Action, Adventure, Excitement, Part 4 Chapter 34 Date: Sat, 25 Apr 1998 05:40:27 -0700 (PDT) Subject: AAE4: Mike's Boring Tale. On Sat, 25 Apr 1998 07:18:02 -0500 Mike Said As CAoL Message # 00004067 >On Sat, 25 Apr 1998 02:19:07 -0500 >Zia Said As CAoL Message # 00004060 > >Zia as noted earlier, seemed to be waiting, and did have her own >thoughts heavily shielded and screened. She does look up, and if he >doesn't look completely black of disapproving, manages a smile. It's >wooden, but it is a smile. Not disapproving at all. He smiles quite like someone coming to cheer up a friend. >"But, having said that, I wouldn't mind knowing what assumptions >of mine they found so noxious. And if my skills have no attraction, >or even, as you frankly point out, use to the twins, I shan't of >course, pester them by offering something they would only accept to >be polite." "Well, they would be curious, but are honest enough to say that it is not an interest. -Shopping-, now -that- interests them. Everyday things interest them, fascinate them in fact. It's everyday life that is hard to program." >"I already am what family?!? Finagle, Murphy and Imaginary NUMBERS. >Please don't lay more on me than I can respect and honor - the one >family that already doesn't want me is more than I can handle. Why >did you think I wouldn't join the CAoL? I know what you mean. But >I cannot, for many reasons, fulfill THAT. I am doing what I can, but >I cannot change my stripes any more than the next zebra." "You were not being asked to join, Zia, but you did wonder how family encompassed so many races. I simply meant it is our frame of mind and not a bloodline that makes us see each other as family." >Just take it on faith, as Sera would say. I have about 24 years of >'maturity time'." With a self deprecating shrug and sad smile she >finishes with, "I'm simply not good with people if I'm not on stage, >I think." "The reference to one of your relations, probably a horrible translation of your family. They were simply expecting a different reaction, I was not much help in countering it, apparently. That is our mistake." >She stands, drinking the last of the tea. And managing to wipe her >face while turned away from him subtly with one sleeve. He might not >catch it; she is an excellent actress and sleight of hand master. >But then, maybe he would. But before he can say anything, armchairs >appear, and her dress changes to something high Victorian in the cut, >with a large skirt, but not hooped. A slit provide access to her >blades still, however, the cleavage is a great tactic of distraction. >It is red, like fresh blood, with black piping and details. She sits >in the facing armchair and continues, having had time to think while >shadow shifting this... Mike stands as she does. If he noticed, he is not saying. As he turns and sits in the opposite chair, his coat moves with him in such a way as to reveal he is unarmed without the movement looking unnatural. >"So, instead, regale me with your tale. But tell not that if you >woudn't like to share the pain it engenders in your voice and >countenance." She quirks a frown, "I am lapsing into the Middle >English again. I hope I can manage not to. If not, please don't >assume it's mockery; it's merely fatigue." The globe of light leaves Mike's hand and forms an only semi-visible fireplace, with a crackling fire within. "Your deductions were not all wrong. We are time traveling, after a fashion, there are things we should not tell you, Roland is indeed what I call a "boy scout", Jadis and Thorne are not the true enemy, and the only true mistake you made was allowing your attachment to your home cloud your good judgement. As my family's did regarding our task. But, my tale is what you want to hear, and I won't delay any longer in telling it. "I am 25 years old, or the me at the church, but my memories go back much further. 282 years ago, in my younger mind's eye, I was born. I had the usual boring childhood, dreaming of action, adventure and excitement. And at the age of 25, I got it. A tall man, stepping out of a doorway that had literally appeared from nowhere, offered me a chance to see the stars. I only realized much later that my thoughts had been altered by him, but at the time, I took it. For a while, I went through a series of painful moments, which is all I can remember of the genetic alteration that was done on me. When I was physically as they desired, they worked on my mind, implanting a control device that also functioned as a vital component to my brain. I didn't know this at the time, however. I simply knew that when I awoke, I was an obedient servent who would use any coercion needed to see that events of future history unfolded as they desired. I had no problems with murder, genocide, or a thousand and one other foul deeds they would ask of me. I managed to retain one moral, I would not kill before the crime was committed. Or maybe it was I wouldn't kill a child. They only offered asked me to once, and I think they tailored things for me from then on to fit around that rule. But I would not stop them from hiring someone else. "But, destroying the Grey utterly would be child's play. I have been a terrorist, a malicious hacker who collapsed economies, an assassin, a cult leader, mostly going wherever I was bidden to make sure what my Lords wanted came to be. And I enjoyed my work. Mostly. Then I saw them cast a planet several hundred lightyears to protect their secrets, and I realized I was working for monsters. I knew the things I had done were neccesary, or so I thought, but I became aware that I was more an attack dog. I began to wonder what effects my actions had on others who witnessed them. Was the man I killed less or more of a threat dead? The dead can become martyrs and in vengance for the crime, worse people can arrise. So, I stole one of their craft and left. I now think my eyes were being slowly opened by Pyewackett, the cat you met. He was with me during my journeys, for 225 years. He had adopted me and my pets were of little concern to my keepers. "I tried working in a similar position for another race, but after five years, that also went sour. Vorlon planet killers opened my eyes rapidly. I ran from there, still carrying a piece of a Vorlon. I tried to show it the good side of the people it was manipulating, tried to show it what it was destroying, for I also was discovering the wonder of other humans as well, and felt highly moved by it. And wanted to protect it. "While on the run, I met my love. We perhaps got three monthes together over the two years I was hiding out, not bad at all, all things considered. The vorlons finally caught up with me, but they were only a minor nuisance, as they suddenly left with no reason. I had returned the piece I had been carrying, and they attempted to manipulate me into doing some task of which I still don't know. Though the fact that my previous masters caught up with me at the same time might imply I was being handed over. The Time Lords, those were my previous masters before the Vorlons, sent an agent to kill me, but he failed. I had thought him dead in an explosion, but like so many villians he returned next issue, so to speak. He was as resilient to injury as I was at the time. It took several tons of machinery exploding all around him to deplete his own healing process. "Long ago, before my escape from the Time Lords, I had adopted the name Knightshift, as a cute remark refering to the hours I worked. But it hit me, soon after I had killed the assassin sent for me, that I was trying to start a new life, and that I should adopt a new name. I chose Knytt. I suppose I was still a bit concerned about being found, which is why neither of those is my real name. So, with my new name I went on for a time, happily enough. But yet again, my past caught up with me, and I was again facing the assassin I had thought dead. He wished to syphon the healing energies I possessed to heal his own. For which I blew his brains out once I escaped his machine. He is quite dead now. "But my Masters were not quite done with me yet. They plucked me from a crowded bar. The fact that I was on stage eased their task, I am sure. They then showed me they were still in control of my thoughts and actions, by bragging then as I was ready to make my escape, they forced my body to stop moving while an intense beam of energy ripped through my cells, doing damage down to the DNA. Ironicly, the implant that allowed them to do this, protected the storage area where the energy to heal me was stored. When I was released, my body reformed, but I, and the CAoL, for I had found my way to their door well before this time, were in for a surprise. "By rights, I should have changed my name again, but Virginia Wolfe already took the name 'Orlando'. For when I woke up, the pain of the healing over, I found that my body's solution to healing damaged DNA was to meld it with RNA to build a new base. Which means, I woke up a new person. A woman. "This did not last long, however, only two days. Then, I found myself strapped to a lab table by the Controller and through a fluke, had my one weak spot, the one in the center of my brain, punched clean through with a laser. And I died." "Or Knytt did, -I- woke up on a lab table in the Doctor's TARDIS, my memories implanted into a cloned brain whose weakness of that one spot in the center had been removed through mixing my DNA with that of the Doctor's. When I awoke, I went straight back out and killed the Controller, for, to my surprise, once Knytt got through the utter pain and violation that had been his life, his last day on earth had been the happiest, the most peaceful of his life. Or her life, depending on how you view such things. So, for taking that away, I killed him. "By both Justin's and my accounts, we seem to be even. An eye for an eye. Or a body for a body. But, once that was done, I still had to figure out who I was, besides Knytt's avenger. For, I realized, I was different from what should have been my twin. I thought far faster than he. I had a different personality in subtle ways. We may have shared the same memories, but I had never experienced them first hand. They weren't mine. Up until the last three months I had tried to deny this, but when I finished my time with the technomages, who's technology, along with Nemisis, made the twins possible, I was forced to have to find a new home. I debated endlessly, Knytt had had a life, people who cared for him. I knew I was not the same man, and felt vile for impersonating him. But, it was my love who made up my mind. "For my Flarn, who's story is as nearly as long as mine, but for other reasons, deserved to decide for herself whether she could love the man who looked so much like her love, but wasn't. I knew I loved her, that was clear from the time I woke up. For the last three monthes, we have fought with each other, trying to convince the other that we can love each other. Her arguing that I am not his replacement, and me arguing that she is not guilty of some crime for loving someone so similar. "I still did not know how to tell the CAoL, and in fact slipped all to easily into the role of their 'Knytt'. Knytt had wanted to repent for his crimes, even coerced as they were, and I felt that same need. But, then I met Justin, trying to do the same thing, in all-too-similar circumstances, and in defending his difference from the Controller, his lack of participation in the memories he held, and his obviously different take on them than his predecessor, I found myself high-lighting the differences I was trying to conceal in fear of their reaction. Mostly in my case I didn't want to open old wounds. But, I found I could no longer use the name 'Knytt'. I felt I was not letting that person rest in peace, which is probably what I hope the most for him. So, I used the one name I had never used since I was 25 years old, Mike." Mike sat back in the chair, sighing, "You know, outside of Flarn, the twins, and Pyewackett, you are the only one who knows so much of my past. Or his past. Our past, perhaps." >>>way, if anyone else, including someone from Zia's crew shows up, >>they don't see Mike or the globe of light, but the tea in Zia's hand >>(assuming she accepts it) is quite real. Yes, the cup the tea is in >>is real, too. ;)> > > I thought it splendid. The imagery of Mike walking out >dressed that way was nice, too. =========================== Date: Sat, 25 Apr 1998 07:07:44 -0700 (PDT) Subject: AAE4: Legion and Company On Sat, 25 Apr 1998 10:01:13 -0400 Caprice Said As CAoL Message # 00004068 Legion looked around the room her attention finally settling on Victoria again. "Where are my packs? " Off to one side, Roland and his friend were talking. Victoria sat in her wheelchair against one wall, gun still in her hand but no longer aimed at anyone. The majority of the room, of course, was taken up by the 21 foot long dragon. Victoria indicated a set of lockers off to one side. "They are in there, if you can get past your friend there. Or at least I assume he is a friend, otherwise you and Roland would not be taking a _dragon_ being here so calmly!" Legion looked up at her fellow member of the CAoL, "Do you mind shifting down to something a little more reasonable?" [OOC: Assuming that Dhyrclhanc does so.] Legion opens the locker taking out the packs stored within. As Mischief entwines around her ankles, she looks through them for a certain package. "This is meant for you Dr. Haakin. Not that I expect you to accept it blindly..." She sets the package on a table near-by, watching with amusement as Roland^2 decided what to do about the blood sample the doctor was demanding. [OOC: pausing to allow for Roland and Dhyrclhanc to respond] [OOC: hearing on the link about hell opening up and Morgan needing to be evacuated] /Roland, I can teleport out of here past the blocks without opening a hole for something else to enter. If you need Morgan out of here, I volunteer./ =========================== Date: Sat, 25 Apr 1998 08:48:26 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE4: Mike's Boring Tale. On Sat, 25 Apr 1998 10:29:41 -0500 Zia Said As CAoL Message # 00004069 >On Sat, 25 Apr 1998 07:18:02 -0500 >Mike Said As CAoL Message # 00004067 > >"Well, they would be curious, but are honest enough to say that it is >not an interest. -Shopping-, now -that- interests them. Everyday >things interest them, fascinate them in fact. It's everyday life that >is hard to program." Zia smiles at some memory, and gives Mike a knowing look, "That seems to be the one thing people don't mind me doing, taking them shopping. I can't say as I mind Paris and Rio and New York with a lot of credits to spend myself..." > >"You were not being asked to join, Zia, but you did wonder how family >encompassed so many races. I simply meant it is our frame of mind and >not a bloodline that makes us see each other as family." "Er, actually, I was, earlier. I meant the CAoL, not the other-time one that was here - I try not to loop mine. It's too hard on the fourth dimension interfaces. I've seen that sort of thing, before, but I've got about as much chance understanding it as I have of understanding even a more conventional family. I have my own, finally, I might reach a limited understanding as my children grow up. But I didn't grow up that way." >"The reference to one of your relations, probably a horrible >translation of your family. They were simply expecting a different >reaction, I was not much help in countering it, apparently. That is >our mistake." She grins, a bit sourly, "Yes, probably. I had no relations until I discovered Amber, through a time paradox - I'd been told, but I cannot claim my parentage so must remain an illegitimate member of Court. At least in Amber, they know you're family if you survive the Pattern. After all, if Brand were your uncle, and Fiona your aunt, you wouldn't expect people to ask you to react like they do. But Merlin is cool. You remind me of him, a good deal." >"Your deductions were not all wrong. We are time traveling, after a >fashion, there are things we should not tell you, Roland is indeed >what I call a "boy scout", Jadis and Thorne are not the true enemy, >and the only true mistake you made was allowing your attachment to >your home cloud your good judgement. As my family's did regarding our >task. But, my tale is what you want to hear, and I won't delay any >longer in telling it. She raises an eyebrow again at the 'clouding of judgment' and just shakes her head, as if disbelieving how far she'd been misunderstood. Zia listens with the manner of an excellent listener, and somewhere within that, a side table joins the chairs (even Mike isn't just sure when it showed up, Zia didn't seem to summon it apurpose) and she pour from the hot teapot to refill hers, and give him a cup. Sugar and such set by the side, and she'll get his right by indications, without making him stop the story. >Mike sat back in the chair, sighing, "You know, outside of Flarn, the >twins, and Pyewackett, you are the only one who knows so much of my >past. Or his past. Our past, perhaps." "Would be ours, is how I've always chosen to see it." She sets her tea cup back down on the side table, and rubs her eyebrows and temples, in thought. "So. Gene alteration, mind control, and you managed to keep a singe more even when the time was ten times whatever normal life you'd had. And you're still trying to pay for what you did when you weren't truly in the driver's seat." She shakes her head, and smiles. "It's enough to make me glad, that I follow the path of Zen. I don't even believe in souls, though of course I understand the idiomatic usages." "It is kind of sad, in a way, that you're still trying. I was hoping sooner or later you'd decide the karma balanced, and have some fun. You're far too grim." She cuts off, and realizing she was being frank and stating opinions again, adds, "The pressure makes you better, not wearing you to dust as it would most, but it can be hard to see someone shoulder that much. Especially when you want to explain the difficulties of a lazy man's load of such, and know that you won't be heeded. It's like me if I tried to make up for all the bad press my 'family' has with everyone I meet. I could never accomplish it - I'd have no life left over "That's sort of why I don't bother protesting it when people make those sort of calls, anymore. If I spent time protesting, it would waste time. And it wouldn't work, either." She grins, "But I guess I care enough for what others think it can rankle, especially in the weak spots of my 'armor'. But it's not for any good reason; it's just because I'm vain and want everyone to admire what a lovely creature I am. Perhaps I should have been born a cat?" Teasingly, and this time the smile seems almost authentic. =========================== Date: Sat, 25 Apr 1998 08:51:47 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE IV: Just Like Old Times On Sat, 25 Apr 1998 09:58:14 -0700 (MST) Driscoll Said As CAoL Message # 00004070 > On Sat, 25 Apr 1998 00:02:51 PST > Nemo Said As CAoL Message # 00004065 > >> On Fri, 24 Apr 1998 23:46:36 -0700 (MST) >> Driscoll Said As CAoL Message # 00004059 > > > I can't recall if "Iron Man" accepted a power tap or not. If he > didn't, ignore the following. No he didn't because 1) he didn't know he had a right to it, and 2) he wasn't sure how much of a link it might be and didn't want any excess information travelling out on it. =========================== Date: Sat, 25 Apr 1998 08:54:22 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE IV: Just Like Old Times On Sat, 25 Apr 1998 10:08:59 -0700 (MST) Driscoll Said As CAoL Message # 00004071 On Sat, 25 Apr 1998, Ziactrice Keenan wrote: > Sheila and James are there. "What kind of boost do you need to do > this, Justin?" The blond asks, stashing her sunglasses in a pocket > on the flight suit. She nods, to James, "She will be all right, I > think. Go ahead, and I'll help this one." > > She turns to Justin, "I'm a computer empath, and a fair engineer. > What would work best in this EMP soup? Some ground conduction? I > have this marvellous trick Nikola showed me once. Can your signal go > by a variation on a normal AC energy power feed? Not elegant or > fancy, but the best I can come up with Johnny on the spot." It seems to be a subspace field crossed with a magnabubble pulse wrapped around an energy feed somehwat protecting it but more directing it. Unfortuately with the interferance it's breaking up sooner than it should even on a wide band broadcast. I need some sort of signal booster and a larger transmitting antenna to send it out through. The more powerful the antenna and booster the wider area of London I should be able to cover. I don't know that my mind can take so many thousands of points of view at once for long, but a few seconds should be all I need to spot Jadis as long as there is some sort of electronic machinery nearby, which even in a lower tech world such as this is generally anywhere." =========================== Date: Sat, 25 Apr 1998 11:48:52 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE4: Molly's Notes on Ley Line Storms On Sat, 25 Apr 1998 11:39:51 -0700 (PDT) Fuzzy Said As CAoL Message # 00004072 > On Sat, 25 Apr 1998 00:48:31 -0700 > Stranger Said As CAoL Message # 00004044 > > /Hello Molly. They call me Stranger. I used to fight alongside these > guys/ he indicates the army of light /That was a while ago though, > at least for me. I guess you'd call me a wanderer. You seem pretty > knowledgeable about this storm, how long is it going to last?/ > > /Hey/ he broadcasts generally /Can anyone tell me how much time has > passed for the Army of Light since I was last a member?/ \Over two Years on my Timeline...\ =========================== Date: Sat, 25 Apr 1998 19:35:08 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Geo-Runes and Feed-Back On Sat, 25 Apr 1998 19:04:25 -0700 (PDT) Fuzzy Said As CAoL Message # 00004076 Seeing that the Gate (Or Gates, I still am not sure.), Will open at least momentarily despite everything that was tried to stop it, Fuzzy Teleport to Egypt, arriving at the Top of the Great Pyramid, Where the Capstone once stood. Fuzzy Prepairs To Decline Death. @Nemisis, I need an Observer posted near each Gate, Let my know Immediately, If anything More powerful than Your Prototype, Prepairs to come through... I will want you to activate The Planetary Wards when the Feed-Back Shockwave Hits the Gate...@ As the Hell Gate Opens and Infernal energies begin to Flow into the World, Fuzzy Begins to Glow, Brighter and Brighter, As The Hell Gate Releases More and More Energy into The World, Damage is Repaired and The Pyramid's Facing Stones Return... Priests that can sense such things can feel an Invokation, A Dual Invokation, taking Place Atop The Pyramid, "/Ra, I Invoke Your Power... By Your Leave And With Your Assistance, I Invoke Vishnu, For The Preservation of the World, The Day that Shiva Awakes, Is Not Yet Recorded in History, Nor Shall That Day, be Today./" =========================== Date: Sat, 25 Apr 1998 19:37:38 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE4: Mike's Boring Tale. On Sat, 25 Apr 1998 21:31:57 -0500 Mike Said As CAoL Message # 00004077 >On Sat, 25 Apr 1998 10:29:41 -0500 >Zia Said As CAoL Message # 00004069 > >Zia smiles at some memory, and gives Mike a knowing look, "That seems >to be the one thing people don't mind me doing, taking them shopping. >I can't say as I mind Paris and Rio and New York with a lot of >credits to spend myself..." "Well, the girls are quite crafty when it comes to establishing large bank accounts with just a small amount of money. They certainly have a better knack for it than I do." >"Er, actually, I was, earlier. I meant the CAoL, not the other-time >one that was here - I try not to loop mine. It's too hard on the >fourth dimension interfaces. I've seen that sort of thing, before, >but I've got about as much chance understanding it as I have of >understanding even a more conventional family. I have my own, >finally, I might reach a limited understanding as my children grow >up. But I didn't grow up that way." "Oh, of course, sorry, well, that decision is yours alone to make, I don't think I pressed you any further on it. And if I somehow seemed to now, I didn't intend it." >>"Your deductions were not all wrong. We are time traveling, after a >>fashion, there are things we should not tell you, Roland is indeed >>what I call a "boy scout", Jadis and Thorne are not the true enemy, >>and the only true mistake you made was allowing your attachment to >>your home cloud your good judgement. As my family's did regarding >>our task. But, my tale is what you want to hear, and I won't delay >>any longer in telling it. > >She raises an eyebrow again at the 'clouding of judgment' and just >shakes her head, as if disbelieving how far she'd been misunderstood. Mike catches the look, "No, that's impossible. Your precision of language and nuance has always given me difficulties. Very well, it is what my family will quite readily confess to as being our error. I withdraw the remark." >"That's sort of why I don't bother protesting it when people make >those sort of calls, anymore. If I spent time protesting, it would >waste time. And it wouldn't work, either." She grins, "But I guess I >care enough for what others think it can rankle, especially in the >weak spots of my 'armor'. But it's not for any good reason; it's just >because I'm vain and want everyone to admire what a lovely creature I >am. Perhaps I should have been born a cat?" Teasingly, and this time >the smile seems almost authentic. "Pyewackett says cats are marvelous creatures, it's not vainity, just an honest appraisal of oneself. He says you have the right attitude to be one, though you shouldn't let the opinions of your inferiors get you down. You do that and you are just a silly dog, like a poodle or something. And being a poodle is something no one in their right mind would aspire to. His words, not mine." Mike sips the tea, "As for myself, understand that that story is from the point of view of the Mike upstairs. He is just now realizing that the karmic balance isn't quite as he tried to make himself believe it was. He can do what he feels is right without having to feel the demand to balance the books. He feels good when he does what he thinks is right, so he can be a do-gooder for purely hedonistic reasons. Looking at the first 25 years, I personally don't think I did too badly for myself. I feel good about it, anyway. "Was I grim? The twins say I was, but by now I think I was loosening up. I had to, I suppose, Mike's current brood were getting to the point of beating him with blunt objects if he didn't lose the guilt complex. Might have helped, might have made things worse. Fortunately, Justin opened my eyes to what I must have looked like to others, before the beating was called for. And I think I got better, my brood approved of the changes, which helps immensely." Mike finishs his tea. "As good as the twins make it. That's right, they were telling Sera about that. I was absorbed in lab work. And speaking of work, there is much I am sure waiting for me." He stands, and offers a hand up if Zia moves to request one. "I think a long vacation, maybe for a century. Take the whole crew and pick an obscure dimention to explore. Somewhere with lots of oceans. I've always loved oceans." "I will leave you to your thoughts," Mike says, the fireplace forming itself into the globe of light he arrived with and returning to his hand. "It has, as always, been a pleasure talking to you, Zia." The elder Mike says with a smile and a slight bow as he fades away, an actor who's spotlight has dimmed into darkness. =========================== Date: Sat, 25 Apr 1998 20:35:24 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE4: Mike's Boring Tale. On Sat, 25 Apr 1998 22:06:29 -0500 Zia Said As CAoL Message # 00004078 >"Pyewackett says cats are marvelous creatures, it's not vainity, just >an honest appraisal of oneself. He says you have the right attitude >to be one, though you shouldn't let the opinions of your inferiors >get you down. You do that and you are just a silly dog, like a poodle >or something. And being a poodle is something no one in their right >mind would aspire to. His words, not mine." Zia tries, but can't _quite_ stop the single giggle. >Mike finishs his tea. "As good as the twins make it. That's right, >they were telling Sera about that. I was absorbed in lab work. And >speaking of work, there is much I am sure waiting for me." He stands, >and offers a hand up if Zia moves to request one. "I think a long >vacation, maybe for a century. Take the whole crew and pick an >obscure dimention to explore. Somewhere with lots of oceans. I've >always loved oceans." Zia takes it and stands, watching as he does his rather theatrical bow and vanish bit. Then she sighs. "_That_ man is trying to kill me with my own curiosity." Crossly. Then she grins. "At least it's a novel way." She laughs suddenly, "At least he didn't manage to dare me into walking the Logrus. The Realms might be safe as long as he and Merlin _never_ meet each other." Snigger. "Ah well. Enough of the moribund thoughts. He wouldn't speak to his purpose, but I can guess well enough." She looks around, "Need four other mages. If we still need this at all... " As she FEELS the power of Fuzzy's incantation start. She vanishes from here, shadow shifting back to outside the church. =========================== Date: Sat, 25 Apr 1998 20:35:31 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE IV: Just Like Old Times On Sat, 25 Apr 1998 22:17:36 -0500 Zia Said As CAoL Message # 00004079 > It seems to be a subspace field crossed with a magnabubble pulse >wrapped around an energy feed somehwat protecting it but more >directing it. Unfortuately with the interferance it's breaking up >sooner than it should even on a wide band broadcast. I need some sort >of signal booster and a larger transmitting antenna to send it out >through. The more powerful the antenna and booster the wider area of >London I should be able to cover. I don't know that my mind can take >so many thousands of points of view at once for long, but a few >seconds should be all I need to spot Jadis as long as there is some >sort of electronic machinery nearby, which even in a lower tech world >such as this is generally anywhere." Sheila shakes her head, "No, no, no. Don't do it the hard way, any good engineer is a lazy engineer. We're going to transmit all right, but we'll be using the ground. In this electrical soup, it'll work far better, and faster. Now. Just tell me what signal and wave you need, sugah, and I'll get you fixed up." Zia rolls her eyes from the lab's doorway at the 'sugah' part. But ignores it for the time being. She looks to Roland, and Knytt (remembering just in time she isn't supposed to know about the name switcheroonie yet). She has, however, forgotten about the fact she changed to a Victorian dress in arterially red velvet and black. What she lacks in inches she more than makes up for in, er, cleavage and hour glass form. "All right. Fuzzy is pulling High Priest of Egyptian pantheon tricks, Molly is working to fix the ley lines some how semi-mechanically, Rhiannon and Nemo are planning to do something which I'm not going to venture a guess on. What troubles me is Nemo doesn't seem to know either." She smiles, then shrugs. "The Seal is repaired and recharged, but I need at least two, better yet four other mages to work with me on it to get it to work. We didn't make it able to run without sentients, as the 'Black Hats' don't have enough High Mages to attempt the Seal. Since they don't respect my neutrality, or the safety of this world at all, I'm throwing in with you lot. As if James and Sheila hadn't made it clear already. " "What can I do to help, without creating more confusion, either of you?" =========================== Date: Sat, 25 Apr 1998 21:34:51 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE IV: Just Like Old Times On Sat, 25 Apr 1998 21:11:14 -0700 (PDT) Nemisis Said As CAoL Message # 00004080 (& 4081) > On Sat, 25 Apr 1998 22:17:36 -0500 > Zia Said As CAoL Message # 00004079 > > "All right. Fuzzy is pulling High Priest of Egyptian pantheon > tricks, Molly is working to fix the ley lines some how semi- > mechanically, Rhiannon and Nemo are planning to do something which > I'm not going to venture a guess on. What troubles me is Nemo > doesn't seem to know either." She smiles, then shrugs. A Nearby Nemisis Split Speaks =/Lord Fuzzy is attempting to Combining, The Power of a Sun God/Creator, (out of Egytian Tradition) With Vishnu, The Preserver (From the Hindi Tradition) Specificaly to Combat The Forces of Darkness while Preserving The World/= =/If we get the timing Just Right, The Wards Major Matrix will resonate To the Invokations at The Pyramid, {Image: A Crystal d8 around the Earth} Which should, to Quote His thought, Toss a Fire Bomb through the Gate, and Slam It Shut!/= > "The Seal is repaired and recharged, but I need at least two, better > yet four other mages to work with me on it to get it to work. We > didn't make it able to run without sentients, as the 'Black Hats' > don't have enough High Mages to attempt the Seal. Since they don't > respect my neutrality, or the safety of this world at all, I'm > throwing in with you lot. As if James and Sheila hadn't made it > clear already. " =/This still may be needed to deal with the Lesser things, that may come through the Gate Before the situation goes critical, But It should be activated After The Wards, It will also act as a Fall-back Plan.../= > "What can I do to help, without creating more confusion, either of > you?" =========================== Date: Sun, 26 Apr 1998 01:06:21 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: Geo-Runes and Feed-Back On Sun, 26 Apr 1998 02:44:50 -0500 Mike Said As CAoL Message # 00004083 Hidden from all, even less insubstancial than a dream, a small group appears atop the head of the Sphinx. The elder Mike sits back, leaning against Jack, the albino donkey who had laid down behind him, his arms around a woman who could pass for Delenn from the back, but whose long cascades of coppery ringlets, smoother rounded face, and wide dark eyes proved that she was not. Mike seemed to be around 50, the woman he held was perhaps 40. She wore a flattering emerald medeival gown with a silver chain-like belt loosely encircling her waist. An emerald green lens glowed warmly on the back of her left hand. Behind them, Molly, who looked about 30, sat, leaning over Jack and scratching her behind the ears, as she looked over Mike's shoulder. She was dressed in tan slacks and white blouse, with brown boots. The attire gave her the appearance of a fancy 1920's barn stormer pilot. A leather jacket laid across Jack's back, white silk scarf tucked under the folded leather collar. Molly's left hand had a blue lens that resembled the blue of the ley lines of her foster homeworld. The twins, the only ones who didn't seem to have aged, still looking 20, stood just behind and on either side of Molly. Grep was decked out in black blouse, pantaloons, calf-high boots and vest, with a silver sash belt that held a fancy gold cutlass. She obviously still liked playing pirate. Grep's arms were folded across her chest, and her rainbow lens glowed faintly on the back of her left hand. Melissa stood, her hands clasped in front of her, her lens identical to Grep's in color and placement. She wore identical attire to her sister, done in red, with a gold sash and fancy silver cutlass. Pyewackett was curled up in Mike's lap, minus his gold collar, a yellow lens a quarter of the size of the others' on his forehead. Jack also had a lens, blue like Molly's and the same size as Pyewackett's, on his forehead. Mike looked over at the woman in his arms and gave her a peck on the forehead. "How did you like Zia, Flarn?" "You know what I think, we are all part of the Dreaming," Flarn said, "But she was nice enough, the poor dear being so horribly misinterpreted. Terribly curious, though. I am certain we only whet her appetite." "Couldn't be helped." Mike says, "Molly, are you certain you want your past self to remain totally in the dark? We could try something, maybe a subliminal suggestion. You don't have to wait so long to find out I am your father, or at least more about me." "Dad, don't sweat it. I'll know soon enough." Molly seems to say, her voice audible though her lips don't move. She puts her hand on Mike's shoulder, and Mike pats it. "But I appreciate the thought." "Least I can do for a member of the Timbuktu crew. Hey, I like that. What say we rechristen the _Wild Goose_ the _Timbuktu_? No objections? So ordered. Pye, girls, where do you all want to go for vacation? I would love the ocean." "You always want to go to the ocean," Flarn says, grinning up at him. "Somewhere with fruit," Jack says. Like Molly, the jenny doesn't mover her lips. "Somewhere with culture and history would be lovely," Flarn says. "Yeah, and with birds," Pyewackett says, licking his lips. His voice is in the same fashion as Molly's and Jack's. It obviously comes from their direction, but they don't seem to create it in any visible manner. "And let's take the Junk," Grep says. "How about the Mediterranean?" Melissa suggests. "Chinese Pirates off the Barbary coast?" Mike says, with a grin, "Yo ho ho and a bottle of Ginsing tea!" "Shhh," Jack says. "It's starting." Pyewackett says. "Cool, I always wanted to see him do this, I was too busy last time." Molly says in hushed tones. --From The Crew of the _Timbuktu_ =========================== Date: Sun, 26 Apr 1998 01:06:29 -0700 (PDT) Subject: AAE IV: The Wheel of Fire (I) On Sun, 26 Apr 1998 00:51:33 Morgan and/or Roland Said As CAoL Message # 00004084 OOC: This one's practically a book! I've lengthened my lines in the hopes of making this one shorter in physical length; anyway, here goes. Prologue: Thorne roared, cutting down three unlucky acolytes in his rage. "I WAS SO CLOOOOSE!" A woman's bell-like voice laughed. "Of course you were, dear boy. This 'Ziactrice' may be soft-hearted, but she _is_ a scion of Amber. She would have torn off your head and fed it to her dogs-or whatever equivalent that she keeps." Thorne turned to the woman in shadow. "So _you_ say. All she would have had to do was touch the Shadow Brand, even if she hadn't been truly unconscious." The woman shook her head in mock-sadness. "Dr. Thorne, you aren't a match for a boy like Roland; what makes you think you're capable of outwitting a Princess in Amber?" Thorne scowled. "Roland caught me off-guard, that's all. Next time, the swordsmanship data I stole from the Digital Web will make me invincible." The woman yawned. "Of course, of course. Just remember: stick to the plan. No deviations." Thorne bowed, though his form was as foul as his mood. "Of course, Lady Ariel..." >On Sat, 25 Apr 1998 02:36:36 -0500 >Zia Said As CAoL Message # 00004061 > >Sheila and James are there. "What kind of boost do you need to do >this, Justin?" The blond asks, stashing her sunglasses in a pocket >on the flight suit. She nods, to James, "She will be all right, I >think. Go ahead, and I'll help this one." > >She turns to Justin, "I'm a computer empath, and a fair engineer. >What would work best in this EMP soup? Some ground conduction? I have >this marvellous trick Nikola showed me once. Can your signal go by a >variation on a normal AC energy power feed? Not elegant or fancy, but >the best I can come up with Johnny on the spot." Roland regards Justin for a moment-it'd be a longer moment if he had the time-and seems to come to a decision. "Energy I can do. In my lightning form I can provide vast power pretty much forever." >James nods, and moves to look (probably up) at Roland. "So. Delegate >some tasks to me, that is, what you feel you may. I can't do any more >magic, but I'm a semi-decent psi." (OOC: Roland is almost exactly James' height; maybe a half-inch shorter. BTW, if he looks like Sean Connery Roland might recognize him. ) Roland regards James for an even shorter moment, though clearly wanting to take longer with this one. But he doesn't have the time. "I'm maintaining a 'lock' on the Mandy/Raver amalgam to help them resist the...effect...that the ley shift is having on them. If you open your mind, I can send you the telepathic 'pattern' that I'm using to do it. I need to be in seventeen places at once, and I might not be able to maintain the effect I'm using in all of this madness." Then, privately to the Two: ^Don't take this the wrong way, but I need to hand over the 'hand' I've held out to you.^ The Two see something...DARK...flicker inside Roland; they know that he won't abandon them, and that he wants _them_ to know it. ^If whoever that is falters, let me know and my mind will be with you an instant later.^ Then Knytt-uh, Mike- said: >/Roland, if you are unable to take Morgan yourself, call the twins,/ >Mike sends, /The girls can take Morgan. Though, I imagine they would >have an easier time getting Delenn into a lifepod./ /I can do it,/ Roland reassures Mike. >> /Geez, all hell is literally breaking loose, we're running >>hither, thither and yon with three half-baked plans, and half the >>team's missing...yep, things are back to normal./ > > >/I can't do it, Roland,/ Pyewackett sends. /WHAT?!/ >/Whoa, I have never heard you say that./ Mike sends almost in awe. > >/There goes the Feline Godhood,/ the cat says, a bit of nervous humor >to his tone, /Roland, as important as keeping Morgan calm is, I am >not, which is half the battle lost from the start. In Mike's brood, I >am the only magic expert available. I need to be with them. Though, I >would like Molly along for backup./ /Okay, all right, I understand,/ Roland sends, though his understanding is clearly less than complete. He is not, however, upset; just frustrated as all Hell. Then Fuzzy said: >As the Hell Gate Opens and Infernal energies begin to Flow into the World, > Fuzzy Begins to Glow, > Brighter and Brighter, > As The Hell Gate Releases More and More Energy into The World, > Damage is Repaired and The Pyramid's Facing Stones Return... > Priests that can sense such things can feel an Invokation, A Dual > Invokation, taking Place Atop The Pyramid, Roland gasps. /"Holy Light..."/ (OOC: Guess Roland is more spiritual than he thought. ) >"/Ra, I Invoke Your Power... > By Your Leave And With Your Assistance, I Invoke > Vishnu, > For The Preservation of the World, > The Day that Shiva Awakes, > Is Not Yet Recorded in History, > Nor Shall That Day, be Today./" /"YOU _GO,_ FUZZY!"/ Roland exults, feeling the rush of Light surge into the world. He seems to become, for the merest fraction of a moment, another conduit for that power, and the blight on reality in London flickers. But soon the effect passes, and Roland doesn't seem to have even realized it. Before anyone can tell him, however- "Roland Phoenix." A Time ripple opens, and a message hologram appears. Thorne's face leers at Roland. "You again," Roland sighs. "You really need to get a hobby." "Oh, I have. I've decided to go picking up women, you see." Roland turns deathly pale at that ominous remark, suspecting what Thorne confirms a moment later; the 'camera' projecting the image pans back, showing Thorne in a barren landscape, similar to the American Southwest, only with a deep purple sky, holding a beautiful woman with auburn hair in one arm. The Shadow Brand is at her throat. "Come to me-again, bring only your woman-or your precious Alanna dies. No one else who arrives will be able to save her in-Time. Ha!" The projector ball vanishes. Roland sits with a heavy thud. /"Alanna..."/ Sil looks at the (probably confused) CAoL. /She was Roland's lady before he and Morgan got together. As you know, it didn't work out...but Roland can't stop caring for a friend any more than an ant can move a star./ /Great. Now he's laying traps for _both_ of us,/ Morgan sends feebly. Roland stands, and in less time than it takes to type, the Cosmic Treadmill is in the room and the house is in Morgan's pocket. If no one has taken up the Mandy-Raver 'stabilizer' effect, he somehow puts it in the Sigil link. /If I don't come back, bring Thorne to justice,/ he sends dully, and takes Morgan in his arms. In a moment, they are gone. Sil looks concerned-nass, she looks _scared._ /Oh Phoenix mother, Dragon father, watch over him...I've never seen him look so _beaten._/ Earth-9, via a time trip to before the Greys invaded and then a trip forward: ^Morgan.^ Roland kneels over his beloved's form, having lain her in a bed in one of his Pride's safehouses. ^Morgan, I know that this has all been rough on you. But I need you.^ The confession-and her condition-tear at Roland, but he goes on as he pours energy into her, filtering her life force. ^He's probably got Alanna, my love,^ he sends, trying to keep the desperation out of his 'voice.' ^He knows what I'll do if I have to. You're my only shot here. Please, come back, my heart.^ ^You're not getting rid of me _that_ easy,^ Morgan replies teasingly, her voice stronger than it's been since the ley lines began to thrash around. She sits up, stroking Roland's hair and giving him a reassuring squeeze. Then she gets a good look at Roland. ^You're a wreck! What did I _miss?_^ Roland almost sobs in relief. ^Thank the Light. Thorne's gotten clobbered one time too many, and has finally taken advantage of the fact that he knows my 'secret identity.' He's taken Alanna. Oh, and the Hellgate's complete, Mandy and Raver are having a rough time holding together, and I've lost track of what half the team's doing. How are _you_ coming along?^ Morgan takes a deep breath. "Much better, now that I'm away from that mess. As if we didn't have _enough_ reasons to pound Jadis into pate. And _Thorne._ Why don't you just _kill_ that S.O.B. and get it over with?" Roland sighs, looking more tired than even Morgan has ever seen him. "I don't know. I...I just don't know any more." One look at Roland's condition and Morgan is holding him tightly to her. "We'll handle this, love." She smiles and looks at her frazzled husband. "Do you have a plan, or are we doing this Indiana Jones style?" "'I don't know, I'm making this up as I go along,'" Roland quotes with a feeble smile. "Indy style, I'm afraid." He adds through their link, ^I won't know what we're doing until I can make contact with Alanna.^ "I follow your lead, my love," Morgan says, standing and waving towards the door with a flourish. Roland smirks and takes her hand. They both vanish... TBC =========================== Date: Sun, 26 Apr 1998 01:06:39 -0700 (PDT) Subject: AAE IV: The Wheel of Fire (II) On Sun, 26 Apr 1998 00:53:10 Morgan and/or Roland Said As CAoL Message # 00004085 ...and reappear in a crimson blight. "Barsoom," Roland says, looking around clinically. "Figures." "Sky looks familiar," Morgan notes wryly. "Get used to it," Thorne snaps, floating up from behind a small ravine. Alanna is still in one arm, struggling feebly and furiously, somehow all at once. "You're going to be here a _long_ time." "Don't waste time with this idiot, Roland-kill him!" Alanna yells. /Has he _always_ been this tiresome?/ Morgan asks. /Actually, he's usually worse./ Roland throws the pike cylinder onto the ground. /And _still_ you let him live,/ Morgan sends with a chuckle, knowing full well how Roland feels about killing. /Don't remind me,/ Roland groans. "I'm here, Thorne! What's the deal, besides me for her, that is?" he shouts to the Fallen Magus. ^Um, if that's all he wants, why did he want _me_ here?^ Morgan wonders 'aloud' to her mate. ^Don't worry, I know what's going on here, one way or the other,^ Roland replies. "That's all there is to it," Thorne replies with a smile. "I let her go, and you-" he starts to say, pointing the Shadow Brand at Roland. This is his second-to-last mistake. Roland, seeing the opportunity and grabbing it with both hands, wraps Thorne in a field of TK and throws him with insane power and savage fury as far from the lady as he can manage. Then he runs forward. "Alanna! Are you all ri-" Alanna falls to the ground, though her landing is cushioned by Roland's powers. He reaches out with his mind and his hands... ...and has a sword, which appears in 'Alanna's' hand, thrust through his chest. "Aaigk!" Roland cries out, falling to his knees, looking up at... ...Lady Ariel! "Silly boy," she chides, "have you forgotten that you met Alanna because she was my cognate on your world?" She turns to a (mostly) unharmed Thorne. "You may kill the Druid now, Adrian." "Oh, _thank_ you, mighty Princess," Thorne cracks, approaching Morgan cautiously. His stance, however, is that of a swordmaster. "Over my dea-" She hesitates for a moment, realizing what she's about to say. "Like hell you will!" Morgan snaps back, Aramegil in her hands in an instant. They begin to circle each other, sizing one another up. "Poor Roland," Ariel sighs. Even now, Roland can't help but note that she's a beauty to almost rival Morgan; her blue eyes sparkle with vicious delight as she regards her prey. "Your weakness for a damsel in distress has always been SO easy to exploit. You even went to the aid of that bastard pup, which couldn't have-" "Ask me if I believe in God," Roland coughs. "What?" Ariel asks. "Actually, you were right the first time," Thorne laughs, lunging. Morgan sidesteps the attack and counters with a vicious swing for Thorne's neck. Thorne parries quickly. "Ye'll forgive me, of course, if I have other plans," she replies, dropping into the brogue. "Of course," Thorne says graciously. "Your plans, sadly, have nothing to do with what fate has decreed." He tries to spin the parry into a deadly riposte, but Morgan ducks and slices him open across the middle. Thorne snarls and backs away; the Shadow Brand glows darkly and the wound closes. A long ugly scar remains, however. Thorne roars and moves at inhuman speed; Morgan parries in time to keep from losing her head, but the Nephandus gets a wound of his own in on her shoulder. The cut is minor, but bubbles foully, and Morgan suddenly remembers all she's been told about this particular blade... "Ask me if I believe in God," Roland repeats. "Very well. Do you believe in God?" Ariel asks suspiciously. "No, and I'll tell you why: if there were a God, then somewhere, someday, someone would be on the other end of one of those swords and NOT assume I'm an idiot." Roland's eyes glow balefully, and Ariel is thrown back, sword and all. "But-but that's IMPOSSIBLE!" Ariel cries, staring at the furious, rising immortal. "You _can't_ move with a sword through your heart-or use any of your powers!" "Unless I shielded the blade and moved my heart," Roland replies coldly. "I suspected a rat as soon as I saw you in Thorne's 'clutches.' Alanna's smart and devious and has powerful friends; Thorne wouldn't have had an easy time catching her. You, on the other hand, are _also_ smart and devious and I've expec-" Morgan takes her cut at that exact moment. /"Morgan!"/ Roland turns; the pike is in his hand and at full length in an instant. Which is an instant too long; ten green warriors with four arms each appear around Roland and leap at him. They are the green warriors of Barsoom's harshest lands, almost literally born with weapons in their hands, gifted with inhuman strength and speed...for Barsoomians. But under Mars' 1/3 gravity, Roland would be a superman _without_ his powers. And his lady is wounded. "For Morgan and Helium!" Roland roars, and the Phoenix Rod spins quckly enough to cause the air around it to hum. Three of the savage warriors are too close; they fly back and fall to the ground unconscious. Ariel pulls out a Trump. "You play too rough, handsome-but then, you always did." She stares at the Trump. Nothing happens. "You're not going anywhere, Ariel," Roland snarls with a lion's voice as two of the green Barsoomians grab the pike. He tosses them into the air, which suddenly fills with ambient static. They, too, enter the Dreamtime involuntarily. "We have unfinished business." Morgan takes a step back and watches Thorne even more closely. He fought like someone who'd been doing a lot of sword drills...but not against a live opponent. "Ye've improved since last we crossed swords, Doctor. How many sessenach did ye have to feed yer blade tae get there?" Thorne blinks, then smiles. "No sessenach, more's the pity...just all the data the Digital Web has to offer on swordsmanship. The sum total of a _world's_ knowledge on swordplay. You're already dead, Highlander; you just don't know it." Thorne attacks with a classic double-strike. Which Morgan parries just as classically. However, rather than falling back, she starts counter-attacking. Again. And again. Doubles, triples, feints and attacks, always moving. Thorne parries easily...at first. But his attacks are parried just as easily, and as her attacks become more unpredictable, he begins to grow flustered, frightened, and confused...and with all his power and speed, a mistake becomes inevitable. His last mistake. Despite the flurry of blows, Morgan has been looking for one particular opening. And when it appears, the greatsword flies in a swift, shining arc toward Thorne. His eyes have just enough time to widen in realization before the fae blade slices through his neck. He opens his mouth to scream...and his head slides off his body. There's no blood, appropriately enough, just an inky darkness that flows from Thorne's neck as he literally falls on his sword. Morgan staggers back, catching her breath...even for her, throwing that many blows that quickly with a claidheamhmor was a strain. Then the Quickening hits... TBC =========================== Date: Sun, 26 Apr 1998 01:06:48 -0700 (PDT) Subject: AAE IV: The Wheel of Fire (III) On Sun, 26 Apr 1998 00:53:48 Morgan and/or Roland Said As CAoL Message # 00004086 Ariel stares at her Trump. "Work, damn you!" Roland does a spinning flying kick that knocks one of his remaining opponents into another. "It isn't _going_ to work. I've got a spacial 'lock' on you. You're going back to your cell, your Highness," Roland snarls. Ariel looks over at the duel, and sees that Thorne is rapidly losing. "But as the people of your world say, I have one card left up my sleeve. Say goodbye to the savage." She gestures, and a card is in her hand. She leans back to throw. "NO!" A burst of power explodes from Roland, and the last three Barsoomians go flying. Just as the Quickening hits Morgan, everything happens at once-Ariel throws, Roland leaps in the path of the card, the very air around them seems to come to life... ...and as Morgan learns more about the nature of Time than she ever suspected, and watches an entire lifetime-not all of it as foul as Thorne became-rocket by at unfathomable speed, Roland points his pike at Ariel. A small red dot of light appears on the front of her cream dress. "R-Roland? You-you wouldn't-" Ariel's face goes white as she stares at him wide-eyed with a completely unaffected fear. And something inside Roland exults. [KILL her! Kill the cow and be done with it!] The dark thing Mandy/Raver saw inside of him is roiling at the surface, clawing at the barriers Roland has long used to keep that side of him under control. [Show her-show them ALL-the true depths of our POWER!] Roland's hand trembles. A sphere of blue-white energy wells at the tip of the Phoenix Rod; a simple flicker of thought and Ariel will simply cease to exist. He lowers the pike. The energy flows back into him. "Like I said, you're going to jail," he says wearily...but with a strange satisfaction and peace. The darkness inside him recedes. A moment later, Morgan has teleported to his side. He turns to Morgan... ...and in that moment of distraction, Ariel pulls _another_ trick out of her (this time proverbial) sleeve, and is gone. Roland turns back to the empty space where Ariel had been, jaw slack. "No! Grife, I HAD her!" He points the Phoenix Rod out at where she'd been a moment ago and blasts a sand dune out of existence. A dazed Morgan blinks as she continues to assimilate what she just... saw? felt? Experienced... yes, experienced. "That's one sand dune that will never harm anyone again," she says quietly. Roland turns on her...then calms down again. "I see Thorne won't be hurting anyone again either," he notes dryly. "Impressive bit of swordplay." Morgan starts to rattle off another wiseass comment, but says only, "Thank you." Roland nods and looks over at Thorne's body... ...which is moving. "Holy grife..." Roland whispers, as the Shadow Brand rips through the corpse...and then INTO the corpse. It shoots tendrils through the body, slowly becoming more fluid until it _merges_ with the headless form. Then a head grows from the stump. (Marvel fans, think Carnage with the red-and-black color scheme reversed; i.e. a mostly black symbiotic sheath with constantly shifting red marbling.) The face that appears is that of a handsome youth, though features are hard to discern from the constantly shifting 'skin.' "Free! Thank all the gods, after TEN THOUSAND YEARS-FREE!!! And thank YOU, Thorne-" he picks up the blankly-staring head- "you magnificent monster, for feeding me so well!" He kisses Thorne on the lips, then promptly throws the head over the horizon. "Maximum weirdness threshhold has been reached," Morgan says sounding eerily like the Babylon 5 computer voice. "The Shadow Brand," Roland gasps. "One of the Conundrums...living shards of the Adversary itself. You're alive." "Bingo! You win the consolation prize!" The ex-Brand bows to Roland with a flourish. "But don't call me 'Brand.' You clowns hang around so many Amberites, _someone_ is bound to get the wrong idea. Call me Shard; I _like_ that one." He blows a kiss to Morgan. "I owe you one, gorgeous; KnightMare and Ariel both helped, but _you_ set me free. Think of me as the Dark Genie; you get one wish. "Later," he finishes, both as qualifier and as farewell, and vanishes. Roland and Morgan look at each other. "Back home," he says, and they, too, vanish. Carthoris lowers his binoculars. "Wow. _That_ was interesting. I bet Father will want to hear _this_ story." He mounts his thoat and rides off. Again, Earth-9. Roland sets up the house. "Stay here," he insists. "I'll bring you through when the magickal condition settles down." Morgan doesn't even _try_ to argue. "Okay. Do you have _any_ tips for dealing with this?" She gestures at the universe, indicating 'this' as meaning everything that happened on Barsoom. "Just ride it. The memories'll settle down, and Immortal weirdness you just get used to. Byron was a special case; you shouldn't have any problems of the sort _I_ had." Roland bows, and kisses her hand. "Most of it will fade in time." "That's good to know," Morgan says, pulling him into her arms and kissing him passionately. ^Take care of yourself,^ she adds on the link. (So she doesn't have to stop kissing him. ) ^And you,^ Roland replies, slowly ending the kiss, stroking her cheek as he lets go of the Treadmill's vibration and fades away. Out of habit, Morgan sits down to clean her blade. ['Take care of your gear and it'll take care of you,' Seosaidh always said.] She files away the significance of the odd tar-like residue on Aramegil to deal with later. Greyworld no more. Roland fades back into existence. He taps a few keys on the Cosmic Treadmill; it shimmers and vanishes, reappearing in its place in the house on Earth-9. /Thorne's been...dealt with, but we have new problems, one of which is named Ariel. What did I miss?/ Roland seamlessly takes up the task of holding on to Mandy and Raver unless the entity to whom he passed it is doing as well or better than he was. Epilogue. Ariel collapses into a chair in her Trump citadel. "By the Horn, that was close. Shard, where are you?" *You shouldn't have given him that chance,* Shard sends as he appears in Ariel's stronghold. *He just might have done it. Not that I'd care, aside from the fact that a body like yours shouldn't be destroyed, just on general principle.* He grabs a maid, pushes her into a seat, and sits in her lap. He then takes the pitcher of wine she was carrying and pours her a glass. "Here, you look like you could use this," Shard laughs. The trembling maid accepts the drink cautiously, but downs it rapidly. "Ooo, I like her! Can I keep her?" "Calm down, you madman," Ariel snaps. "Roland wouldn't kill me, though he came closer than I thought he would. Though your master-" "Partner," Shard corrects. "-would have preferred that Thorne had lived, the buffoon was just too stupid. See to it that you do not suffer the same affliction." Before Ariel can even _begin_ to react, Shard is on her, one hand having grown tentacles from each finger to pin her to her throne, the other generating claws that he holds at her neck. "Don't you presume to dictate to _me,_ you absurd woman-child! I could kill you so quickly that you wouldn't have time to wonder what this 'death' thing is, or I could take millenia to devour you and make you feel every fraction of a second! I call myself Shard because I am a living shard of POWER!" Ariel trembles for a moment, then stares coldly into Shard's 'eyes.' "So noted." Shard laughs. "Damn! You've got industrial-strength freon in your veins, you know that?" He releases her a moment later. "KnightMare would have _my_ head if I kill you, and you know it. Ah well. A living weapon of mass destruction can dream, can't he?" Shard begins a backflip, and vanishes before it's completed. Ariel smiles again. "He'll be easy enough to use. You!" She snaps at the maid. "Stop drinking my feywine and get back to work." The Antiverse. "It worked, KnightMare, just as you predicted it would," Shard reports, bowing. KnightMare sighs. *I had rather hoped that it would not be necessary for Thorne to die. Ah well. Soon, it will not matter. With the entire planet Eddore and the Rings of Middle-Earth in my grasp, I am farther along than I dreamed I might be. Take the Nazgul and go to Jadis. Offer your support and follow his orders to the letter unless they will lead to your destruction. When I call you, or if Jadis tries deliberately to kill you, return. I think he means to betray me, but if he does not, honor requires me to fulfill my bargain with him.* Shard nods and rises. *It will be done.* KnightMare looks at its latest plunder as Shard and the nine Nazgul vanish. [Soon, all will be ready. Yes, soon...] (OOC: WHEW!!!) =========================== Date: Sun, 26 Apr 1998 03:46:46 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE IV: The Wheel of Fire (I) On Sun, 26 Apr 1998 05:10:52 -0500 Mike Said As CAoL Message # 00004088 >On Sun, 26 Apr 1998 00:51:33 >Morgan and/or Roland Said As CAoL Message # 00004084 >Then Knytt-uh, Mike- said: > >>/There goes the Feline Godhood,/ the cat says, a bit of nervous >>humor to his tone, /Roland, as important as keeping Morgan calm is, >>I am not, which is half the battle lost from the start. In Mike's >>brood, I am the only magic expert available. I need to be with them. >>Though, I would like Molly along for backup./ > > /Okay, all right, I understand,/ Roland sends, though his >understanding is clearly less than complete. He is not, however, >upset; just frustrated as all Hell. /Good, can you explain it to me?/ the cat purrs and winks, /I can't let my pet human get killed. If I stayed behind I would be a nervous wreck./ /I'm not sure whether to be flattered or insulted./ Mike sends. > Then Fuzzy said: >>As the Hell Gate Opens and Infernal energies begin to Flow into the >> World, >> Fuzzy Begins to Glow, >> Brighter and Brighter, >> As The Hell Gate Releases More and More Energy into The World, >> Damage is Repaired and The Pyramid's Facing Stones Return... >> Priests that can sense such things can feel an Invokation, A Dual >> Invokation, >> taking Place Atop The Pyramid, > > Roland gasps. /"Holy Light..."/ > (OOC: Guess Roland is more spiritual than he thought. ) Molly, the twins, Mike, Pyewackett and Jack all get a glazed look in their eyes for a moment. >>"/Ra, I Invoke Your Power... >> By Your Leave And With Your Assistance, I Invoke >> Vishnu, >> For The Preservation of the World, >> The Day that Shiva Awakes, >> Is Not Yet Recorded in History, >> Nor Shall That Day, be Today./" The glazed looks pass. But for a moment, they all had a sense of being here before...or more accurately, at the source of the invocation. > /"YOU _GO,_ FUZZY!"/ Roland exults, feeling the rush of Light >surge into the world. He seems to become, for the merest fraction of >a moment, another conduit for that power, and the blight on reality >in London flickers. But soon the effect passes, and Roland doesn't >seem to have even realized it. Roland's mental shout shook the cobwebs out of the minds of Mike, Molly, the twins, Pyewackett and Jack. They all watch the image of Thorne. > Sil looks at the (probably confused) CAoL. /She was Roland's lady >before he and Morgan got together. As you know, it didn't work >out...but Roland can't stop caring for a friend any more than an ant >can move a star./ > >/Great. Now he's laying traps for _both_ of us,/ Morgan sends feebly. /Nice to be wanted./ Mike sends absently. He's watching Roland to see what he intends to do. > Sil looks concerned-nass, she looks _scared._ /Oh Phoenix mother, >Dragon father, watch over him...I've never seen him look so >_beaten._/ Mike looks at Sil, /Doesn't his world have cops or something? Why is it always his job personally?/ >On Sun, 26 Apr 1998 00:53:48 >Morgan and/or Roland Said As CAoL Message # 00004086 > Greyworld no more. > Roland fades back into existence. He taps a few keys on the Cosmic >Treadmill; it shimmers and vanishes, reappearing in its place in the >house on Earth-9. /Thorne's been...dealt with, but we have new >problems, one of which is named Ariel. What did I miss?/ Roland >seamlessly takes up the task of holding on to Mandy and Raver unless >the entity to whom he passed it is doing as well or better than he >was. /You missed Morgan. Or are missing, at least./ Mike sends, then adds, with a grin, /Did you go somewhere?/ =========================== Date: Sun, 26 Apr 1998 04:09:43 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Geo-Runes and Feed-Back On Sun, 26 Apr 1998 04:07:04 -0700 (PDT) Fuzzy Said As CAoL Message # 00004089 > On Sat, 25 Apr 1998 19:04:25 -0700 (PDT) > Fuzzy Said As CAoL Message # 00004076 > "/Ra, I Invoke Your Power... > By Your Leave And With Your Assistance, I Invoke > Vishnu, > For The Preservation of the World, > The Day that Shiva Awakes, > Is Not Yet Recorded in History, > Nor Shall That Day, be Today./" Malevelent Spirits, Minor Demons, and other nasties emerge, Scaling steadily up in power level, and begin making sure the way is safe for what is to come... As well as assureing a handy Snack for their Boss when It arrives... Nemisis Sends =/Lord Fuzzy, There is a Lord of Hell approuching Each of the Gates, It seems they intend to Emerge Simultanously, I estimate a Five Second Count, From 'MARK', Updates as Availible.../= By this point Fuzzy is Glowing nearly as Brightly as the Sun. /Nemisis, make sure those Splits are out of there at The Count of One./ Nemisis Sends: =/Four/= Fuzzy activates his HoverCyclone's ForceField configured to a Cylinder Five Feet in Diameter... =Bast Give me Strength, This is Going to HURT...= Nemisis Sends: =/Three, Each of them is wearing a harness Full of Equipment./= "/For the Frustration of Typhon, Shiva, and Set, Nemisis Sends: =/Two/= May the Dark Mother Grant, that This Worlds Suffering Is Not Near Its End./= Nemisis Sends: =/One/= Fuzzy uses The X-Gate Generator Built into the HoverCyclone to open a Gateway from one end of the Cylidrical ForceField to 1 Meter in front of where One of the Lords of Hell will Emerge, The X-Gate Generator on his Belt Opens a Gateway From the Other End to the Same distance from the other Emergence Point. As The Lords of Hell Step Through the Gates Fuzzy is hit by a Surge of The Diametricly Opposed Energy so intense that Mundane Matter simply can not exist inside the Chamber he has arranged, Fuzzy disappears A a Flare of Light, A concentrated Force reminiscent of a White Hole, Replaces Fuzzy's body for a single chronon if time, The "Thought" Echos in bands beyond measureing $The Time Has Not Yet Come$ $It Must not be that the Keystone Destroys Itself, This Shall Be Changed$ $I AM$ $Balanced and Balancing By Choice Alone$ $Fuzzy\ .... The Echo heard by those to whom Time is a convieniance fades off into the Distance. The Gates and ForceShield last for only a fraction of a second after their Generators cease to exist, But that is Long Enough... The Lords of Hell are each Hit by A Blast of Energy so precisly matched, And so compleatly opposed to them that the effect might as well be a matter/antimatter reaction. The Lords of Hell are Blown back through the Gates, along with 90% of the Explosive Force, The Remaining 10% is still More than Enough to Shatter the Planet... In that Moment Vishnu's Power becomes known... as the Fireball washes over and through London and (Wherever the other Gate was), Nothing is Damaged, no one is Harmed, Moments later the Arc overhead has absorbed all the Loose Energy... During those Moments, Nothing can be Harmed, all is Held, Preserved, By the Will of Vishnu. When the Dazzle clears from the Eyes of any Observers in Egypt, The Pyramid Once again has a Capstone, A Perfect Quartz Point Gilt-Edged on all faces. =========================== Date: Sun, 26 Apr 1998 04:12:05 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE IV: Just Like Old Times On Sat, 25 Apr 1998 23:40:56 PST Nemo Said As CAoL Message # 00004090 > On Sat, 25 Apr 1998 10:08:59 -0700 (MST) > Driscoll Said As CAoL Message # 00004071 > > It seems to be a subspace field crossed with a magnabubble pulse > wrapped around an energy feed somehwat protecting it but more > directing it. Unfortuately with the interferance it's breaking up > sooner than it should even on a wide band broadcast. I need some > sort of signal booster and a larger transmitting antenna to send it > out through. The more powerful the antenna and booster the wider > area of London I should be able to cover. I don't know that my mind > can take so many thousands of points of view at once for long, but a > few seconds should be all I need to spot Jadis as long as there is > some sort of electronic machinery nearby, which even in a lower tech > world such as this is generally anywhere." "Would a link to the machines I have roaming the city help?" (This is offered by the Nemo in London who *isn't* busy with the sword) =========================== Date: Sun, 26 Apr 1998 04:35:02 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Geo-Runes and Feed-Back On Sun, 26 Apr 1998 04:31:56 -0700 (PDT) Nemisis Said As CAoL Message # 00004091 On Sun, 26 Apr 1998 04:09:43 -0700 (PDT) fuzzy Said: > On Sun, 26 Apr 1998 04:07:04 -0700 (PDT) > Fuzzy Said As CAoL Message # 00004089 > > Nemisis Sends: =/Three, > Each of them is wearing a harness Full of Equipment./= > > "/For the Frustration of Typhon, Shiva, and Set, > > Nemisis Sends: =/Two/= > > May the Dark Mother Grant, that This Worlds Suffering Is Not Near > Its End./= [I want to make sure this is done Right, The Splits Remain.] > The Gates and ForceShield last for only a fraction of a second > after their Generators cease to exist, But that is Long Enough... > The Lords of Hell are each Hit by A Blast of Energy so precisly > matched, > And so compleatly opposed to them that the effect might as well be > a matter/antimatter reaction. > The Lords of Hell are Blown back through the Gates, > along with 90% of the Explosive Force, As the Stability of the Gates wavers the Most, due to the Energy Surge passing through them. Using both the CAoL Sigil and the Nemo Power Tap, Nemisis Activates the Wards... Various entities no doubt Feel the Wards Lock into Place, In perfect Resonance to the Invokations and The Pyramid below. \The Ward is Up, Diagnostics indicate that It would require the Direct Intervention of a Primal Entity to bring them down before we decide to do so.\ > After a few quick tests \The Infuence of the Dark Mother successfully prevented Vishnu from permanently Preserving This World and Everything on it in a Time Stop within our Wards. Lord Fuzzy was somewhat Worried about that...\ =========================== Date: Sun, 26 Apr 1998 06:05:00 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: Geo-Runes and Feed-Back On Sun, 26 Apr 1998 08:00:08 -0500 Mike Said As CAoL Message # 00004092 >On Sun, 26 Apr 1998 04:31:56 -0700 (PDT) >Nemisis Said As CAoL Message # 00004091 >\The Ward is Up, Diagnostics indicate that It would require the > Direct Intervention of a Primal Entity to bring them down before we > decide to do so.\ The twins blink. Grep and Melissa look at each other, ^@#Sis?#@^ ^@#Yes, I'm here. Thankfully, we were armed and configured for combat.#@^ Grep reports, "Lenses are functioning as predicted. Creation of simple objects is permitted. Weapons systems were already in place, and can not be reconfigured, nor can bodily reconfiguration be done, though repair of existing configuration is possible. Gateway systems are off-line. Personality programs intact as are survival skills. Extranious proccesses are suspended. Processing times are maximized. This should maximize operating under the Wards." Melissa adds, "Let's get this over with. We don't like how crowded our mind has become." =========================== Date: Sun, 26 Apr 1998 06:05:06 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: Geo-Runes and Feed-Back On Sun, 26 Apr 1998 08:00:04 -0500 Mike Said As CAoL Message # 00004093 >On Sun, 26 Apr 1998 04:07:04 -0700 (PDT) >Fuzzy Said As CAoL Message # 00004089 >Nemisis Sends >=/Lord Fuzzy, > There is a Lord of Hell approuching Each of the Gates, > It seems they intend to Emerge Simultanously, > I estimate a Five Second Count, > From 'MARK', > Updates as Availible.../= > >By this point Fuzzy is Glowing nearly as Brightly as the Sun. The Elder Mike says "Now Kim." Inside the Nodes, balls of energy appeared, and formed into human shaped auras, then into duplicates of the Amber crew. Links were formed, energy coursed and for a few seconds, the Nodes were under sentient control. > A concentrated Force reminiscent of a White Hole, Replaces Fuzzy's >body for a single chronon if time, The "Thought" Echos in bands >beyond measureing >$The Time Has Not Yet Come$ >$It Must not be that the Keystone Destroys Itself, > This Shall Be Changed$ >$I AM$ >$Balanced and Balancing By Choice Alone$ >$Fuzzy\ The Crew of the _Timbuktu_ hear and understand solemnly. Their past selfs realize something IMMENSE has passed through this world, but have no concept what. >In that Moment Vishnu's Power becomes known... > as the Fireball washes over and through London and > (Wherever the other Gate was), > Nothing is Damaged, no one is Harmed, > Moments later the Arc overhead has absorbed all the Loose > Energy... > During those Moments, Nothing can be Harmed, all is Held, > Preserved, By the Will of Vishnu. >When the Dazzle clears from the Eyes of any Observers in Egypt, > The Pyramid Once again has a Capstone, > A Perfect Quartz Point Gilt-Edged on all faces. The Crew of the _Timbuktu_ stand and applaud, whooping and cheering, as the Node managers reform into balls of light and leave. Mike takes his family under his arms, and they stand, watching for a few moments. "Well," he says, finally, "I think that is it for the here-now. Shall we move on?" Coming to a silent agreement, the Crew disappear from the head of the Sphinx. =========================== Date: Sun, 26 Apr 1998 08:34:50 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE IV: The Wheel of Fire (I) On Sun, 26 Apr 1998 10:20:47 -0500 Zia Said As CAoL Message # 00004094 > Roland regards Justin for a moment-it'd be a longer moment if he >had the time-and seems to come to a decision. "Energy I can do. In my >lightning form I can provide vast power pretty much forever." Sheila just sets to work building the ground-effect transmitter, with only the briefest of pauses while the duplicate Amber crew is created then gone again during the hubbub. >>James nods, and moves to look (probably up) at Roland. "So. Delegate >>some tasks to me, that is, what you feel you may. I can't do any >>more magic, but I'm a semi-decent psi." > (OOC: Roland is almost exactly James' height; maybe a half-inch >shorter. BTW, if he looks like Sean Connery Roland might recognize >him. ) (ooSC: Actually, he is exactly like the Ian Fleming description of Bond in the books. Younger than Connery, not quite as tall, cruel- looking mouth, ice-blue eyes with dark hair, and the thin 3" knife scar down one cheek. Roland can probably recognize that easily enough, if he's ever read the Fleming books. Or anyone else, too...) > Roland regards James for an even shorter moment, though clearly >wanting to take longer with this one. But he doesn't have the time. >"I'm maintaining a 'lock' on the Mandy/Raver amalgam to help them >resist the...effect...that the ley shift is having on them. If you >open your mind, I can send you the telepathic 'pattern' that I'm >using to do it. I need to be in seventeen places at once, and I might >not be able to maintain the effect I'm using in all of this madness." James nods, and doesn't waste time. He 'opens' a band of thought easily encrypted to work only with Roland, takes the sent information without so much as touching his mind for a mental sig, and then locks in his support. To just the two he is supporting, ^Hello, ladies. My name is Bond, James Bond. I'll be your support for the duration of this crisis. Please tell me if there is anything else I can do to help.^ He is smooth and debonair enough to be a villain, but simple too sincere for it to really come of villainous. :) At the same time he takes Molly's gun, and checks it over minutely by hand and Rigellian depth-sight. "I don't believe that actual conflict will result from the Hellgate, given the plan of attack, but better safe than sorry." > A Time ripple opens, and a message hologram appears. Thorne's face >leers at Roland. > "You again," Roland sighs. "You really need to get a hobby." Zia nods, looking disgusted, from where she is still leaning on the door's lintel, being thoroughly ignored. Surely a new experience for this lady. Especially dressed fit to kill. Or at least, blind men. She doesn't seem to mind, however, perhaps trying not to be noticed. She watches Roland's reaction to the message with calm eyes, and is echoed in on the group's side chat over the link. (ooSC: I _think_ someone was doing that, anyway....) Then Roland goes. > Sil looks concerned-nass, she looks _scared._ /Oh Phoenix mother, >Dragon father, watch over him...I've never seen him look so >_beaten._/ Zia shakes her head, "He will make it fine, Sil." =========================== Date: Sun, 26 Apr 1998 09:35:45 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE IV: Just Like Old Times On Sun, 26 Apr 1998 10:37:34 -0700 (MST) Driscoll Said As CAoL Message # 00004095 > On Sat, 25 Apr 1998 22:17:36 -0500 > Zia Said As CAoL Message # 00004079 > > Sheila shakes her head, "No, no, no. Don't do it the hard way, any > good engineer is a lazy engineer. We're going to transmit all right, > but we'll be using the ground. In this electrical soup, it'll work > far better, and faster. Now. Just tell me what signal and wave you > need, sugah, and I'll get you fixed up." "Ground based relay may not give out a strong enough signal for highly air borne devices to interpret. And From the studying I've done of those grey devices, I think I can tap into the sensor systems of the Grey Scouts as well. Let them do some of our work for us." "As for the singal booster, I need one working at {} frequnecy with {} wave pattern." =========================== Date: Sun, 26 Apr 1998 09:35:51 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE IV: Just Like Old Times On Sun, 26 Apr 1998 10:41:31 -0700 (MST) Driscoll Said As CAoL Message # 00004096 > On Sat, 25 Apr 1998 23:40:56 PST > Nemo Said As CAoL Message # 00004090 > >> On Sat, 25 Apr 1998 10:08:59 -0700 (MST) >> Driscoll Said As CAoL Message # 00004071 >> >> It seems to be a subspace field crossed with a magnabubble pulse >> wrapped around an energy feed somehwat protecting it but more >> directing it. Unfortuately with the interferance it's breaking up >> sooner than it should even on a wide band broadcast. I need some >> sort of signal booster and a larger transmitting antenna to send it >> out through. The more powerful the antenna and booster the wider >> area of London I should be able to cover. I don't know that my mind >> can take so many thousands of points of view at once for long, but >> a few seconds should be all I need to spot Jadis as long as there >> is some sort of electronic machinery nearby, which even in a lower >> tech world such as this is generally anywhere." > > "Would a link to the machines I have roaming the city help?" Justin looks over to where Roland was. "Yes I think I should be able to leapfrog the signal from centepide to centipede, but I'm afraid of signal degredation since we just lost our volenteer power source. I don't supposed you can charge the signal booster as well?" ^Once it's on-line each of myself will be glad to take a device and help so you can maintain the link longer.^ ^Perfect Jim. Thanks.^ =========================== Date: Sun, 26 Apr 1998 10:05:14 -0700 (PDT) Subject: AAE IV: Will the Real Amberite Please Stand Up? (was: The On Sun, 26 Apr 1998 11:41:37 -0500 Zia Said As CAoL Message # 00004097 >On Sun, 26 Apr 1998 00:53:48 >Morgan and/or Roland Said As CAoL Message # 00004086 > > Ariel stares at her Trump. "Work, damn you!" > Roland does a spinning flying kick that knocks one of his >remaining opponents into another. "It isn't _going_ to work. I've got >a spacial 'lock' on you. You're going back to your cell, your >Highness," Roland snarls. A woman just manages to crawl over the edge of a nearby ridge, moving as fast as she can, then freezing and watching the battle. Her psi and every other detectable emanation muffled by the use of carefully layered magic, done by at least a couple of experts. [Short &(*&()(787 warning, for someone we've supposedly got under observation, with five bloody effectives, damn it.] She looking through a high-powered sniper rifle sight, says with relief, softly, "At least they talk when dealing with the villains." Except for her black hair, and slightly taller build (about a whopping 5'6" or so) she is a twin for Zia, right down to the black outfit. Except hers still has rank and unit insignia on it. [A spatial lock on a Trump?! That shouldn't work. Ah, so it's not a true Amberite, is it? She seems awfully close. Either from an alternate, or a Golden Circle kingdom. Great. May I have another high treachery to report to my King when I get home, please? No wonder Random is always so glad to see me... Not to mention Roland to see Zia.] She smiles in amusement, but her eyes track on the conflict, trying to follow as much of the speech as she can make out. >appears on the front of her cream dress. "R-Roland? You-you >wouldn't-" Ariel's face goes white as she stares at him wide-eyed >with a completely unaffected fear. [No, he won't, worst luck. By the Pattern itself, I _hate_ females who do this sort of thing. Okay, I think she has managed to hit the better-dead list. Instead a minx, she's a skunk.... no, I'm insulting skunks everywhere. She's a rat.] The woman keeps the rifle sight (which is attached to a very long sniper rifle), dead still, pointed at the ground right in front of her possible targets. [Wouldn't want anyone's danger sense to activate. Hopefully, this won't be needed. Wish Sheila were here, though, she's better at this really long-range shots.] > ...and in that moment of distraction, Ariel pulls _another_ trick >out of her (this time proverbial) sleeve, and is gone. The black haired lady jumps to her feet, and grins. [Aha. No time to Trump, and she thinks no shadow walkers by to follow...] And likewise disappears. Zia looks startled a moment, and all the five Ambers (in various places) pick up haloes of gold and blue energy much like Sera's natural one. The young brunette bites off something inappropriate for a church, saying only, "Could bloody well WARN a person." Morgant catches her as she seems to faint. James winces in some sort of discomfort, but his control of the Mandy/Raven balance never wobbles. As the duplicates are no longer needed and vanish, the Amber crew each absorb the auras again. Although Sera can't be seen right now; she might keep hers. :) Zia 'wakes' from whatever fugue that was, (in a private place if Morgant had time to carry her there) with some mild epileptic like spasms for a good three to four minutes before she makes a full recovery. The young lady looks at Morgant, and fumes only slightly to release pent frustration. [I hope we do become good enough friends, for those kinds of liberties with my self to be all right. I don't THINK they'd have done that otherwise. But I would have warned me. Just the split thoughts are hard enough to deal with. Then he, or they, square it over. At least it was short. Did anyone notice? I don't think they would. Too many other problems, eh?] > /Thorne's been...dealt with, but we have new problems, one of which >is named Ariel. What did I miss?/ Roland seamlessly takes up the task >of holding on to Mandy and Raver unless the entity to whom he passed >it is doing as well or better than he was. James, sitting there watching Sheila and Justin talk in an utterly strange language only true tech-heads and dedicated geeks could follow, looks up at the returning immortal. (He's in the lab at the Church in London, I think.) He does a tight link, to Roland, and echoed by whomever is passing the Amber Crew's transmit talk to the CAoL link. And aloud in the room, since Sheila and Justin aren't on either. "*/Not too much. Ariel isn't a new problem, we think from the planning of that, she was involved a while back. At least now we know she isn't one of our Amber. So, Zia isn't prevented from opposing her by oath./*" He grins, the smile from the stories, the tight almost cruel one. "*/ And she can't be an Amber and a pawn. We don't believe she is the master mind. Too impatient by far. But we now have much more to go on."*/ "*/If you want to take this back, you may, but it's not straining me. And if you have plenty of jets, even the bests rockets can't be run at 130% all the time, Roland. I think you have a few other things to deal with, in cleaning up here, and gathering your team./*" "*/The Arc took the load from Fuzzy's incredible stunt. I don't know what we'll use the power for. Perhaps giving this place a head start on rebuilding. That we'd like to ask them, if you wouldn't mind telling Legion who is the only one in good with the locals, or at least, closer than any of us./*" > Ariel smiles again. "He'll be easy enough to use. You!" She snaps >at the maid. "Stop drinking my feywine and get back to work." The black haired woman hurriedly breaks the lightest contact she could manage through the hurriedly drawn Trump sketch. "Good. Just a maid. Explains why it wasn't shadow walking, a delayed Trump? No wonder she hasn't detected me. Yet." She folds the paper."Okay, nephew," she says quickly to the solid white arcs of light all around here, "get me the heck out of Dodge." While looking about semi-nervously. She reappears near the opening of a cavern. Blue crystal shows through the gap. She nods, and hurries over to the opening. "Any trace of trackers, Ghostwheel? A maid. How nice. A half-worthy opponent, at last. I can see why Roland - How the DEVIL does she do that sort of thing with Trump!" More than a bit enviously. Then she snaps herself out of it, "LATER, Sarah. Better move, now, or I'll be in the fire, instead of the frying pan." The white arcs spin, then settle again to moving slowly, a voice answering cockily, "No. She didn't even see us. Don't you think a god like me could keep her from noticing, Aunt Sarah?" She shakes out the rope, and prepares to descend. She ties into a rappeling harness with a practiced ease. "You can't ever be too careful, dear Ghostwheel. And here, or anywhere else involved directly with Amber, please do remember to call me Coral. All I need is for family to start working on my IDs." She laughs outright, seeming to think it hilarious, "As if I even know. And gods seem to make more mistakes than us confused mortal folk, at times. Not you, of course." She smiles, "I'm cutting through here to throw ANY possible link she might have gotten. Without a good look at my real face, and with this, I should be safe. I'll call you later, and let you know." Witht that she drops into the depths of the famous blue crystal cavern, cutting all contacts with the outside, including Trumps. About half an hour later, she emerges from a deep vent, pulling herself free of the tight opening. She pauses for some watered wine from her canteen, mopping sweat with a sleeve back. Breathing hard, she stares into space, "What to do now? Yes. I do think this could become a threat to Amber itself. So. To Court, first, to play the honorable knight of the realm. Enfoeffed and all." She sighs. [Yes, Morgant, I know, we should. As soon as the block drops, everyone but Zia is leaving, I believe that will keep it under wraps.] She shrugs, [Yes, I know Mike might catch on, even may have already. But he doesn't know the hows or whys, and five Amber level people cooperating would make anyone smell fish. Then of course,] she grins, [Zia goes and DRESSES the part of the Red Queen. Subtle, Zia, really subtle. Just because they were a bit free with the duplication. I'm sure they had no idea of the depth of our difficulties with same. Besides, it worked, and they kept it short.] [I'm off to tell our great and wise king of all the problems he's got brewing, then I'll see if the Sensei will give me any advice on this Ariel's Amber. Knowing uncle Benedict, he'll know what kind of underwear she wears on each day of the week. If he'll consent to do so, perhaps a letter from Random will help.] She nods, thoughtfully, as if ending some multi-person conversation. Sarah stands, and looks about carefully. Two lion-sized Chinese Earth dragons bound out of the surrounding rocky terrain, looking happy but unexcited. "No one followed me, or was waiting for me? Gee. I must be getting unpopular." She scans everything within her range with a Sorcerous spell, and finally gives up. "Well, either I'm not in trouble, or it's someone too good for me to catch. Let's move." And she takes off running, the two small dragons being forced to bound along to keep up with her at least seventy miles per hour pace, even over this very broken terrain. =========================== Date: Sun, 26 Apr 1998 10:05:26 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE IV: Just Like Old Times On Sun, 26 Apr 1998 11:53:32 -0500 Zia Said As CAoL Message # 00004098 > "Ground based relay may not give out a strong enough signal for >highly air borne devices to interpret. And From the studying I've >done of those grey devices, I think I can tap into the sensor systems >of the Grey Scouts as well. Let them do some of our work for us." > "As for the singal booster, I need one working at {} frequnecy with >{} wave pattern." Sheila grins. "Actually, the Earth will become my focusing antennae. I think, sugah, we can reach whatever height you want to hit. At what range do you want signal attenuation to reach 'background' noise level?" She writes a flowing script of equations across the board, a beautifully hand drawn curve of the signal strength vs ground height, then another for radius from London of what she THINKS he wants, while she ties a mental link to James and directs him on the actual Telekinetic assembly of the transmitter on Justin's bench. It's quite plain that this is one of Sheila's most favorite thing to be doing, from her attitude as they work. She asks a few more questions about the power supply, to make sure she has it so it won't slag from the strength of the feed, and nods. "Good enough for a field test. Rough, for me, but I'll refine this prototype later, when I have time. James, sugah, you will remember the drawings for me, please?" With a half-shy shrug at Justin, "My memory is meat, and not completely photographic for detail. I can see why you would prefer what you've gotten used to. Some real advantages to that." "Someone will have to carry this, or TK it into place. It's beyond what I can lift comfortably." The rig weighs in about 830 kgs or so, most of it for the power feed isolation, and safety insulation around the base so it won't fry anyone organic nearby from the strength of the transmission. =========================== Date: Sun, 26 Apr 1998 12:05:45 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE: Re-entry and Reunions On Sun, 26 Apr 1998 14:33:07 -0400 Caprice Said As CAoL Message # 00004100 >On Fri, 24 Apr 1998 22:01:54 >Morgan and/or Roland Said As CAoL Message # 00004058 > >>On Thu, 23 Apr 1998 05:57:31 -0400 >>Caprice Said As CAoL Message # 00004011 >> >>Chris says wryly, "Oh, is that all. Why don't we head out of here >>for that drink?" He gives the twenty-one foot dragon a significant >>look. "It's abit crowded in here." >> >>Dr. Haakin immediately counters the offer, "Not until I've done a >>physical examination and taken a blood sample." > > Roland^2 sighs. "I see your reputation is well-deserved," he says >wryly, then turns back to Christopher. "Look, let me convince the Doc >that I'm me and then we'll see about that drink. > "But first things first." A pile of supplies appears in the corner >of the room; everthing from clothes to ammunition. He concentrates; >several other such piles appear around the base. "There. First time >_I_ can remember us being well-stocked. I imagine you've got some >questions for me, Chris, Doc; fire away." Dr. Haakin advances on Roland with a set of syringes and begins taking blood and tissue samples. To her credit, it is only minorly painful instead of the introduction to torture 101 that it could have been. Chris says, "What happened after you were captured? I know it can't be pleasent to talk about, but any information could be of use..." >>Legion's voice is still a bit harsh from disuse, "That.... is a good >>start... I am Dr. Haakin's double from another dimension... I carry >>copies of the memories and personalities of the selves from several >>worlds... which is why I tend to use the first person plural when >>dioriented." > > "Geez." Roland^2 blanches slightly. "And I thought _I_ got a rough >deal. Does your me have this problem?" Legion shakes her head. "No, so far I am unique in my experience... either individuals of my nature are rare... or else a nature such as mine tends to have a negative survival value." =========================== Date: Sun, 26 Apr 1998 18:26:41 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: AAE4: Legion and Company On Sun, 26 Apr 1998 11:54:25 Morgan and/or Roland Said As CAoL Message # 00004101 >On Sat, 25 Apr 1998 10:01:13 -0400 >Caprice Said As CAoL Message # 00004068 > > Legion looked around the room her attention finally settling on >Victoria again. "Where are my packs? " Off to one side, Roland and >his friend were talking. Victoria sat in her wheelchair against one >wall, gun still in her hand but no longer aimed at anyone. The >majority of the room, of course, was taken up by the 21 foot long >dragon. > Victoria indicated a set of lockers off to one side. "They are in >there, if you can get past your friend there. Or at least I assume he >is a friend, otherwise you and Roland would not be taking a _dragon_ >being here so calmly!" Roland^2 blinks and looks up at the Lensdragon. "Oh, him. He's kinda interesting, isn't he? Nah, he's just one of the folx, as far as my alternate is concerned. I saw weirder sh*t every day as a free- floating program." > Legion opens the locker taking out the packs stored within. As >Mischief entwines around her ankles, she looks through them for a >certain package. "This is meant for you Dr. Haakin. Not that I expect >you to accept it blindly..." She sets the package on a table near-by, >watching with amusement as Roland^2 decided what to do about the >blood sample the doctor was demanding. Roland^2, realizing that the Doctor doesn't _have_ the equipment to take a blood sample, creates a diamond-tip needle to pierce his skin and promply jabs himself with the syringe. If he feels any pain, it's not noticable. In a moment, he hands 10 mL of his blood-which looks normal-to Dr. Haakin. "So, will I ever play the violin again?" he asks with a crooked grin. >[OOC: hearing on the link about hell opening up and Morgan needing to >be evacuated] > >/Roland, I can teleport out of here past the blocks without opening a >hole for something else to enter. If you need Morgan out of here, I >volunteer./ /Thank you,/ Roland replies, /but as I told the twins, I've got that covered./ (Wheel of Fire here-takes a few seconds, CAoL time) Roland begins checking in with folx. /Legion? Some of your selves are magi, yes? Can you give me a 'readout' of sorts of what's going on magickally in your neck of the world?/ ===========================