The napkin holder slammed into Julius's head, knocking him from the stool to the floor. It didn't knock him unconscious, and he watched, a little dazed, as Yuri snatched up the pocketbook and ran for the door. She didn't notice that he was still awake and yelled in panic when he grabbed her ankle and pulled her down to the floor. "Let go of me!" she shrieked, kicking at him.

"Ow, ow!" Julius complained, though he kept holding her ankle. "Come on, Yuri! We're supposed to be friends, right? Don't you remember I'm supposed to be an innocent? Stop kicking me!"

Still clinging to the pocketbook, Yuri finally broke free of Julius's grasp and ran for the door. He surprised even himself when he reached the door before Yuri did and blocked her way out. "Listen to me," she pleaded, seeing escape wasn't an option for her. "You need to let me go! Lives have been lost over what's inside of this."

Julius scratched his head. "Was this the reason your sister was murdered?"

Yuri's grasp on the pocketbook increased, which was answer enough for Julius. He ran a hand through his black hair, waiting for her to respond. It wasn't long in coming. "Stop sticking your large nose in other people's business!" she snapped.

"First of all," Julius said, holding up his hands, "my nose is a perfectly normal size. Secondly, I didn't want to stick my nose into this. My business card was found at the crime scene, and you hired me! Let me help you, Yuri. I'm not afraid to die." Somehow, the words were true. He wasn't afraid. Maybe helping Yuri and finding Abigail's killer would result in Julius's death, but he felt no fear at the thought. Death had never held any fear for Julius; maybe because his life was so dull. A little excitement couldn't hurt, right? Except if it killed him, he supposed.

Perhaps she believed him. For whatever reason, Yuri relaxed her defensive stance and slung the strap of the bag over her shoulder. "I don't need help," she told him in a snobbish tone, but Julius saw past her words. Her jaw trembled slightly, and her eyes slid from Julius's face. In his experience, that usually meant a person was lying. "I can handle myself."

"Maybe," Julius said with a shrug. "Or maybe not. But it can't hurt to have a hand, can it? C'mon, Yuri. I'm going to die of curiosity if you don't show me what's in that thing, so I'll die either way, right?"

Against her will, Yuri smiled. It was only a little turn-up of the lips, but it was something, and it was enough for Julius to realize that, napkin holder attack or no napkin holder attack, she was human like him. "Ohhh, very well. Come back in and sit down, Barnum. I'm going to show you what's inside. And if you think I'm crazy, then it's your own fault, because you wanted to hear what I have to say."

"I promise I won't think you're crazy." Julius yawned. If anybody was crazy, it was him for getting involved in this whole nutty situation.

Yuri sighed. "You say that now. Have a seat."

They replaced the stools in their original positions and sat back down. Julius even put the napkin holder back, though he made sure to keep it away from Yuri. Semi-friends or not, he was never going to trust her around napkin holders again. The growing lump on his forehead would attest to that. "So," Julius said. "The bag."

Yuri scratched at the leather of the bag idly with her long, black fingernails. "It goes far back from the bag," she admitted. "My sister and I ... are from another world. Two separate worlds, in fact."

"Whoa, what?"

"You promised you wouldn't think I'm crazy," Yuri reminded him, and Julius subsided. "There are three worlds. The Left World, the Right World, and the World Between. Earth is the World Between. Both Abigail and I were born in the Left World, but she was separated from me when we were children and sent to the Right World."

"Okay," Julius said slowly, his sleep-deprived brain trying to keep up. "So let's say I believe you. How could we not have found out about these worlds previously?"

"They're parallel Earths," Yuri explained. "You can't get there from here without magic. They're supposed to be off-limits to the World Between, but somehow, Abigail got here with the boxes in this bag."

"So if neither of you are supposed to be here, then how did you get here?" Julius asked.

Yuri grimaced, as if the memory caused her pain. "Don't ask. Seriously. Just ... don't."

"Okay, not asking," Julius said. "What're the boxes in the bag?"

"None of your business."

"You said you were explaining," Julius complained. "And that you were going to show me what was inside!"

Yuri chewed her lip anxiously. "You don't understand, Julius. If I were to show you what was inside, it would be irrefutably set in stone that you would work with me. I can't decide if I trust you enough for that. The objects in this bag could very well cause the destruction of all three Worlds."

"Then why not destroy it?" That seemed like the logical thing to do for Julius; if the boxes were so dangerous, then why let them still exist?

Yuri laughed bitterly. "If only it were that easy, I would've done it years ago," she answered. "They can only be destroyed by someone who truly wishes for peace, unbiased towards a particular World. While I favor the Left World, Abigail favors the Right."

"Favored," Julius reminded her absently, forgetting that Abigail was Yuri's sister. Maybe not the best thing to remind a grieving sister, that she'd used present tense instead of past ...

Yuri's eyes narrowed. "Favored," she agreed, though her voice was annoyed.

Julius wasn't really paying attention to her anyway. "So, you said 'peace'. Am I right in assuming that everything's not hunky-dory between the Left and Right Worlds?"

"Not hunky-dory at all," Yuri said with a sigh. "We're at war with each other. I'm the aide to General Bellona Warde of the Left World. Abigail was the aide to General Lancer Nugord of the Right World."

"Warde? Nugord?" Julius questioned. The names were so weird, he began to realize Yuri might just be telling the truth. Nobody could invent those kinds of names off the top of their head.

"Warde means sorceress. Nugord means dragon," Yuri explained. "General Bellona helped me get here with ... less-than-fun magic."

"Magic," Julius said. "Sorceress, dragon. My gravy, you mean to tell me those things are real?"

Yuri held up her hand in a meaningful gesture. "How else do you think the blood on my knuckles disappeared?" she asked in a patronizing tone.

All Julius could think to say in response to that was, "You owe me a new car window."

Yuri lowered her hand with a sigh. "This is a matter of life and death, Julius. If the Generals made their way to the World Between, and got their hands on some of the weapons here ... the other two Worlds are medieval. Imagine the destruction a nuclear weapon could wreak on a village."

But he still hadn't moved past another point she'd raised. "You have magic?"

"Some," Yuri said. "It's not very powerful. I can heal myself and increase my combat ability. Abigail had the ability to make any man fall for her. Thus, 'lover'."

"And you're the warrior," Julius remembered. "Cool. Does that mean you have a sword?"

By way of answer, she reached into the back of her trench coat and the swishing sound of steel on leather made Julius's eyes go wide. She laid a slim, short sword on the counter between them. "Does that answer your question?" she asked, her hand on the leather-bound hilt. From the florescent lights above them, Julius could see the steel of the blade shining and glinting.

"Gee," he said. "If I'd know you had a sword, I never would've stopped you from leaving!"

Yuri smiled mirthlessly as, in one smooth motion, she picked up the sword, spun it around, and slid it back into the sheath effortlessly. Her trench coat covered it quite effectively. "You're an innocent," she said. "Unlike some, I would never go to such lengths as to murder an innocent."

"Some?" Julius questioned.

"The men who murdered my sister," Yuri explained. "If they had caught you with this, your life would have been forfeit, whether or not you handed it over to them without a fight."

"Who killed your sister?"

Yuri shrugged, grabbing the bag and slinging it over her shoulder again. "I don't know," she answered. "But I'm going to find out, and when I do, I'll kill them for what they've done. Then I'll hide the boxes where no one will ever find them."

"Whoa, whoa," Julius said, holding up his hands. He stood up with her, and she eyed him warily. "Kill them? I'm a defender of the law and of the peace. Killing definitely doesn't sit well with me. Hiding the boxes sounds great, but not the killing part. Definitely not the killing part."

Yuri narrowed her eyes at him again. She seemed to do that a lot, he noticed. "You do not command me. This matter is beyond your politics and laws. As aide to—"

"As aide to General Bologna, or whatever her name is, you do not command me," Julius said. "If you're going to kill people, I'm not letting you take those boxes out of my sight. They landed on my lawn, after all."

"They're my sister's!" Yuri snapped in frustration.

"I'm going to need some proof of that," Julius answered. "And if you attempt to leave with them, there are plenty of police officers outside who can handle you. A while in jail might cool your head while I take a look at those boxes."

"This is more than idle curiosity," Yuri snarled. "By satisfying that desire to see these, you will be signing a death warrant! My sister died for these. Do you really want me to have your death on my conscience too?"

"Aw, come on," Julius said. "What's so important in those boxes anyway? I mean, it's not like I haven't already touched the bag and the boxes inside. These guys can probably check fingerprints and stuff. So please ... just a tiny look?"

"No. And that's my final answer." She turned to leave.

Moving faster than he'd ever thought he could, Julius whipped out his pocketknife and cut the strap from Yuri's shoulder. He couldn't explain what came over him in that moment; he had to see the boxes. There was nothing logical or even willing about his decision. It just happened.

The bag fell to the floor, coming open and spilling its contents. One of the boxes landed near Julius's foot. It was black metal, a circular shape, with golden leaf designs etched on it. His box was half the size of the one that landed near Yuri. She pounced on hers, which, by a design standpoint, looked identical to Julius's. She saw him bend down and reach for the box at his feet, her hand still on hers. "No, don't!" she shrieked, too late.

When Julius's hand came in contact with the cool metal, an explosion seemed to erupt from the boxes. One threw Yuri into the door, and she knocked the bell from the door. The other explosion flung Julius over the counter, the box still clutched in his hand. He slammed into the shelf behind the counter, breaking it as coffee mug shards rained over him. A funny feeling came over him, like the shards were entering his body; it was gone in a moment. He shivered, ridding himself of the last of the peculiar sensation before looking up. What he saw gave him a tremendous start.

Yuri was still picking herself up off the floor, groaning and probably cursing Julius. She looked up and saw what Julius was looking at, her eyes going wide.

For Julius and Yuri were no longer alone.