"Are they ever coming out?" Saran asked impatiently.

A young man, with a glimmering sword, glanced over at Cyan and smiled. "Your friend here is quite an impatient one isn't she?" Cyan smiled and elbowed Saran solidly in the side.

"She's just anxious to help you and your men stop Kahn's thugs from taking what little you have left Theron." Cyan smiled at the man. "I guess when it comes right down to it; Ethel here is just a real passionate individual." Saran rolled her eyes and looked back down towards the building. Out of the corner window she saw a brief flicker of movement and nudged Cyan.

Saran smiled wickedly. "Here we go Eunice. They're getting ready to take the supplies out the back. Better tell you're new found admirer to get his men ready."

Within seconds, Kahn's men began shoving the local villagers out into the streets. Each was burdened with heavy loads of coins, food, grains; anything the town had to offer. Kahn's men were not sparing on the whips, and the Queen and Saran were over the rocks and descending the hill before Theron had even given his signal.

"Why you lousy piece of.." Saran flipped through the air and knocked one of Kahn's men flat on his back. She grabbed him by the shirt collar, yanking his face up to meet her fist. Turning to find Cyan, Saran smiled, seeing that the Queen had just finished off Kahn's man in charge. "Two down, about a bazillion to go!" Saran smiled at Cyan as she charged off into the heat of the battle.

Theron's men were well trained and holding off Kahn's men as best as they could. Cyan was stacking and racking them, but still, she felt as if they couldn't get ahead. Suddenly from out of the corner of her eye she saw one of Kahn's men heading for Saran.

"Saran!" Cyan yelled. "Behind you." The warning had come too late, and Cyan watched as her friend dropped to her knees. Eventually Saran sank further into the earth until she was laying flat on her stomach. Cyan continued to fight but she found it hard to take her eyes of her friend. Why isn't she getting up, Cyan kept repeating to herself. "Saran!" she yelled, but at that same moment she found herself hurtling back towards the wall of the building.

The Queen felt the crunching of bones as she hit the wall with her side. She crumpled to the ground and grabbed her ribs in pain. What the heck is happening, Cyan said. She suddenly recalled the kick to her chest she had felt the day before, when first arriving. The pain had been unbelievable. She shook her head from side to side and looked over for Saran. The other Amazon had somehow managed to drag herself to her feet, but was fighting far more defensively than the Queen had ever seen before.

Suddenly Cyan heard Theron's voice rise above the battle sounds. "You! Get the girl over there and help her to the hills. And you! Help the other one; she is barely able to stand."

Cyan slowly got to her feet and finally realized that Theron had been talking about Saran and herself. One of the other men came and put his arm around her, helping her to walk towards the hills. Cyan shook him off, and began to walk back towards the battle.

"You fool!" Theron yelled. "Get them out of here!"

Cyan flipped forward, bringing her right foot down on the head of a thug as she went. Kahn's man fell to the ground unconscious, but not before Cyan had to grip her side in pain. She felt a stinging sensation flare suddenly down the length of her arm. Much to the Queen's surprise, blood poured from the now unseen wound, pooling on the ground beneath her. Cyan quickly looked around for the source of the attack, and lashed backwards with her foot. She connected solidly with yet another of Kahn's soldiers but not before she had seen Saran take the hilt of a sword in the face.

********

The cool water ran down the side of Cyan's cheek, as she attempted to taste just a bit of it with her tongue. Her eyes slowly flickered open and began to come into focus on the face of young Theron.

"I wasn't sure you'd make it with all the blood you'd lost, but it seems both you and your friend will be okay." Theron nodded his head in the direction of another pallet where a slow moving figure laid similar to the Queen. "I appreciate your enthusiasm, but I can't allow you to continue waging our war; especially if it will cost you your lives."

The Queen attempted to laugh at Theron's comment but found she couldn't even muster a sound. Her throat felt swollen and dry; something she had not even encountered with the use of Falcon's killing drug. The Queen raised her hand for Theron's help to get her to her feet. "I don't think you are ready to walk yet Eunice." Cyan wished she could even managed a smile without a pain shooting across her face. "I guess we didn't need those fake names after all." Cyan thought sarcastically to herself.

The Queen made her way over to Saran who had also sensed Cyan's movements and begun to get up. Her face turned to meet Cyan's approach, and the Queen could see the serious bruising that was quickly spreading down one side of Saran's eye and cheek. "I see you needed a little stitching." Saran said motioning towards the Queen's arm.

"I think I need a lot more than a stitching. Let's get out of here." Cyan and Saran headed for the door passing most of Theron's men who were also being treated in one way or another. Theron took a hold of Cyan's one good arm and pulled her aside. "Thanks for all your help today, it was greatly appreciated. Seldom do strangers offer to help others in OutWorld."

The Queen smiled grimly at Theron and then glanced over at Saran who stood waiting by the door. "I'm just sorry we couldn't help more." Cyan walked away, hearing Theron call after her. "You did what you could Eunice. You and Ethel are two of the bravest women to try and fight in a man's war."

Saran and the Queen rolled their eyes simultaneously and limped out the door, each dragging their own ailments. Cyan looked around quickly, and then up at the huge rolling hills in front of them. The same grayness consumed them that did all of OutWorld. "Well, we better get walking." Cyan said in barely more than a whisper, then whispered even quieter, "You and your stupid insistence on not bringing horses."

Looking up at Cyan, Saran whispered back. "Well I'm certainly glad we didn't; my butt hurts."

Watching Saran walk, Cyan realized that her stride wasn't normal at all. "What happened?"

"Not here Eunice, not here." Saran continued to walk up the hill; Cyan closely following on her heels. Just over the top of the hill Cyan turned to see if they could be seen. "Saran, why don't you. . .you know." Stopping short, Saran turned and looked at her. "So much for our low profile." Saran then reached over and grabbed Cyan's arm, teleporting them away.

*********

The tunnels under the palace were empty, except for the few mice that could out think the palace cats. A shimmering appeared in the center of the main path; once clearing, two very exhausted and beat up warriors appeared.

"Saran, why the tunnels? I would think that. . ."

"The tunnels are safer. I highly doubt any Shadow Priest knows of them, and I really didn't expect to be defeated this soon!" That said, she headed down one of the paths.

Cyan looking around to where they were, called out to Saran. "The room is this way."

Turning around carefully, "Yes, but the kitchen is this way. You see, I feel the need to drown my sorrows in food after getting my ass so thoroughly kicked into next Wednesday!" Turning back around she called over her shoulder. "Coming?"

Cyan looked after her for about two seconds before following close behind. They went through the pathways, Saran leading as if she had done this a thousand times before. "You've only been here once, how can you know which path is which?"

"I'm good with directions." Saran shrugged. "It's always been like that. Take me someplace once, I'll find it again. It comes in handy when you need to teleport." Letting Cyan up closer to her, she looked up. "So, did you make that mark that leads to your room?"

Cyan giggled at the question. "Yes, how did you know?"

"You said that you played in 'your secret passageways' as a child. Figured you probably got lost at least once." The last part brought a smirk to Saran's face.

"Watch it Ethel. Or I'll. . ." Just then Saran pushed opened the entranceway to the kitchen.

"Hungry my Queen?" Silently they entered the kitchen. All was deserted, except for a pregnant cat sleeping near the stove. The two quickly began looking around for food. Opening the icebox, Saran began to pull out different meats and cheeses. "Sit, I'll cook."

"You know how to cook?" The incredulous look on Cyan's face was real. She knew Saran could make great coffee, but the culinary aspects where unknown.

"I have many skills." Saran smiled up at her. Saran had made herself at home in the kitchen, a fact that Cyan watched with interest. She managed to find all the utensils she needed, plus some herbs and spices that the cooks left in a drying bin. Grabbing a large pot, she hung it on the spit and pushed it over the flames. Adding water, then some spices, Saran started to cut up the cold meat and vegetables throwing them all in the pot.

"You also seem to have no problem at making yourself at home." Cyan had found some bread and was cutting it as she watched Saran stir up the stew.

"When you grow up on the streets, and you need to eat; well, you find ways of making yourself at home where ever you are." Letting the stew boil, she looked around the kitchen for something else. "I didn't grow up in a place like this; people cooking for me. . ."

"Just because I grew up here doesn't mean I am spoiled or don't know how to do things for myself."

Saran stopped looking and turned to face Cyan. "That's not what I meant! For crying out loud Cyan, I'm trying to explain something to you. Why are you getting so defensive?"

"I'm defensive? I'm defensive." Cyan had stopped cutting the bread and looked over at Saran. "This place brings back too many memories. I guess I'm just a little sensitive about it. So, what did you mean?"

Going back to her search, "Growing up on the streets, I would find different ways of getting food. Usually the easiest was to break into someone's house, cook myself a meal and clean up after myself."

"You cleaned up after yourself?"

Laughing at the thought. "Yes, I did. It guaranteed me being able to come back to that house. No one ever noticed anything out of order, and I guess the women just believed that their husbands were eating midnight snacks. Therefore, I was well fed and nobody got hurt." Saran placed two mugs on the table and filled them with the ale she had been searching for. "Dark, creamy and warm, just the way I like it."

"Saran, you can't even drink caffeine. Am I to believe you can handle ale?" Cyan smirked as she took a swallow.

"No caffeine in ale, and we need something to wash down this food. I said I could cook, I never said it was good!"

********

Swabbing the last of the stew off the plate with a slice of bread, Cyan looked up at Saran. "You are a good cook."

"Why thank you my Queen." Saran said while bowing. She then picked up the plates, swiftly and quickly cleaning up the kitchen so that no one would know they had been there. After one last inspection, they walked out into the passageways and headed for the Queen's room.

"I was three." Cyan said from out of nowhere. "I had just found the passages, and got lost. It felt like days, but in reality it was only a few hours. I wandered around for long time, then thought that if I just scraped along the wall, I would know where I'd been."

"Smart kid."

"Thanks." Cyan smiled back as they reached the wall to her room.

"Here, I'll climb up. . ." Saran began. Smiling, Cyan reached up and pulled the latch; opening the wall. "Never mind. Just forget I offered." Stopping quickly, Saran turned around "Wait, how did you open it up as a child, and no, you're not going to tell me that you've always been this tall!"

"I had a ladder out there. When I could finally reach it; I had it removed." Cyan and Saran both smiled and went into the Queen's room.

******

"I need to go and talk to my mother briefly." Cyan said to Saran.

"Well, while you're there you may want to ask her for some more helpful tips!" The Queen and Saran both broke into laughter once again. Surprisingly enough, despite all their aches and pains, the two had spent most of the evening laughing and talking like they had known each other for what seemed like several lifetimes.

"I'm not sure I even want to see her at all. I'm really not feeling quite up to the "I told you so" speech. But I really need to ask her where she thinks Kahn is keeping Kitana. The rumors throughout OutWorld say that she's somewhere within his walls, but that she has ways in and out when she needs them. If we can find the right people to help us, I would really like to see her if we could Saran?"

Saran blinked a couple of times as she registered what the Queen had just said. Something in Cyan had been slowly changing since they got here, and for the first time Saran realized a piece of what that was. Cyan had actually asked permission for something, not as a Queen, but merely as a friend. Saran smiled. She hadn't even noticed, but even she had become more relaxed over the last few hours and suddenly she felt as if she were talking to a sister and not a warrior.

"I'd love to meet her." Saran said with genuine enthusiasm. "What's she like? Is she anything like you...or will she like me?" Saran wasn’t hiding the smile or the joy she had saying this.

Cyan looked over to see Saran burst into laughter at her own 'joke'. Cyan rolled her eyes and balled up a piece of scrap paper and threw it at her. Saran ducked, barely missing the missile. "Very cute Saran! Are you about done now?"

"Why thank you. I think I am too!" Saran then proceeded to fall on the floor laughing. After a few minutes she managed to get back up into the chair where the Queen sat quietly, shaking her head and smiling. "Her own best fan." Cyan thought to herself. Taking a few deep breaths, Saran finally managed to let Cyan continue with her story.

Saran had never really noticed it before, but behind the Queen's usual exterior of hardened emotions and Island focus, there was definitely a softer person. There was a certain twinkle in the Queen's emerald green eyes that seemed to suggest a possible happiness that Saran had never seen there before; or perhaps it was the lack of remembering other times. Saran had not ever asked Cyan about Shatan or Davu, not because she didn’t care, or didn’t want to know; she just felt that if Cyan wanted to talk about it, she would. Still, Saran couldn't help but wonder what the Queen of the Amazons had truly been like back in those days.

*******

"We used to have so much fun together." Cyan said after finally catching her breath from their last bout of laughter.

"It sounds like it." Saran looked over to the fire and thought about the same question she had been wanting to ask for the last hour. She finally took a deep breath and just blurted it out.

"So when and why did things suddenly go so wrong; especially with your mother?"

Cyan sighed. She had known the question was coming but she still had not been able to figure out her true answer. She could recite all the facts, and the where's and when's of the day; but her feelings and emotions still felt just beyond her grasp. Perhaps, Cyan thought, they had been that way for a very long time. Still, she felt obligated to give Saran an answer to her question. No, that was wrong. It was more than that; she wanted to tell her.

"It all happened so quickly that I honestly see some parts only as a blur."

"That’s ok. Just tell me what you do remember then." Saran said kindly; doing her best to encourage the Queen.

"Well, I told you of the crystal and how my mother placed it around my neck at birth. Well, what I didn't know was that once she placed it there, no one but myself could remove it. Kahn had been searching for this legendary crystal for thousands of years, only to discover that my mother had stolen it from the mines hundreds of years before he had even come. He was enraged when he found out that she possessed the powers he had been searching for and came to the palace to take me in its place. It was then that he killed Kitana's mother and searched the rooms to find me. I assume you can imagine his surprise when he saw the crystal hanging from around my neck."

Saran began to nod in understanding. Of all people, Saran could certainly understand the concept of childhood nightmares becoming a little too real. Saran motioned for the Queen to continue.

"Well, I can assure you it never matched the surprise that the rest of the room felt when Vorpax revealed he was my father; at least partly him. Kahn flew into a rage demanding that I give him the crystal. I looked at my mother, Kitana, Khan; I didn't know what to do. I kept backing away from him, towards my mother. His hand was shoved in my face waiting for me to take the crystal off and place it in his hand. I kept calling her name. I wanted her to tell me, tell me what to do; something, anything; but she never said a word. I reached for the crystal and as my fist tightened around it, I heard her whisper in my ear, "You must have faith Cyan, for without it you will never find your destiny."

Cyan took a deep breath and leaned towards the fire in the attempts to warm her hands a bit. Saran let the silence stay, not feeling like either one of them needed to speak before the Queen was ready to continue. Cyan rubbed her hands back and forth and eventually lifted her head to meet Saran's eyes.

"The next thing I knew I was whirling through the worlds and lights that we passed when we came here, and then the world went black. When I awoke I found myself somewhere in the halls of Olympus. Eventually it was decided I would stay with Poseidon in an attempt to keep me out of Hera and Ares's way. Somehow, although I never knew how, the gods had already known of my existence and the powers of the crystal. I waited many years hoping my mother would come, and she finally did; but not before any feelings I had for her had hardened like a stone. I had already met Poseidon's other children and begun to make, at least what I thought, was a home. But after a while, I knew I could not stay there either.

One morning, just shortly before I left the oceans, I was training with Apollo by the beaches of Rayain. By this time I had already learned of the existence of some of my "other" fathers; Apollo and Poseidon included. I remember that day on the beach so clearly; it changed everything. The ocean was an unusual shade of blue and Aphrodite was sitting on some rocks along the coast. She kept calling for me to knock some sense into the god because he had been such a terrible influence on Cupid. Then from down the beach came walking a dark headed warrior I had never seen before. She was obviously someone of stature, for neither Aphrodite or Apollo seemed shocked by her appearance."

"I couldn't take my eyes off of her Saran. I had seen warriors before, but none like her. As I think back, I think it was my first encounter with a true Amazon. Everything she did just drew me to her, and suddenly I knew why. She reminded me of Kitana, and a place I had tried to forget."

Cyan finally sat up again and smiled at Saran. "I never went back to the oceans after that day; and it was not soon after I found myself Queen of the Amazons. Baj became not only my sister, but my greatest friend. Then Ares began the wars against the Amazons and I found myself fighting the very immortals I had once thought of as my home."

Saran sighed. "Well, I can certainly see why you don't have fond memories of OutWorld. I can also understand why it is that you still feel some allegiance to Poseidon, and why you……" Saran thought for a moment before she continued, "and why you struggle to forgive a mother who only seemed to harm you."

Cyan sensed something more in her friend's eyes but let the moment pass. Exhaustion could be both the best and worst of times to open memories from long ago.

"So you never bothered to explore your powers or the crystal once you left OutWorld did you? Too many bad memories of what had happened, and I bet the gods weren't encouraging you to take them out for a spin either, were they?" Cyan shook her head and continued on with Saran's train of thought. "After a while, I found that my fighting skills alone were enough to match most attacks by the gods, and my immortality didn't hurt either. Only a few of the Amazons ever knew about that, at least until the days before Shatan and Davu were killed."

The air hung heavily in the room as Saran left the opening for the Queen to continue if she wished. "You know the rest of the story from there. The gods kill the Amazons; we kill the bad guys; bad guys side with the gods; and then the whole cycle starts over."

Saran noticed for the first time how tired the Queen really looked. The physical exhaustion, the wounds, and mostly the release of many years of memories had definitely taken its toll. "I think it’s time to talk with Vorpax," Saran said to Cyan, "but let's do it in the morning, not right now. I’m way too tired and sore to face your mother, and I’m thinking you are too."

Cyan smiled and glanced briefly at the bruises and cuts that lay all over her body. "You know Saran, I've been thinking. This mortality stuff; it really sucks!" The Queen and Saran finally began to laugh once again, slowly returning them to their earlier moods of the evening. "Which, by the way, you still haven’t told me why your butt hurts."

The look of chagrin on Saran’s face couldn’t be missed. "I fell on a pinecone." Cyan began to giggle. "Hey, wait a minute here. Whoever thought it was a good idea to leave a pinecone in the middle of a battlefield is nuts! And it wasn’t like I was trying to sit down either. . .You. . .you go ahead and laugh it up, all you want. But you try landing on one and see how you feel?"

"Ok Saran. Sure." Cyan looked over to see Saran trying to keep a pout on her face, rather unsuccessfully at that. "You know, I think we would both do a little better if we talked to Vorpax in the morning. I think we definitely need some healing time."

*******

Cyan twitched violently in her sleep as the sweat began to drip from her body. Her eyes fluttered rapidly, as her lips mouthed unheard words to someone standing closely alongside Morpheus.

Cyan began to twitch violently as she tried to pull herself from the dreamworld. For some unknown reason the powers of Morpheus seemed to have a new-found hold over the Queen and Cyan felt herself once again drifting back into the night.

Cyan sat up in bed, panting and sweating from the haunts of the night. She saw the remaining embers of the evenings fire silently glowing in the dark. She got up from her bed and slowly made her way to the table, and the wet rags they had used to care for their wounds. She could see Saran sleeping peacefully, and wondered how it was that the destroyer of gods could sleep so well?

*******

Saran didn’t dream for the first time in many moons that night. Slowly waking up, she looked around the room. Cyan had already gotten up and was once again pouring over the maps. Knowing that they would be leaving to find Kitana soon, Saran decided they needed something to get them moving.

"Morning."

"Morning." Cyan responded.

Saran managed to swing her legs over the bed and tentatively stand up. Mornings were never her favorite time of day, and ones that all her muscles ached were worse. She didn’t notice how Cyan was quieter than usual, or at least quieter than yesterday. She really didn’t know whether or not Cyan was a morning person, but figured that more than likely, she was.

"Saran. I already sent word to Vorpax, she’s on her way here."

"Oh." Saran started to rummage through her bag for something. "Does this mean I should wake up?"

"Aren’t you already?"

"Nope."

Cyan just shook her head and then looked back down to the maps.

"Ok then. I’m going to go and get some breakfast. Would you like anything?"

"Breakfast is on the table behind you, but I could use some more coffee."

Turning to where Cyan had mentioned, Saran headed over and grabbed a bagel and the pot of coffee for Cyan. While biting into the bagel, she poured the Queen’s coffee and filled another mug. "Eww."

"What’s wrong? And why are you pouring yourself a cup of coffee?"

"It’s not a Corde bagel. And, I’m not pouring it for me, I’m pouring it for her."

Vorpax had arrived while Saran was getting her breakfast. Cyan had been so tied up in her own thoughts, and the maps that she never heard Vorpax come in. Quickly turning around, she watched as Vorpax picked up the coffee and sat down.

"So Saran. I hear you make a mean cup of coffee?"

"So Vorpax. I hear you make a . . ." Saran stopped herself from finishing the statement. "Never mind."

"Is the daughter of War and Death being tamed? I would have thought it would take more than one beating to tame you Saran."

"So, were you going to tell us that this realm reeks havoc on our systems; or were you saving that for the dance at our funerals?" Saran had sat across from Vorpax, crossing her arms. It was a stance that Cyan hadn’t seen since they came here, and was discouraged to see it now.

"Saran. Stop it." Cyan had stood, trying to stand between her mother and friend.

"Cyan. Your friend has a point. No, I wasn’t going to tell you. You needed to learn that on your own. However dear girl, even in OutWorld you’re an immortal and you will never be having a funeral."

"Whatever you say Vorpax. Whatever you say." Getting up from the table, Saran looked at Cyan and saw the disappointment in her face. "Look. I’m still tired and hungry. Those bagels aren’t cutting it, so I’m going to go and get something to eat."

Cyan, watching Saran decided that it might be better if she did leave them alone. Even though Saran hadn’t been asking for permission, she decided to give it anyway. "Ok."

Saran then blinked out, it was a habit of hers. Whenever she was upset or angry, she chose to teleport rather than just walk away.

********

"Your friend is an angry one," Vorpax said to her daughter, "with a growing temper to match."

Cyan sighed and leaned back in her seat. "I don't know many offspring of the gods without a temper mother; perhaps the fault lies in poor parenting."

Vorpax winced slightly at her daughter's comment, but moved on quickly enough to somewhat annoy the Queen. "So what is it that you want from me Cyan?"

"Saran and I are planning to go and find Kitana."

"I see" Vorpax said, beginning to walk towards the window; carefully hiding her face from the sight of her daughter. "I knew you would ask about that soon enough."

"Would you really expect me to come to OutWorld and not seek out Kitana? I'm surprised mother. It seems to me you have cared more about watching over her than how your own daughter was doing outside of your realm."

"Kitana became my responsibility the day her mother died; you know that our destinies lie here in OutWorld and until you except that, you will never understand why I did what I did."

Cyan shook her head. "You're right Vorpax, I will never understand why you did what you did. Why you never came for me, and why you gave me the blood of so many that I despise. Tell me, did you really have a plan, or just a desire for many men and their power."

Vorpax whirled and Cyan felt herself pinned to the wall. It was the first time she had seen her mother barely able to contain her rage. Vorpax lashed out at her daughter. "You will never know how much was sacrificed in your name, and may the gods help us all if you never do!" Cyan slipped down the wall as Vorpax released her grip. Her mother's strength and powers were more than Cyan had ever imagined.

Vorpax stood stoically looking at her daughter now sitting on the floor. "You will find men who will assistance you three villages to the north of Kahn's main castle. He will know you are here once you have crossed inside that parameter. Your powers will return quicker than that of your friend, since your blood is also of OutWorld, whether you like it or not. Either way, you will continue to sustain injury for at least two more nights, but none of them mortally wounding."

Cyan slowly rose to her feet and was preparing to say something, although she wasn't sure what, when Vorpax added one more statement that sealed her mouth shut. "Many things will be different here Cyan, and I suspect the lack of your powers will not be the only thing haunting you for very long. Be cautious, Kahn may be unable to kill you, but the rules of OutWorld for your friend are far different here than either of you know."

Saran walked through the door catching Cyan's attention, and when she had turned back, Vorpax was gone.

"Looks like she didn't give up the information without a fight." Saran said as she walked over towards the Queen. Cyan walked away and tried to calm the remaining shaking that was in her hands.

"Slight difference of opinions." Cyan said with a forced smile. "But I do know where we're off to." Cyan pointed to the place on the map that Vorpax had mentioned. Saran turned to grab her stuff and Cyan caught her by the arm.

"Saran, please don't blink in and out anymore; or anything else that might reveal our powers."

Saran looked at the Queen curiously. "It's only us Cyan, what's the big deal? No one saw."

"I know." Cyan said softly and thoughtfully, "I just want to get in the habit of keeping as low a profile as we can." The Queen grabbed her stuff and she and Saran disappeared out the bookcase.