When she awoke for the final time, the light was high in the sky. Judging from the brightness, it was midday. Jennifer let out a yawn and stretched. Woozle was lying beside her, and he too yawned. She was in her own home and in no danger. There were no giant spiders either. The mayor was not knocking on her door. It was a very nice way to wake up. Woozle purred, sending a comforting rumble. Jennifer closed her eyes to savor the relaxing sensations.
She felt the goblin resting on her left side. Undead Kevin was on her feet, living Kevin lay his full body on her right, and other Kevin was keeping her head warm with his fur. It was nice. Just her, Kevin, Kevin, Woozle, and a goblin resting together like a pile of puppies.
Her eyes popped open. There were too many Kevins and only one with fur. Carefully, she looked over Woozle’s fuzzy form and could just make out the top of undead Kevin on her feet. Living Kevin was on his side to her right, and the goblin on her left too. Her brain was not firing on all cylinders yet, but she realized whatever was sleeping above her head was not a Kevin. Whoever or whatever it was felt furry and warm. Jennifer turned over, pushing Woozle unceremoniously on the floor, who let out another yawn.
Her movements caused the others to wake. Twisting around she saw a long sleek head and neck attached to a strong muscular body. The frame of this new creature was similar to Kevin’s, holding the shape of a canine, but it was taller, thinner, and had more tightly packed muscles than Kevin.
The coloring was also off, with pitch black fur and a warm red ember glow that created a soft pond of red light around the new Kevin. Her eyes went wide as she recognized the species. “I have a Doberman from the infernal levels sleeping at my head. Sure, why not. You're now new Kevin.” With those words, Jennifer decided to go back to sleep. She would deal with finding its owner later.
When the Doberman pawed at the door to be let out, Jennifer decided that this was as good a time as any to start her day. She needed to head to one of the inns for breakfast to recover her stamina. It was far closer to ten percent than she cared for.
When she pulled herself to her feet, the Kevins also woke up and started barking. Only the living Kevin could actually bark, but the skeleton was making the same motions. The living one’s ears were pulled down and back.
Jennifer put her hand over the snout of the living Kevin in order to make the barking stop. “Some guard dog you are,” she said, and moved to let the Doberman out.
“Umm, kid, did you get a new familiar for the tea house when I wasn’t looking?” Woozle asked while he eyed the Doberman.
Its red embers were getting brighter.
“No idea. He was here when I woke up. Personally, I think this one was less scary than the spider. No offense, Rover.” Jennifer opened her bedroom door and followed the new creature down the stairs and out the front door. Both the living and the undead Kevin followed behind Jennifer.
But instead of heading to the inn, she trailed the Doberman to the back entrance of the town hall. She had not planned on going there, but curiosity kept her on its tail.
The beast scratched at the back door, so Jennifer opened it. Kevin entered next, never letting his eyes leave the body of the Doberman, while his goblin looked like she was sleeping in her saddle. Woozle proceeded next.
After being behind the hound as he walked down a few halls, a voice caused her heart to beat faster. She sprinted towards the voice coming from a courtroom. It was loud and clear.
Entering the room with the group behind her, she saw a woman sitting in the judge’s seat. Her eyes went wide and let out one word. “Mom?”
The Doberman headed straight to the judge, jumping over a few benches and a barricade.
“Cruirse, I told you no jumping in the courtroom,” said a uniformed minotaur. He caught the hound in mid-air as if the hound was just a puppy and glanced at the judge. “Well, ma’am, I found Cruirse.”
The minotaur looked at Jennifer and turned back to the judge. “Jennifer, you didn’t tell me you had a kid.”
Both the judge and Jennifer replied in unison. “I don’t.”
Jennifer’s heart sank as they both spoke as one again, “Just a copy.”
Jennifer grasped at the air near a chair, needing to sit down, while her mind repeated, “Just a copy.”
As her hand made contact with a chair, a familiar voice said, “Clearly you all got something going on. So, let’s just say innocent, and we can all—"
Jennifer’s rage steadied her as she turned to the defendant, not caring how loud she was. “You tried to rob me, and you’re claiming innocence.”
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Judge Jennifer on the bench raised her voice. “You tried to rob me?”
The rocket bowman quickly yelled, “Not guilty on a technicality?”
“Bailiff, please export the combat log,” the judge ordered.
The minotaur made his way over the bowman.
“Guilty, with a mandatory quest that will benefit the victim?” The words rushed out of the bowman.
“I need herbs for my shop and a lot of them,” the younger Jennifer said.
“Three thousand units of herbs to be gathered before any other quests can be accepted or completed.” The older Jennifer hammered her gavel. “And you, my office.”
“Can my party come?” Jennifer asked, not wanting to be alone with herself. She had never seen what her eye roll looked like but was now clear on the effect. She motioned to her party to follow.
Inside the office was a simple desk, two seats, a small black couch, and a work surface. Every wall that was not a window or door was covered with rows of books from floor to ceiling.
Jennifer followed the older version of herself and realized she was much taller than the other woman. Her grandmother had also been shorter than her. Contemplating this, she wondered if she would shrink in her old age.
The older, smaller Jennifer asked, “Let’s get the big question out of the way. Why are you so tall?”
“Umm, half giant? You?”
“I took the descended from Atlantis option, which gave me a magic bonus.”
“Ahh, and the judge part?”
“I just graduated from El Queen Jackson University and run a daycare for the rich kids. When I got here, I had just earned my law license. Took a while but I unlocked the prestige class of judges. I’ve been working here as a judge since then.”
“I’m still in my first week. I’m opening a tea shop, so I count as a business owner, so I can write myself a letter of recommendation for Bishop’s.”
“Sociology?”
“Yeah, did you do that?”
“I did. But Dad wanted more, and I already had a minor in law by the end of the second year. So, I switched into pre-law, then transferred.”
“Was Dad happy with that?”
“When is Dad ever happy? But he did have a smile on his face when he dropped in for graduation,”
“So, copies.”
“So, copies. Just from different points.”
Both Jennifers looked down. It was all getting a bit difficult for the younger Jennifer. “Do I call you older Jennifer?”
“Judge will do fine.”
“Have you ever met another Jennifer?”
“Yes, but she’s a pirate with red dyed hair. We met up in a pub. She started a bar brawl. Decided it was best not to follow in her footsteps. She arrived after watching some movies about pirates and orientation week. You?”
“You are the first. I am Necromancer, Alchemist, Future Defence Tech, the last one is mostly force fields.” She cast one on Woozle for effect.
“Lawyer, Law Office Worker, District Judge, Infernal abbreviator, and infernal contract law.” The judge paused. “Don’t ask me why but both infernals are one power set.”
“I’m guessing that’s where the ‘H-E-double hockey stick’ hound came from?” A knowing smirk crossed the adolescent’s face. “Did you like those sets?”
The judge looked to her left, “Oh, yes. I found them very rewarding. So, necromancer?”
“Glitched, I didn’t have much time to pick, and I didn’t really understand what was happening.” The necromancer looked down, still unable to look herself in the face.
“So, you’re evil?”
“No, I just unlocked Speak With Dead, so I can get permission for stuff. So, not evil.”
“Ahh, that makes sense. So, you’re still going to University?”
“Yup, I’m going there after this. The dean will have to accept me.”
“Let me know how—"
The two continued to ask each other questions for some time. Jennifer was able to emotionally connect with the older version of herself. Jennifer’s chest ached with a question she needed to ask but was afraid to hear the answer.
“Are there versions of our family? And how do you deal with just being a copy?” The younger one refused to meet the judge’s eyes.
“I’ve never found Mom or Dad, but there’s at least one version of our brother out there,” the judge said, looking up with a finger on her lip.
“We have a brother?” Jennifer did not remember having a brother. Her brows came together while she searched her memory. “I guess my brother was one of the memories that didn’t get copied over.” The sorrow in her soul sung out in her words.
"One thing I have learned from this place, with all the parts being taken from other timelines, time periods, and having such poor timing is, just because we are the same person, from different points, does not mean we have the same background. I have a brother. You may not have a bother.”
“I feel.” The newcomer to the world tried to put words to her emotions. “I feel like I miss a brother I never had now. And I will now always be comparing myself to you.”
“Father said that I was just one of the many university’s graduates. He said the doctor with the lowest passing grade is still called a doctor. I looked him straight in the eye and told him it was my feet that took me to class. My brother told me, no matter where I stand, my willpower took me places. Not my name. Not who I knew. My own actions. As a judge, I say you should only judge yourself by what you can do, and what you do. Be the main character of your own story.”
The judge’s words were cutting into Jennifer, “So, I should take my own path.”
“I’m a judge. You’re a necromancer. We may look the same, but we go under our own sails. I went to university for the education not to impress anyone. I was copied into this world just at a different point in our lives.”