(It was the 100th post on this topic by the way. Woohoo! 
)Glad you like Tsuki's and Coulter's characters. They are very tricky characters to write, because I want them to have a lot of flaws (and in Tsuki's case to be a dreaded antagonist), but while still being sympathetic to some extent. Therefore, it's a relief to read a confirmation that it's working, at least for now.
As for Yisüi, Azeneth and Jinora... Well, I was quicker than expected when it came to the next part, therefore I can't decently keep you waiting.
**************
Chapter 4: Part 2
**************
Blackness.
Blackness all around them.
They were floating in the nothing.
Yuka felt a sudden twinge of fear. Reflexively, she grabbed Coulter's shoulder.
The red-haired mage-woman was holding the sphere with her two hands.
The shapeshifter understood that the artifact was the only thing preventing their beings from dissolving into the nothing.
“Coulter?”
“Shut up. I'm trying to concentrate. Whatever happens, don't let go of me.”
“No need to tell me twice!”
The power of the artifact engulfed Coulter. The Empress mantle disintegrated, the crown was turned into ashes, and the jade beads on her braid became dust. Free from the braid, her curly fluffy mane was flailing everywhere (especially in Yuka's face).
However, the mage-woman didn't let go of the artifact. If she did, they would never escape the nothing.
Yuka was feeling a strange warmness, but wasn't hurt by the magic.
Coulter tried to tame the power of the artifact.
Time passed. Maybe one second. Maybe one hour. Maybe one day, one week, one month, one year. Maybe one century.
“I think... I think I found them!” Coulter suddenly exclaimed.
“Then go for them! Go anywhere but here! Go-”
A flash of light.
**************
Coulter and Yuka appeared in a room with stone walls. The kind of room that was found in a castle. This specific room looked like some kind of shed or storage room.
Currently, it was however the site of a rather peculiar scene.
Well, not so peculiar. When you're me at least. Yuka thought to herself.
Four women were in the storage room.
First there were Jinora and Azeneth. Yuka felt a huge relief when she saw them. Coulter had managed to transport them to their two friends! Azeneth was wearing a guard outfit. Jinora was dressed in a servant outfit.
The shapeshifter didn't know the other two persons. The unknown women were most likely some kind of minstrels or trobairitz, given the fact that each was carrying a gittern with her. They were wearing similar clothes: Each woman was clad in a red cape with blue trims, a yellow long-sleeved tunic, light brown trousers, leather ankles boots, a brown leather belt, and a black galeron hat with a red feather.
One woman was lying on the floor, unconscious, and Jinora was removing her clothes.
The other was trying to escape Azeneth.
Coulter's and Yuka's brutal appearance surprised everyone. There was an awkward moment of hesitation. Even the fleeing woman couldn't help but stop running and stare at the newcomers.
However, she also was the first to recover from the shock, and rushed to the door.
“Yu'! Catch her please!” Azeneth exclaimed.
In doubt, Yuka chose to do what she did best.
Catching a woman and knocking her out, with the goal of stealing her clothes.
The shapeshifter dragged her burden and laid the minstrel on the floor next to Azeneth, Jinora, and the unconscious woman.
“So...” the shapeshifter started to say.
Jinora immediately rushed and tightly hugged her.
Yuka blinked. “Jinora?”
She was a little taken by surprise. Jinora was usually so quiet and reserved. Normally, Azeneth was the one who was expansive.
“It's a miracle!” the black-haired woman with a copper-coloured skin exclaimed.
With teary eyes, Azeneth embraced Yuka as well.
“We thought... We thought we'd never see you again...” the metis stammered.
Once again, Yuka was taken by surprise. Usually, Azeneth was a lot more self-assured. Not the kind of woman who would stutter.
Yuka reflexively returned their embrace, as she was overjoyed to have been able to regroup with them.
However, she didn't understand their emotions. “But... But it's only been a dozen of hours... One day at most...” she said.
“For us, it's been a month.” Azeneth explained.
Yuka's eyes widened. “One entire month?”
Jinora and Azeneth stopped hugging her, though their eyes were still wet. They nodded.
Yuka looked at Coulter.
The red-haired woman shrugged. “Time must be passing differently depending on which potentiality we're in.”
“How can you stay so calm?!” Yuka exclaimed.
“We don't have the time to argue!” Azeneth interrupted them. “Yu'. We're in trouble.”
“Indeed. I don't think I'd find you mugging a pair of trobairitz if things were okay. What's happening?”
“We're trying to rescue Yisüi.”
Yuka paled a little and felt a sudden surge of worry. “What happened exactly this past month?”
“It's a long story.”
“Then for now give me a summary.”
“There's this jerk of a noble who wants to force Yisüi to marry him, so he kidnapped her.”
“Come again?”
“I don't know what's the deal with this place, but the people think that people with white hair are blessed by the gods, so this jerkass wants to bring the gods' blessing to his lineage.”
“But Yisüi's hair aren't white...”
“In these idiots' eyes, it's close enough.” Azeneth was clearly sounding exasperated by the behaviour of the people of this potentiality.
Ultimately, Yuka decided that it didn't matter.
“You know what? Forget it. Just tell me what's your plan.”
Rescuing her friend was more important.
“Well, it's simple. The noble will be throwing a party this evening. We ambush the entertainers, we take their place, and we ruin the party with these beauties.” Azeneth showed her a few small spheres. “Smoke bombs. We'll take advantage of the confusion to rescue Yisüi.”
“Will there be enough clothes for Coulter and I?”
Azeneth nodded. “There are five entertainers who are expected. Our idea was to capture them all, and take the clothes of two of them. But it means that there'll be enough clothes for Coulter and you
“Perfect. Then we take part in your plan.” Yuka said.
“Or I could just rain down some fire on this place and be done with it.” Coulter intervened. “There doesn't seem to be Sun Mages in this potentiality...”
“And hurt the servants and most of the attendees who didn't do anything wrong?” Azeneth retorted. “Forget it. This specific situation requires a gentler touch.”
Coulter glanced at the two unconscious trobairitz.
“Yeah. As gentle as a blow to the head...”
“At least they won't be burned alive.” Azeneth insisted. “They will just have a headache.”
“And be left half-naked. And bound. And gagged.” Coulter mockingly retorted.
Azeneth glared daggers at her. Since Yisüi was in danger, she definitively wasn't in the mood to accept sass.
Yuka intervened to change the subject. She wanted to avoid a dispute. “By the way. How did you lure these two in the storage room?”
“Oh. We've given them a fake letter instructing them to come here before the party.” Azeneth explained. “We've done the same for the other entertainers.”
“So I guess that's why Jinora's wearing a servant outfit, and you're wearing a guard outfit...” Yuka said.
“I guess you were 'gentle' with the real servant and guard too...” Coulter commented with a mocking smile.
“What? We just made them drink a sleeping drug.” Azeneth retorted, on the defensive. “We left them on a bed and under the sheets. They're actually pretty comfortable! We even put the pillows under their heads.”
“Such parangons...” Coulter mockingly said.
“Just ignore her.” Yuka said to Azeneth, who was about to retort something. “It's her way of showing she's glad to have found you. Tell me: Do the entertainers know each other?”
“No. They have been hired separately, even the jester.”
“Then let's wait for them. I'll put on the redhead's clothes. The other should be Jinora's size. We'll fool the others by pretending to be the real trobairitz, and we'll neutralize them.”
Azeneth nodded.
She, Yuka, and Jinora swiftly stripped the two minstrels. The red-haired trobairitz was wearing a faded orange sleeveless undertunic and matching calf-long underpants as undergarments. The brunette was clad in thigh-long fade red open drawers. A blue piece of cloth was wrapped around her chest and her back to cover her breasts. Both were wearing grey socks.
Azeneth found a few coils of rope in the storage room.
The three friends used them to truss up the trobairitz. They bound the two women back to back. They put each woman's wrists in front of the other's stomach and tied them. They bound each woman's ankles separately, then tied their legs and their waists together. Yuka and Jinora removed the top part of their clothes, and cut them into strips to turn them into makeshift gags. They shoved a few pieces of cloth into each woman's mouth. Each minstrel was then gagged with strip of cloth used as a cleave-gag.
Azeneth and Yuka worked together to drag the trussed up women behind some crates to hide them.
Then, Yuka and Jinora put on their disguise.
They only had to wait for the other performers...
**************
The door of the storage room was opened, allowing two women to enter.
“Hello. You must be the trobairitz Lord Devingshae hired.” the first one said.
Jinora was looking a little ill-at-ease in her outfit, but Yuka immediately took a step forward to draw the attention to herself and prevent the newcomers from spotting her friend's nervousness.
“Yes indeed.”
“Pleased to meet you. I'm Gabrielle, I'm a knife-thrower. And my partner Alexa is a contortionist.”
Gabrielle was a tall woman with an aquiline nose. She had brown eyes and loose shoulder-long light auburn hair. She was wearing light brown knee-long boots, and colourful red trousers with an orange diamond-pattern. Her white tunic was long-sleeved and also covered her pelvis, therefore covering part of her trousers. The collar of the tunic was adorned with small embroideries She was also wearing a small red sleeveless waistcoat adorned with a pattern of black threads. A red cloth sash was tied around her waist. There was also a second belt made of a golden small chain adorned with large golden sequins. (Yuka suspected that it wasn't real gold though.) Red ribbons were tied around her arms and forearms, over the sleeves. Finally, over the tunic but under the waistcoat, she was wearing a black baldric adorned with red threads, which she was using to carry her battery of small knives. She was wearing a black domino mask.
Alexa was wearing a form-fitting one-piece long-sleeved garment designed to cover the upper and lower parts of the body. The outfit was purple, with a pattern of big blue circles on the arms and the legs. She was walking in black soft boots. There were bracelets with little bells around her wrists and ankles. She was also wearing a black domino mask similar to Gabrielle's.
Yuka did the introduction for her group. “I'm Yuka. And this is Jinora.” Coulter and Azeneth were hidden behind the crates.
“We come from the Far South.” Jinora added to explain their darker skin colours.
“I must say, the Lord has strange requests.” Gabrielle said. “I mean, why did he send us a letter to ask us to meet up in this storage room?”
“Probably a way to get acquainted with each other.”
“Nobles have weird whims...”
“I know! I mean, have you seen what's behind these crates?” Yuka commented.
“What's behind them?”
“I dare not say it.” Yuka said, knowing full well that it would arouse the woman's curiosity.
And it worked.
Out of curiosity, Gabrielle went to look what was behind the crates.
Yuka exchanged a look with Alexa. The contortionist smiled a little awkwardly. The shapeshifter smiled back to put her at ease.
Then, once Gabrielle had her back turned on them, Yuka suddenly took action. She swiftly moved behind Alexa. With one hand, she hand-gagged her from behind.
“Mhgh?!”
With her other arm, she grasped the entertainer round the waist to block her arms.
Yuka's palm glowed.
Alexa's eyes widened.
“Mh! Uh! Uh gh! Ooh uh...”
The entertainer's eyelids closed, and she crumbled on the floor.
At the same time, Gabrielle discovered what was behind the crates.
“Bound-and-gagged half-naked women?!” she exclaimed. “Lord Devingshae is into THAT?!”
“Not exactly.” Azeneth commented behind her.
She hit a precise spot between Gabrielle's neck and shoulder.
“Ugh!”
The knife thrower was knocked out instantly.
Azeneth caught Gabrielle by the collar of her waistcoat.
“Sorry for that. But the guise of a knife thrower is just too perfect for me. I can't let such an occasion go to waste.”
She laid the woman next to the two bound minstrels, and patiently removed her clothes one by one: first the waistcoat and the boots, then the baldric and the belts, then the trousers, and finally the ribbons and the tunic. As undergarments, Gabrielle was wearing a light grey short-sleeved waist-long linen chemise and thigh-long white linen underpants, as well as white socks. Azeneth swiftly bound the woman's arms and legs with ropes, and gagged her with a few strips of cloth cut from Yuka's and Jinora's former outfits.
However, while the knife thrower was roughly Azeneth's size, her partner was unfortunately too small and skinny for Coulter. They didn't even bother with stripping her, especially since they suspected she was naked under her costume in order to not hinder her movements. Yuka simply bound her limbs and, admiring the woman's flexibility, she hog-tied her. She stuff-gagged and cleave-gagged her with strips of cut clothes.
They could only hope that the jester woman would be of the right size.
Speaking of which...
**************
The door of the storage room opened.
A woman wearing a jester outfit entered. The costume consisted of a jester hat, a jester top, jester tights and jester shoes. The right side of the jester hat was purple and the left side was black. There was a little bell at each top of the hat. The right side of the jester top was black and the left side was purple. The jester tights were striped purple and yellow. Her jester shoes were purple and yellow, with one black pom-pom on each. She was carrying a jester baton adorned with little bells as well as purple and yellow ribbons.
The jester had green eyes and short chestnut hair, a round face, and a body of average size.
“Come on! What are you all still doing in the storage room? Lord Devingshae is waiting! If this a joke, it's not funny. You should leave the jokes to me.”
She stopped talking when she saw Alexa lying on the floor bound-and-gagged, surrounded by Jinora, Yuka, and Azeneth who were about to carry her behind the crates.
“Now, that's one elaborate joke.” the jester said. “Who's pranking me? Are you going for an 'all tied up' joke? Because they're bound to fail!” She chuckled to herself. “Get it?”
Azeneth approached the jester and put a comforting hand on the woman's shoulder. “No. Unfortunately, it is not a joke.”
The jester woman smiled sheepishly, as the realization of what was going to happen slowly dawned on her. “Hah! Looks like the joke's on me then...?” she commented.
Azeneth sympathetically patted her shoulder. “I'm sorry.”
Fatalistic, the jester shrugged. “Guess I can't do anything to fight against fate... since it's bound to happen anyway.” The jester chuckled sadly at her own joke. “Get it?”
Azeneth nodded with a serious expression. “Yes. That'll do friend, that'll do.”
**************
They stripped the jester down to her knee-long striped yellow and black underpants, and her short-sleeved purple undertunic. Then, they bound her wrists and ankles. They shoved a strip of cloth into her mouth and cloth-gagged her with another strip of cloth. Since Gabrielle and she would probably be able to crawl away if left unchecked, Yuka and her friends took the time to bind the jester with Gabrielle. They tied the women face-to-face, with their noses almost touching, reasoning that they could maybe try to untie each other's wrists if they were bound back-to-back. (They were unwilling to waste time untying and re-tying the wrists.) They wrapped ropes around both women's torsos, waists, and legs.
Once they were done, Azeneth turned to the only woman of their group who wasn't disguised yet. A woman who hadn't done anything since the beginning of the infiltration.
“Coulter, put on her outfit.” Yuka said.
The redhead glared at the jester clothes that were lying on the floor. “What?! Are you jesting?”
“No. It'll be your job.” Azeneth dryly retorted.
“There's no way I'm putting on this dumb ridiculous outfit!”
Azeneth lost patience. “Oh, gods above! For one time in your life, can't you just do something we ask you without complaining and being difficult?! It's for Yisüi! Don't you want to rescue her?”
Coulter glared daggers at her. Then she held out her hand. “Just give me the dumb outfit.” she growled. “And don't get the wrong idea. I'm only doing it because we have to rescue Yisüi.”
The redhead grabbed the jester outfit that Azeneth gave her, and went behind some crates to change herself away from prying eyes.
“Thanks.” Azeneth said.
“Shut up!” Coulter exclaimed from the other side of the crates.
Yuka sighed.
“I'm relieved to have been able to find you...” she said to her friends. “I thought it'd be harder, but I'm not complaining.”
Azeneth pressed her shoulder. “We still haven't returned home yet...”
“Once we've released Yisüi, we'll already have taken a huge step in the right direction. Then, we'll take all the time that's necessary, but we'll succeed.”
Azeneth smiled. “Indeed, wouldn't want to leave Rashid to another woman...”
Jinora put a hand over her mouth to hide her chuckle.
Yuka's cheeks reddened. “Az'!”
“Sorry. It was too tempting. Besides, it's been one month since the last time I saw you. One month without being able to tease you. I've missed you, Yu'.”
Yuka smiled. “Come on-”
“I'm done.” a voice interrupted her.
Coulter emerged from behind the crates.
She was looking sour.
Because of her voluminous curly fluffy hair, she had a hard time putting on the jester hat. The end result was ridiculous-looking: The hat looked bloated because of the mass of hair inside. She couldn't even fit all her hair in the hat. A few locks were therefore falling on her forehead and her cheeks.
When witnessing her appearance, everyone's worries melted like snow under the sun. They all chuckled.
“I look ridiculous.” Coulter groaned.
“No, you're perfect!” Azeneth commented, unable to control her laughter. “Just look at us. It's already working, and you didn't even need to joke or to make a face. You're a natural!”
Yuka burst out laughing. Jinora was trying to hide her nervous chuckles.
Azeneth wiped a tear of laugh. “Gods above. After one month of being worried, I really needed that... Thanks, Coulter.”
“I. Hate. All of you.” the redhead slowly articulated.
“We should go now.” Jinora intervened.
“Good idea.” Coulter said. “Just give me the jester's baton so I can shove it up Azeneth's as-”
“Language.” Yuka interrupted her.
Coulter scoffed. She grabbed the sphere that sent them in other potentialities and used her magic to stick the artifact to the top of the baton.
They would use it as soon as they freed Yisüi.
The four infiltrators were leaving the storage room when they heard the muffled groans of the first women who were waking up.
“Sorry about that!” Azeneth said. “Just bear it with us. It won't take more than a few hours!”
She ignored the angry grunts and closed the door.
**************
Lord Devingshae was a portly man wearing gorgeous clothes. He was sitting at the place of honor. Two bodyguards were protecting the nobleman.
Yisüi was sitting next to him, wearing a ridiculously expensive white one-piece dress and white headdres hiding all her hair. One guard was posted behind her back. The other guests were sitting at Devingshae's table, or at two other tables on the sides of the dining room.
Yuka, Jinora, Azeneth, and Coulter walked at the center of the room. Guards armed with short swords and crossbows were stationed at each corner.
“Here they are! The entertainers!” the lord exclaimed. “Finally!”
Yisüi's eyes widened when she recognized the entertainers. She was about to shout something, but stopped herself just in time, and faked a cough to hide her reaction.
Nobody noticed her reaction however. They were all to busy observing the newcomers.
Lord Devingshae looked at Coulter.
He frowned.
There was a moment of silence.
Yuka warily looked at the crossbowmen.
Then, the nobleman burst out laughing. “Heavens above! Just look at this one! I've never seen a jester with such a comical appearance! She's a natural!”
All the guests laughed, following the lead of their lord.
Coulter clenched her fists and gritted her teeth. She was clearly contemplating the idea of incinerating every single person in the room.
“My lord, allow me to open up the spectacle.” Azeneth intervened to defuse the situation. “For I am the best knife thrower in all the worlds.” She graciously bowed in front of the lord.
She was actually looking great as a knife thrower.
Yuka noticed that Jinora couldn't take her eyes off the metis.
Lord Devingshae nodded in agreement.
“Now, I will need a few strong men to carry and hold that wooden table upright.” Azeneth said while pointing at an unused smaller rectangular table.
The lord made a gesture of the hand. Most of the guards in the room moved to grab the table, and held it upright.
“Now, so many men just for me? My lord, you shouldn't have!” the metis joked.
Everyone laughed, especially the guards.
Yuka smiled. Azeneth was a professional when it came to make a spectacle of herself. Everyone's attention was on her. She was going to be their distraction. Now, Jinora and she only needed to find the good window of opportunity to throw the smoke bombs...
“Now, my fellow jester will volunteer. Do not worry my lord. I won't harm her so she can continue to amuse you.”
Coulter glared at her and wordlessly went to stand in front of the wooden table held by the guards.
Azeneth threw a knife. It sticked into the wooden table next to Coulter's left arm. She threw another knife and hit the table next to the redhead's right arm. Two others knives were thrown, and sticked into the table right and left to Coulter's head. Another thrown knife sticked over her head. Finally, Azeneth threw one knife between Coulter's left arm and waist, and a second between her right arm and waist.
There were some polite clappings.
The metis smiled. It was now time for her to give her best shot. If they wanted to be able to create enough confusion with the smoke bombs, they needed to take everyone by surprise. Especially the lord's bodyguards. To achieve that, Azeneth needed to focus everyone's attention on her. Then, Jinora and Yuka would throw the smoke bombs.
Azeneth smiled.
“Now, something more difficult.”
She threw a knife under her free elbow, and hit the table near Coulter.
The metis started to hear some whispers in the audience.
“Even more difficult”
She raised her leg, and threw the knife under it. She hit the table near Coulter.
“More and more difficult.”
She threw a knife while keeping her back turned to Coulter. She hit the table near her. The redhead was still unharmed.
The whispers were now admirative.
“Now, the most difficult one.” Azeneth announced, ready for the coup de grace.
She asked Jinora to blindfold her.
The entire crowd held their breath.
Everyone in the room was now watching Azeneth. Including Devingshae's bodyguards and the guard watching Yisüi.
Nobody was looking at Yuka and Jinora. Azeneth had successfully distracted everyone with her little show.
“That's our cue.” Jinora whispered.
She and Yuka grabbed the smoke bombs, and threw it right at Lord Devingshae's feet.
They broke and released a thick black smoke.
“What the-?! Witchcraft! Murder! Someone's murdering me!” the man exclaimed with a suddenly high-pitched voice.
All the guards reflexively rushed to his rescue, while the guests were running away.
Azeneth removed her blindfold. She tripped the guard who was trying to grab Jinora, then threw her knife to pin to a wooden beam by the collar of her cloak the woman who was aiming her crossbow at Yuka. Surprised, the guard dropped her weapon and grabbed the knife to try to remove it.
Yisüi took advantage of the confusion to knee her guardian in the crotch. While the man was falling on his knees, she ran around the table. Jinora and Yuka took her hands.
“You're here! Gods above! You're here!” the blonde was crying of relief.
“Later for the effusions. Az'! Coulter! Come here!” Yuka shouted.
At the same time, the guards around lord Devingshae were starting to understand that the smoke was, in fact, harmless.
“The entertainers! They're stealing the bride!” one exclaimed.
“What?! Stop them!” lord Devingshae exclaimed. “Don't let them elope with my bride!” He stopped screaming when he noticed the woman at the center of the room.
Coulter was glaring daggers at him. Her eyes were burning with unbounded rage. The man recoiled in fear.
“Hey, fatass, how's that for a joke?!” the redhead shouted at the nobleman.
Coulter used her power to send plates of food flying and crashing onto Devingshae, ruining his expensive clothes with the greasy sauces. Others plates hit the guards in the face.
Yuka, Azeneth, Jinora, and Yisüi took advantage of the distraction to regroup around the mage-woman.
“Now, THAT is hilarious!” the redhead exclaimed.
“Coulter! We don't have the time!”
The guards were recovering quickly. They grabbbed their crossbows and pointed their weapons at the five women.
Coulter reflexively tapped into the power of the sphere while the four other women were clutching at her.
However, in her hurry, the redhead wasn't able to choose their destination.
A flash of light.
The five women disappeared.
**************
“Great. Where are we NOW?” Yuka exclaimed.
In front of them, there was a beach of fine sand. Behind them, palm trees. A small wind was blowing, and the waves were making a regular soothing noise.
“Well, I guess it could have been worst...” the shapeshifter admitted.
To her relief, she noticed that her four companions were still with her.
“And we have managed to stay together. That's great!”
We'll simply need to make sure to always be close to each other when we use the artifact.
Coulter wasted no time throwing away the jester hat. Had it not forced her to be in her undergarments, Yuka suspected that she would have done the same with the rest of the jester costume.
Yisüi, however, didn't bother with such details. She removed her shoulders from the dress, let it fall on the sand, and walked out of the garment. Her undergarments were covering most of her body anyway: white ankle-long underpants and a short-sleeved white chemise.
“There you go, you pig! That's what I do with your precious dress!” the blonde exclaimed while throwing the white dress into the sea. “And my best regards! May a horse step on your private parts!”
Azeneth chuckled and punched her lightly in the shoulder. “You go girl! That's the spirit!”
Yisüi laughed.
Then she started to cry.
She embraced Azeneth, Yuka, and Jinora.
“Thank you! Thank you so much! I... I thought that...” She didn't finish her sentence.
“Did he... Did he touch you?” Yuka asked her carefully.
Yisüi shook her head. “No. He wanted to wait after the wedding. But I thought that I'd never see you again... Especially you, Yuka...”
“You do realize that I'm standing right there.” Coulter intervened.
Yisüi dried her eyes. “Sorry... I'm grateful to you too... Very grateful... And I also missed you...” she earnestly said. “But I figured out you wouldn't like... a physical contact.”
Coulter avoided her grateful gaze. “No need to overdo it.”
Azeneth smiled slyly and looked sideways at the redhead.
“It's true that we wouldn't have managed to find each other without you... Plus, I haven't forgotten that you agreed to wear a jester costume just to rescue Yisüi. That's actually awfully nice of you...”
Yisüi looked at the redhead with even more gratitude, but Coulter was frowning. She was anticipating a dirty trick.
Azeneth's smile widened as she kept talking. “You know what this calls for? A GROUP HUG!”
Coulter recoiled in fear.
“Don't approach me!” she exclaimed.
But Azeneth was faster than her. She grabbed her arm and, soon, Coulter was at the center of a group hug, as Yuka, Yisüi, Jinora and Azeneth was embracing her and each other.
A few seconds passed.
“All right! All right! Enough with the mushy stuff!” Coulter said while moving away.
The four other women chuckled.
Then, Yuka looked at the jester baton that the redhead was still holding, on top of which the sphere was still magically sticked.
“Coulter? Can you send us home or not?” the shapeshifter asked.
“I don't know. I have a hard time using the sphere.”
“In the ruins of the Yr Widdfa, it seemed to react when you got angry. Maybe we should anger you again...” Yisüi commented.
“Shouldn't be too hard.” Azeneth joked.
“Not a very good idea.” Yuka objected. “We want to be able to choose our destination, not to be sent at random potentialities. How about-”
“Hey!” a female voice suddenly called them.
The five companions turned to face the person who had just called them.
A patrol of soldiers had approached them while they were talking. They deployed in an arc.
Several of them snickered when they saw the oufits they were wearing, especially Coulter's. (The redhead glared daggers at them.) One of them whistled when she noticed that Yisüi was in her underwear. The blonde's cheeks reddened slightly.
The soldiers were eight women, and seemed to all be from the same country: They were sharing the same slightly tanned skin colour, round-shaped eyes, oval faces, and tall figures. Their eyes were various shades of brown, and their hair were dark brown or black.
The women were wearing black three-cornered hats, blue button up uniform jackets over white shirts, white uniform trousers with brown belts, two brown shoulder belts carrying ammunitions, and calf-long black boots. Each woman's hair was tied into a ponytail with a black bow.
The soldiers were pointing unknown weapons at Yuka and her friends.
“What are these?” Yisüi whispered.
“It looks like the muskets my people were inventing... though a lot more sophisticated.” Azeneth commented.
The officer commanding the small squad was recognizable thanks to the red shoulder pads on her uniform jacket. She asked them a question.
“What language are they speaking?” Yuka asked.
“Looks like mine.” the metis answered. “Though I don't understand all the words... I'll try to communicate with them.”
Azeneth asked a question to the soldiers in the language of her father's kingdom.
The soldiers shared a glance. The leader of their patrol said a few sentences. She was smiling wickedly. The other soldiers chuckled.
“Oh.” Azeneth exclaimed when she was finished.
“What did they say?” Yuka asked.
“That they are soldiers working for the Atabean Trading Company, and that we are their prisoners. They intend to capture us and to sell us as slaves for the plantations.”
Yuka blinked. “Oh. That's unfortunate.”
The soldiers were smiling confidently. They were armed with muskets while Yuka and her friends didn't have any weapon.
Coulter rolled her eyes.
“This is getting ridiculous. Ask them if they know something about Sun Mages.”
“Why?” Azeneth said.
“Just ask them. I want to check something about this world.”
Azeneth complied.
The soldiers laughed and their officer retorted something.
“They say that this is a mere legend from a distant country.”
Coulter smiled.
Yuka intervened. “Coulter, remember to play nice. We may need more informations, as well as their clothes.”
The red-haired mage-woman groaned.
“Fine. It won't end in tears.”
She violently closed her fists.
The soldiers' weapons were instantly crushed.
The women looked at their destroyed muskets, then at Coulter, then at their muskets again. They shared an awkward look.
Azeneth and Yuka ran and jumped into the fray.
Azeneth kneed the woman that was the closest to her in the stomach, grabbed her arm, and threw her to the ground. She socked another soldier in the jaw, and a third in the stomach. The two women fell on the ground: the first on the back, the second on the knees while clutching her stomach.
At the same time, Yuka grabbed the neck of the officer. Her palm glowed. The woman's eyes widened. She gurgled, grunted, and collapsed out cold on the sand.
Jinora and Yisüi immobilized the two soldiers that Azeneth had punched by twisting one arm in the back.
The metis, while Yuka was knocking out the officer with her touch, dealt with two other soldiers by conking their heads together. Then she kicked a third one in the stomach, before knocking her out with one neck chop while she was bending over.
Dazzled, the two soldiers whose heads Azeneth conked were staggering. Yuka finished them off, knocking them out.
The last soldier tried to flee.
Coulter moved her hands. An invisible force immobilized the woman in uniform and lifted her up into the air. Another gesture of the hand, and the woman was moved in front of them.
As white as a sheet, the soldier was talking quickly.
“What's she babbling about?” Coulter asked.
“She's saying that they weren't serious. That they were jesting.” Azeneth translated.
The redhead laughed and released the woman, who fell on the ground.
Yuka smiled devilishly. “Az'. Tell her that we appreciated their little joke, and that it's now our turn to have fun. Tell her to strip herself. And then to strip her friends.”
“No! Wait a second!” Coulter interrupted her. The redhead looked at the captured soldier. “Ask her if she found me funny.”
“What?”
“Just ask her.”
Azeneth asked her.
The panicky soldier looked right and left. Then she gave the answer that she thought would please the mage-woman.
“Y... Yes...?”
Coulter smiled fiercely. Her eyes were burning with anger. “So I am funny?! SO I AM FUNNY?! I'LL SHOW YOU FUNNY!”
She moved her hands like a conductor.
The soldier shouted in fear and surprise when she saw her outer clothes, as if taking on a life of their own, remove themselves one by one and fly in the air, landing on a neat bundle nearby.
“NOW, IS IT STILL FUNNY?! I'M CERTAINLY HAVING FUN! AREN'T YOU?!”
She started to magically strip the unconscious soldiers. The three-cornered hats flied on their own. The belts unbuckled themselves. The jackets unbuttoned themselves. The boots were removing themselves, and so were the pants and the shirts. The various garments were flying.
“Coulter! Stop it! I think they've learned their lesson!” Yuka exclaimed, unable to witness the spectacle any longer.
“Yes! Please stop! This is just getting obscene!” Azeneth added.
They managed to calm down the mage-woman, but only after she had already undressed half of the patrol.
“Let us take things from here... The old-fashioned way...”
Coulter scoffed and went sulking a little afar.
“Phew! Remind me to never complain again that she's not taking an active part in the stealing of the clothes.” Yuka commented.
Azeneth nodded. “Agreed. I mean, I appreciate magic lending us a hand from time to time when we neutralize someone. But like that? This is just obscene...”
She and Yuka stripped the remaining unconscious soldiers using the old fashioned-way, while Yisüi and Jinora was binding the soldier that was still conscious. The woman was so shocked, she didn't even try to resist.
**************
“Was taking their uniforms really necessary?” Coulter commented while trying to adjust the tight collar of her blue uniform jacket.
“In my opinion, when in another world, it's best to look like the locals.” Yuka answered while putting on the black boots.
“Besides, did you want to keep the jester outfit?” Azeneth retorted while slipping into the white uniform trousers.
“NO!”
“Though I have to admit that these clothes are way too tight around the collar. Guess they don't joke with discipline in this army.” the metis admitted.
Under some palm trees, the soldiers of the defeated patrol were seated. The ones who were still unconscious were resting against the ones who had regained consciousness.
They were all stripped down to their undergarments, which were all similar: grey sleeveless button up undertunics and knee-long underpants of matching colour tied around the waist with a piece of string. Their socks were also stolen, as their captors needed thick socks to walk in the boots.
While Yuka and her friends only needed five sets of uniforms, they stripped the three other women both to use their belts and strips of their clothes as makeshift ropes, and to teach them a good lesson.
Each soldier's wrists and ankles were tightly bound. They were cleave-gagged.
“Well, that was maybe pointless, but it was also immensely fun.” Yuka commented. “Now, let's find an isolated spot where we can try to get the artifact working.”
They ignored the mewling defeated soldiers and walked away.
Once they were in an isolated spot behind some rocks, Coulter brandished the baton and concentrated.
“I... I think I'm starting to feel something...”
The artifact started to glow.
There was a flash of light.
The five women disappeared.
**************
Blackness.
Blackness all around them.
They were floating in the nothing.
“Stay near Coulter!” Yuka immediately exclaimed to warn her three friends.
They all immediately grabbed a part of Coulter's body.
“Not the hair!” the mage-woman exclaimed.
“Sorry.” Jinora said, grabbing a shoulder instead.
“Coulter. What's going on? It didn't happen when we fled Devingshae's castle.” Azeneth said.
“I don't know... Something's not right...”
She tried to use the artifact again, but a faint black fog was surrounding the sphere.
“I think there's another presence!” Coulter exclaimed.
Yuka felt it too. A dreadful corrupting noxious aura.
“It's-” the mage-woman started to say.
“-the Black Star?!” the shapeshifter interrupted her.
From the nothing, a loud blaring voice suddenly echoed.
WOW! OH GREAT! IT ACTUALLY WORKED! NEAT! WELL, I GUESS IT WAS EITHER THAT OR FRYING MY BRAIN...
Yuka recognized the voice.
“Tsu'?! Is that you?!” she incredulously exclaimed.
DID YOU MISS ME?
The voice was sounding impish.
ADMIT IT, YOU MISSED ME!
Yuka couldn't believe her ears.
“But... How did you- How can you be here?” she finally asked.
WELL, THANKS TO THE POWER OF THE BLACK STAR, OF COURSE. AND A LITTLE HELP FROM MY GOOD PAL ITZEL. WOULD YOU BELIEVE ME IF I SAY THAT I'M SLEEPING, ACTUALLY? DREAMS ARE THE WINDOW LEADING TO OTHER WORLDS, THAT IS HOW I MANAGED TO CRASH YOUR LITTLE PARTY.
Yuka felt a shiver down her spine. “Tsuki. What's the big idea?”
YOUR ARTIFACT IS ACTUALLY MAKING QUITE THE RUCKUS IN THE INVISIBLE WORLD OF THE ENERGIES. WE CAN'T USE IT TO FIND YOU, BUT IT CERTAINLY IS INTERESTING TO TRY TO SEE IF I CAN SPICE THINGS UP A BIT DURING YOUR TRAVELS!
“Tsuki! Don't you dare!”
However, Yuka knew that her warning was worthless. What could she do against Tsuki? She wasn't even here!
I ENVY YOU, YU'. the voice commented. YOU CERTAINLY FIND WAYS TO HAVE TONS OF FUN! I WISH I COULD VISIT ALL THESE DIFFERENT WORLDS. THERE MUST BE SO MANY NEW APPEARANCES TO TAKE... I'LL MAKE SURE YOU GIRLS STAY OCCUPIED WHILE WE SEARCH THE AREA FOR YOU! HOPE TO SEE YOU SOON!
“Wait!”
Tsuki's voice vanished.
“The artifact!” Coulter exclaimed. “I'm losing control!”
There was a flash of light.
**************
They appeared in a cosy dining room, in what seemed to be a cosy manor. The place was tastefully decorated with paintings, tapesteries, luxuous cadelabras, and refined pieces of furniture.
Yuka and her companions weren't alone however.
Four other women were sitting around a table made of precious wood. They were drinking a cup of tea.
The lady of the house was in her mid-forties, with a white skin, long but heavily made up black hair. She was wearing a long elegant white dress made from only the finest silks, a black and white disc fascinator hat which rested gently upon the side of her head, a bright and fully bloomed flower clipped just to the left of her breasts, fine pearl earrings as well as three fine pearl necklaces, black leather gloves and finally black and white dress boots. To top it all off, a small black handbag was secured just under her right arm.
The three other women at her table were younger. One had blond hair, the second had black hair, and the third had brown hair.
The elegant lady raised an eyebrow and calmly sipped her cup of tea, as if people appearing from thin air was an everyday occurrence to her. She put her cup on the table. Her movements were graceful and refined.
She was sending shivers down Yuka's spine.
“Oh. Now, that is a surprise.” the elegant lady calmly commented. “I wasn't expecting visitors today. But please, be my guests. My daughters and I would be delighted to have you for dinner.”
The blond young woman looked at her mother. She was suddenly looking very interested. “Truly, mum?” she asked with a hopeful tone.
“Yes indeed, my daughter. Even proper ladies can indulge in some fun from time to time, as long as it's not in public of course.”
The three daughters chuckled.
The four women then got up from their seats.
Their eyes changed to bright orange, and their jaws suddenly widened and a load of fangs suddenly replaced their perfectly straight teeth.
Yisüi and Jinora let out a small exclamation of terror. Azeneth cursed.
Yuka's eyes widened as she felt an abject primal fear.
“Coulter! Burn them!” she shrieked.
“What?”
“BURN THEM!” Yuka insisted while shaking the redhead's shoulder.
The red-haired mage-woman was taken a little aback by her request though. She threw a simple fireball.
The elegant lady gracefully dodged. The fireball exploded the table.
“Now, that is most unkind.” she commented. “And very rude as well. This isn't a proper way to respond to an invitation, especially for a lady.”
“What are you doing?!” Yuka shrieked at the mage-woman. “You usually rain down fire until the entire area is scorched! Just go all out! Obliterate them! FRY THEM!”
Coulter raised her hands and unleashed her powers.
However, the elegant lady had already assessed the situation – and the fact that she couldn't face the mage-woman's firepower head-on.
She casted a black fog around her and her three daughters.
They disappeared into thin air.
One second later, Coulter torched the entire place.
“You missed them.” Azeneth commented.
The artifact glowed.
“Oh great...”
There was a flash of light.
**************
They appeared behind some bushes.
At some distance, they could see strange buildings: rectangular, grey and white. With symbols they didn't know: a blue circle and another symbol that was striped red and white, with a blue rectangle and yellow stars. Nearby, there were weird metallic structures they had never seen before.
“What's this place? Some kind of temple?” Jinora muttered.
“Coulter, try to control the artifact. We have to-”
Yuka was interrupted when she heard some faint noises from a nearby bush.
“Mhh! Hhlmp mhh! Plhhsh! H'm hhrr!”
The noises of a gagged woman trying to call for help. Yuka knew that sound very well...
Azeneth and Jinora reflexively moved apart the foliage.
Hidden in the bushes, a bound-and-gagged woman was lying on the grass. Since she was half-naked, Yuka could only deduce that somebody had stolen her clothes.
The woman had a white skin, brown eyes, and dark hair spilled over her face.
The restraints binding her looked nothing like what the five companions knew. The ropes wrapped around her wrists, ankles, knees, and shoulders were black, thin, and smooth. She wasn't gagged with a piece of cloth, but with a device that looked like Coulter's sticky ribbons, excpet that it was grey and wasn't made of cloth.
Her undergarments were also nothing like what they knew. First, they were a lot more colourful than usual: coral-coloured for the top part, orange for the lower part, and bright red for the socks. Then, she wasn't wearing an undertunic but a device with straps on her shoulders and behind her back, mostly made of two cups covering her breasts. And it was as if her underpants had been cut to only cover the pelvis and not the thighs.
“Unbelievable...” Azeneth commented.
She approached the woman.
“I mean, have you looked at her undergarments?! I've never seen such undertunic! It only covers the breasts, but it has straps... And these underpants... Also, have you noticed the thing they used to gag her? It looks like Coulter's ribbon. But it hasn't been crafted with magic...”
The woman's muffled cries became louder, as she didn't appreciate being ignored.
“Az'! You can't just stare at a half-naked woman's undergarments! That's rude!” Jinora intervened.
“Sorry, sorry!” the metis said.
She removed the strange smooth grey ribbon gagging the woman.
“Who are you? And what's with your clothes?” the woman immediately asked.
“Well, who are YOU? And what's with YOUR clothes?” Azeneth retorted.
The woman shook her head. “Listen, it's not important. My name's Ashley! I'm a guard working here! You have to help me! There are criminals trying to sabotage the space program!”
The metis tilted her head. “Space Program? What's this?”
Ashley glared at them as if they came from another planet.
“You know... The Space Program... The NASA...”
The artifact started to glow.
“Az'! The sphere is glowing again! Come here quickly!” Yuka exclaimed.
“Sorry!” Azeneth said to Ashley. “We can't stay here!”
She regrouped with the others.
A flash of light.
Ashley closed her eyes.
When she opened them again, the five women had disappeared.
Ashley stared at the empty clearing in front of her during several minutes, unable to look away.
Then she chose to convince herself that it was only an hallucination caused by the fact that she had been knocked out recently. It was the best course of action, for the good of her mental health.
The guard finally realized that she was still ungagged however. Courageously, she started to call for help
**************
They appeared in the clearing of a forest that looked like Pakal's forests.
The artifact stopped glowing.
“I think these travels between potentialities are making me nauseaous...” Yisüi commented.
Jinora and Azeneth helped her stand correctly.
“I recognize this forest...” Yuka said. “We're in Pakal again.”
“But why? Is it a trap?” Coulter said. “Did Tsuki transport us in an ambush? Are the Mages about to strike us?”
They warily scanned their surroundings.
Nobody.
Time passed.
Still nobody.
Only the sounds of the creatures of the forest and of the wind in the leaves.
“I think-” Jinora started to say.
“Hush! Somebody's approaching!” Yuka suddenly said.
The noises were faint, but a shapeshifter knew them well.
Indeed, a shapeshifter could recognize the way of walking of her peers.
“Who are you? And what are you doing here?” a voice suddenly asked them. “This is OUR secret clearing. Go find your own!”
The newcomers were three girls – three teenagers.
The first girl was walking in front of the trio. She clearly was the leader. She had a tanned skin, green-hazel eyes and short dark brown hair. There were a few bruises on her arms, and a few bandages as well notably around her hands: She definitively was the kind of girl who picked up fights with the people trying to tell her what to do.
The second girl looked timid and meek. She was standing behind her friend. Her eyes were sky blue, her skin was light, and her light brown hair were tied into a ponytail, with also one lock of hair falling on each shoulder.
Yuka's heart broke when she saw the third girl. She had midback-long loose black hair, a light skin, and faded grey eyes that were almost looking white. The girl's two friends' attitude towards her was very protective. Which was logical: the black-haired girl was blind. She was holding a staff in one hand, and her other hand was clutching the shoulder of the light brown-haired girl. She was using them both to orient herself. Blindness... Such physical imperfection was unheard of among shapeshifters. She was a unique case in that matters.
Yuka understood where she was, and who these three girls were.
Azeneth took a step forward. “Yu'... This is...” She didn't dare finish her sentence.
Yuka nodded.
They were in a potentiality representing Pakal. But one that was before the search for the Black Star. Before the fire. Before the hatred.
She was facing a younger alternate version of herself, with Tsuki and Hinata.
“Tsuki! You didn't have the right to do that!” Yuka angrily shouted at the sky.
**************
P.S.: Huge thanks to Tirepanted for his brilliant proposition of trobairitz and jesters... that I simply couldn't let go to waste.
