Although Ariel had said that Cal was on the beach, Roarke could only see a pretty, plump woman, strolling aimlessly at the water’s edge, letting the waves wash over her feet. A guest? He ought to have checked his office before rushing away. But frankly, Ariel made him nervous, in a way he didn't understand.

He stood watching the morning sun dance on the waves and wondering what to do. The woman on the beach spotted him and walked gracefully towards him. Her short, dark hair sparkled with moisture from the waves. “Mr. Roarke,” she said apologetically, wringing her hands, “I’m so sorry, I completely lost track of the time. Did you have to eat Ariel’s cooking? He can’t cook worth a damn.” There was a wistful expression on her face.

Roarke stared. “Cal?”

Calliope

“You were expecting someone else?” she grinned.

Roarke, feeling faint, put a hand over his blue eyes, and rubbed. “I think I must have got out of the wrong side of the bed this morning.” But something made him add, “Harry’s worried about you.”

“Is he? But not worried enough to personally inquire.” She grinned wryly. “Typical. You know Harry.”

“Actually, I don’t. I seem to have woken up with mild amnesia this morning. I know who I am and this place, oh gods, I know this place,” he added dryly, “But everything else...” Why was he confiding in her?

“Hmm, minor punishment from the PTB?” She looped an arm around his and they began walking together. “What do you need to know?”

“Tell me about my staff, starting with yourself,” he invited.

“Well, there’s four of us, of course,” she said matter-of-factly.

“Why ‘of course’?”

She looked at him, a funny smile on her round face, “You really did get hit with a whammy from above. I’m Calliope, but if you call me anything but Cal, I'll be most upset," she smiled. "I’m kind of the cook-slash-chambermaid-slash-nurse.”

“And why are you here?”

“I’ve always been here, Roarke. It’s my duty. Or doom.” There was a long pause before she began again. “Harry is the thinker. He keeps the accounts, does research and is very creative - a real head-in-the-clouds type sometimes.” She gave him a side-long look, as if that were significant, then continued: “Stephanie is the hostess, waitress, and every other job that requires a drop-dead body. But I imagine you remember Stephanie.” Her voice held a mild humour.

“Er, no,” he said honestly. He had no clue; the more she spoke, the further out of his depth he felt.

“For heaven’s sake don’t tell her that! She’s so emotional, that girl!”

“And Ariel?” he prompted.

Cal sighed, “Ariel. What can you say about Ariel? He’s trouble. Wild, impulsive, why you ever made him your personal assistant, I’ll never know. He’s fun, but ... trouble.”

“But what does he do?”

“What doesn’t he do?” And she blushed.

Roarke pretended not to notice. “But you’re okay?”

“Yeah, sure. Why not?”

“Harry seemed to be concerned over your relationship with Ariel.”

She laughed outright, “You don’t have a ‘relationship’ with Ariel, he’s not capable of anything so tangible. Harry’s concern is misplaced.”

He sighed. “Thanks, Cal. Can I ask you to keep this," he tapped his temple lightly, "to yourself?”

“Of course. Mother Cal keeps all secrets,” she grinned.

Roarke found what had to be Stephanie at the bar, as Harry had suggested. She was a stunningly beautiful woman, with pale blonde hair and hazel eyes, and dressed in the white

Stephanie

shirt and black bow tie of bartender. Sitting behind the deserted bar, she was sipping a tall glass half full of amber fluid.

“I shouldn’t think rum a particularly nutritious breakfast,” he remarked.

She smiled at him. “Roarke, my spirit-love. You’re probably right." She sighed. "Cal is doing a brunch in the dining room, I should probably see what she’s got.” After a pause and another delicate sip, she added, jealousy evident in her voice: “She cooks for him you know. The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, she says. But she’ll see. In the end, I’ll win.” She tipped the glass back, draining the contents.

“Not at that rate,” Roarke said, thinking: Ariel. Ariel is the problem.

She came from behind the bar and flung herself against him, weeping copiously. Taken aback, and not exactly used to giving comfort, he awkwardly patted her back. Then he sighed mentally and gave her the hug she so obviously expected.

Something Ariel said came back to him as he escorted Stephanie to the dining room. Elemental reveiw week. The smells coming from the dining room made his mouth water, and had even drawn Harry from the hallowed Library, and brightened Stephanie’s face considerably.

To his surprise, she did not seem to be angry with Ariel - indeed, the two appeared to be on amicable terms. Choosing a table alone, “I need to think about something,” he watched them. Ariel flirted freely with both women, and even ventured a sally or two towards Harry, who sat tight-lipped and ignored them all.

Eventuallly Stephanie, Cal, and Ariel engaged in a very close, intense conversation that he could not hear, and Stephanie who had seemed downright happy, suddenly burst into tears again and ran from the room. Cal gave Ariel a disapproving look and said clearly, “That wasn’t nice,” before flouncing after the weeping blonde.

Ariel smirked and sat down with Harry, who promptly moved to another table.

Ariel didn’t seem to be very good at making friends. Elemental.

Harry stood inside the Library, helpless. If only Roarke would let him in here, he could have started organizing, indexing some of the countless works in here. As it was, things were vaguely organized by place of origin, and where did Elementals originate? What in here could possibly shed light on an alternate universe Roarke and Fantasy Island?

A light went on in his head, and he went to the ‘America’ section. No scrolls here, although there was a glass display case on a pedestal. It contained engraved brass plates and a huge sign that said, “HOAX”. Alternate universes were the specialty of science-fiction writers, and the gods knew that America had plenty of those. Like everything of worth, though, it had begun in England.

Armed with nonfiction by Carl Sagan and Stephen Hawking, and some dozen SF novels that looked promising, Harry made himself comfortable at a long wooden table.

Roarke ‘B’ was delighted at this turn of events. While he missed Cal and Stephanie, Ariel was wonderful. And while this Cal and Harry might be mere deceased mortals, they were at least far more balanced than Elementals - and far less demanding. As long as Fisher wasn’t fishing, he was free to pursue pleasurable delights with this wondrous goddess Ariel.

Sooner or later he would have to go back. And some part of him wondered not only how, but why this switch had occured. And who, for that matter. It seemed unlikely the PTB would put him in such a pleasant position, no matter how much his counterpart may have deserved to deal with Elementals who had too much time on their hands.

He contemplated this seated at ‘his’ desk, admiring the oak console behind it. The smooth black finish of one surface engaged his curiousity. He thumbed the intercom. “Ariel? Hold my calls...”

“Nobody ever calls here, Roarke,” her voice floated through the small box.

He grinned, “That’s code, my dear. It means, come in here and lock the door behind you ...”

“Oh!”

He knew that she felt this was not the correct thing to do, but he took advantage of being the twin of the man she loved, and happened to find sexually irresistable. Every job had to have it’s perks... Although he would ask about the shiny black thing, first.

She walked in breathless, and closed the door tightly behind her. It was so strange to see Ariel’s luminous brown eyes, sensuous smile, and other little mannerisms in a woman. It was as if she were his sister, only more well-rounded. Pun intended.

“Ariel, you are breath-takingly gorgeous,” he said, meaning every word. “Come over here, my dear, I have a question first...”

Instead of pouting, as his Ariel would have done, she grinned, “That’s a first?”

Ah, beautiful and a fine sense of humour. He could love a woman like this. “What is this?” he pointed to it.

“That’s the computer. Roarke had it installed recently.”

He noted her use of his name. No matter what she might do with him, she was always aware her was not her Roarke. His counterpart really had a nice set-up here. “Computer? Where did he get one of those? The PTB must really like him.”

She laughed, “The PTB would be happy if we still used ink and quill. Roarke got this from a friend of his, Outside.”

“Outside? You mean more than just the real world, don’t you?”

“Yes. I’m given to understand that by the time ... the new person takes over, it will be state-of-the-art.” She showed him how it worked, and he had to admit it was pretty impressive. Then she added, “He also uses the nice reflective surface for scrying.”

Scrying. That teased at something in his mind. But Ariel was giving him other ideas, and for all he knew, time was short. He pulled her onto his lap, overcoming her weak resistance with a kiss that turned her to putty in his eager hands.

Cal was polishing glasses that didn’t need to be polished, just for something to do. Roarke ‘B’ came and sat down on a stool. “Afternoon, Cal. Cal...” he shook his head. “You know, on my Fantasy Island, there’s a Cal. Her name is Calliope, and she’s an Earth elemental.”

“Yeah? You two close?”

“After a fashion. Elementals are intense creatures.”

“Uh huh. Do they fall in love?”

Roarke laughed. “Stephanie falls in love daily. With me, with Ariel, with everyone. Especially Harry. Of course, she hates us all daily, as well.” He frowned. “Your Mr. Roarke may be in for a bit of trouble.”

Cal considered this, as he picked up another glass to polish. “Nah. He always wins.”

“Really? He got stuck here, didn’t he?”

“Harry says he was tricked, betrayed by a lover.”

“Lover?” Roarke laughed derisively, “He loved Scathach? What a novel idea.”

Cal was annoyed to find that he wanted to defend the Roarke he’d come to know and resent. “What about you, how’d you get stuck on your Fantasy Island?”

“Oh I was tricked by Scathach, too. Abducted and intoxicated, she forced me to take the Oath rod, and ... well, here I am. I killed the treacherous bitch, as soon as I sobered up.”

Cal stared, and when he realized what he was doing, he looked down at the glass he was polishing, and replaced it with another. He sought for a change o subject. “You figure he’s in your place?”

“It seems most likely.” Roarke ‘B’ scanned the horizon.

“Can you, like see your Island in the water, you know, the way...” Cal trailed off as the man who looked like Roarke turned piercing blue eyes on him.

“Cal, I came to you, because my Cal is the best, sweetest person to talk to. You’re nothing like her. But if you don’t mind my saying so, that’s a brilliant idea.” He got up and walked with long strides back to the hotel.

“What? What did I say?”

“Ariel, do you people have staff meetings?”

“Of course, Roarke. How do you think we co-ordinate fantasies?”

“Call one, please.” He stopped and grinned, “Though why I should be so anxious to leave you is a mystery...”

She blushed prettily and he left her to it.

“I have an idea,” Roarke 'B' said, “I think we might be able to communicate with your Roarke via scrying.”

“I thought that was just pictures.” Cal commented.

“Yes, Cal. But think of it as the potential of video conferencing,” Harry urged, then turned to Roarke, “Sir, I’ve been reading up on this-”

“Glad to see some things never change.”

Harry raised an eyebrow before continuing: “This might even have the potential to switch you back. But I think R...er, both of you must be viewing at the same time to make it work.”

“Thank you, Harry,” Roarke ‘B’ replied gravely, “But I think, since the PTB aren’t overly fond of me, and this is a nice place, that your Roarke did something to tick them off. We’ll switch back only when THEY decide it’s time.”

“Did you ask?” Ariel enquired, gesturing toward the phone.

He looked at it uneasily. “I’m not overly fond of the PTB, either. It’s a mutual thing. They’ve never forgiven me Scathach’s death.”

Ariel rolled her eyes, but said nothing.

He concentrated on the black screen, and slowly an image formed. Himself, startling even though he expected it - spiky white hair, piercing blue eyes, lean but stern face.

“It’s him,” breathed Ariel, over his shoulder.

The veiw widened to encompass the room. Ariel, his Ariel, was standing face to face with his counterpart, and he grinned mischeivously. “Want to hear it?” he asked.

Ariel 'B'

“Yes!” came the chorus, and Ariel added, “He- Is that...Ariel?”

From the console, faint but clear came the voices:

In mid-sentence, the handsome man with Ariel’s name finished, “ ...with you? You’ve been avoiding me all day.”

Roarke frowned, a familiar expression: “ Nothing’s wrong. I have a problem to work out and I can’t be distracted.”

Ariel moved slightly closer and to the left, saying in a soft voice, “I could force the issue. I know what you like.”

Roarke colored.

Cal said incredulously, “He made a pass at him!”

On the heels of that Ariel exclaimed, “I’ve never seen him blush before!”

“Poor Ariel,” chuckled Roarke ‘B’.

“Maybe you could help me, instead.” Roarke ‘A’ offered.

Ariel pouted, “I’d like to but you won’t let me...”

Roarke sighed, “Ariel, please-”

Ariel the demi-goddess moved closer to the screen. “He's very... compelling,” she said distractedly, then blushed herself.

Roarke ‘B’ patted her backside slowly, leisurely. “Fire Elementals are all like that, my dear. Desirable, impulsive, spontaneous, demanding ... and a frightful temper. Irresistable. You should try standing in the same room with one. Your Roarke, he reminds me of how I reacted, on first meeting Ariel.” He chuckled at the memory, “Although I wasn’t nearly so composed.”

He let the vision fade, and Ariel, this Ariel, jumped, realizing he was still stroking her from waist to hip to waist.

“Hey, wait,” Cal protested, “What’s gonna happen?”

“That’s none of our business, is it?” Roarke looked pointedly at him a moment before adding, “Well, at least he knows there’s a problem. With luck- what am I saying? If he’s afraid of Ariel, he’ll never manage to get Harry back in line.”

“What’s wrong with ‘Harry’?” Harry asked.

“Harry, I hesitate to say 'your counterpart', although you look more like your namesake than the others here -” he grinned, and tugged Ariel onto his lap.

She jumped up again, and slapped his face. Another reminder that she wasn’t his Ariel... He rubbed his cheek thoughtfully, a sparkle still in his eye, and continued, “Harry swore an Oath about two hundred years ago, and since then, things have been steadily getting worse. I thought it was just a phase, but he seems intent on keeping it.”

“What kind of oath,” Harry asked cautiously.

The computer beeped, startling Roarke ‘B’ and Ariel just as they were about to start something. She slid off the desk. How could she convince her Roarke to do these things with her?

“Ah,” he said, “He’s looking at us. Lousy timing.”

She tried not to blush, but he was looking at her with such frank appreciation... then to her relief, he turned his attention to the console. “Amazing machine,” he murmured, as a face, twin to his own, appeared, seemingly looking right at him.

And it, he was. Ariel stared, fascinated. They looked exactly the same. By visual alone, she could not have picked one from the other with any certainty. It was uncanny.

“Hello, Roarke, you old dog,” Roarke ‘B’ finally said, grinning lazily. “How are my Elementals?”

“How-? Never mind... Did you have anything to do with this? I can’t believe I’m talking to myself...”

“Now, now. That’s my line. No, I didn’t. Although I couldn’t have asked for a nicer diversion...”

Roarke ‘A’ moved his finger toward them and the image shivered, threatened to break up. “I wondered if a bigger mirror ...”

“I think you’re there until you get whatever it was you had coming for you. What did you do, anyway?”

The man in the mirror grimaced, “I wished for something different.” His gaze shifted from his counterpart to Ariel, “My dear, remind again...”

“Be careful what you wish for,” she recited, grinning, “You might just get it.”

His focus returned to his mirror image. “I didn’t realize we could communicate this way. Were you aware that your Air Elemental is causing major upheaval here?”

“Yes,” Roarke ‘B’ sighed, “I was hoping he would get over his silly ideas on his own, but it’s been two hundred years, and things can’t continue...”

“What do you recommend...” his gaze shifted, changed, and he said, “Not now, Ariel.” His attention returned to the screen. “Why did you pick Ariel as your assistant anyway?” He sounded exasperated.

“Same reason you did,” Roarke grinned, giving Ariel a light slap on her bottom.

She gave him a dirty look and blushed anyway. So did her Roarke. That was one question she had answered. The peculiar symmetry made her smile.

“I’m having a wonderful stay. Ariel here is looking after my every desire,” Roarke 'B' said, laughing.

Her Roarke looked at her, and said, mockingly, “’Always true to you’?”

She grinned and blew him a kiss. “In my fashion,” she agreed, finishing the pledge she’d made him, knowing that he was teasing her.

He looked like he was about to say more to her, opened his mouth, then closed it again, and focussed on Roarke ‘B’. “What do I do about Harry? Ariel has set the Library on fire twice today, Stephanie is barely able to walk, and Callie just wrings her hands and feels helpless.”

“Callie? You don’t call her that to her face?” Roarke 'B' sounded fascinated.

“No, I know she doesn’t like it. I just can’t think of her as ‘Cal’.”

“Having met your Cal I can understand why,” he replied dryly.

“Harry," Roarke 'A' insisted.

Roarke ‘B’ sighed again. “You can try having the others gang up on him, but I’m afraid it would be most effective if...”

Roarke ‘A’ put a hand to his temple and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “If I were with them,” he sounded resigned.

“He is an intellectual elitist, and it’s gotten worse since he cut himself off from the others. I am, you are, the only one he really considers close to his intellectual prowess. And that’s his weakness. Use the Oath Rod to get around his ‘I swore an Oath’ protest,” he paused, “Ask him to make faith with you again, as it was when you first got here.”

“Will that count? I am not you,” Roarke ‘A’ pointed out. Then he looked behind him, startled. “Uh-oh. You’ve got mail...”

“Fisher?” Roarke ‘B’ sat forward excitedly, “Something from Fisher?”

“Anybody else send you papers in canisters via pneumatic tube?”

“Leave it. Get Harry straightened out, pardon the pun, so I can get back home.”

“You’re sure that’s what I have to do?”

An hour later, there was a knock on his office door. It was Callie. Cal. “Roarke, honey? It’s dinner time. Stephanie will benefit from some food.”

“Dammit, Cal, I wanted to do this behind Harry’s back.”

She looked offended. “I know that. Ariel knows that. Stephanie knows that. She’s trying, Roarke, but she needs to eat.”

He sighed and rubbed his temple. “I’m sorry, Cal. You’re right.”

She grinned in instant forgiveness, and touched his arm gently, “It’s okay. Harry... he’s a trial to us all.”

“Once Harry goes back to his ivory tower, have everyone come here.”

Roarke ‘A’ led the Elementals to the Library. Inside the cool marble halls, the four of them formed a square around Harry, who sat at the main desk, making notes and sketches in his notebook.

He looked up, saw Roarke with his hands behind his back, but did not immediately register the others. “Mr. Roarke! What brings you here this time of day? Something from Fisher?” He sounded hopeful.

“No. There’s a problem on Fantasy Island, Harry. We’ve lost a vital component and the structure is falling down around us.”

Harry 'B'

Harry frowned and took off his glasses. “Really? I hadn’t noticed. But you should see the great ideas I’ve got for upcoming fantasies!”

“Harry, right now we don’t have any upcoming fantasies. But you are the key to solving Fantasy Island’s problem.”

“Me?” He sounded shocked, and looking around, saw the others. Stephanie’s large hazel eyes were filled with longing. Ariel looked predatorily hungry. Callie had a sad, yearning expression on her face. “No. No way. I’m happy, Roarke.”

“We are not.”

“We? You, too?”

Roarke mentally braced himself, “Me, too.” This would be a lot easier if Harry didn't look so much like...Harry.

Fortunately, Callie came to his rescue, “We are family, Harry. And more. We are the Five who are One. And only the spirit changes. We need you.”

“I am better without you,” he stated flatly.

“That you think so is indicative that you need us,” Roarke said.

“Harry, let us, let me love you,” beseeched Stephanie.

Roarke nodded ever so slightly and as one they advanced two steps closer, surrounding Harry, who rounded on Ariel. “And you? What have you to say?”

Ariel smiled warmly, “Harry, there ought to be no quarrel between us. Ever and always I want of you what I want of the others, no more, no less.” He looked wistful a moment, “You used to say that my essence in you transformed to greater heights of creativity. How did that turn into ‘I am better without you’?”

Harry stared. “Where did you learn to put so many pretty words together?”

The Fire Elemental grinned back, “From you, of course.”

“We’ve had no guests for several weeks, Harry, because Fantasy Island is no longer a functional place. We cannot do our work without you,” Roarke told him. It was as likely to be true as not.

Harry moved out from behind the desk, an opening Roarke had told the others to watch for. Immediately he was ringed round by his fellow Elementals and Roarke. “I swore an oath,” he protested, as Callie, Ariel and Stephanie joined hands.

Roarke put his hands in front of him - he held the Oath Rod. “This can unmake it. As it should not have been made in the first place, it is a simple thing to undo. Give me your hands, Harry. Make faith with me, as when I first came here.”

Roarke realized that the others were channelling their special powers through him, using him as a focus. His eyes burned with all Ariel’s hunger, all Stephanie’s love, all Cal’s worry.