, pulling him close, and kissing him.

The two of them were lip-locked, facing away on the side of the stairs when a crew of ATF agents came charging up. They bypassed the kissing couple.

"Get a room, will ya?" one of them sneered, as they kept going up. Arcadia waited until they were up a flight before letting go.

Stan still had his eyes closed, enraptured, his lips still puckered in a daze. "Oooooo, Mmmmmmmm..." he groaned.

"That's all you get, fly-boy!" Arcadia said, dragging the euphoric Stan down the stairs again.

"Hey, can we...? I mean..." Stan was trying to get it out as the two of them exited the stairwell, and into the lobby.

There were three agents on guard. They recognized Arcadia. "There she is!" they cried, drawing their weapons.

Arcadia shoved Stan back into the stairwell. "Run!" she yelled at him, as she took off the other way to the side door.

The agents picked up pursuit, yelling "stop!" Arcadia threw the side door open, the alarm sounding. She ran outside on the pool deck. It was crowded. The agents wouldn't open fire here... assumedly...

Arcadia ran to the gate, the agents close behind. She emerged on the sidewalk, near the hotel's main entrance. There were several cabs on the strip. One had its door open, and a valet was about to help a couple into the back.

"Sorry!" Arcadia blurted out, bumping the couple and the valet aside, and hopping into the backseat. She slammed the door shut.

"Hey, that's ours!" the young fellow shouted, banging on the window. Arcadia could see the agents fast-approaching thru the gate, behind the cab, in the rear windshield.

"Step on it!" Arcadia ordered the driver.

"Where to?" the flustered man asked.

"JUST DRIVE!" Arcadia shouted, tossing her entire stash of chips onto the front seat.

"You got it!" then driver exclaimed, seeing the chips fall. He peeled out, just before the agents caught up, heading away from the casino, into downtown Vegas.

***

"You in some sort of trouble, lady?" the driver asked, speeding down the strip.

"You can say that," Arcadia replied, checking behind them, to see if they were being followed.

"Can you get me to an airport?" she asked the driver.

"I can get you one better than that," he replied. "Just so happens I'm due to pick up a fellow who owns a private jet!"

"Oh, you're the best!" Arcadia replied, smiling. "How can I ever repay you?"

"You just did!" the driver responded laughing, letting his fingers sift through the pile of chips on the seat next to him.

The cab stopped at a residence. An older gentleman got in, with a
pair of bags.

"Hope you don't mind sharing," Arcadia said, apologetically.

"Oh, not at all!" the man replied, grinning, seating himself next to Arcadia.

She explained the situation. The man was quite sympathetic. "Sure, I'll be happy to give you a ride in my plane," he said, "assuming you're going to Texas!"

Arcadia chuckled in response. "It's as if you're reading my mind!"

***

The cab dropped Arcadia and the gentleman off at an airfield. He checked in, submitted his flight plan, and he and Arcadia walked to his plane.

It was a beauty of a jet! Arcadia had flown something similar herself for airshows before working for the airline.

"All aboard," the man exclaimed, helping Arcadia up and closing the hatch. He made the necessary preparations and started the plane up.

They cruised down the runway, lifting off. The small jet was fast and agile. As they turned, directing the nose east, Arcadia saw something.

A flock of strange orange pointed things were descending upon Las Vegas. They looked a little like carrots. There were hundreds... thousands of them! They dove in upon the city as the plane cruised off towards Texas.

"My God," Arcadia exclaimed. "ATF terrorism, flying bugs from another universe, vampires, talking beasts and fairies, and now orange dildos from the sky!"

She sighed, thinking about everything that had taken place since that day on board Flight 1313.

"Are we finally coming apart?" she asked, more to herself than the man piloting.

"You know," the man said, "I heard something on the news the other day, some commentary by this wacky scientist in Texas. He said something about Earth being a 'Type 13' planet, whatever that means."

"Thirteen," Arcadia stated, scoffing. "Just my luck. And we're right on the edge of it!"

***

The man landed his plane just outside Waco, Texas. Arcadia thanked him, and departed.

"So, where are you off to now?" he asked her.

"Dr. Longbore," she replied. "The wacky scientist you mentioned. I think my answers might lie with him."

"Good luck!" the man said, waving.

Arcadia waved back, then started walking to the highway, thumbing for a ride in the hot Texas sun.

***

Getting a ride wasn't the hard part, thanks to Arcadia's stunning figure, and the fact that she was still wearing the wrestling outfit. The hard part was finding Dr. Longbore's compound!

"Is the place you're looking for, ma'am?" the redneck in the truck asked, as he pulled up to a bunker in the midst of mesquite trees and bushes.

"I think so," Arcadia replied, hopping out of the truck. "Thanks, I appreciate the lift."

"Much obliged, ma'am," the fellow responded. "But I'd be careful about getting mixed up with those Star Trek lovin' spaceship building geeks! They'll mess ya straight up in the head, I tell ya!"

"Thanks again," Arcadia said, smiling. She gave a little wave, and walked towards the compound.

Two young people, a man and a woman were walking out. Arcadia went up to them.

"Excuse me," she said, "I need to speak with Dr. Longbore. Is he here?"

"Sure, he's here," the young man replied. "But there's no point in talking to him!"

"Why not?" Arcadia asked. "He is the one who's building that spaceship right? The one who's been talking about the Earth coming to an end and all that?"

"Yep," the woman answered, "but don't expect anything from Dr. High-And-Mighty! He already has HIS crew!"

The two of them scoffed as a pretty young blond exited, stepping around them.

"Oh, Hi!" she said, tilting her head. "Um, is there a bathroom around here? I need to freshen up before I go up into space!"

"Yeah, sure," the woman said again, sarcastically. "Just follow the stench to the outhouse!"

"Oh, thank you!" the blond said, frivolously, and bounced off towards another part of the compound.

"And there goes Bimbo number infinite!" the man mumbled.

"I don't get it," Arcadia said, confused. "What's the problem?"

The young pair explained Dr. Longbore's process of selection of candidates who would accompany him on his flight.

"So, basically, if you don't have blond hair, big tits and no brain, you're screwed?" Arcadia commented.

"That's it in a nutshell!" the man replied. "Some finish for us, all of us who labored so long and hard in putting together his precious Noah!"

Arcadia gazed at the cheerleader as she came back towards the bunker.

"Hey, there's no powder room!" she complained, pouting.

"Oh, darn!" the woman responded, mockingly.

Arcadia watched as she went back inside. "Y'all wouldn't happen to have any wigs, would you?" she asked.

***

An attractive blond walked into the bunker a few minutes later. She was about 5'10", shapely, with pretty green eyes. She was wearing a strikingly familiar cheer-leader's outfit.

Dr. Longbore was having some sort of argument with some of his people. Smiling, the blond, walked around, stepping up to the gangplank of the Noah, and walking in through the main portal.

Once inside, Arcadia threw off her wig, revealing her true raven-black hair. She began searching for the control deck.

There was a wide assortment of blond girls aboard, all pretty, well-figured, and ditzy as hell.

"Wow, Heather!" some of them exclaimed as Arcadia walked in. "You dyed your hair! Ugggh, couldn't you have chosen some other color than brunette?"

"Shut up, bimbo, and show me the cockpit to this thing!" Arcadia shot back.

"Uh! Well!" the girls pouted. "No need to spaz out! I'm totally sure!"

Ignoring them, Arcadia found what might have been the bridge, but the controls were so unfamiliar.

"I don't suppose any of you Barbie's know how to operate this thing?" she asked, looking at their blank stares. "Too much to ask?"

A few minutes later, Arcadia could here some commotion outside the ship. Then, a man and a woman stumbled into the main deck.

"Mr. President!" Arcadia exclaimed, immediately recognizing President Priest. First Lady Bunny was with him.

"Oh, God!" the President exclaimed, clearly out of breath after some ordeal.

"Mr. President, what in the name of...?" Arcadia began. She was interrupted by a sudden thud, as the hatch closed, and as a fierce rumble began.

The ship began to shake, as it thrust upwards. The Noah blasted off, ascending into the atmosphere, up, up, higher and higher.

Arcadia ran to the portside window. She could see the air getting thinner as the Noah began to clear the Earth's atmosphere. And then, blackness and stars.

Arcadia had never been in space before, during all her years in service. She had never worked with NASA. It was exhiliarating, but also a bit frightening.

She glanced over at the President and the First Lady. They both seemed quite relieved over something. Arcadia sat back in one of the chairs, wondering if she had made the right decision after all!

***

Arcadia was desperately trying to figure out the Noah's controls, but not having much luck. The ship seemed to have been programmed, with navigation out of the hands of the on-board pilot.

But navigation soon became the least of Arcadia's problems...

"My God, what IS that?!" she exclaimed, looking out the starboard side.

There was quite a bit of commotion high above the little blue planet. Arcadia could see a giant... insect... resembling a dragonfly without wings, in orbit. It had a huge bifurcated head, and an ocular array of "eyes." She assumed this must be the Lexx!

But they weren't alone up here. There was a massive meteor in orbit as well, from which originated countless drones which were swarming about, attacking the Lexx, and also three moths! One of the moths seemed to be towing something.

The Noah soon broke orbit, heading towards the moon and beyond. But the spectacle was far from over!

Arcadia continued to view from aft. She could see the Lexx directing its array towards Earth. There was a sizzling burst of light, as a great orange fiery ribbon shot from the insect-vessel, heading straight for the planet below!

"No!" Arcadia cried, wincing, putting her hands up to the port-hole, as if she could somehow stop the blast. The ribbon cut across space, slicing into the Earth. Then, a terrifying explosion.

Arcadia closed her eyes, turning away. Her planet, gone! Blown up in the blink of an eye. She could look no more.

Turning back to see her fellow survivors of the late great planet, Arcadia saw a brilliant flash on deck.

"YES! Free at last!"

It was Prince! His arms outstretched as if victorious over something.

"Oh, my Prince!" President Priest cried out, cowering to the white-haired man.

First Lady Bunny scowled, apparently not very happy.

"So," Arcadia remarked, approaching Prince. "Along for the ride as well?"

Prince looked at Arcadia, smiling wickedly. "Well, well," he said, gently but sadistic. "Arcadia. I didn't expect you amongst this mentally-challenged crowd." He motioned around to the bimbos on deck, who apparently were still trying to figure out whether or not they had even taken off!

"Yes, well, I'm full of surprises," Arcadia replied, on guard. "Especially when it comes to survival!"

"As you should be, my dear," Prince stated, brushing the fawning Priest aside for the time being.

"So, are you still in cahoots with the ATF?" Arcadia asked, doubting that her inquiry had any merit whatsoever.

"No, I'm afraid with the destruction of Earth and my timely release from its bonds, my brief association with them is thankfully ended," Prince explained. "You have nothing to worry about anymore concerning that issue. Those who could punish you for that which you didn't actually do are now dead and gone."

"Well, I'm glad to FINALLY hear someone say I'm innocent!" Arcadia said, glaring at Prince.

"Of course you are!" Prince laughed. "But something had to keep the ATF busy while I engaged in other plans. You just happened to be in the right place at the wrong time!"

"The story of my life," Arcadia sighed.

"But that's all behind us now," Prince said, walking to the aft deck, looking at the rubble behind. "We're embarking on a brand new adventure, and Arcadia, my dear, I have a feeling that you and I aren't finished yet!"

Prince flashed his teeth in a crooked smile, then, walked off with Priest tagging along like a Puppy.

"Ohhh, I was really hoping he would get left behind!" Bunny whined, following the President reluctantly.

"Yeah," Arcadia scoffed. "But that would have been way too easy!"

***

(excerpt taken from  "Flight Of The Valkyrie" - on board the Little Lexx, some time after the destruction of Earth, and shortly following Arcadia's battle with Prince and her untimely death)

***

... The smoke finally cleared, as nothing remained of Prince but a dim green glow where he last stood. Xev got to her feet, as Stan helped Bunny up. The three of them went to where Arcadia lay dying.

"Arcadia!" Xev exclaimed. "He's gone, but so is the sword! I can't use it to..."

"It's all right," Arcadia whispered, coughing as she spat blood. The wound in her gut was too severe. She knew that she wouldn't survive this one!

"Xev," she said, pulling her friend close to her, "I knew you could do it! I'm going to miss you."

"Don't die, Arcadia!" Stan insisted. "You can't die! We need you!"

Arcadia reached over and grabbed Stan's hand. "You've come a long way from that Assistant Deputy Back-Up Courier I knew long ago, captain!" she said, smiling barely. "I'm proud of you, Stan!" She kissed his hand, and let go.

"Arcadia," Xev cried, tears coming down. "Please don't die!"

"I died once before," Arcadia stated, nearly out of strength. "I came back, too. Who knows? This heretic might just have THREE lives!"

She winced in agony, her life fading and the room getting dark as her eyesight began to grow dim.

"I love you guys," she whispered, as she closed her eyes and breathed her last.

Weeping, Xev cradled Arcadia's head in her lap. Stan and Bunny both put their arms around her, comforting her.

"It's going to be all right," Stan said, reassuring her. "We're going to be okay."

Xev would have liked to bury Arcadia's body, but there just simply wasn't an opportunity. Stan even sympathized with her, not too keen on Little Lexx's natural means of disposing of organic material.

"It just doesn't seem a fitting way for someone who gave their life for us," Stan commented. "I wish we had a planet nearby so that we COULD bury her. She deserves at least that!"

Xev nodded silently. Next to Kai, she couldn't remember feeling so hurt and empty at the loss of someone.

"I really never got to know her," Bunny said, "but I'm going to miss her too. She seemed to be such a nice lady!"

"Well..." Stan started to offer an argument, only to catch a dangerous look from Xev. "You're right," he said, amending his comment, "she was nice."

He hopped up to the helm, activating the template with his key. "Little Lexx," he said, "let's find ourselves a new home, for the three of us!"

"As you command, captain," Little Lexx replied.

He looked over at Xev, smiling. Xev returned the smile, with a gleam of hope in her eyes.

"At least I've still got you guys," she said, giving both Stan and Bunny a hug.

***

(and now, the finale...)

***

Xev watched over Arcadia's preserved, frozen, and dead body in the cryopod on board the Little Lexx. She missed her friend, and although Stan, Bunny, and even 790 were with her, it just wouldn't be the same. She thought about her sword-fighting lessons, the way that Arcadia had showed so much kindness to her, like few had in her life, other than Kai and Stan.

"You really miss her, don't you?" Stan said, from behind her.

Xev turned around. How long Stan had been standing there, she had no idea.

"Yes," she sniffed, turning back to the cryopod.

"Yeah, me too," Stan said. He reached out, touching the cold casing, with the Amazon beauty lying beneath.

"You know," he continued. "Something tells me this might not be the last time we see her, if I know Arcadia. She's got this uncanny knack for cheating death and showing up when least expected, like the Ostral-B heretic she is, or... was. You know, like when we saw her back on Earth before..."

"Yes, I know," Xev stated, cutting him off. She brushed a tear from her eye, and taking Stan's arm, walked back to the Little Lexx's bridge.

"I guess we can always dream... and hope," she said.

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