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Mennehotep is my own character. This story takes place after Naomi's story First KISS as an alternative to what would happen if KISS really did have a more unusual side to them. This story rated PG for language and adult situations. The words that appear give a sense of what the group is really like, and is meant to convey their lifestyle.

The Power Within:

by Trynia Merin

"Psycho Circus, a KISS comic..." she read.

On the first page of the description she read to herself, "All stories must begin somewhere. Perhaps this one begins just beyond the frayed hem of reality, in the secret in-between places that haunt our dreams. Where four beings older than words, older than memory, keep a silent vigil. Arbiters of fate, beings of dark and light. The Four Who Are One. Actual descriptions: Although antecedents and corollaries occur in the mythological apocrypha of virtually every culture. The Audlwych Gilmoire (c. 1550) makes specific reference to the Old Ones, or the Elder -- and describes them as creatures of pure spirit, encompassing aspects of both dark and light, heaven and hell. Although relatively obscure in past centuries, images of the Elder may still be found in various Seals, Mandalas and Tarot. They are four in number:

The Demon: Creature of fire and shadow, blood and thunder. He embodies vengeance and terror; the darkest impulses of mortal souls, but also the purgative flames of rebirth; destruction that proceeds creation. His is the element of Fire.

The Starbearer: He who draws from the deep wells of the soul and emotion, bringer of passion and pain. He can move a heart to tender love or murderous rage. His is the element of Water.

The Celestial: Represents the principles of universal balance, the ultimate harmony of the cosmos. Observes situations dispassionately and sees all sides of a dilemma. His is the element of Air.

The King of Beasts: Personifies the primal, animal instinct, the rough beast that stirs in each of us. Embracing instinct rather than intellect, he knows neither cruelty nor mercy. His is the element of Earth."

Lowering the magazine, she slipped it back into its protective mylar sleeve and taped it again. "How true those poor fools write, but they know not of what they speak. Truth is stranger then fiction..." she laughed.

Across the windows glanced the reflections of passing cars. The diesel bus thumped and clattered to a stop. Running a hand through her dark brown hair, the cinnamon skinned woman clutched her bag and slung it over her shoulder. Las Vegas was a city of spectacle and high energy, strangely appropriate for what plans she had lain.

She saw the billboard which said, "KISS concert, Friday and Saturday 8PM only," in bright lights. Grinning, she climbed off the bus.

It was dress rehearsal, and all the techs swarmed about readying the sound levels. Resplendent in silver and gold costumes, KISS cut an impressive figure indeed. Out in the bleachers, the small group of loyal roadies and paparazzi clapped as if they were a crowd of forty thousand. The strains of Ace ripped out over the thundering base beat that Gene rolled off his custom axe. Throughout them girded the strains of Paul's rhythm. Underlying it all was the pulsing crashes of Peter's drums, solidifying into a whole greater then the sum of its parts.

A series of fire flashes thundered, and the excitement built to fever pitch. Several fans that had won the latest contest ended up stunned. Then the fun really got started when Ace's guitar started to smoke. Prematurely. Surprised, the Spaceman almost dropped it.

"Oh crap!" he gritted into the mike, right in the middle of Within.

The reverb sent Paul laughing, and he almost kicked over the mike stand. Peter laughed so hard he lost the beat. Gene groaned inwardly, and the song clattered to a halt before the amused assembly. Doc McGee almost had a coronary at the third stop in the last hour.

"Guys, can we take it from the top?" Ace asked sheepishly.

"Just as long as you keep playing, wonder boy," Gene glanced at him.

"No prob..." he grinned, his blue eyes peering out into the stands, from under the flash of silver spreading over his cheeks.

"I say we take five," Doc groaned.

"We need to go over that latest set of works for the finale," said Paul, glancing at the new technical advisor. He put down his guitar as Peter lowered the podium.

There came the rustle of papers, guitars, and other things as the assistants swarmed up to offer refreshments and other assistance.

"Sorry about that guys," Ace looked at Gene and Paul.

"Hey, it's just a rehearsal," Peter waved off the apology. "And besides, we could do with a good laugh."

"Just don't pull a no play strike stunt again," Paul scolded Ace.

"Or we'll kick your ass onto the stage and tie strings to you," Gene threatened, in fun. He caught sight of Menne, and moved over to her.

"Hey, babe, up for a little post rehearsal chat?"

"No thank you, Mr. Simmons," she sighed, and shook her head.

"Ouch, no need for the formalities. We're all one happy family around here..." Gene gripped, slipping an arm around her hip.

"Gene, the day I find I'm related to you, is the day I burn my family tree," Menne muttered.

"She nailed you," Peter laughed.

"Gene Simmons, if you don't get your hand off my hip this minute... I will be forced to take drastic action..."

"Ooh, hurt me," he laughed.

A fire flash exploded in Gene's face, not enough to harm him, but enough to make him release his hold. Grumbling, he backed away his hand over his face, trying desperately not to smudge his makeup by rubbing his stinging eyes.

"Goddamn it, you could have just said get lost," he muttered.

"How can I when you won't?" Menne shot back. Peter and Ace hid their grins behind their hands as they wandered offstage.

Sohkarra smiled at her friend. Somehow, this rough and ready environment was having a good effect on Menne. Nefer-Tina strode up to Peter, who had moved over in her direction.

"Up to a little tour?" he asked her. "A little drink with your buddies in Skid Row maybe?"

"Okay," she nodded, and moved off with him.

Ace came up to Sohkarra, who nimbly leapt off the edge of the stage. He caught her in a gentle hug, almost forgetting he was in full makeup when he moved his cheek close to hers. Gene stormed offstage, still a bit blind. Several of the female staff moved after him.

"I didn't' mean to harm him," Menne worried. Paul came over to her, and chuckled.

"He's just pissed you caught him with his pants down," he laughed. "No harm done."

"All your colorful metaphors," Menne moaned.

"I was wondering if we could recheck the timing on those fireworks..." Paul asked, when he noticed the stage was now empty of most of the band and roadies.

"Well, well, what have we here," Gene grinned, hands on his hips. He had chased the girl in the leather jacket around to the backstage area. "Don't you know this is off limits unless you have a backstage pass?"

"I was hoping... you could convince them to let me stay," came the giggle. Two purple eyes met Gene's, fixing into them with excitement. She was full figured, and hot as all get out. Her clothes hugged her in all the right places.

"Well, maybe we can work something out, sweetheart," Gene grinned. "A little you and me..."

"What did you have in mind?" she fluttered her eyelashes at him.

"Why don't we come over here, and get acquainted..." he urged. A low growl rumbled in his throat, inviting and suggestive.

"My aren't we forward," she looked at him from beneath a fold of brown hair.

"I see what I want sweetheart, and it's a little piece of the action. And you're the leading lady..."

This almost seemed too perfect, part of Gene's mind was screaming. Yet why not? It was the first reasonable sensible thing that had happened on this leg of the tour. Granted the concert wasn't till tomorrow, and it was only a dress rehearsal to try out the new black and silver costumes that Doc had commissioned for them. As it was, Gene sported his armored look complete with the dragon scale mail boots. Painstakingly he'd painted on the Demon persona as all of them had, just to get back into the mood of things after a week of not really performing since Ace had his funk.

She ran her hand over the sleek metal, purring low in her throat. "You're quite the basesist, from what I have heard. Little wonder the band could do without you..."

"If you liked what these hands did on a guitar... I have a solo just for you..." he responded with his usual cheap yet effective flair. His hands traced over her shoulder, down to her hip. Teasingly she stepped back from him, pushing him lightly back with one hand. It only served to excite him all the more.

"Oh, but I thought you waited till after the concert for an .... encore..." she turned her back to him, so he got a very good view from the rear. Slowly she turned her head, the violet eyes winking at him.

"Time to start a new tradition then," he laughed, and stepped over to her. He whirled her around, catching her as if by surprise. She gave a gasp and a giggle.

"I like a man who knows what he wants," she tossed back, fingering his fall of dark hair.

"You're talking my language baby," he grinned. "Now what say we use a little body English..."

She was warm in his arms, and very pleasing. Gene rumbled low in his throat, feeling her hands over him as her hands touched on spandex. "Oh yeah... that's perfect..."

"Good," came a low laugh. Lightly her tongue ran down his cheek, and he was all set to show her something that would totally get his own licks in, when she caught him in a full kiss. A strange sensation flooded over Gene, and shot through his brain like fire.

"Foolish man," she laughed. Gene stood rigid, his eyes glazed over. "I have you right where I want you."

"Yeah," he rumbled.

"There have been certain changes that have happened in the band, have there not?" she laughed, tracing a line along the side of his dark mask of makeup. Slowly she ran a hand over his chest.

"That Jaime chick," Gene gritted.

"Yes... and you don't like how she's affected your friend... Ace..."

"She's nothing but trouble..."

"And you think she could destroy the band. Destroy KISS as you know it, and you totally resent that, I take it..."

Gene nodded, his brain almost leaking into darkness. "What if I could suggest a way you could stop her... and everything could be as it should be..."

"How?"

"Listen to me, my foolish yet brave one. Do as I say... and you four will be together... with none between you. You want to do what I say, don't you?"

"Oh yeah," he nodded as she traced a line of kisses along his jaw to his ear under the fall of black hair. Where his makeup ended and his real flesh began.

"And you won't disobey Chontra, will you?" she cooed. Gene was totally smitten. A shimmering came as she transformed into her robed figure, floating before him.

"Never," he drooled, his eyes tracing over her form. Mentally undressing her no doubt.

"Good, I knew I could count on you, Gene Simmons," she laughed. "So true to your nature. You of the four is the closest to the verge..."

"The verge," he drooled, his long tongue hanging out like a panting dog.

"Mm hmm," she ran her hand under his chin. "And that is why you must get rid of Sohkarra, and Menne..."

"Not Menne..." he shook his head.

"Hmm, yes. There will be problems. But if you convince your friends to join me, and release themselves..., you will be rid of Sohkarra forever. She is the cause of all this... dissension. The four of you must continue... to make the music you so love... and I can make that possible..."

"What do I have to do?" Gene asked.

"Release your inhibitions. Embrace your true nature. You could be so much more, Gene. Then you are... would you like that?"

"Ooh yeah," he grunted.

"Good," Chontra nodded, and began to cackle with glee. Her eyes flared red as she began the spell of release. Gene was wreathed in her power, scarlet tendrils snaking about him...

"We nailed it!" Paul shouted, grabbing Menne's shoulders and pulling her close in a fierce hug. They whirled about in glee.

"Thank Isis!" Menne laughed, her arms tightly gripping him. "I was so worried the fireworks wouldn't go off in the right sequence!"

Against her chest, she suddenly felt the rise and fall of his breathing, and a heart racing a mile a minute. Beneath the black and white makeup, his eyes glistened into hers.

"Thanks... for your help back there..." she smiled.

"No need to be so formal," he smiled, when she backed out of his embrace. He caught hold of her hands in his. His fingertips were callused from years of guitar playing, yet the palms were soft to the touch. Even though his makeup was running only slightly from sweat, the black star still stood out starkly against the white covering his handsome face. Menne suddenly realized the appealing effect it gave him. Much like the painted faces in ancient Egypt.

"Er... perhaps we should see if the others are all right?" Menne turned in his arms, towards the other pyrotechnics.

"Are you all right? I mean you don't look so hot... not that you aren't, but I mean you're frayed around the edges! That battle took a lot out of you didn't it..."

"I will recover," she responded automatically. "Besides, that was two days ago..."

"I saved you, but hell, you saved all our butts! That was dammed brave!"

"Not bad for a chick, as Ace would say," she blushed.

"Not bad?" he laughed. "Not bad! Are you kidding me? That was incredible! Those powers you have..."

Paul shook his head. Letting go of one of her hands, he raised it to her chin and tipped it up to level his gaze with her onyx one. Lightly his fingers traced over her cheek, while his other hand slipped down her spine in a soothing backrub. Menne gasped in the strength of those nimble long fingers. Paul grinned again, pulling her close to his stomach with that hand at the small of her back. How warm and alive he felt in her arms, so much different from.... From....

Menne barely had a moment to absorb this revelation when she felt a pair of lips, moist with oil greasepaint overlap with hers. Paul bent his knees a bit, and drew Mennehotep up in his arms to match his height with hers.

"P... Paul..." she gasped out when he withdrew to smile at her. "What... was that for?"

Even though she knew the answer to this question, Mennehotep could scarcely believe it. Of course, she had seen the evidence of their romantic conquests at each concert... but this seemed deeper. Was Paul Stanley, rhythmic guitarist for this rock group actually interested in something else other then a momentary flirtation? Granted Gene had pursued her, and she had been "Paul's woman" out of a sense of protectiveness. Yet, he had not pressed the issue with her as he had with others. Slowly she brushed her lips to his red ones, shaking as she did so. "Paul... I... there are things about me... that..."

"Shh," he laughed. "We all have those things we'd rather not say. Don't you have someone you can share them with?"

"There are but few," she shook her head.

"But let me share one with you. You might enjoy this... a little better ... if..."

"What?"

"You opened your mouth a little when you kiss," he whispered close to her ear. "It's much better when you do... not that I'm minding at all..."

"You're just as bad as the others," she groaned, and was aghast that he said such a thing. "Uh oh... Sorry, bad habit," Paul apologized, a bit embarrassed at the crassness of his approach. He proceeded to close his mouth over hers once more. It seemed measured, calculated. Yet, this sensation was perhaps as new to him as it had been to Ace with Sohkarra.

Menne's mouth opened with a surprised gasp when he traced his hand over her back, to the base of her spine. A warm moist tongue slipped gently within her own mouth, easing its way. Menne shivered into a quivering mass of sensation. Desperate for some control she twined her arms around his neck, and pulled his face close to hers. She duplicated what she'd seen on the spirit box, combining her hunger for such a kiss that Tuthmosis had not given her in so long.

"Whoa," Paul sighed deeply as he withdrew for breath.

"Indeed," she glanced up at him with a smile on her face. All the reasons why this should not happen flew from her brain when she folded him close in her arms.

"That was... perfect... were you holding out on me, Hon?" he raised his painted brow on the side opposite his stellar marking.

"That's for me... to know, and you to find out, young one," she laughed out. Paul noticed her standing on tiptoes, and pulled her up till her feet rested on the tops of his shoes so she was on more of a footing with him. She wasn't wearing the platform sandals she sported during some concerts, but a pair of comfortable canvas shoes.

"You're one awesome chick, you know that?" he offered, still getting the sense he was blundering into something he was in way over his head. "Oh god that sounded corny..."

"You don't need those as they say... 'pickup lines' with me, Paul," she shook her head. "I have found that actions speak louder then words..."

"Good," he breathed relieved. She was a mature woman, not a plaything to be loved and tossed aside. Dare he try to go further with where this was obviously headed?

"Paul... I'm married..." she blurted out.

"Uh oh," Paul groaned, and released her.

"I am sorry to lead you into this," she looked away. "It's just that... when you kissed me... I felt something that I haven't for so long... and I couldn't help..."

"Hey, you didn't lead me on. I'm crazy for you too," he admitted. "I can see why Gene was so hot to trot with you...."

"It's just that lately he's been soo... so... lethargic. As if what I want and feel doesn't matter... he sits in front of the TV... watching old war movies..."

"Feeling sorry for himself? Is he a soldier or something? Shell shocked from 'Nam?"

"Yes..." she nodded. Menne had a gist of what 'Nam was. A violent conflict in a kingdom called Vietnam, in which many men and women had been conscripted to fight in. Few supported it, and many returned with their souls forever warped by their experience. Hidden terrors locked away behind an air of denial. Wars were so much different in this time.

"Paul, he... well... for a time I had forgotten him... and I... well... when we got back together... I was well... injured... and well..."

"Don't tell me. You had amnesia, or something, and when you woke up you realized you were married, like in one of those films..."

"Yes," she nodded. "And I had changed... and he didn't... at first seem to mind. But now... that I want to go out and make a life for myself in the modern world... he was violently opposed to it..."

"Damn shame," Paul clicked his tongue. "You're an incredible woman, Menne. It's not right... to hold you back. Why with the things you've done for our show... he should be begging to take you back... is that why you came on this trip?"

"Yes," she nodded, guiltily.

"Look, it's not easy, but hell, you're not alone. What you do is up to you, but I dig you. And well, I'm still here... and if you like... that kiss... was for one woman that saved all our butts... with her crazy and wonderful stunts..."

"Paul," she glanced down at her feet standing on his, then up at him. Tears formed in her eyes, and her throat choked off. This rock star, rude and unusual had hit the nail on the head, and said what she had been dying to hear for so long from Tuthmosis. Seeing the tears in her eyes, he tipped her head back and held her close. Menne buried her lips in his, letting him pull her close. Again, their mouths merged, sharing the hot moist breath within. Between them her amulet slipped, and the amethyst surged with inner fire. Paul's kiss surged into her being in a way that defied logic. Again that supple tongue caressed hers, and she was glad that it wasn't the Demon kissing her. Her fingers buried in his wavy hair, and her other hand slipped down to caress his backside. She pulled away her hand guilty when she realized her boldness. Never had Tuthmosis kissed with such a weird balance of passion and gentleness. He who was a musician and a commoner had the touch of a prince.

So caught up in the moment were they that they failed to notice Nefer-Tina with Peter advancing upon them.

"Menne?" Nefer-Tina got out.

"Uh... Paul... uh..." Peter coughed, but Paul's hand waved him away. Still he continued his heated embrace.

"Excuse me... Paul..."

"Menne... I hate to interrupt..." Nefer-Tina put in, but both continued their passionate kiss, which was becoming steadily more fevered in pitch.

"What?" Paul snapped, pulling his lips from Menne's as he felt Peter tapping his shoulder. "Do I bug you when you're making out?"

"I wouldn't unless it was serious. Karra sent us to look for you... because Ace...."

"What's happened to Ace?" Paul gasped. For a moment, Menne could swear she saw a purple glow flash in his eyes. She shivered and backed away from him. For that same moment her amulet winked in an odd response.

"Something really weird," Nefer-Tina said. "It's like his mind... shut down and exploded..."

"Say what?"

Hand in hand, they rushed after the others, to the trailer where Ace had his dressing room. On a bed lay the Spaceman, senseless. Over him Sohkarra frantically probed. "Come on, I know you're in there...somewhere..." she muttered.

"Oh no, what the hell happened here?" Paul demanded, rushing in to his friend's side.

"Menne, can you help him? I have tried with my powers to reach him, but he denies me... its as if his mind has shut down..."

"What happened?" Menne asked.

Paul gripped Menne's shoulder as she moved in to look at him.

"We were having a session together. Ace was doing well... but then I felt a feedback as if he were resisting me... and then he... he..." Sohkarra glanced anxiously at the others assembled, resistant to tell her secrets.

"Now is not the time for secrets," Menne said firmly. "We can sort it out later."

"What secrets, what the hell are you talking about?" Paul demanded. "What the hell have you done to Ace!"

"She's trying to help him, you dumb ass," Peter groaned. "If she really wanted to..."

"Shut up, Dammit, and let me listen!" Menne shouted, rather rudely. This caught everyone's attention, as Menne had not used such coarse common language before. Or what she would consider so.

Sohkarra explained what had happened, and gave Menne an odd look. She appeared to be staring at Menne's face, and it was then that Paul glanced at the reddish smudge of Menne's lips from where his own makeup had left its trace.

"Is he all right?" Paul asked, leaning over the bed.

"I don't have your powers..." Menne sighed.

"I know... but you might know why I can't reach him mentally. My healing powers are being blocked... and he's burning with fever...."

"All right," Menne nodded, and reached for her belt. "Paul, could you get me some water?"

"Huh, sure..." he said, rising and going to the mini fridge. Past the bottles of Jack Daniels, he grabbed some Evian. Peter and Nefer-Tina got some blankets and pillows for the fallen rock star, tucking pillows under his neck and pulling the blanket up to his chest.

Menne frowned as she moved her amulet over him. A strange chiming noise split the air. "Mental power off the scale..." she muttered. At Sohkarra's questioning look, Menne said nothing. She took the water from Paul and mixed a bitter powder with it.

"Well... what's up with him?" Peter asked.

"Have him drink this. It should bring his fever down. I'd say something is at work here... and Ace is merely sleeping. In much the same way you do after your spells..."

"But he can't be... he just can't be..." Sohkarra shook her head violently, as if to deny an uncomfortable revelation. Even so, she tipped Ace's head up, while Paul urged his friend's mouth open. They managed to get most of the potion past his lips.

"He is..." Menne shook her head. "Something very strange is going on here..."

"You aren't shitting me," Peter shook his head.

"Where is Gene?" Paul asked suddenly.

"Someone better find him, and let him know what's shaking here," Peter suggested. "Should I go for the paramedics or something?"

"He'll recover," Menne said. "Just needs a lot of sleep."

"But what happened?" Paul asked, gripping her shoulder tightly.

Menne winced, but knew he was trying to understand the best way he could cope. "Paul, he's... psychic. Don't you see Sohkarra..."

"He can't be..." Sohkarra shook her head.

"It's more then that," Menne held her amulet up to Ace. It chimed with an odd chord. "I sense elemental power, latent, but very strong. The room reeks of its explosion..."

"Elemental?" asked Paul.

"Like the four elements, Earth, Fire, Air and Water," Sohkarra explained, as she positioned her arm behind Ace's head. He sweated, moaning as he tossed in his sleep. Now his breathing had stabilized, and his heart had stopped racing.

"I have the power over Air and Fire," Menne explained. "But Ace... I sense a powerful source of Air magic. That rivals yours, Sohkarra. I think you already knew... all along, but didn't want to admit that it was possible..."

"That's why... the masters said not to..." she muttered, her face creased with worry and sadness. "Get involved..."

"Hang on, what is all this?" Paul glared at Sohkarra. "Did I just land into the 60's or what? This is KISS dammit, not the Fifth Dimension! We never got into the age of Aquarius bullshi..."

"Paul, shut up," Menne groaned. "We're just as puzzled by this as you are!"

"Gene!" Peter shouted. The whole stadium was oddly deserted. What had happened to the roadies and technicians? It was as if time had frozen still. They stopped as they reached a group hunched over a card table.

"They aren't moving..." said Nefer-Tina.

"What the... this was just like... like..." Peter rubbed his head. He wrinkled his nose, almost like a panther taking on a scent.

"Do you smell that?" he asked.

"A sour smell?" Nefer-Tina suggested.

"Yeah... and look over there... Chuck... hey..." Peter rushed up to the roadie that Nefer-Tina had come to know by first name. He stood rigid, his hand upraised to adjust a microphone.

"Magic," Nefer-Tina muttered. "And I bet it has Scarab written all over it..."

"You mean that freaky psycho who came in here and tried to off Ace and Karra?"

"Yes," Nefer-Tina growled, low in her throat. Much like Gene often did.

"Man, this is too much," Peter groaned. "I'm getting really wierded out here. So what do we do?"

"Find your friend Gene, and hope he's not like these guys. Let's split up..."

"Not a good idea," said Peter, shaking his head. "We don't wanna end up like these guys! Can't those two friends of yours do something?"

"What makes you think..."

"Oh come on, Tina! If they could do all that pyro stuff, and help Ace as they did... then don't you think I'd think they could do a whole lot more?"

"All right, but let's find your friend first and then tell Sohkarra. I don't think whoever cast this spell wanted to kill or hurt your friends, only get them out of the way..."

"Right, like putting them on ice or something," Peter nodded. "So whoever did it is after us... or you..."

"Right," Nefer-Tina nodded.

Ace tossed his head back and forth. Paul tensely gripped Menne's shoulder as she tended to him. Sohkarra cradled Ace's head and shoulders on her lap, wiping away the sweat. Still he wore his concert makeup and spaceman costume, all in black and silver much as the others did.

"Why does this weird, way-out stuff always happen during a dress rehearsal?" Paul lamented. "Those villains have worst timing ever!"

"No... no...." Ace gasped, head jerking back and forth.

"Ace... man... are you..."

"Shh," Sohkarra urged him. "Rest... just rest..."

"Gene... Peter... no..." Ace moaned. "Don't go... don't... listen to her..."

"What the..." Menne asked. Ace groaned, and made an odd noise. Sohkarra's sapphire eyes suddenly shimmered with fear and recognition.

"He's... having a premonition," she realized.

"Gene! Peter!" Ace screamed, his eyes popping wide open. For a moment, they flared a blue worthy of Sohkarra. He began to convulse, and it was all the four could do to hold him down. Sohkarra reached out with her mind to Ace's, hoping to sooth him. Suddenly he pushed back against her probes with more and more resistance. A wall arose yet again around his mind, which had been previously open to hers. There was a blinding flash that seared their eyes, and the feedback knocked them all flat on their backsides.

"Whoa," Paul gasped, shaking his head. "What the hell was..."

"No..." Sohkarra gasped, and made an odd noise herself. "Chontra..."

"Karra?" Menne asked. For she herself began to shake. Ace lay dormant and tranquil from his episode.

"Chontra's here..." Sohkarra gasped. "I don't' believe she hid from me for so long... but now... now... I can see her nearby..."

"Gene and Peter... and Nefer-Tina are out there," Menne choked.

"Who is Chontra?" Paul asked. "Another freak case?"

"Yes..." Sohkarra said. "I must face her... but... Ace..."

"Stay with Ace," Menne gritted. "I'll deal with Chontra..."

"But you can't..." said Sohkarra.

"You must call the others for help then. I will do what I can to help hold her off. And if Nefer-Tina is with me..., we can at least make a good account of ourselves. Once you know Ace is all right, perhaps you can join us..."

"I can stay with him," Paul volunteered.

"No, if he has another episode his mind could destroy yours..." said Sohkarra. "I must stay with him... till he awakens..."

"Menne... wait for me..." Paul urged.

"No Paul..."

"Dammit, they're my friends! You can't just expect me to..."

"All right!" Menne sighed. "Just promise to stay out of it if I tell you to!"

Fire seared into Nefer-Tina. "With the Strength of Ra!" she shouted, blazing into armor. Peter rounded the bend to find the oddest scene. He could swear he had stayed off the ice and other odd drugs some of the roadies insisted him trying. But this was like an acid trip gone to hell.

Literally, because the creature that gripped Nefer-Tina dripped fire and venom. Why was she in that strange glittering Cat armor? Peter gritted his teeth, wondering what he should do next. Nefer-Tina slashed with cat claws on her hands and feet, streaks of fire bleeding off from each stroke.

"This is definitely not happening," Peter decided. "But who the hell am I to question reality now?"

"Hey you freak! Let her go!" Peter shouted. Even though all he had was a set of drumsticks to fight with, which seemed ludicrously stupid. He shoved them into his wrap around belt as he desperately sough a weapon, anything to fight with.

The Demon looked oddly at him, question on his face at the audacity of this little figure that opposed him.

"Are you kidding me?" he laughed, in Gene's voice.

"I'm talking to you, jerk-o! Put the chick down... now..."

Nefer-Tina's whip cracked into the Demon's shoulder, and it released her. She landed awkwardly into Peter's arms as he rushed up to break her fall. Both cat personas landed in a heap.

"Two kitties for the price of one!" laughed the Demon, advancing on them.

"Gene..." Peter gasped, suddenly registering the familiarity of the voice. It was laced with fire and brimstone, yet it was his voice.

"Oh... he's here all right," came the answer, and a long tongue lashed out, lightly licking against his fangs.

"But there's a whole lot more now..."

"I can... see that," Peter wisecracked, even though he and the chick were about to buy it. Both scratched at the claws that held them fast. "Mind telling me what happened. So, you changed. Big deal. So are you going to rip our guts out and feast on our blood or something gory like that?"

"Ohh no," he laughed. "Not to one of the guys. I might do it with the piece here... but you... you're what she wants..."

"What are you talking about? Did Chontra do..." Nefer-Tina got out.

"Careful what you say about her," the Demon/Gene shook his head. Black tendrils of hair dripped with hissing steam. "That's my gal you're talking about..."

"Oh no!" Nefer-Tina realized. "She got to you..."

"You're definitely out to lunch, and we gotta cancel your ticket," Peter snapped. His fist flashed out in a sickening punch that cracked into the Demon/Gene's jaw. He released both in pain, and Nefer-Tina got a good slash in for her part.

"Run!" She cried. Both scampered away. Not ran, scampered. Peter could scarcely believe it. Somehow he had dropped on all fours and was running like a cat. Now he clambered up behind Nefer-Tina onto a stack of speakers to one corner. It was the backstage storage area, loaded with the cases of spare instruments, fireworks, and other paraphernalia that made KISS an on stage assault to the senses.

Snarling, the Demon that was Gene rushed after them equally fast. Nefer-Tina tossed a crate at him, which he batted away with equally sharp claws. In the other hand he formed a sphere of liquid lightening, which he hurled at Nefer-Tina before Peter could even think. It slammed into her midsection, felling the Cat guardian with licking tongues of electricity. She crashed into the floor with a bone-jarring thud.

"Tina!" Peter shouted, into a strange snarling roar. He felt the ripping of clothes coupled with bone splitting pain. His yell merged into a loud wailing caterwaul, which echoed in the backstage.

"That's it, let it go!" Gene laughed. "You can't deny what you are any more then I can..."

Peter threw himself on his friend, claws ripping and slashing. The two rolled over and over in a mass of fire and spitting sparks. Nefer-Tina shook her head at the two fighting, slowly sitting up. Pain knotted her stiffened body with slow dull aches.

"Don't fight me, Peter," came Gene's raking laugh. "She's the problem, not me!"

"You're smoking weed, you are! What are you talking about!" Peter yowled back.

"Don't you see... it's that Princess... she got Ace... and now her friend has you!"

"Oh, like that makes any sense?" Peter shook his head, pushing Gene off him with sharp daggered feet. His shoes had exploded in the resulting transformation. Long sharp claws extended from his sleek black paws.

"Nefer-Tina, run!" Peter yowled. "Get help! I'll hold him..."

"No..." Nefer-Tina cried.

"Damn it, run!" he roared.

"It's the crew..." said Paul. "They're going crazy..."

Suddenly released from their spell, people muttered in confusion. Doc McGee rushed up to Paul, his face a mask of confusion.

"Paul, what is going on here?"

"That's what we're trying to figure out! You'd better get everyone out of here..."

"Why..."

"Because there is a terrorist attack," Paul struggled to think.

"But you..."

"Dammit, just get everyone out of here! We'll be right behind you!"

"I'll call the police..." Doc nodded, rushing off.

"Everyone's going nuts," Paul said to Menne. "What do we do?"

"I have a sleep mist I can cast on them," she nodded. "But I need some altitude..."

"With the Wisdom of Isis!" she chanted. Purple energy swathed her in Ibis armor. Paul nodded as his arm wrapped around her waist, and she spread her wings. With lesser difficulty this time, she levitated them both to a higher distance.

"Reach on my belt. That second cartridge." Paul's fingers tickled as he found the cartridge. Soaring low in the open space the wreaths of sleep dust landed amidst the panicked crew. One by one, they fell asleep to her potion.

"Hold your breath," she urged Paul.

"What the hell am I doing..." Gene asked, his hands around Peter's throat. The drummer was all set to rake his claws across Gene's face. But his fingers reached up and felt greasepaint, mere stage makeup. Not claws, but fingernails.

"What’s up..." Peter gasped, as he and Gene glanced at each other. Gone was the hissing spitting Demon and the feral Cat man.

"What was that about me smoking reefer?" asked Gene a bit annoyed. "You were just as out of it as I was..."

"You... you turned into a Demon!" Peter shook his head, and felt Gene rise off of him. A strange calm stillness had come over both, and Peter saw his old friend morph back into his otherwise abnormal self.

"Okay, tell me what the freaking... is going on here..." Gene pulled him to his feet.

"That was what I was wondering. One minute you were berserk and trying to kill me and Tina... and the next... wait... Tina!"

"Where is that chick?" Gene asked. Suddenly they saw a figure levitating high above them, its violet aura casting a radiant glow over their silver and black costumes.

"Ah, so I suppose you no longer consider me an option?" came a low sultry voice. Gene froze.

"Uh... Chontra baby... didn't see you there..." he glanced up at her. Peter was amused at the look in Gene's face, like a child in a candy store. Granted he'd seen that look before, but not to such a degree. It was almost a pathetic schoolboy lust there on his friend's face.

"You know I don't like excuses, Gene," she folded her arms across her chest.

"What kind of... dame are you?" Peter got out.

"The kind that knows that your beloved Tina is in trouble, unless you cooperate with me..."

"And what's in it for me?"

"Don't piss her off," Gene muttered out of the side of his mouth.

"But this gal was probably the one that cast that spell on you..." Peter hissed back.

"Indeed I was merely liberating that form which he possesses. You have no idea what you're capable of do you?"

"Say what?" Peter asked.

"You saw your friend transformed. You have the same capacity. Both of you have great powers that you have no understanding of. It is the presence of the two women that has triggered them. And they threaten your existence..."

"Lemmie get this straight. You're saying that Ace's chick Sohkarra is a threat? Wait, I'm lost here..."

"Don't you see she's been screwing our whole operation up!" Gene protested. "Ace gets a mood swing, screws up the tour... and now she's got him wrapped around her finger. What next?"

"Don't forget that Paul stole Menne, a woman that you were most interested in..." said Chontra. "Such tensions could spell the end for your band..."

"Why are you listening to this jive?" Peter cried. "For all we know she's the bad guy!"

"If you don't listen to me, your two friends will continue to degenerate, till their own powers consume them. I can help you two master yours, before it is too late..."

"She means that those dames have some kinda power that set Ace and Paul off. We all have these powers, buried deep. They weren't supposed to wake up..." Gene said. "And now there's no turning them off..."

"Too heavy for me man..." Peter backed away. Suddenly the bone jarring set in, and he collapsed to his knees. "God... not now..."

"Poor Peter, so foolish. Do you want that transformation to plague you so? I can help take away the pain..."

"Let me help you, Peter. I'm your friend, remember," Gene said oddly. "We're buds, compadres, pals. And now the other guys are in it, and need us to haul their butts out..."

"Make it stop..." Peter moaned. A low feral meow erupted into a caterwaul as he lay there in agony.

"You only had to ask," Chontra laughed, wreathing Peter Criss in a strange mist. Slowly the pain subsided in a dull glaze of energy.

"Chontra!" Nefer-Tina gasped when she heard the cackling. Whirling about, she donned her cat mask again.

Wherever there was Chontra there was trouble. And Peter Criss was thick in the midst of it. What had she done to him, the charioteer asked. A loud roar split the gloom in the backstage storage area.

"Peter!" she cried, rushing back. Nefer-Tina readied her whip. A spectral form floated overhead, and Chontra laughed as she waved her hands over two bizarre figures.

"Gene! Peter!" Nefer-Tina screamed. "Don't trust her!"

"Too late," Chontra laughed. "Boys, this little kitten is creating problems. Could you care to relieve me of her?"

"Whatever ya say, babe," said the Demon, licking his fangs with an impossibly long tongue.

"Wait..." came the low growl from a green-eyed figure. It had the mask of Peter, but fur sprouted from his chest, and gleaming black socks on his hands and feet produced long sharp claws.

"You're right. A waste of your talents," Chontra nodded, and threw a strange light that enveloped the cat guardian. She was stuck fast in a mesh of fiery bars.

"Peter, go fetch the alchemist for me, and bring her here. I will deal with our other friends..."

"What about the Princess?" asked Gene.

"You and I will deal with her," laughed Chontra. "Together..."

"Peter, don't!" Nefer-Tina cried to him. Green eyes leveled with hers.

"It's the only way, baby," he shook his mane of black hair. "Trust me... no harm will come to Menne... or Paul..."

"Please! Chontra will kill Karra! And when she's no longer got a use for you she'll kill you too!" Nefer-Tina shouted.

"Oh do be quiet," said Chontra. "How about a little cat nip?"

A mist wreathed Nefer-Tina, and slowly she fell asleep. Her armor fizzled as she crumpled.

"Now... for the Princess Sohkarra..." laughed Chontra to the Demon.

"Ace, please wake up!" Sohkarra shook him. Something screamed in her senses. Focusing her telekinesis, Sohkarra tried to lift Ace's slender body and carry it.

"With the Power of Isis!" she chanted, and donned her sleek copper body suit and equine visor. Didn't hurt to be prepared for whatever Chontra was going to throw at them.

Ace moaned and stirred again in his fitful sleep. Lifting him, spaceman costume, boots and all, she struggled to exit the trailer. Whatever that source of massive power was, it was headed right for them. Suddenly the wall exploded in fire. Sohkarra's mental power shot out like an expanding invisible wall, the flames stopping against a flat surface. They burned hotly, mystically.

"Stop right there, Princess!" laughed a gritty voice tinged with brimstone. It reeked from the jaws of a white faced Demon, his eyes veiled in black.

"What... who are you!"

"Vengeance for what you’ve done, honey-bunch! Thinking you can split up the band with your games!" he laughed. Venom dripped from his long tongue, and massive body armor of bones and ribs sheathed the hunched over bulk. His claws gleamed in the light of his own red gaze.

"By Isis I banish you to Beyond the western gate..."

"No dice Princess! I'm not from your pantheon!" he snickered. Another eruption of fire blasted her, and she held it back with a wall of sheer shimmering mental force.

She could withstand it for a while, but the heat might harm Ace. She reached out with healing force to wrap him in coolness. As she was distracted, a flash of brimstone crashed against her armor. Sohkarra landed on the bed, Ace falling from her arms.

"Back away from the Spaceman, sweetheart, and I wont hurt ya... much..."

Sohkarra sent out tendrils of mental energy towards the mind of the Demon. What she saw startled her. Anger, pure and simple burned there in the crimson gaze, and even behind.

"That's right babe. It's me, and I won't let you take Ace from us!"

"No... I have no intention of..." Sohkarra gasped, when a powerful anger swept over her like a wave. Such rage sucked her probes further in. It was all she could do to extract them in time before her mind was damaged in the dark grip of his own mental defenses.

"Oh yes... I’m back too!" came a wicked laugh. From over the Demon's shoulder snaked a violet mist that precipitated into a hated countenance. Laughing, Chontra rubbed against the Demon's cheek.

"Chontra! What have you done to Gene, you sick..."

"I have liberated him, to his true aspect..." she laughed, rubbing against the Demon's hunched shoulder. "And he's not the only one who can produce fire!"

So saying she summoned a ball, tossing it up and down in her hand. With a grunt she hurled it towards Sohkarra. The Princess intercepted it easily, blocking with a force wall of mental power. She sent her own power into a spear of pure white mental rage. However, the Demon intercepted, blasting hot sulfur into her face.

Sohkarra's visor saved her from being scalded with hot steam. She launched a sharp kick in the Demon's face. A snarling swipe connected with her legs, knocking her down. Ace groaned, rolling over as his blue eyes blinked open.

"I tire of this game. Finish her!" Chontra hissed.

"It will take more then you to stop me!"

"Will you risk hurting Gene?" she laughed.

Sohkarra channeled another bolt of sheer mental fire into a spear. Tossing it from her hand she aimed right at Chontra. The power connected with her torso, knocking her back. Snarling, the Demon leapt on her, claws slashing. She barely kept him at bay, pushing desperately with her mind. He rose up off her, and she rolled to her feet. Even if she pushed him back he forced with sheer strength. It was too much. Floorboards splintered up, slamming into her chin. She tasted blood as she cowered on the floor, marshaling her strength.

"Stop it..." Ace muttered weakly, pushing up as he reached for Sohkarra.

"Don't make me laugh, space case!" the Demon taunted him. "You have no idea of the power within!"

"Karra!" Ace shouted, as Chontra raised her hand over the Princess. "NO!"

Silver flared from his face, erupting into a cascade of power that crackled his hair with static electricity. A surge of power shot from deep within Ace, his anger boiling. The Spaceman stood bold upright, his eyes flaring turquoise. A loud scream came from his throat, and a stroke of lightening from his fingertips that slammed into Chontra full force. Wind whistled in the small space, batting at the flames from the Demon.

"Ace..." Sohkarra looked up at him. Again he gestured, and a wind slammed into the Demon. Both he and Chontra were literally swept away with hurricane force.

Sohkarra barely managed to add her own mental push to Ace's wind force to shove them well and far away.

Black fingers crept over her mind, and her armor fizzled. "Karra," Ace turned to her, slowly leaning over her. "What... happened..."

"The power within..." she said to him. Gently he gathered her into his thin arms, lifting her.

"We gotta blow this popstand... that fire..." he said, lugging her bodily out of the trailer which suddenly had burst into flames from Gene and Chontra's combined attack.

"Now what?" Paul asked.

"We get back to Karra..." she nodded beneath her ibis visor at him. He had to admit she looked awesome in that armor that hugged her chest in purple wings. The two wings folded into a metal cloak across her shoulders.

Suddenly something slammed into her full force. Grunting, she rolled over. Paul kicked at a black and silver mass that snarled and meowed on her. Rolling over, it yowled, and pounced again at Paul. The force knocked the breath from the Star Child. Gasping he noticed the familiar face markings that so resembled a friend.

"Peter... what the hell..." he gasped. Planting one platform booted foot into the Cat's midsection, he pushed the snarling mass of fur off him. The Cat man rolled over, landing on all fours. Green eyes blazed as they focused on Menne, who had just scrambled to her feet. She moved over to Paul, who dusted himself off. His red painted lips drew into a gasp of surprise and horror. Claws slashed at both of them, painting three red streaks on Paul's exposed chest.

Menne's purple boot slashed in a high kick that cracked into the Cat Man's white and black muzzle. She whirled, following through with a second kick that sent him flying back. He rolled over again, to his hind legs. Claws slashed back and forth in a frenzy. Paul looked on, desperate to do something to help, but not sure what.

Just then, a flaming figure landed nearby, carrying a purple clad female. Her brown hair was streaked with purple and gray ribbons that were woven into it. He shook himself off, and the woman glanced up at him. "Insolent whelps..." she hissed, shaking her fist at a blaze in the distance across the parking lot of the stadium.

"And you are..." Paul glanced at them.

"I'm surprised you don't recognize your band mate..." Chontra laughed. "But then again, what would a simple musician dripping with testosterone know of true power..."

"Man, I've had it with this crap!" Paul shouted. "Just who do you think you are lady, to be messing around here..."

"You'd better be careful how you talk to my baby," came the Demon's voice. Paul desperately looked for anything that could serve as a weapon. Anything.

"Paul! Catch!" Menne shouted, and hurled something at him. His fingers found the long wicked spear she had conjured. Menne levered the Cat man off her, tossing him into Chontra. They collided with a meaty thud. Paul backed up to where Menne stood, holding the spear as he faced off against the Demon. The cat man recovered, and faced off against Menne. Both backed away.

"I'll leave you to play... while I take care of a certain Princess..." Chontra laughed. "Don't stop on my account..."

Cackling, she enveloped herself in purple energies that bore her far away from their battle.

"Menne..." Paul gasped, as the Demon blasted her with fire. That left him fighting the Cat man with a wicked spear clenched in his fingers. Still it didn’t amount to much except thrusting at his friend’s slashes.

Menne's lightening snaked over the Demon. Purple fire met his, blasting into an inferno. Force for force they seemed equals.

"Give it up, chick! You're no match for me..."

"Peter, stop this!" Paul appealed to his friend as they circled together. He whirled the shaft of the spear, whacking Peter in the jaw with it.

"I'm sorry!" Peter's voice came, as he leapt onto Paul. Only by jamming the bar under Peter's neck could he hold him back.

"Peter... I know you're in there somewhere, man! You gotta snap out of it! She's using you..."

"The pain..." Peter gritted.

It was as if a door opened in Paul's mind, flooding him into a world of sensation. He felt Peter's squirming confusion hit him full force. Concern, and fear that a way of life would be forever changed by the advent of the shining one.

"Peter... these chicks want to help us! You gotta see that!"

"I..." Peter gasped, as Paul gripped his wrists. Inches from his white painted face the claws gleamed.

"Pete, we've known each other for years. You trust me, right? Buds?"

"Yes..." Peter gasped, straining against the force of Chontra's enchantment. "Friends..."

"Trust me man. Trust me..." Paul urged, and Peter rose off of him. "Easy now..."

Peter retracted his claws, and panted. Paul got a good look at him. "Should I call you Mungojerry?" he laughed.

"Or Rumpleteaser..." Peter laughed.

"Gimme a break!" the demon snarled, pushing against Menne. He let loose a blaze of fire that cut into both men.

"Paul!" Menne cried. Peter twisted at the last minute, placing his own body before his friend. There came the smell of fur and hair burning.

"What did I do..." Gene's voice suddenly reverted to normal. Peter crumpled on top of his friend.

"You fool!" Menne shouted at the Demon. "Those are your friends! Companions! Is this feud worth destroying them?"

Gene gripped Menne close to him, achingly close. For a moment he reverted to his usual, if not psychotic form. "Holy crap," he gasped, shaking his head. "So...confused..."

"Let me help..." Menne glanced up at him.

"No... no... not like she did to Ace..." he gritted, holding her so tightly against him it hurt. Kicking against him, she struggled. Yet Gene grabbed her as he rushed off in a panic.

"Paul!" Menne shrieked. "Peter!"

Peter slowly changed back to his human form. Under him Paul shifted, groaning. Eyes flared purple as he glanced left and right. He sniffed the burning stench, and saw the blackened burns in his friend's costume.

"Oh Lord," he gasped, and got a better look at him. "They trashed you..."

A pair of human eyes glanced up into his as he held his friend up. "Hang on Peter... I'll get help..."

Peter coughed, groaning, "Talk... about... a hot temper... man... Gene told me not to piss her off... he said nothing about pissing him off... man I'm grimming..."

"Don't talk..." Paul scolded him. His fingers tightened as he choked back fear, and apprehension. Suddenly the hatred flowed, and surged within. Even if he did call the paramedics, Peter might die from the shook of his burns. And Gene carried off Menne to heaven knows where.

"Feel all.. burned up... man I'm hurting," Peter moaned, shaking his head.

"No.." Paul gasped. "I won't let you man... I won't let you..."

His fingertips tingled lightly. A cool tingling that spread from him with a strange purple energy. What was it? He could feel the burning in his own skin. Hot burning fires that spread along every nerve ending. Had to put them out, quench the blaze. What was that Chontra said about the power within?

What had happened to Ace, to Peter, and to Gene. Was it just Chontra, or something else they had all ignored? Paul retreated inside his own mind, to the purple core of his being. A single pinpoint of light winked on in the inner darkness. Slowly it blazed into a circle of light, ever expanding in a supernova of coolness that washed away Peter's pain.

When it subsided, Peter lay in his arms, the burns were only first degree ones. The skin was no longer chafed or red. It was still bad, but no longer to the point where Peter could die of shock. "What... the hell.." Paul looked at his hands, which glowed a faint purple.

Peter dropped into sleep. Paul lifted him up onto his shoulders, carrying him as he limped over towards where the Demon had gone.
 

"I wish I could get into there... find out what's going on..." he said. Ace felt a floating sensation under his boots, and found himself literally walking on air.

"Far out! Air walker!" he laughed, as an escalator of empty air pushed him upwards. He moved towards the stadium, and uncertainty.

"Strong language, Menne," he laughed. "I never thought you'd loosen up!"

"Why are you doing this?" she snapped, pushing him back with a bolt of fire. By now he had reverted to the Demonic transform, fangs dripping with venom and flame.

"For her," he laughed, pointing up to Chontra who suddenly materialized near where Nefer-Tina was imprisoned.

"Good boy! You brought her to me!" Chontra laughed. "It's only a matter of time before the Princess will come after her friends... and then she will be in my hands!"

"What about this one?"

"I care not for trifles. You do what you will. Your appetites are not that of the ordinary man..." she laughed. "But… I would question your loyalties. A test is in order. Dispose of the girl, Demon…."

"No," Gene said distinctly. "She is innocent. It is the other I want…."

"Did I hear you incorrectly?" Chontra asked.

"Forgive me, but what has this one done to you?"

"All right, put her with the other," Chontra sighed. "We will discuss this matter later…."

Menne’s heart leapt when she realized the Demon would not harm her. Yet Sohkarra was another matter altogether.

"Gene, if you can hear me, please don’t do this!" Menne shouted to him. "She’ll throw you away as soon as she’s done with you!"

Turning, the Demon regarded Menne. A claw slipped under her chin, forcing her dark eyes to look into his of flame. "That is for me to decide, little one. But you will not be harmed… I swear…"

"But Sohkarra is my friend!" Menne protested. "Dammit Gene, snap out of it! She’s playing you like a guitar solo!"

"Enough of this. Come!" Chontra shouted. With a last look at Menne, the Demon followed Chontra.

Meanwhile, Ace and Sohkarra had moved to relative safety and comfort as they saw the blaze being extinguished. Strange perceptions moved in the Spaceman’s mind that he could not explain. Slowly he airwalked down towards the stadium, following some homing instinct towards the others. They needed him in ways he could not imagine, but strangely it was making sense.

In his arms, Sohkarra glanced up. "Ace… what are you… Great Isis!"

Startled, Ace almost lost his concentration. They plummeted towards the stadium roof. Clearing her head, Sohkarra expanded her aching mind. Blue energy wrapped them both to bleed off enough velocity that they could land safely. Ace’s silver boots touched down on the curved stadium roof.

"Awesome," he glanced at her.

"You can put me down now, I’m quite recovered," Sohkarra announced. Blushing behind his silver flash, he set her down gently.

"Did you see that, Karra? I was literally walking on air!"

"I know… it’s amazing. Clearly there are sides to you I never anticipated. No wonder they said…" she began, then trailed her voice off. Strange emotions of great pain clouded her mind. She scanned for Chontra, sensing the hated presence that had once claimed her body.

"I swear to Isis you will pay for this…" Sohkarra hissed.

"Chontra!!!!" screamed a loud voice as Chontra was heading off with the Demon.

"What now?" she snorted with disgust. Menne gasped when she saw Paul striding up to them coolly, Peter over his shoulders. Effortlessly he carried the drummer. Strangely he seemed much taller and erect with each stride.

"You have my friend under your thumb, and I demand you let him go, or face my wrath!"

"Don’t make me laugh!" Chontra snorted with the ludicracy of this. "Deal with that upstart. You know so little of your true nature, Star Bearer… you haven’t a prayer!"

"You’ll pay dearly for hurting Peter!" Paul said in a low calm voice that echoed with the depth of many. His eyes flared purple, and a nimbus of energy floated Peter to one side.
.

"When you hurt one of us, you hurt us all!"

The Demon moved forwards, his fire expanding towards Paul. Chontra cracked her knuckles and settled back to wait and see what happened. Just when the fire seemed about to consume Paul, the purple energies seethed and wrapped. Paul narrowed his eyes, casting an icy stare. Gene’s fireblast hit hard and fast, steaming away in Paul’s gaze.

Menne watched, unbelieving. Calmly Paul continued to advance on the Demon. Chontra frowned, when she saw the Demon belch brimstone heat that was easily battered aside. "Gene, listen to me," Paul spoke in that voice of many again.

"Why should I?"

"Because, you’re being used. You don’t have to fight me. I finally get it now. These powers… are part of us. You came into them before because you were on the verge. I had a vision… Man, I see so much. But she’s using us all… for her end gain…"

"Shut him up!" Chontra snarled. She raised her hands, and suddenly the ground began to shake as it split open. Paul dodged to one side, his icy gaze raising him on a pillar of ice and vapor to safety.

"She’s setting us free!" the Demon protested. "Ridding us of that Princess who threatens to destroy us, what we are!"

"No!" said Paul, struggling to evade the fireballs that Chontra hurled towards him. "We cannot be separated! Don’t you see Gene, we are one! Four individuals who cannot be torn asunder. No matter what, we balance each other…"

"Say what?" he glanced at him, confused. "But these powers will consume us if she doesn’t help."

"She doesn’t know it all. Your fire, and I water! When you went off, all the others of us followed in a chain reaction! Because you’re against us, we all suffer…."

"Enough of this!" Chontra snarled. "Kill him!"

With a roar the Demon pounced, under the hail of Chontra’s fireballs. Menne felt her armor fizzling out. Where was Sohkarra and Ace?

Grunting he bore up against the Demon who knocked him over. Paul’s eyes blazed violet as he struggled all his energy to fight the raging heat that surged into him.

"No!" Sohkarra cried, and hurled Chontra aside with a magical bolt. Ace levitated them both to the ground as they smashed through the stadium roof.

"I have come too far to be stopped by you!" Chontra snarled at Sohkarra. The two women faced off, their powers surging.

Paul groaned, channeling his full strength at Gene. Ace airwalked, then stood to one side. "Guys, stop it," he called. "You don’t get it do you?"

A wind slammed into Gene, pushing him off Paul. The Demon glanced up, confused. Peter still lay comatose to one side. Seeing him, Ace moved over to shield him from the stray blasts coming from Chontra and Sohkarra’s heated battle.

"Gene, you and I are friends…" Paul said, as he climbed to his feet.

"That woman is the cause of this!" came the Demon’s raging answer, pointing at Sohkarra’s levitating figure. Chontra’s fireballs exploded against Sohkarra’s telepathic shielding. Neither woman could gain the upper hand, so evenly matched were they. Also Sohkarra was struggling to shield Menne and Nefertina at the same time she was fighting.

"No way," Ace said. "If you should blame anyone, blame me. I dig her, and I created this mess. So if you’re pissed, go after me, not her…"

So saying the demon turned to the Spaceman, and blue met red in a strange standoff. Slowly Peter began to fight to consciousness behind Ace.

"It’s her fault," Paul growled at Chontra, who was pushing Sohkarra back with her celebrated serpent spell. "If you should be steamed at anyone, it’s her!"

"She’s manipulated us all," Ace said with a hint of objective dispassion. Increasingly he looked less like his usual self.

"Look inside you man, you know you hate being jerked around…" Paul said. "And that chick there is pulling the strings."

"She’s evil man, evil, no place at all!" Peter groaned, struggling to sit up. The Demon leapt up, and landed beside him. Ace was all set to knock him off with a wind, when Paul rushed up and stopped him.

"No. Fire heals…" he said, when the claw passed over Peter’s burns, and they vanished before their eyes. He helped Peter to sit up, and glance oddly at all of his friends.

A low growl erupted from the Demon’s throat. "That witch!" he roared. "She’ll pay for this!"

Fire slammed into Chontra from behind. Sohkarra gasped at its force and fierceness. Levitated on Ace’s air pocket he soared to meet her, fireballs blazing. Sohkarra looked to Paul, all set to interfere.

*No, Paul’s psi cast came into her empathy. *This is our fight… free your friends…

Sohkarra nodded, and levitated herself to the ground. Quickly she raced over to the fire cage that held her friends captive. With a few muttered incantations she struggled to dispel it.

"Fool! I control fire!" Chontra laughed, gesturing at Gene. Gasping, the avatar seemed to suck right out of him as he reverted to human form. It was Ace’s wind that whipped under him, setting him down once more.

From behind, Peter cannoned into her. Hissing and snarling he slashed at her. Chontra morphed into a hideous gorgon, batting him back. They crashed to the ground, rolling and spitting.

Her hands blazed with fire, threatening to burn. Calmly Ace gestured, and a wind bated the fire back.

"Now it’s my turn," Paul said ominously, striding up as Peter’s claws held Chontra there.

"You twisted my mind, you sick witch!" Gene snarled, advancing on her. "You’ll burn in hell!"

"I won’t be stopped by you!" Chontra screamed, and began to chant. However, the convergence of all four was more then she could tolerate.

"Now, there will be a reckoning…" the Star child suddenly whispered. Purple energies seethed into Chontra’s mind.

"No, you will not!" she screamed her eyes flaring crimson. Relentlessly Paul’s thoughts slipped over her oppressiveness.

"What do you most fear, witch?" Paul asked. "What horrible nightmares do you hide? The fear of hideousness consumes you, engulfs you, and numbs you. The pain of your broken heart… as you feel it again…"

"Nooo!" Chontra screamed, as her dreams were twisted inside out. She could not concentrate to cast her spells. Horrific visions clouded her mind, pain of all those she had hurt echoing, calling her name. The blackness closed around her.

"You have the power to send her away," Ace looked to the Princess. "Do it now…"

Sohkarra grimly began the enchantment that would dispel her beyond the Western Gate. It would only be temporary, or would it. That look of horror on her face as she faded from view chilled her spine. What had Paul, Star Bearer shown her?

Sohkarra supported Nefertina, who was exhausted from struggling to get out of Chontra’s enchanted cage with no luck.

"I’m sorry guys," Gene glanced at them. "Didn’t know my own strength…"

"It is not something I’d care to repeat," Sohkarra said to him. "But now what remains to be done about the four of you?"

Ace glanced at Paul, who in turn glanced to Peter and Gene. "I like had another vision," he said, floating there in a Zen position on a pillar of air.

"Great," Gene muttered, very much in his human form. Once his anger abated, the Demon seemed to have left.

"It is for us to decide," Paul glanced at her from under his fall of black hair. The eyes flared purple, and all four musicians looked to each other again.

"I can use my powers to make you forget," Sohkarra said.

"As can I, Princess, for I control the realm of dreams. I finally realize that now. The realm of dreams, and I was last to transform, for I was hanging to my humanity…"

"What… are you?" Nefertina asked.

"The Four who are One," Ace and Paul said together. "Ageless, and yet ever new to each time each century we are needed."

"I don’t freaking believe this, but I know it somehow," Gene muttered. He helped Menne to sit down on the bleachers near Nefertina.

"So like guys, what do we do now?" Peter asked, still glancing at his silken fur and sharp claws. "We can’t do a concert like this can we?"

"How are we supposed to live with all this stuff?" asked Gene.

"It wasn’t the right time," Ace shook his head.

"Guys, we have to go back," said Paul. There came a flare of purple energy that surrounded them all.

"One into four, again," said Ace. Gene still felt a bit dazed by all this.

The Starchild’s power flared violet, then hot white. The Spaceman reached out and mingled his own through the link. An ever-expanding vortex consumed all four, till it subsided. Sohkarra felt a buzzing in her mind that seemed timeless.

"But they already knew…" said Sohkarra. She glanced over at the Star Child and the Spaceman. They drifted in the darkness of infinity, casting their own lights.

"You fear us, do you not?" the Star Bearer grinned. "You who think you have destiny so neatly mapped out?"

"There is so much about existence you don’t know," the Celestial laughed. A dark rumbling shot through the void, and the Masters displeasure was known.

"We do not have to answer to you…" came the response.

"You have much to answer for," the Star Bearer hissed, his eyes flaring. "To place all destiny in the hands of this one…"

Here he pointed a finger at the Princess. The Celestial shook his head, and said nothing in judgment against or for the Masters.

"And it was not for you to interfere with us," The Star Bearer continued, pointing an accusing figure at the Masters. "The Four who are One are not bound by your limited conceptions of reality…."

"We go where we are bidden," the Celestial nodded. "And the time is fast approaching where fate requires our hand. You cannot hold us back for long, nor can you have the arrogance to assume that our awakening was not part of a plan far greater then your dark teachings could ever hope to fathom…"

"You must go back…" said the Masters. "The time is not right…"

"Away with you," the Star Bearer laughed, with a flick of his hand. "Back to the realm of nightmares and lost wishes."

"Begone from our sight," the Celestial nodded. "Work your dark plans elsewhere…"

"You will not take the Daughters of Isis from us," came the rumbling response.

"And now, an end," came the Star Bearer’s look as he glanced at the Celestial. Violet energy rent the darkness, flaring brightly as the azure joined it. It was an ever-expanding radience that banished the Dark from the light, and swung the scales of fate to a perfect balance.

Four very confused musicians looked at each other, and at the three women. "What are we waiting for?" Gene asked, glancing at his watch. "We have a concert in thirty minutes!"

"Aww mannn what did I do this time?" Peter groaned, looking at his mangled costume. Shouts and roars could be heard from outside. Ace stood near a confused and dazzled Sohkarra, while Peter sat near Nefertina.

Paul rushed over to Menne, who shakingly stood up. Gene too moved over to help her up, and she felt the arms of both band members around her hips. Menne was surprised at the strange tender concern that momentarily glanced over the Demon’s painted face.

"Menne, you don’t look so hot…" Paul stroked her cheek.

"I’m fine, guys," she glanced at them both exasperatedly.

"You sure, babe?" asked Gene. "You look strung out…"

"She’s fine," Paul grumbled. "Are you, babe?"

"I’ve been better. Why do I get the sense that a whole day rushed by without me knowing?"

Gene and Paul exchanged knowing frantic glances. Paul pressed a kiss to Menne’s cheek, and gave her a quick squeeze as he whispered, "See you after the show!"

"Don’t just stand there, you lumps!" Doc McGhee shouted, rushing in from outside. "Get going! There are forty thousand fans out there who paid 25 bucks a head to see you perform, not stand around!"

"Like he said, guys!" Gene barked. "Get to it!"

Menne rushed off with the rest of the black shirted techies, blending in with a behind the scenes group that did every bit as much as KISS onstage offstage. Fingering his painted chin, Gene watched her retreat among the flashpots.

Paul looked to Gene, hunting for his guitar. Their eyes locked for an instant, a silent understanding contained in that indeterminate time.

"Yes," Gene muttered his voice low. "I finally get it…"

"Good," Paul nodded gravely to his bandmate. He glanced to Menne, then to Ace and Sohkarra. Both appeared to be dazzled out of their minds, slowly recovering from the radiance that had burned itself into everyone’s thoughts. The past few hours were a rush to all save these two.

"And next time?" Gene asked.

"You are the initiator," Paul said cryptically.

"Band meeting," Gene clapped his hands. All four came within the same space, their heads meeting as a meeting of the minds. Painted faces regarded each other sheepishly.

"Peter," Gene said, glancing at the drummer, who was pulling at the shreds of his vest. "I’m sorry…"

"Me too man," he nodded.

"And Ace, just watch it, okay?" Gene asked, voice low so the rushing roadies and techs couldn’t overhear.

"She’s a help to me, man," he said quietly.

"No doubt," Paul nodded. "But she’s not like us… and if those… Masters are as way out and scared of us… We’re in for some serious crap ahead…"

"Paul, man, thanks for pulling my head out of my butt back there," Gene gripped his friend’s shoulder. "You held it together while I went off the deep end… guys… I’m sorry…"

"Hell Gene, we all make mistakes," Peter shrugged. "Just don’t do it again, okay?"

"Next time, say something, dammit," Paul nodded. Ace looked nervously back and forth among the Cat man, Demon, and Star Child.

"Uh guys… don’t we like have a concert in fifteen minutes?" he asked.

"But there is some way out stuff that just happened…" Peter pointed out.

"Forty thousand of our fans," said Paul. "Do we ever let them down?"

Four sets of eyes glanced at each other beneath the patches of makeup. Each so different and yet so much the same. Ever louder, the cheering increased as the fans piled into the Stadium.

"Right! We got the gear, let’s kick some Rear!" Gene snapped. A rousing chorus came among KISS as they high-fived and split off to their various zones of the stage.

Gene scooped up his custom Punisher guitar, slipping the strap over his shoulder. An odd sensation fell over him, no odder then the spectrum of emotions he had experienced these past forty-eight hours. Lights fizzled away, plunging them into utter darkness.

Paul tensed in nervous anticipation as the base rumbled from Gene’s guitar into the screaming mass of sound. The energy rumbled from within, deep in the core of his being. For the first time, he could swear he felt the sensations of each and every fan along with him. From his perch above, Peter surveyed the flashing lighters popping on in the sea of fans, and felt the instinctual sense that he belonged here. Ace glanced at Paul, his makeup silvery glinting in the scant light. His brain seemed strangely clearer then it had been in the longest time. In his hands, the Gibson hummed into life with the power coursing out through its amp.

Something stumbled past Gene, and he gripped the technician that almost spilled themselves on the floor. Onyx eyes glanced up into his, and he felt the warmth of her body next to his hip.

"Careful, sweetheart," he whispered, holding her but for a moment.

"Gene you are impossible," came Menne’s voice.

"Someone has to keep you safe, baby," he laughed back, and let her go as she squirmed a bit. "I made a promise I’ll keep all right…"

All musings vanished into the blaring of the loudspeaker, "ARE YOU READY?  YOU WANTED THE BEST, YOU GOT THE BEST! THE HOTTEST BAND ON THE WORLD!"

Four band members surged energy into their beings, rumbling from their fingertips into the instruments before them. Never before had they felt so in sync.

"The one, the only KIISSS!"

An explosion of timed works split the night, the sign flaring on like a new star. Smoke filled Gene’s nostrils as his fingers dug into the well worked strings. He glimpsed Ace and Paul downstage, in their own realms of light, guitars whirring into strange melodies overtop his base strain.

"Hello! Here I am, Here we are, We are one!" they belted out in chorus which echoed into the night.

"I’ve been waiting for this night to come…Get up! It’s time for me to take my place, the Makeup running down my face…. We’re exiles from the human race..."