Fan Fiction ❯ Middle-Aged Magical Girl Mahonna ❯ Little Orphan Allie ( Chapter 2 )

[ A - All Readers ]

Miranda Archer walked along the city sidewalks. She could’ve called her friend El, and gotten a ride. Or even just taken a taxi or a bus. But right now she needed to walk. The rhythmic sound of her feet hitting the pavement helped her to think. She needed that as, right now, she had much to think about.

It wasn’t just her recent battle with that hideous monster. The monster she had heard referred to as a “Yaness” that had threatened her teenage daughter. Nor was it the fact that, in accepting the power necessary to fight it and save Darcy she had committed herself to doing so for an unknown amount of time. Nor was it even the fact that what she had committed herself to meant putting her life on the line.

“What should I do for dinner tonight?” She asked herself.

Crazy as it seemed, despite all that had happened to her that was the most important on her mind. To those who knew her it would come as no surprise. Miranda had a habit of concentrating on trivial things as a way of relieving stress. In this instance it took her mind momentarily off of the amazing and world altering occurrences she had just experienced. Something she desperately needed at the moment.

Her thoughts wandered from dinner to the family that would be eating it. As she thought of her husband Fletcher, a song entered her thoughts. She remembered it fondly, as it was the song to which they had danced their first dance at their wedding.

Reality began to come back as Miranda realized that music was not in her mind. She immediately rifled through her purse and pulled out her cell phone, which was humming the cheerful little number. She didn’t need to look at the caller ID display to know who the call was from.

“Hi, Fletch.” Miranda said, not breaking stride.

“Miranda!” said her husband with a note of worry in his voice, “Where are you? Have you seen what’s been going on?”

“Y-yeah… it’s been on all the TVs in the stores.”

That was true enough, every television in the city was tuned to continuing reports of the strange lights and the creatures that had appeared from some of them. Also covered was the mystery girl (Miranda) who had taken one of them on in combat. Darcy and Rona could be seen in the videos of the scenes. But since the initial reports, networks were apparently making sure not to allow a good look at the two minors. Whether they did so by choice or not, Miranda was glad for it.

“Are you okay?!” he asked. Miranda smiled, Fletch was a bit of a worrier.

“I’m okay but…” Miranda stammered, thinking quickly, “But I need to go to El’s place. Something did happen. We’re fine, but we have a few things to work out. I promise to explain later, but I can’t right now.”

“Okay.” Fletcher replied, not satisfied but willing to let it pass, “Anything I can do?”

“Yes.” Miranda answered, “Get the kids from school. Get Jude, too, while you’re at it. And make sure Darcy’s gotten missed homework from her teachers. To be honest, I really don’t want to go through with my threat to go to her school to get it.”

Not that she wouldn’t. But if she didn’t have to all the better.

“Oh, yeah, I may not be back ‘til late, so go ahead and take the kids out for dinner.”

When Fletcher acknowledged his instructions and Miranda assured him once again that she was perfectly fine, Miranda hung up her phone. She felt a little better now. Talking to her worry-wart husband had provided some much needed comfort. And she’d figured out dinner to boot.

Now prepared to deal with whatever came next, her feet began to take her towards the home of Elspeth Innes.

“How long has she been asleep?” Miranda asked, keeping her voice low.

“She’s been in an’ out for th’ past half-hour.” El replied, looking at the girl currently out cold on the bed, “I did th’ best I could on her injuries. She’ll be okay for now. Fortunately, doesn’t seem to be anything too bad. But, all the same, I think we should have her checked out by ‘n actual physician at some point.”

“Yeah. But who do we take her to? And how do we explain it all?” Miranda asked. They both knew that they would likely need to keep Omiga’s identity a secret.

“I know a few people who can keep a secret, if need be.” El replied as she petted her dog, Dusty. “I’ll see what I can do.”

“In the meantime…” Miranda walked over and gave Omiga a slight nudge to wake her up (taking extra care to tap the shoulder that wasn’t bandaged).

“You’re back…” she muttered as consciousness returned.

“Are you feeling all right?” Miranda asked. Omiga.

“The sleep helped.” Omiga answered, nodding, “Though not my specialty, I also know some basic healing magic…” she explained as she managed to sit herself up, “Enough, at least, that the worst of my injuries aren’t bothering me any longer.”

Miranda might have believed that if Omiga hadn’t gasped and winced when she sat up.

“Is there anything I can try?” Miranda offered.

“I don’t think that would be wise.” Omiga replied, “You’re too inexperienced. Simple attack and transport spells are one thing, but healing spells can be very delicate business. No offense, but I think I’m better off relying on myself for this.”

Miranda didn’t argue, Omiga knew far more about these powers than she herself did.

“Well, while you heal, I’ll do my best to take care of things until you’re healthy enough to take your powers back.” Miranda told her.

“Yes… about that…” Omiga muttered.

“But before we do anything at all, there’s a few details t’take care of.” Elspeth interrupted from the bedroom door. She walked inside and sat at the foot of the bed. Elspeth’s sheltie found his way into the room as well and settled himself down at El’s feet. Miranda nodded her agreement to El’s statement and began asking some of the questions that had been on her mind.

“First off, just what was that thing I fought? Where did it, and you, come from? Just what is going on?”

Omiga was silent for a few moments, contemplating her response. To her, these questions were common sense. But from the moment Elspeth placed her in the machine she’d called a “car” Omiga had understood that this world was as well versed in the ways of her magic as hers was in the ways of their technology.

“In answer to your first question,” she began, “that creature was called a Yaness. In short, they are demons. Beasts that take on a variety of shapes, sizes, and personalities. Some, like the one you faced, are unthinking brutes. Grunts and foot soldiers. Others are well known for their cunning and intelligence… and their cruelty.

“They, and I, come from another world, a dimension entirely separate from your own. Of the nations and lands that exist, the one I come from, Hikaht, and that of the Yaness are the two most powerful. We have been at war for generations, the Hikaht keeping at bay those Yaness who desire dominion over our lands.

“In the last year, a new queen was crowned following the death of her father, the late King, in battle. In that short time, our situation changed drastically. Under her leadership, lands that had been blanketed by the Yaness’ darkness for years were taken back. The Yaness were set back in their efforts severely. After centuries of war, final victory seemed at hand.

“Then we learned of a plan being put into action by the Yaness. They knew that, should we Hikaht defeat them, they would be obliterated. So they gathered their forces and prepared to escape, to leave for another place, and return more powerful than ever.”

“And that place is here?” Elspeth asked. Omiga nodded.

“It’s always Earth.” El said with a sigh, “And those lights that fell from th’ sky were these ‘Yanesses’?”

Omiga nodded again.

“But their numbers are likely to have been drastically reduced.” Omiga continued, “You see, myself and two others, Alfeta and Tanulo, attempted to infiltrate the Yaness horde and, if not prevent, then disrupt whatever method of transport they intended to use. We made a drastic mistake, however.

“The method the Yaness used was a gateway between worlds. At first this seemed ideal. The Yaness did not use any kind of special talismans or constructs to create this portal, making it rather unstable. It should have been a simple matter of making it even more unstable. Just throw in some random spells at the proper time, and the portal would collapse on itself, closing the gateway with minimal damage. In fact, if we were fortunate, some of the most powerful Yaness, who were creating the gateway, would be caught in the resulting mess and be destroyed.

“As a matter of fact, we were fortunate.” Omiga said with a sad laugh, “Very fortunate. So fortunate, in fact, that a great number of the Yaness saw their final moments that day. However… so… so did my two comrades…”

Omiga’s eyes began to tear up for a second, before she quickly recomposed herself.

“We… we underestimated just how unstable we’d make the gateway. When our spells hit, its size grew. It… it began to bring everything in its proximity into itself.”

“It started sucking stuff in?” El asked. Omiga nodded.

“Nearly the entire Yaness force, and the… three of us, as well, were sent into the portal. While in there…” Omiga shuddered, “It was as if there was no up, or down, or direction at all. It was nothingness, punctuated only by strands of light that came from nowhere… and everywhere. I watched as anything that came into contact with them was completely destroyed. Alfeta… she tried to move away, but she couldn’t… it… it went right through…”

As tears began to flow from her eyes, Elspeth and Miranda could see that Omiga was struggling. Doing all in her power not to just completely break down. Miranda personally had to hand it to Omiga, if it had been her seeing what the younger girl described, she likely would have been sobbing hysterically by now.

Dusty gave a sympathetic whine, but neither Miranda nor El made a move while Omiga collected herself. They didn't move to comfort her, as Omiga's actions suggested she didn’t wish it. Nor did they think it wise to leave, unless Omiga asked to be alone. After a minute’s worth of silent crying, Omiga cleared her throat.

“I-I’m sorry…” Omiga said, a forced calm noticeable in her voice.

“Don’t be.” Miranda replied, giving the girl’s leg a pat.

“Perhaps we should get back to business.” El interjected. Miranda thought she was being a bit insensitive, but then noticed Omiga seemed pleased to get away from the current subject when she gave an enthusiastic nod.

“Now we know how you got here.” El continued, “So the question becomes, what do we do now?”

“We’ll need to find Omiga a place to rest and recover.” Miranda said. The others agreed, but were perplexed as to just what arrangements could be made.

“She could stay here.” El suggested as she scratched Dusty’s ear. But Omiga shook her head.

“I should stay with Miranda.” Omiga said, “She’ll need training in her magic and I’m the only one who can provide it. I’ll need to be close to her.” Miranda seemed unsure.

“Were it just me, that’d be fine.” Miranda said, “But I have a husband and two children. I couldn’t necessarily hide you in a closet and I can’t just bring you home, either. Just think about it, these strange events happen, and that very day a girl that looks suspiciously like the one on TV is suddenly living in my home?”

“My appearance isn’t necessarily a problem.” Omiga said, “It’ll be a bit risky with my injuries, but we could use the Minec spell to change my form into something else.”

“We could make you some kind of cousin of Miranda’s or something, then.” Elspeth said brightly.

“Except that I have almost no contact with my side of the family.” Miranda said, “Even if she doesn’t look the same, there’s still the matter of the mystery girl showing up the same day as the Yaness. We need something that won‘t arouse suspicion in anybody.”

“Perhaps the form of an animal. Like that one.” Omiga tried, gesturing towards the dog, “I could pose as a pet.”

“No good. My husband’s allergic to all things furry.” Miranda stated.

“I could be a stray.”

“I don’t recommend that.” Elspeth said, “You don’t know enough about this world. You should have seen her face when she caught sight of my car.” she added as an aside to Miranda. Omiga looked away, her face tinted a slight red.

“Among other things,” El continued, “There’s authorities like animal control whose job it is to manage strays.”

“And, by what you said before, even if you transform you’ll still be injured.” Miranda said, Omiga nodded, “What if one of those Yaness figure out who you are? Come to think of it, that alone is reason to keep you close by.”

Nobody could disagree. But it made things frustrating as their options became further limited. Things became quiet as each of the women tried to think of something that could work. Omiga huddled herself up and appeared to be thinking. She needed to be able to stay close to Miranda, but not at the cost of too much the woman’s regular life. She had already cost Miranda too much. Elspeth absentmindedly stroked her Dusty’s head, thinking both of possible disguises and cover stories that were possible. Miranda just stared about the bedroom, her eyes drifting from the vanity mirror to photos of Elspeth and her son, Jude, together. Suddenly, Miranda’s face brightened. It was so obvious.

“I’ve got it!” She exclaimed, “The perfect disguise! It covers everything!”

The other two looked to her for explanation.

“Think about it! I’m a housewife! What’s the one thing I can be seen with at any given moment without arousing even an ounce of suspicion?”

El’s eyes went wide as realization dawned.

“Of course!” she said giving her dog’s side a slightly harder pat than intended, making him yelp, “It is perfect! No casual passerby would think anything of it! And it’d be easy t’ explain t’ anyone who’d know better why she’s appearing now of all times!”

“Exactly!” Miranda said, “In fact, we could blame it on the Yaness!”

“And it even covers some other small details I thought of, too!”

“Really?”

“Um… huh?” Omiga asked, she had been looking back and forth at the two as they conversed, unable to determine what disguise they had settled on.

“So just what have you decided on?” she asked. The two looked at one another and nodded.

“I’ll show you.” Miranda said, then held out her and pointed her fingers at Omiga. Before Omiga could react Miranda had called out the incantation.

“Minec!”

Just as it had when Miranda had used it on herself, a light surrounded Omiga’s body for an instant before fading and revealing her new shape. Within that instant, Omiga could feel the changes occur. Her body suddenly became a great deal smaller than it had been. Her wild red hair had cropped itself closer to her head and changed a light shade of brown. Her eyes felt as though they’d grown wider, but they remained their normal green. Her clothing changed as well, to something very different from the Mahonna uniform to which she was accustomed.

When the light faded, Omiga blinked as she still wondered just what she had become. She still felt human, only much smaller. Then it hit her.

Of course!

Where once sat an average sized eighteen-year-old, green-eyed, redheaded girl, now sat a green-eyed, brown haired toddler who couldn’t have been more than two or three years of age.

“I see.” Omiga said, momentarily shocked at the suddenly higher pitch of her voice. Immediately upon realizing what she was now, Omiga understood the nature of this disguise.

Nobody would ever find anything even remotely suspect about an adult woman with a child. She held up her hands and saw that they had become far smaller, and slightly pudgier as well. She also winced as she moved her arms. Her injuries were still present, though they had changed in relation to her body.

She knew, from when Elspeth had administered her first aid, that she had a nasty bruise on her chest near the right shoulder. Despite her smaller size, that bruise would still extend from her right shoulder blade to just under her arm. She pulled at the neckline of the shirt she now wore (a red one under a pair of denim overalls) and saw that her bandages were still present on that shoulder as well. Miranda, consciously or not, had taken that into account, it seemed.

Getting the sudden feeling she was being watched, Omiga looked up to see that both Miranda and Elspeth had been staring at her as she examined herself. They had curious expressions on their faces as they looked down at her. Barely contained smiles which only grew when the dog abandoned his place at his mistress’s feet to start sniffing at Omiga in curiosity.

“What?” she asked them irritably.

“You’re so adorable!!” Miranda suddenly exclaimed, “I wish I had a camera!”

“Oh!” El suddenly got up and ran out of the room. Seconds later Omiga heard her scream out “Dangit, no film!” and returned with an apologetic shrug mumbling something about “investing in digital.” Omiga sat there silently until the two other women regained their senses.

“Okay, we’ve got Omiga a disguise.” Miranda said, “Now we just need a story and a name for her.”

“Names, huh?” Elspeth asked, “Hm… how about Serena?”

“Hmmm… no.”

“Danu?” El and Miranda looked at Omiga.

“I’ve always thought it was a nice name.” Omiga shrugged.

“It is,” Miranda agreed, “But we need something more Earth-like. Something simple.”

“Bunny.” El threw out.

“No.”

“Renee.”

R 20;Too fancy, oh, I have one.”

“What?” asked Miranda’s partners.

“Allison.” Miranda said. Omiga nodded approval. The name seemed nice enough. But then Elspeth started to laugh.

“You’re horrible!” she told Miranda.

“What?” both Miranda and Omiga asked.

“‘Allison…’” she giggled, “because we found you in an alley!”


Miranda Archer rode in the passenger seat of Elspeth’s car, while the latter drove everyone home. When Elspeth had finished laughing herself silly, their discussion had proceeded to the reason little Allison would be staying with Miranda. Now that they had figured it out, El and Mira were quizzing each other on it.

“And just who is this girl?” Miranda asked.

“The daughter of a cousin of mine.” El replied, “Her parents were badly hurt and are being treated in the hospital. However, Allie’s injuries were minor and so sent her to me, the only relative anywhere close by, to be cared for.”

“Okay, so then why is it I’m the one taking care of her?”

“I’m a working woman.” El told her, “I take her, and I’ll just be placing her in daycare or preschool much of the time. She’s already alone and scared without her parents, she should be with someone who can be with her all the time.”

“Like your best friend, the happy, stay-at-homemaker?” Miranda replied with mock hurt in her voice.

“Now, don’t be that way.” El said in mock apology, “You know I wouldn’t leave her with you if I didn’t trust you implicitly.”

“Yeah, that seems good.” Miranda said, ending the little role-play, “Any of our acquaintances should buy that story all right. And the kids won’t pry too much into it, really. They’ll probably focus more on entertaining the little girl.”

“What about Fletcher?”

“What about him?”

“Mira… we should keep this between us! We shouldn’t let in anybody who doesn’t absolutely have to know!”

“And Fletcher doesn’t?”

“Miranda! It’ll be safer the fewer people who know!”

“I’m not going to lie to my husband!!”

“We both know Fletcher will just worry about you non-stop! He’s better off not knowing.”

This seemed to get through to Miranda more than anything. El knew she wouldn’t want to cause any undue stress to her husband.

“Maybe you’re right.” said Miranda with a sigh, “Maybe we should be careful about who’s let in on this until things have settled down.”

“Settled down” certainly didn’t describe the current scene. While the two women were talking out their matters, Omiga (now Allie) was buckled in a car seat in back. The seat boosted her high enough that she could see the buildings and people on the sidewalks from the windows of the vehicle. She didn’t completely comprehend everything going on, as it was all so different from her world. On the other hand, some things were universal.

Every person she saw outside was scared. Picture boxes she saw in windows when the car stopped featured scenes of Miranda’s battle with the Yaness as well as pictures of other Yaness that had appeared. Many escaping, some actually being successfully captured or killed by local soldiers, but not without casualties. On the streets Omiga saw men and women in uniform. Some black uniforms with badges on the chest, others green uniforms with large black devices hanging from the shoulders. They were stopping and ushering vehicles at certain points. Leading them away from sites where other Yaness had apparently been sighted or appeared.

The Earth women had commented on this during their talk. Miranda wondering if she should go back out and see what she could do. Elspeth saying she shouldn’t so as to avoid drawing attention to herself. So they rode on. Besides their role-play, minor argument, and the occasional comment about how much longer this was taking than it should be, the two women had been silent. The only speaking came from round bulges inside the vehicles the women had referred to as the “radio.”

“Authorities are acting quickly to settle the situation in the city.” Omiga heard the man inside the radio say, “State leaders have mobilized the National Guard and local S.W.A.T. Teams to track down the odd creatures that escaped. The President announced that an agency will be formed immediately to deal with this mysterious threat.”

Omiga, unfamiliar with many of the terms being used, could only gather the gist of the report. That armies and leaders weren’t hesitating to mobilize against the Yaness. However, some parts of the report Omiga understood easily, and did not like the sound of at all.

“It’s very odd.” said a different man, who had the tone of voice one might expect of a puzzled intellectual, “We’ve tracked nearly every one of those strange lights to their possible landing points. A good number of them yielded the expected result of a large explosion and crater. Those also yielded the unexpected result of bizarre creatures appearing and the ones that hadn’t been killed in their crash landing terrorizing any unfortunate enough to be close by.

“However, many of them were very mysterious. Where we knew the impact point had been, there was no sign of an impact.”

“What do you mean, Professor?” asked a woman’s voice.

“There was nothing. Eyewitnesses nearby reported a flash of blinding light but when it faded nothing appeared to had changed.”

The lights that people saw were Omiga herself and the Yaness. It was no surprise that those who survived had risen up and either attacked until brought down or ran off to hide and assess situation. But what did those empty areas mean? Had the Yaness burned up or disintegrated coming down? While it seemed most likely, Omiga’s instinct told her that wasn’t the case.

She had no time to dwell on this, however, as Miranda declared that they were home at last. Omiga realized that while she had listened to the radio the vehicle had pulled in front of a building. It appeared a two floor home, similar to many others on the street. After Miranda helped Omiga extract herself from the seat, they approached the front door, Elspeth right behind them.

“Before we go in, do you remember everything we talked about?” Espeth asked.

Omiga nodded and held up her left hand. The top fingers glowed briefly green and faded just as quick. Elspeth said something to her after that, but Omiga had no idea what. For she had just disabled the spell that allowed her to understand any spoken words and have her own speech understood clearly. This was necessary, as even in Hikaht most two-year olds’ speech was very limited. It was simpler this way than trying to imitate childish speech with the spell active. There was no risk of accidentally saying something that could be understood by someone who shouldn’t hear. The obvious downside, of course, was that Omiga could not comprehend a single word anybody around her said. Nor could she speak a single word to anybody around her.

Omiga made a mental note to teach Miranda the incantation so at least the two of them could communicate with ease.

Miranda opened the door and walked in. Before she could even announce she was home she heard footsteps rushing over to her. Not even a second after Miranda closed the door she saw Darcy standing in front of her. Mother and daughter stared at one another for a moment before Darcy ran up and threw her arms around her mother.

“Darcy?! Honey, what’ s wrong?” she asked in concern. Which only grew when she noticed her blouse was slightly damp. Darcy was crying.

“I tried to tell her you were okay, but she’s been worried sick since we got home.” said a man’s voice. Fletcher Archer walked to the door and looked at his wife. It was clear to Miranda he’d worried just as much, but he’d tried hard not to show it. While Fletcher being overly concerned was one thing, Darcy had never shown worry and fear like this that she could remember.

“I was so scared.” Darcy muttered, her voice muffled as she still clung to her mom, “I skipped school when those things crashed and I saw one of them… it was horrible…”

“I see, now.” Miranda said as understanding dawned. Darcy had seen a Yaness and what it could do firsthand. She must have been thinking non-stop about the possibility that Miranda could have been attacked by one. Miranda pulled Darcy away from her so that she could look the girl in the eyes.

“I’m sorry I scared you like that, Darcy.” Miranda said consolingly, “But I’m fine. See?” she held out her arms as if striking a pose so Darcy could see she wasn’t hurt. The girl’s tears stopped as she realized everything was all right. She suddenly began staring at her feet, Miranda knew Darcy was probably feeling a bit silly now. Probably guilty, too, considering her next words.

“Um… about that skipping school part…” she muttered.

“Forget it.” Miranda said, “We’ve both had rough days today. I think, just this once, we can let it slide.”

Both Darcy and Fletcher looked at her in shock. Miranda was not normally the type of parent who let things slide. Darcy didn’t question it, but Fletcher did have an inquiring look in his eye. Before anything further could be said on the matter, however, two loud thumping noises were heard near by. Miranda knew those noises very well. Within moments, her son, Shane, and his best friend, Jude, had come running in (after jumping down the stars two-by-two) to see what everybody was doing. Jude’s face lit up when he saw Elspeth.

“Mommy!” he yelled as he ran into her arms, which lifted him up into a hug. However, while Jude had gone to his mother on sight, Shane’s attention was elsewhere.

“Mommy?” he said to Miranda.

“Yes, Shane?”

“Did you have a baby while you were gone?”

Everyone was more than a little surprised at the odd question until they realized what he was talking about. Everyone’s eyes finally shifted down to the toddler standing next to Miranda’s legs who had so far gone unnoticed.

“No, sweetheart, I didn’t have a baby.”

“Then where’d she come from?”

“I know! I know!” Jude called out, only to have his mouth immediately covered by his blushing mother’s hand.

“Ill-fated zoo trip.” She said in explanation, “Don’t ask.”

“So who is she?” Darcy asked, kneeling down and smiling at the little girl.

“This is Allison.” Miranda told everyone as the little girl began to shyly hide herself behind Miranda’s dress, “I’ll need to talk it over with your father first, but if he’s okay with it, she’ll be staying with us for a little while.”

Darcy’s somber mood vanished almost immediately as she tried to coax the little girl out into the open.

“Come on. It’s okay.” she said. Allison just stared at her as though she didn’t understand a word.

“We can discuss everything over dinner.” Fletcher said, “A lot of places were closed because of that meteor shower or whatever it was. But we managed to find a Chinese place still open. We got food for you and Elspeth too.”

“I told ‘em what to get you.” Jude proudly told his mother.

“Did y’remember egg rolls?” she asked him seriously.

“Uh-huh.”

“Good boy.” she told him.

“I’m afraid, though, we don’t have anything for her.” Fletcher said, looking down at Allison, still hiding behind Miranda.

“That’s fine. I’ll share some of mine with her.”

“Me, too.” Darcy said.

With that the family sat down in the dining room for dinner. Miranda and Elspeth worked on getting Fletcher to be okay with Allie’s staying at the Archer home. Meanwhile, Jude and Shane were using the chopsticks for mock swordfights until El saw them and stopped it. Darcy was sharing some of her food with Allie. Omiga tried some of the food Darcy offered and found it fairly tasty. She mostly concentrated on keeping silent and listening.

Before they had left for the house, Elspeth and Miranda had coached her on some childish mannerisms so that she could better act the part. First and foremost among them was feigning shyness. It provided an excuse for Omiga to not have to speak while giving her plenty of opportunity to listen to conversation and pick up some English words. Enough that she could at least fake communication.

Darcy proved unexpectedly helpful with this. After dinner was finished, she and the boys took Allie to Darcy’s bedroom and began trying to get her to speak by holding or pointing out objects and trying to get Allie to say their names.

“Now, what’s this?” Darcy asked, holding up a bright blue ball.

“It’s a ball.” Shane replied.

“I wasn’t asking you.” Darcy said in annoyance, “Now, Allie, can you say ‘ball?’”

“Ball.” Omiga repeated.

“Very good.” said Darcy, “Now let’s try that.” she pointed to a desk lamp on Darcy’s computer desk, “What is it?”

“Uhh…” Omiga had never seen a lamp that looked like it before.

“Lamp.” Jude whispered not at all quietly.

“Lamp?” Omiga asked.

“Right.” Darcy proclaimed, trying not to laugh at Jude’s less than covert help.

This and other games kept up for several hours before El came to collect Jude for the trip home. Another hour or so after that Miranda came in to tell Shane it was time to get him and Allison ready for bed. Darcy reluctantly handed Allie over to her mom. Omiga heard Miranda tell Darcy something. Giving a response that sounded very much like a groan, Darcy reluctantly grabbed a bag by her bed and pulled some books and papers out of it. Omiga saw her begin writing and looking at the books when Miranda led her out of the room.

When Shane was in his pajamas Miranda told him something and Omiga watched as he suddenly began digging in a closet. With Shane distracted, Omiga decided to take a chance and reactivate the translation spell.

“How’d it go?” she whispered softly.

“Fletcher wasn’t so hot about the idea at first.” Miranda whispered as she helped Omiga into what she said some of Shane’s old pajamas, “But I was able to convince him. I told him to just think of you as he did Shane and Darcy when they were your age. You know what I mean.” she added when she caught Omiga giving her an annoyed look.

“I found it, Mommy!” Shane suddenly called out. Omiga saw Shane pull out what appeared to be a rolled up bag.

“Good, dear. Now roll it out so Allie can use it.”

“How come she gets the sleeping bag!?” he asked, finishing off the question with a pout.

“Allison needs a place to sleep.” she explained, “However, if you’d like to use it instead, then you have to let her sleep in your bed.”

Shane appeared to mull this over for a moment while Miranda rolled up the sleeves on Omiga’s clothes which, even if they were things Shane had outgrown, were still too large on her smaller body.

“Okay,” Shane said after a moment, “She can have the bed.”

“All right, then.” Miranda replied. Omiga noticed an amused look on her face as she lifted Omiga into the bed and, at Shane’s insistence, began reading a story to them.

At this point Omiga disabled the language spell and turned back to the others, pretending to simply fall asleep immediately. She noticed Miranda’s reading became quieter, so as not to disturb her.

Omiga mulled over recent events. She was stranded, alone and helpless in a strange land. With Miranda’s help Omiga felt she sure she would adjust to her new circumstances easily enough. She knew that she could be far worse off than just having to briefly re-visit her childhood. The only thing Omiga really disliked about this whole situation was the fact that she had to turn over her duty to someone else. An innocent who really shouldn’t have gotten involved in the first place.

What was done was done, however. Omiga knew she couldn’t change what had happened. She decided instead to focus on to how best aid Miranda. What spells and combat styles would be best suited to her, what to teach immediately and what to teach later. And, most importantly, how to best reverse the Spark that gave Miranda Omiga’s magic and reclaim her own powers as quickly as possible.

That, Omiga thought glumly, was going to be the most difficult. But somehow, some way, she would manage it. And, in doing so, remove her burden from the back of her benefactor.
AUTHOR’S NOTE - OMIGA:
I’ll bet a lot of people reading this have been looking at the name “Omiga” and thinking that it’s just a play on the word “Omega.” If you have, you’d be wrong. The resemblance to “Omega” is really pure coincidence. The real source of the name came from when I was chatting about initial ideas for this story with my friends. My plot entailed a girl giving an adult woman magic powers. I referred to the giver as the “Original Magical Girl.” Chat-speak being what it is, it should come as no surprise that I soon realized that “Original Magical Girl” abbreviated to O.M.G. For some reason, every time I see the letters “OMG” in a chat I always picture “Oh, my God!” as said by a Valley Girl. “Like, Ohmigaw!” Drop the H and the W and what’ve you got? Omiga.