Psychologist Zurra

A couple of hours later, Gerald sat outside the tent circle, a bag of ice pressed against his throbbing head. His eyes looked empty and distant. Cha'Rolette was inside, still smoothing things over. Trahzi had come out just long enough to drag Ilrica away and make her reinstall the part of the bulkhead she had removed. Gerald had been forced to do a couple of interviews for some reporters. Now that things had died down, he took a moment to just sit and allow himself to feel disappointed.

Zurra walked up and set down a drink for him. "You feeling any better?"

"No."

"This isn't about the rock, is it?"

"No, it's not."

Zurra sat down. "You wanna talk about it?"

"Isn't that my line?"

"Hey, I can be helpful too, you know? I was a psychiatrist five lives ago."

"Yeah, I'm still not sure I believe that."

She folded her arms. "Look, it's not my fault that things went so wrong this time around. My planet was destroyed, I grew up penniless with you. I didn't have access to the family or schooling that I usually got, so of course I'm going to be a little different this time around, but that doesn't mean that I'm not still me, okay?"

Gerald turned to her, sympathy in his eyes. He didn't even like to think of what she had been through. "I'm sorry, you're right. It's not fair for me to judge you based on what you didn't get this lifetime."

"That's better. Now, go ahead and say what's on your mind. If you hold it in, it'll just become a sickness, and come out in unhealthy ways. Best to let it out now when it can be a productive force."

Gerald stared at her.

"What?"

"N-nothing, that was just... really wise."

She puffed her cheeks and began boiling.

"...it suits you."

"Oh." Her anger dissolved, and she gave him a hug.

Gerald sighed. "Okay, here goes. You ready?"

She shaped one hand into a notebook, the other into an oversized pencil. "Ready."

Gerald looked out at the setting purple sun. "I'd always believed in altruism. To do the right thing simply because it is the right thing to do, and for no other reason. In a way, I've based my whole life on that idea. But now..."

He had to take a second to rein in his anger. He clenched his fist and stared at it. "...now I come to find out that the universe doesn't work that way. Good and evil are nothing but a system that can be gamed and exploited just like anything else, and the rich hold all the cards. Did you have an affair? No problem, just donate a certain amount of money, and the good you just purchased will cancel out the bad. Want to murder someone? No problem, you can even pay the fee beforehand just to be safe. It's like we're back to the dark ages with dolances and corruption all over again, except this time it's the law of the universe."

He turned to her, unsure of everything. "I just... don't know what to believe in any more. I got nothing. What do you think?"

"Well, I'm not smart like the Duchess. She'd probably say something like..." Zurra morphed into a pink copy of Cha'Rolette and copied her voice. "...Don't blame the players, blame the game. We don't make the rules, we just work within them."

"And, I'm not powerful like Ilrica. She'd probably say..." Zurra changed into a pink Ilrica. "...Fairness is a human concept. The universe has never been fair, nor will it ever be. Spend all the time you want screaming about it, but all you'll get is a sore throat."

Zurra turned back into her adult form. "I'm just me, and you know what I say?"

"What?"

She turned to him and smiled. "I say, you go right on believing in altruism. Keep on doing what is right because it is right. It's who you are. It's who you've always been. That's what I like about you."

Gerald smiled. He couldn't hide how happy that made him feel. "Thanks, Zuri. You're a good friend."

She pouted. "Just a friend?"

He rolled his eyes and reached out, pulling her in with one massive arm, and giving her a noogie on the top of her head.

"Hey what are you doing? Ow! Stop it!"

She pulled free of him and rubbed her head. "You haven't done that to me since we were nine."

Gerald looked at her with new eyes. "You know, you are too hard on yourself, Zuri. You say you are not powerful, but I saw you shoot a beam of energy through an entire mountain range. And apparently that wasn't even full strength."

She sniffed. "I thought if I went all out you'd get hurt."

"...And you say that you are not smart, but I've seen you learn to fly a spaceship in just a couple of seconds."

She rolled her eyes. "Anyone with a port can do that."

"...And when Trahzi blew up my room, you were there to protect me. I'd be dead right now if it wasn't for you."

"That hurt a lot, I hope you know."

Gerald smiled gratefully. "I know it did. My point is, you are an amazing person, Zuri. You may drive me crazy sometimes, but I am happy to call you my friend. And yes, if I wasn't focused on becoming a priest, you could easily be even more than a friend to me. How's that?"

Her eyes were swimming. She put her hands over her heart. "Wow, you have no idea what you just did to me. I feel like I am floating." She blushed from head to toe as she rippled with joy. "Thank you," she said, tears rolling down her cheek. "I felt like you had all these other girls that were so much better than me. I thought I didn't have a chance compared to them."

"After all the bragging you did in front of them?"

She turned away bashfully. "That is just an act. I'm deathly afraid of people, you know that. I can't stand the way they look at me. So, I put on a strong face as a defense. I attack them before they can attack me."

She looked up at him, her armor stripped away. "I mean, it makes sense for me to pretend, right? I'm just a freaky shape shifter, after all."

Gerald reached out and wiped the tear off of her cheek. "You're not a freak. I've never thought so."

She tilted her cheek into his hand. "I know. Thank you for that."

Being so open and honest with each other made them both feel a little silly. She started giggling, and he couldn't help but join in. Her giggles erupted into laughter and he couldn't help but go along.

After a good long laugh, they both leaned back against the tent, their emotions spent.

"Oh, we are both just big bags of emotional problems, aren't we?" he admitted.

"Everyone's crazy, didn't you know?" she said, her eyes twinkling.

"Oh yeah?"

"The trick is to find the kind of crazy you are compatible with."

Gerald laughed. "Yeah, I guess we do kind of fit together, don't we?"

"Now all we have to do is fix the priest thing, and we'll go from there."

He shook his head. "It's not something that can just be fixed, Zuri. My mind is made up."

"Oh, that reminds me, I have something for you." She reached into her own head and pulled out a tablet.

"I'm never going to get used to seeing you do that."

She held the tablet out to him.

"What is this?"

"I promised you I'd fill out your paperwork for you so we could have fun together. It's all here. It just needs your thumbprint in order to send it to Command."

"Oh, okay. Thanks."

Gerald placed his thumb in the corner and the tablet chimed happily. A synthetic voice announced, "Identity confirmed. Marriage contract signed. Congratulations."

"Yes! I did it!" Zurra yelled, jumping up and holding the tablet above her head.

Gerald sat up straight. "Wait, that was...?"

"I win! I win! Ha, ha ha ha ha ha haaaaa!"

She jumped around like a maniac, holding the tablet as she bounced around. "Eat it, Ssykes! Eat it, Faolan! The war is over. Geri belongs to me!"

Gerald stood up. "Hey, give that back!"

"No way!"

Gerald leapt at her, but she coiled herself into a spring and bounced up high, out of his reach.

"Come back here!"

She sprouted wings and flew off like a bird, carrying the tablet in her claws. "I win I win! Geri is my bride!"

Gerald sprinted off after her, but she was too fast. "I take it all back. You are a crazy, obsessed stalker! That's what you are!"

"I guess that makes you Mrs. Crazy Obsessed Stalker. He he he heeeeeee!"

Gerald stumbled over a rock and fell to the ground. "Somebody stop her!"

* * *

As Madam Nef'Flav lay in her bed, the inner sanctum was disturbed by a flash of fire. Some of the men rushed in, startled to see Trahzi standing there. "Hey! What are you doing in here?"

Nef'Flav raised her old wrinkly hand. "I have been expecting her."

"You have?" Trahzi asked as the gypsies backed off.

She nodded, and motioned for Trahzi to have a seat.

Trahzi did so reluctantly. "Trahzi do not have past lives. We have been the same mind since we first came into existence. However, the others seem to find great comfort and solace in your visions. We thought you might be able to do the same for us."

Nef'Flav closed her eyes and took Trahzi's hand. "The past has always been the past. There is no new knowledge there. The knowledge needed is in your death..."

Trahzi's eyes went wide. "Our death?"

"...To save him, you must sacrifice his mind..."

"Who's mind? Dyson's?"

"...Do so when your time is nigh."

Trahzi stood up. "What are you saying? Are you saying that we Trahzi are going to die?" Her face was panicked. "How? By who? Is it Dyson's fault somehow? Does he kill us?"

Nef'Flav looked weary. "Your people also have the sight. How can you not know?"

Trahzi turned her eyes away in shame. "The Trahzi in this body no longer possesses that ability. It has been fading for some time now."

Nef'Flav closed her eyes and released Trahzi's hand.

"No, do not rest! You must tell us! How do we die?!"

Nef'Flav slipped away into unconsciousness.

Trahzi released her and stepped back, realizing the full weight of the implications.

"NO! We refuse to believe it. This is a trick of some kind. We cannot die, we will not die! Leave us alone!"

And in a flash of fire, she was gone again.