Susanne flopped onto the bed. She wasn't sure how Nyx had done it -- for all its blandness, the room had definitely been designed for her. The blue bedspread with darker celtic designs on it, she seemed to remember, was one she had wanted to get but hadn't had the money. There were cans of Dr Pepper and Ginger Ale on a shelf in the cabinet. There was a big stereo along with every Beatles, Who, Styx, Led Zeppelin, Jackson Browne, and George Harrison CD ever made, along with a varied collection of other artists.

Everything about this place gave her the creeps, even though every intuitive nerve said it was perfectly safe.

And where was Nyx? She had left forever long ago. Susanne was reluctant to try to leave, since she still didn't really trust the other immortal yet. On the other hand, maybe it would be a better idea to leave, rather than staying here and waiting for her to come back.

She was tired of waiting.

Back in merry old -- very old -- England, Susanne took her laptop out of her HammerSpace.

Missing. There she was... Nyx wasn't on here, but she expected that... the one alone was surely Anaera... the pair must be Kristsi and Meredith... but Remy, Celly, and Mercy weren't here.

The hell with it. If they *are* here and somehow not on my scope, that's their problem. Literally.

The scenery pitched and dimmed, faded out, and was replaced by a whole different landscape.

-------------------------

Just peachy. One moment she had been sitting by a quiet brook, talking to Kristsi, and now... where was she? Where was Kristsi? What the freak was happening??

It was cold... even for her. Meredith fished around in her HammerSpace and began pulling out a ski jacket, then looked around and thought better of it. Wherever -- whenever, that was -- she was, ski jackets like hers were nonexistent. Instead, she pulled out an old peacoat and shrugged it on, and began looking around.

*Must be New York,* she thought. *Interesting.* Like at Woodstock, it'd be tough to find other Otaku with all these people around. A few flakes of snow drifted aimlessly to the ground, and she caught sight of a newspaper in a trashcan nearby. February... no wonder it was so cold. Meredith had already gone a few more steps before it occurred to her to check for the year, and she turned just to see someone dump a whole box full of stuff on top of the paper. *Oh, well.*

She jumped in with a crowd of people crossing the street, and found herself in Central Park. A figure sitting on a bench overlooking the pond caught her attention, and she walked slowly up behind the person, unsure of what to think.

"Susanne?" she asked tentatively.

Susanne patted the bench beside her, and Meredith threw herself at her friend.

"Sus! I knew it! I knew it! And that *was* you that I saw then, wasn't it? Of course! Didn't you hear me? D'ya know what's going on, anyway?"

Susanne laughed. "How do you expect me to answer anything if you don't give me any time to respond?"

"You've got time now! Quick, before I think of more things to ask you!"

"Just thought I'd see if I could confuse Celly a bit. I have a feeling that I might have. A little. Dunno where she is now."

"Wait... so this *is* you behind all this..."

"Time travel? Lots of fun, isn't it?" She pulled her computer out of HammerSpace and the two of them sat down. "See? This here is when you are, this is where you are. This is when and where you were when you left, and here is the time and location before that, and before that... et cetera. So here's the date and time, and the locations of all the individual Otaku when I originally started this whole thing."

"Oh... I think I get it. So how do you enter something new?"

"Easy. Right here." She typed a few keys and handed the computer to Meredith, who seemed almost mesmerized by the whole thing.

"So the date today is February seventh, nineteen sixty-four?"

"Right."

"And, like... this, that you typed in here as the next time and place to go, is a week after we left."

"Right again. Remember how to use it?"

"Cool... I want one of these on *my* computer... what?"

Susanne leaned back and sighed. "I'm not in the Game anymore."

"What? So... as far as the Game goes, you were quote unquote killed? Is that all that there is to getting out of it?" She seemed almost excited at the prospect.

"No! Don't you dare even think it, understand? I *was* killed. I just..." she shook her head. "You're gonna think I'm crazy... I'm immortal."

"Be serious."

"I knew it, I knew it. Really. Like, if I were to hit this button here--" she pointed to a button on the computer "it would send you back to when and where you should be, which is where Anaera and Kristsi and most of the others are, and it would leave me here. And, in thirty-six years, when I find you again, I'll look exactly as I do now."

"Get real."

"That's the real deal. Nyx is another one. Mere, stay away from her. Please. Promise me that."

"Sure thing. Any particular reason?"

"She's dangerous."

"Celly's dangerous. I'm dangerous. You're dangerous. We all are."

Susanne nodded slowly.

"But Sus... are you still in the Game, or what?"

"We'll find that out, won't we?" She leaned over and tapped a key on the computer, and watched as a shocked Meredith and her laptop faded from view.

-------------------------

Roger had just left the apartment. He walked quickly down the stairs and left the building. As he rounded the corner, he felt an immortal buzz and caught sight of a familiar woman just as he felt that Susanne had left the apartment for her little time travel trip. He called to her, and she turned and smiled, and ran to him.

"Roger!" she cried happily as she hugged him tightly.

Ah, back together again... "Let me look at you..." She laughed and twirled around. It had been over a year since she had last seen him. "And you haven't changed a bit," he said with a grin. "Taken a few heads, I imagine?"

"Who, me?" she smiled. "Someone beat me to that twerp with the motorcycle, though... *I* wanted to get to kill him!"

"Well, I'm sure you'll find someone equally worthy sometime. I suppose I'll have to be extra careful not to make you mad?"

"I won't argue. Maybe breakfast in bed, doing the laundry..."

"Don't press your luck," he said jokingly.

"Well, let's relax somewhere for a week. Then I'm gonna find Meredith and get my computer back!"

"Whatever you say, Sus."