"I think I can guess that you're pretty conflicted here. You want to tell me, but at the same time you don't. I can't even guess what this is all about, even with a real magic shop mixed up in it. How about this? You tell me as much as you can. If I'm not satisfied, then I can always ask you to tell me the rest, right?"
"Right, I suppose," said Nikki. "Okay, here's the truth. I did just save your life, from the danger I told you about, and it was on purpose. The magic shop was involved, but not in the way I told you."
"Go on..." said Mike.
"My name isn't Megan. I said I was Megan because I look like a person named Megan, and I had to say something. You're going to meet the real Megan someday, so I can't keep up with the ruse. Technically Nikki isn't my name either, but it's as good as anything. I'm caught in a spot of trouble and... And..."
"And?" said Mike.
"And that's all I can tell you unless you want to waste twelve hours of your vacation."
"If I do it in my room most of it will be sleep anyway. I can, er, sleep when I do it, right?"
"You can sleep," replied Nikki.
"Is it dangerous? Will it get me arrested by the police?"
"I don't know what you're thinking, Mike, but it's not anything like that."
Nikki and Mike were sitting down on two chairs in Mike's hotel room.
"I'm warning you," said Nikki. "I told you this isn't dangerous, but I can see ways you can mess up that can make it dangerous. Please, whatever you do, do what I ask, okay?"
"Uh-huh."
Nikki searched her bag for the medallion of Zulo. She was a little tense until she finally managed to find it. She pulled out the medallion, then took out his own shirt. She touched it to the medallion and, holding the medallion to the shirt firmly, said "put this over your head. The medallion, not the shirt."
As Mike put it on it slipped away from the shirt, but it seemed to have been touching it for long enough.
"I feel funny," said Mike.
"You're transforming," said Nikki. "Here's the full story. It's three years in the future. You mysteriously disappeared three years in the past--earlier today, in fact. Nick finds a medallion that changes people in a way controlled by a piece of clothing, and ends up as his girlfriend Megan."
"Nick transforms... wait, you're telling me you are Nick?"
"Yup." Nikki grinned. "That's how I was able to make up a story about the magic shop and you and Nick--I was there. That's why I have Nick's phone. It gave me an error recently and I think that's because the Nick of this time turned his phone on."
"This is all hard to believe."
"That's why I made you wear that medallion. You're turning into Nick. That'll prove the unbelievable part of my story. Now the rest is... I find the magic shop and I get an amulet that travels back in time. I used it to change the past and save you, but it stopped working. I can't return to my own time and I changed the past so it's not my own anyway."
"Come on. Time travel?"
"I think if you know magic can do transforms, time travel isn't such a stretch."
"I don't know magic can do transforms."
"Don't you? Go look into a mirror. Your eyes are green. Your hair is slightly darker. Any moles or warts or scars will turn into mine. You're transforming as we speak. It's becoming more and more obvious."
Mike raised his hand and looked at it. "I don't see what you're talking about. I---" But then, he did see what Nikki was talking about. He knew his own hand and it looked subtly different. Nails slightly wrong, slight difference in color, a few fewer hairs on the back....
"It takes twelve hours," said Nikki. "Before I can change you back. And I bet you're glad you didn't kiss me more than you did. It may be a little awkward but I'm still your friend and I did just save your life. I would hope you don't tell the Nick or Megan of this time unless I do it first. Tomorrow morning I have to go. I have to use Megan's ID to travel back home. Then I have to either find the magic shop, get the Amulet of Time to work, or... something. I don't know if there's any way you can help me with that."
