Gods of Thunder
By Tiger

                  VI - The Portal

Sedona, Arizona - Two days before Halloween  
Tiger had left early to go to Arizona, unaware that 
she was being followed by at least one person. She 
reached the grounds near the Vortex, and just stayed 
there, camped out. At sunset, she checked her 
bearings. 
 
All Hallows Eve 
Tiger was ready, but the agreement was the stroke of 
midnight, and it was just now sunrise. Nervousness 
raced through her entire body. She had not dreamed of 
her ancestor any since the last day of her trainng. 
Suddenly she saw someone... ERIC?! What in the devil 
was going on here? She was stunned to say the least. 
"What are you doing here?" she asked him, wondering if 
something was wrong, worry clearly written in her 
voice. He gave her a hug. "Someone's got to watch over 
you... besides.. we need to talk." She motioned him to 
sit, and they talked most of the rest of the day. She 
knew Alex would be there as she went through the 
portal. 
 
Two minutes until midnight... All Hallows Eve 
She was ready as she would ever be. She gave hugs to 
the ones that were there. and took her place in the 
East. She heard drumming start, with a start of 
surprise, she whirled around. She didn't believe her 
eyes. The drumming reached far into her soul. She felt 
a kiss brush her lips. Looking up, she saw Eric 
Singer.."For luck. Be careful.." "I will" she replied 
softly, touched. She heard the sounds of chanting. It 
was time. She walked slowly towards the portal, then 
stopped for only a second. She took something off her 
wrist and tossed it to Eric. Smiling, she walked 
straight into the portal, not looking back.. The 
Portal opened. Light flooded through her, with a white 
hot joy and peace. The Vortex flared and she 
vanished.. 
 
Somewhere in time... 
She felt like she was made of light and song and the 
rhythm of drums. She was and 
wasnt..earth..air..fire...water.... suddenly she was 
dizzy... the light flooded her senses and then she 
fell into darkness.

                     VII - Aftershock

Santa Fe, New Mexico - 1700's 
Tiger came to slowly, realizing that she was no longer 
alone. She was violently sick. Snow Moon and Cougar 
Running were there, and both helped her to her feet. 
Snow Moon spoke with Tiger and she agreed. Her name 
was changed to Desert Flower, and she was to be passed 
off as a relation of Snow Moon's. The next morning, 
her lessoning began. Some of it was harsh, which she 
expected... Slowly, as one moon blended into the next, 
she finally earned the right and respect of the 
People, to live among them. Two moons had passed in 
relative quiet... She wondered about those she had 
left behind in the future... 
 
California... 2002 
"damn it! I should have never let her go in there 
alone!" Eric Singer exploded. Alex calmed him down 
with a look. "She knows what she is doing..." he 
replied... I know that she is fine. I would know 
otherwise as well... 
 
Santa Fe.... 1700's 
Desert Flower stopped stunned...She was looking at the 
band... or so she thought.. until the voice of the 
Serpent greeted her. "Welcome.. tiger who is now a 
flower of the desert." She nodded a greeting to the 
Kachinas. Snow Moon and Cougar Running came to her 
side quickly, as they saw the Kachinas as well. The 
Kachinas questioned her, then they spoke with Snow 
Moon and Couagar Running. Desert Flower returned to 
her hogan quietly..She was uncertain what was 
portended by the Kachinas. She already knew about 
Cougar Running and Strong Heart, who looked a lot like 
Eric Carr. It hurt, but as she had told Snow Moon, she 
would not interfere with this no matter what. She hid 
the pain, as not to let her sister see her suffer. She 
finally had reached a point, before the Kachinas 
appeared to her, that she let go of the pain and was 
pleased that her sister had found happiness. Little 
did she know what was coming next....

                     VIII

Desert Flower had just gone to bed, when she heard 
someone calling her. She rose quickly and opened the 
door to the hogan... Moonlight streamed into the 
hogan, illuminating the inside. She looked outside and 
heard a male voice call her again. She quietly moved 
outside. "I am here" she answered softly. Who she saw, 
made her heart nearly stop...it WASN"T Strong 
Heart..IT was.. The FOX?! Her mind reeled.. 
how..."Eric!?" She could barely get his name out 
before he swept her off her feet, carrying her into 
her hogan. "Shhh..It's all right, Beautiful...I told 
you we would meet again." He was dressed in his Fox 
outfit, which would mark him as Kachina...His brown 
eyes smiled at her, as he gave a mischievious laugh.. 
"I didn't say how!" Her heart pounded as she smiled a 
wobbly smile. His eyes grew even warmer. His body was 
warm, unlike that of a spirit, she remembered 
thinking...He chuckled again. "Easy enough, 
Beautiful.. I'm not a spirit, yet. I'm mortal.. for 
the moment.." She had little time to think about that 
statement. "You have changed a lot since you came 
here... Let me look at you." She did so, smiling at 
him. He smiled back, pleased...They spent all night 
talking about things. He left right before sunrise, 
the next morning. She had bared her soul in a way that 
she thought she never could. She smiled as she went 
about her work, the next day. Snow Moon smiled 
conspiratorily and said with a smile.."You have found 
your heart's desire." Desert Flower just nodded 
agreement. She became apprenticed to Snow Moon as 
well, which surprised her greatly.. She knew of the 
law of the tribe...

                    IX - Storm Rising

Santa Fe, New Mexico - 1700s 
Desert Flower was amazed at how much she had changed, 
in the short time that she had been there. After 
getting over the shock of Eric Carr's sudden 
appearance. But she was feeling storm waves that were 
an echo from the future. She sought out Snow Moon and 
spoke with her at length about what was happening. 
Snow Moon frowned. "There is a storm coming, and it is 
from the future." Desert Flower asked about removing 
herself from the People to lessen the danger. "NO, 
little sister.. that is not an option. Stay among the 
People..You are one of us." 
 
2002 Modern Day 
Backlash was flying everywhere. Shouts of anger 
reverbrated through the house. KISS was in dire danger 
of being destroyed. All the old tensions had boiled to 
the surface, pitting one against the other. Alex was 
worried. He knew Tiger would be picking up on this. He 
felt that she would stay put though as she agreed. 
Eric Singer was threatening to find Tiger and bring 
her back. He wasn't the only one, but that made the 
devisiveness even more apparent. Finally Alex went 
outside. "ALEX?!" Peter yelled, bringing the argument 
to a halt. Alex turned to face him, eyes shadowed. 
"She knows already..but has been advised to stay the 
allotted year and a day." BY WHO?" Eric Singer yelled 
in return. "Snow Moon, One of Raven's predecessors, an 
ancestral predecessor to be more precise." That 
stopped Eric cold. Raven?! "What exactly are you 
saying" Bruce asked quietly. "That there are links 
between all the girls of Girltalk and the band itself. 
Take that as you will." Alex went outside. He felt a 
chill that had nothing to do with the heat of the day. 
"Keep yourself safe" he thought to Tiger. 
 
Santa Fe, New Mexico 1700s 
Desert Flower wept as the psychic pain increased. 
Cougar Running was worried. One bright side of this, 
was that Desert Flower rejoiced as the upcoming 
marraige of Cougar Running and Strong Heart was made 
known. But this storm had both worried. It was finally 
nightfall. A voice calling her pulled her to the door, 
She saw Eric and he came running. "Let me handle her" 
he whispered to Cougar Running and Snow Moon. They 
moved aside and he moved towards Desert Flower.She 
told him about what was going on. He held her as she 
wept. "Beautiful.. baby there is nothing you can do, 
nor that I can do. This will have to play out on its 
own." She nodded and just held him tighter, thankful 
that she was allowed to be with him. He whispered 
something to her that made her smile, and he laughed. 


			X - Calm before the Storm

Santa Fe, New Mexico - 1700s 
Desert Flower sought advice of the Kachinas... Their 
answer was the same as Eric's had been or Laughing 
Fox, as he was now known. He had become known among 
the People as well. She followed their advice. They 
had hinted that the storms would come here to the 
People whether she was there or not. She knew that her 
training would be sped up even more after this. She 
came back to find him waiting for her. One moon had 
passed since the storm had started brewing in the 
future. He had been courting her and she was very 
happy with him. "Same message as mine?" she nodded in 
response. He just hugged her. "Lets concentrate on 
what we have now." She nodded agreement. Snuggling 
close, she let out a contented sigh. He grinned 
devilishly and began loving her with his whole heart. 
Hours passed in a haze of love. Her heart soared. 
Sunrise came finally waking her up. Seeing that he was 
still asleep, she smiled and went about her morning 
prayers and chores. Cougar Running teased her a little 
about Laughing Fox. She just blushed. Laughing Fox was 
now up and looking for Snow Moon. She smiled when he 
asked her. He let a devilish grin cross his face. 
Desert Flower had just come back, when she noticed a 
ceremony starting...Her mind awhirl, she went to her 
hogan, only to be met by Cougar Running. After the 
ceremony was over, she was still in a little shock. 
Laughing Fox grinned at her. "Now let anyone try 
anything!!!" he laughed wickedly, his eyes aglow. 
 
Two weeks later. 
She was caught in a nightmare of pain and agony. She 
struggled, but could not wake up. Laughing Fox was 
awake and trying to wake her up. Tears spilled down 
her face. Suddenly, she felt his spirit touch hers. 
With a cry, she came to. She was laying in his arms, 
her body shaking. He held on to her...tight. His tears 
mixed with hers.. When her breathing calmed she told 
him what had happened. He swore under his breath, 
angrily.. After he was certain she was awake, he 
carried her to Snow Moon. She verified that the calm 
was now over.... "Damned idiots!" he swore in English, 
Navaho and Italian. Both were now concerned, deeply 
concerned. This was about to get extremely ugly, on 
top of that...the ever present threat of raid by the 
Mescelero Apache. When would this madness end?