After dealing with the police and the emergency room, Zig Zag finally managed to get the two of them back to the house. Not about to let what had happened that day slide, she corralled the mouse in the living room and sat him down to have a very direct, if not blunt, conversation. "OK. Start talking. Tell me everything and don't skimp on the details!"

Thomas took a deep breath and let it out. "As you know, Arden was connected to a dragon. Just as she had a connection to the dragon, so do I. In fact, you could say that I am a dragon."

Zig Zag arched her eyebrows in surprised nodded. "OK. So you're some kind of dragon." She shrugged nonchalantly. "I suppose that about covers it, then."

"It does?" the mouse replied, surprised at her reaction.

"The hell it does!" she snapped at him. "What the hell kind of a cockamamie answer is 'I am a dragon'?"

"An accurate one?" Thomas replied, his eyebrows arched to punctuate the question. "Understand I'm not talking about this body, but something on a completely different level." He paused for a second while considering how to approach the subject. "When God created everything, he didn't actually do it himself. He delegated various functions to individual Seraphim, including Lakash. Lakash was responsible for creating the barriers between worlds and in doing so he chose to have that power manifest itself as a dragon.

"As it is that I am here acting as an agent for the dragon, I am directly linked to it. In fact, I'm so well integrated into the dragon, that I have full access to its memory, knowledge and insights. I can even consult with the dragon and all of its other fragments such as myself in times of need.

"All of this doesn't come without a price. To do so, I had to surrender myself completely to the dragon. In doing so, I have now limited my ability to act individually, so as to match the same boundaries that the dragon must obey. Although there is quite a lot of discretion there, there are things I simply am not allowed to do.

"In short, this body may be a mouse, but it's inhabited by the spirit of a dragon." He leaned back and crossed his hands to await an answer.

Zig Zag rubbed her temples and then shook her head. "Ok, I guess that explains what you are, but not who. Just who the hell are you?"

"Ah, well as for that," he took a deep breath, "I was born in a small village called Evanshire in the Duchy of Havensfeldt, under the rule of the Duke and Duchess Rossini. My mother died in childbirth. My father, who was also named Thomas, remarried when I was five. He died two years later when he was caught in a winter storm and froze. My stepmother moved in with her brother in the ducal capital of Haydon, where she and my step sister helped run his inn."

He stopped and then gingerly stood. "Excuse me for a moment," he said, waiving Zig Zag back down in her seat. "I believe I have something that will help."

Walking back to the room where he kept his things, he knelt down and opened his trunk. He moved several items around to reveal a large, ornate box. He removed the box and then resealed the steamer. Back in the living room and sat the box on the coffee table, which he then shifted towards the couch as he settled down. With a flip of his hand, he caused the blinds to snap shut. "Wouldn't want anyone to see this," he commented.

Patting the seat next to him, he gestured for Zig Zag to join him. He gave her a mischievous grid as he opened the box. Inside sat a large, shallow bowl, which appeared to be made of a crystal or glass-like substance. He gingerly removed it with both hands, and then while balancing it on one hand, moved the box to the floor before setting the bowl on the table.

He flashed Zig Zag another smile and said, "Now comes the fun part."

Zig Zag was too astonished at the bowl to note his expression. It was very wide, shallow, and impossibly thin. She had trouble even seeing exactly where the edge of the bowl belonged. She suspected that should she run her finger along the edge, either the bowl would shatter, or she'd cut herself--or possibly both!

With careful attention, he maneuvered the bowl so that it resided in as close to the middle of the table as possible. He then removed a small vile of silver liquid. Pulling the stopper, he then poured a single drop into the bottom of the bowl before resealing the bottle and placing it in back the box.

His grin grew wider as he began to gesture, causing the bowl to slowly being rotating. Gently, ever so gently, he continued to gesture, causing it to spin faster and faster. As it span, the silver liquid spread from the center and climbed the edges of the bowl.

Zig Zag gave a startled gasp as the silver climbed above the lip and continued outward and upward, spinning faster and faster, until--for no reason she could understand other than it was magic--the silver completed it's loop and became a huge bubble over three feet in diameter.

Thomas giggled and looked over at Zig Zag. "I've done a fair amount of magic since coming to your world," he excitedly said, "however this is the first time I've been able to really show it off, and this is one of my favorites."

"What is it?" Zig Zag asked, realizing that she'd been holding her breath. She was afraid to breathe on it for fear it would pop.

Thomas took another vial out and placed a single drop of the liquid on his tongue, before swallowing it. He closed his eyes and concentrated on the sympathetic link he needed to create. He opened his eyes and looked into the sphere, which now appeared to be a giant eye, looking at Zig Zag, who freaked out.

"I call it the mind's eye!" he declared trying to sound mysterious.

Zig Zag scrambled backwards on the couch, climbing half way over the top before she realized the mouse was laughing at her. "Very funny, asshole!" she grumbled, returning to her seat.

Thomas turned and looked at her. As he did so, the eye disappeared from the sphere and was soon replace by a distorted view of Zig Zag, setting back onto the couch.

Now smiling in amazement, Zig Zag glanced over at Thomas before returning her attention to the sphere. She waved a hand in front of his face and saw it mirrored in the sphere. She laughed as well. "That's amazing. It's like you've turned yourself into a video camera."

"In a sense," the mouse replied. "What the sphere sees is what my minds eye sees. With this, I can show you my home. Most importantly, I can show you this."

Zig Zag turned back to the ball and saw the view fade into darkness, and then changed. It was the inside of a rustic looking inn. There was a large fireplace that was unlit, surrounded by a number of tables.

"This is the place where I first met Lady Arden," Thomas said, remembering the inn, recalling every detail. "This was my step-mother, and beside her my sister."

The image dodged a thrown brush and then turned to see a hand reaching out to pick it up. Zig Zag took a deep breath and tried to calm her stomach. Watching the rapid movements of the scenery as his eyes darted about, taking in information. She suddenly realized that this wasn't some kind of scene he was setting, this was literally his memory of that day.

Then it occurred to Zig Zag that what she was seeing wasn't like anything she'd seen before. She realized they were people, but nothing like she'd ever seen. "What are they?"

"What are they?" Thomas asked. The image wavered for a moment as he lost his concentration, and then snapped back into focus. "Humans. We're called humans."

Her anger forgotten, Zig Zag stared, fascinated at the images of strange people who passed by and interacted with him. She realized that if she listened closely, she could hear them talk. She watched a large male walk in followed by. "Sheila?"

"Lady Arden," Thomas corrected her, and then shrugged. "Actually, I guess it was Miss Sheila's body, so in a way that's right." The image froze.

Zig Zag looked over at Thomas and saw a sadness in his eyes.

"That was the first time I saw her," he said in a low and gentle voice. "I was only eleven and she was amazing. I'd never seen anything like her. She was the first non-human I'd ever seen that could speak." He let out a long sigh. "Enough of that," he said, wiping out the image.

Over the next couple of hours, he showed Zig Zag each of his interactions with both Sheila and Arden. Zig Zag was amazed to learn that the male was what Arden had looked like before he'd come to their world. She was also amazed at how easily Sheila fell into the roll of being a man.

Her fascination continued when she saw Arden practicing with the swords, and chucked as he--no she--complained about having large breasts. Guys always want big breasts, but they're not the ones who have to deal with having them.

Amusement turned to shock as she saw Arden attacked, captured, gagged, bound, stripped and then hauled away like an animal. "I don't believe it." She turned to look at Thomas as the image faded. "What's wrong."

"While I do have many of Arden's memories, the dragon refused to let me share the ones that followed her capture," Thomas said, looking upset. He started to speak, but had to stop, as emotions welled up.

Zig Zag reached out and put a compassionate hand on his arm. "Thomas, what's wrong?"

Thomas concentrated for a moment, forcing the emotions down. Much calmer, he explained, "After Miss Arden was captured, she was taken to the slave pens in the castle. 'The Mews' as they were referred to." He paused to catch his breath. "On threat of Master Vic's life, Miss Arden was forced to allow herself to be -- serviced by Prince Hiram."

"Serviced?" Zig Zag spat. "You mean raped!"

Taking another deep breath and letting it out, he nodded. "Afterwards, she turned on the prince and attacked him. She was severely beaten and then chained up for the--entertainment of the stable hands."

Zig Zag covered her mouth with her hand in horror. The thought of Sheila having been held prisoner and being raped had horrified her, but to think that Arden--someone who'd only days before been male would be subjected to such an atrocity was unthinkable."

"We--we tried to get an audience with the Duke after they captured her," he said, fighting to talk through the emotions. "They wouldn't see us until the next day." Tears were freely streaming down his face.

Realizing that an image had returned to the sphere, Zig Zag looked at it in amazement. The room was huge with ornate tiles and paintings. A regal looking male and female sat on thrones near where they stood. People with fancy costumes like you would expect to see at a renaissance fair mingled.

Her attention was drawn as a group of guards brought out something that was suspended between a pole. She gasped again in horror as she realized that it was Sheila. No, that was Arden!

She watched as Sheila became enraged and attacked the guards, sending one flying with a punch to the chest, and the other a kick to the throat. More guards moved to stop him, but something made them back away.

She watched from Thomas' point of view as Sheila cut the bonds with one of the swords that Arden had gotten from Tigger, all the time crying out his--her name. "Kill me," she heard Arden beg. "Please, my love, kill me."

Zig Zag watched as Sheila went berserk and attacked a male, trying to strangle him. The view shifted as Thomas had tried to calm Sheila down. It shifted again as he looked over to Arden just as she placed the dagger against her neck.

"Oh, dear God, no!" Zig Zag muttered, covering her mouth as she saw Thomas fighting with Arden for the dagger. Blood was spraying out of the cut as she saw the hands of a child fight to stop the flow.

And just as suddenly, she was inside of the image. She was standing over a small, human child as he impossibly tried to stem the flow of blood that was coming from Arden's neck. She watched in horror as the blood squirted out between his fingers as he yelled repeatedly for 'Lord Vic' who was far too busy hitting people to listen. It wasn't until he let out an extremely loud, high pitched scream that Zig Zag saw Sheila finally turn and looked.

Bile caught in her throat as she felt the hot blood flow around her foot. She looked down at Thomas again to see him showing his bloody hands to Sheila. It was only then that Zig Zag realized that the blood was no longer pumping from Arden's neck. Thomas, covered in blood, hugged himself as he sobbed.

Zig Zag reached out to him only to have the vision disappear with an audible pop as the sphere vanished, leaving them once again in her living room. She saw Thomas, hugging himself as he kneeled on the floor the same way as he had in the vision. Kneeling down next to him, she wrapped him in her arms, holding him as he cried.

Thomas was sobbing. "I couldn't stop the blood. There was so much of it." He looked at Zig Zag with the same eyes of that child as he sobbed. "Nobody listens to a kid. I kept yelling for help, but." He closed his eyes, unable to continue.

Zig Zag held him as he cried, petting him on the back of his head. Suddenly she felt as if she understood everything. She understood his devotion to Arden, the frustration of being impotent to help, and most of all, not being able to save someone you loved. Most importantly she understood why he'd looked at Sheila the way he did the first time he saw her again. No matter how much you prepare yourself for something like that, it's still a shock.

"I'm sorry," he said, finally pulling away. He removed a handkerchief from his pocket and dried his eyes before blowing his nose. Folding the cloth, he placed it back in his pocket. "I'm sorry. I should have had more control."

"No. Don't apologize," she replied, shaking her head. "I know what it's like to have old memories come up like that."

He shook his head and chuckled. "It hasn't been that long ago, really." He paused to do some math in his head and then shook it again. "It's hard to believe but it's only been a year since she died."

"Wait," Zig Zag said, giving him a confused look. "I thought you said you were eleven."

Thomas nodded. "That's right."

"But you're thirty two now, right?" she asked, trying to make sense of things.

He nodded. "This body is thirty two, yes."

"This body?" Her eyes widened in realization. "That's not your body?"

Thomas rocked his head from side to side. "Well, it's kind of---"

"Complicated," Zig Zag spat. "How did I ever know you were going to say that? It was one of Arden's favorite words."

Thomas hesitated, and then explained, "On March 27th of this year, in the French Hills area of Jerusalem, there was a bombing. The original owner of this body was mortally wounded in the attack and his body would have perished had I not prevented it. While we were waiting for Jack to come and collect his soul for judgment, I explained the reason I needed his body and he consented to allow me to use it."

"Jack?" she asked, confused at yet another new name with no background.

Thomas looked a bit embarrassed. "He's the embodiment of wrath. He's essentially what you'd call the grim reaper."

"I thought the grim reaper was supposed to be there at the time of death, or is that just a myth?" She shook her head as she realized she was talking about something that was apparently real even though it was just a myth to her.

"He was supposed to, technically," he replied with a shrug. "You see there were a number of people killed. He chose to collect this one last at the dragon's request."

Zig Zag nodded. "Ah, OK. So does the dragon deal a lot with death? Or, Wrath? Or whatever you call him?"

"I call him Jack," Thomas said, giving her a weak smile, "and normally no, the dragon doesn't deal with Wrath. It's only because of Arden that the dragon was forced to initially deal with him after she was killed the second time. After Arden completed her quest, the Dragon's had a number of agreements with Jack, the nature of which I'm not permitted to discuss.

"You see, only Jack could sever a soul from a living body. My magic wasn't strong enough to resurrect the body if I let it die, and I don't think anyone would agree to have a zombie nanny, so I had to work a deal with the previous owner."

Zig Zag frowned as she crossed her arms. "And just what kind of bargain did you make with this previous owner, or are you forbidden to discuss that?"

"Oh, no," Thomas replied, shaking his head. "That's no secret. I simply promised to insure that is soul wasn't condemned to hell."

Her jaw dropped. "Wait, you can control who goes to heaven and who goes to hell?"

The mouse grimaced. "Not exactly. Essentially since he wasn't dead, he was still the owner of his soul. It's only after you die that you go to judgment, unless you've sold your soul, which he did. He traded it to the dragon in exchange for becoming essentially what I am, only for a different world. He now is, as I am, an immortal being who won't be judged until the end of the game, when all the players will be judged."

"You bought his soul?" she asked, shocked at the idea. "I thought you were the good guys!"

"Oh, no ma'am," Thomas replied, shaking his head. "We are neither good nor bad. We strive to maintain the balance. Since Hell has the advantage on most worlds, we work on the side of good more often than not. However, if a world somehow gains a predominantly good tilt, such that it could unbalance the game, we will take steps to regain the balance."

Zig Zag rubbed the bridge of her nose since the conversation was making her head hurt. She looked at him and shook her head. "So you're saying that if we ever get too 'good' for your liking, you'll be forced to go out and do some atrocity to balance things out?"

He shook his head. "Not exactly. We try not to act directly when it comes to that kind of thing. We simply influence people, the way Hell influences them. You don't have to worry about me having to do that here. As good as many of the people in this world are, there are more than enough bad people that I'll be busy trying to counter their influence."

Zig Zag let out a low whistle. "Wow. I knew that there were some messed up things happening in the world, but I never thought it was going to Hell in a hand basket."

"Think of how I got this body." He pointed to a faint scar on his forehead. "I got this because of a suicide bomber. The Koran specifically speaks against such things as killing non-combatants, and yet young males are constantly being tricked into doing it by radicalized leaders who ignore the Koran and promise them seventy two virgins awaiting them in paradise."

"I'll bet they're in for a rude surprise," she said, chuckling.

Thomas nodded and gave her a sinister grin. "Indeed. I'm led to understand that there are the promised seventy two virgins awaiting them in hell, only they will be of a disposition that is repulsive in nature to the individual, and he will find no pleasure in them in any way. Lucifer is very proud of that."

A scowl crossed Zig Zag's face. "You sound like you admire him."

Thomas smiled and nodded. "I admire the cleverness of his work. In order to counter what he and his do in this and other worlds, we have to use similar methods, only working for the opposite goal."

Gingerly lifting the bowl, he placed it back in the box as he talked. "You have to admire the cunning of convincing someone that they'll get a reward, which at best would be transient if they killed themselves and a bunch of innocent people, would be worth dying for. It's not like those seventy two virgins are going to last an eternity, they're a one use reward. And, of course, the reward is also their punishment."

Closing the box, he ran his hand lightly along the edge as he talked, avoiding looking at Zig Zag. "You have to understand that we - the dragons - can't be bound by traditional ideas of good and evil. We have to do whatever we can to maintain the balance, and on some world, somewhere, one of us may have to use that exact tactic to swing the balance back towards neutrality." He hesitantly looked up at her. "It's not something I look forward to, but at the same time, it's what I've committed my immortal soul to and I have no choice but to see it through."

Zig Zag pinched the bridge of her nose in an attempt to stave off the headache she felt coming on. "OK, I guess that covers what you are, but why exactly are you here?"

"I thought that would have been obvious," Thomas replied, frowning slightly as he settled back on the couch. "My primary task is to ensure the health and safety of Arden's cubs as well as Sheila. The secondary task is to try to mitigate the damage that Arden did when she - er, he was in this world, which includes the problems you've had with the law, and potentially the unnatural bad luck that you and your staff have been having."

"And what about protecting this world from Evil?" she asked, crossing her arms. "I thought that's what your job was supposed to be."

He nodded, acknowledging her line of thought. "While that is my purpose, my goals are set by the dragon, which is essentially Arden. Besides, this world is fairly neutral at this time, though I sense that a shift may be coming. Until that happens, my position is to wait and watch."

Zig Zag nodded briefly before a shocking thought hit her. "Hey, wait a second. You said that nobody in this world had powerful magic. How could that spell on the tie clip have affected you so strongly then?

Thomas frowned slightly at the question. "Because the spell originated from an outsider, someone not unlike myself. Unfortunately, whoever it is has a knack for covering their tracks. I haven't been able to perceive them, though I can occasionally sense their impact when they do use powerful magic."

Zig Zag winced, as the headache finally hit. "Great. So you're telling me that there's someone running around as powerful as you are, but you can't go after them because you're busy guarding Sheila and the kits?"

"Not exactly," he replied, holing his hands up, stopping Zig Zag's response. "They're powerful, but not at my level. And I doubt they're aware that I have allies in this world who are powerful in their own rights. Once they answer my summons, I'm confident that we'll put an end to this quickly."

Shaking her head, Zig Zag got up. "Clearly I'm stuck with you, for now anyway. Just do me a favor and make sure that trouble stays well away from me and my people. Your fight with whoever it is out there doesn't involve us. You understand?"

Thomas stood and gave her a curt nod. "Of course, Miss Zig Zag."

Leaving the living room, she walked quickly to her bedroom and slammed the door before dropping onto her bed. She covered her head with pillows. She'd thought that the nightmare was over when the feds had found Sheila was alive. Now she was learning that the real nightmare may just now be starting, and she wasn't sure if she could handle it.