Lisa expertly maneuvered her car on the unfamiliar roads, wondering if her colleague and passenger was as nervous as she about the upcoming war.

Seeing as how Morgaine was softly but gleefully bouncing on the adjacent seat, it seemed unlikely.

"Okay, Morgaine, it's right down the next road, right?"

"Um..." The red-haired teen stared blankly at the upside down map she held. "Turn here! Turn here!"

"'Kay, I see it". The two stared in awe at the enormous structure that loomed over them as Lisa parked the car. Morgaine smiled with satisfaction - the seemingly straw roof was wonderfully old-fashioned, and the moat added a certain picturesque, faerie-tale touch. Plus, the place was huge. What fun she and her Space Chickens could have here!

Lisa adjusted her headband and looked over her surroundings. Strange, she thought, that a place so near the center of a big city was so quiet. And what was with Morgaine? She looked as though she was planning assault and defense strategies already...and her fervent assertions that she'd fought in Vietnam was causing Lisa some concern. First a multi-personality eccentric Knightie, now a delusional one. Complete with alien poultry.

Lisa unlocked the door as Morgaine wrestled the car trunk for their luggage. Peering into the Cottage, they could see outlines of the living room furniture and the CotK banner over the fireplace.

Quickly the two put their baggage in their rooms, which they found to be quite satisfactory. Lisa suggested they explore their home for the next two weeks. Morgaine joked that it probably wouldn't take that long. Then she agreed whole-heartedly. After a quick visit to feed the Space Chickens, who took quite well to Lisa (jumping on a person's head is a Space Chicken's way of showing affection) Morgaine and Lisa decided to investigate the basement.

As they descended the stairs, the two girls were amazed at the technology that spread out before them.

"Wow," Lisa whispered. "Does J.L. work for NASA or what?"

A groan came from out of view, followed by a woman's voice. "Don't tell me you want to go to the moon. That's slightly beyond me."

"J.L.?"

"Who else?"

As they moved further, the co-leaders found J.L. sitting in the midst of all the technological gadgets. She was pressing buttons and working with the machinery as calmly and confidently as if she were simply operating a toaster. She looked up at her faction-mates, and a warm smile crossed her serious face. "Hi, guys. Who's who?"

"Morgaine."

"Lisa."

"Nice to meet ya both. You wanna help?"

Lisa looked at Morgaine, and then turned back to J.L.

"Um...I think we'll leave this to you. You're the expert." J.L. chuckled. "Flattery will get you nowhere. Well, it might. Anyone else here?"

"I thought I heard someone upstairs just now, but I hear stuff all the time," answered a grinning Morgaine. "No fun being delusional otherwise. Like a movie without a soundtrack. Or apple sauce without ketchup."

J.L. looked blankly at Morgaine. *Hmm,* she thought. *Clearly insane. And she's one of my self-proclaimed biggest fans. I hope those two things are unrelated. Well, a little insanity never hurt anyone. Except in "Crazy Love", of course.*

Lisa spoke up. "Don't worry...she's always like this. She spent the entire ride up here trying to have a meaningful conversation with her seat belt."

"Um...okay. I'm gonna test the security system now, okay?"

"Kewl! Will there be flashing lights and warning signs and trained monkeys with baseball bats?" joked Lisa.

*Oh, no. Both of them.* "Er, no. Just a loud noise. Ready?"

Lisa and Morgaine nodded.

"Okay."

Suddenly, a loud alarm sound filled the Cottage.

Morgaine shrieked, "Air raid! The missiles are coming!"

She dove under a nearby table, dragging Lisa after her.

J.L. shook her head and turned the alarm off. "Okay. The system is all ready to go."

"Go where?"

Lisa stood and brushed herself off. "Nowhere, Morgaine. Okay, I am *sure* I heard a scream from upstairs...another arrival, I guess. We must've caught her off guard."

"Oh, no!" Morgaine ran to the stairs. "C'mon!"

"Go with her, Lisa," suggested J.L. "I'll use the intercom to inform our new arrival of what just happened. If she's still concious, that is. I think it's Margie."

"Okay." As Lisa followed Morgaine, she found she could not stop smiling.

'Air raids'. Space Chickens. A basement that looked like the starship Enterprise. And the war hadn't even really begun yet.

Lisa was suddenly very glad she came.