Subj: [ffml] [MW] Die zweite Wahrheit von dem rechten. Date: 00-03-26 18:00:02 EST From: agover@midmich.cc.mi.us (Aaron Gover) Reply-to: ffml@onelist.com To: ffml@onelist.com (FFML) From: Aaron Gover Vincent took measure of his opponent. This blue-shirted man had severly wounded him, and then run off to don some sort of strength-harness from the ancient war. The harness fit him well, made of fineley tooled leather and adorned with clasps made of the same metal as his long dagger -- a material called "Drium." He lunged for the blue-shirted man and slammed him into the stone wall behind him. For his part, the man repeatedly slammed his metal fist into Vincent's side, cracking three ribs. The wall gave way and the two assailants tumbled into the the gear hangar where Schmerzen was being recharged. Vincent pushed the man up against the ruins of an ancient machine and began to drive his gauntleted fists into the mans abdomen. The blue-shirted man apparently didnt like this, because he clapped his hands on either side of Vincent's head, and proceded to smash his forehead into Vincent's face, breaking his nose. The blue shirted man followed this with an uppercut to Vincent's chin that knocked Vincent down to the ground, dazed. * * * E'ris walked deeper into the cave. The unmistakable sounds of combat filtered up from his destination. Sensing drium, he broke into a run. * * * Vincent began to sit up, but not quickly enough. He found himself in a semi-prone position, looking down the double barrels of a loaded shotgun. The double barrels looked uncomforably like the sign for infinity. "Who are you?" The man roughly inquired. Vincent rubbed his jaw. "I am Vincent. And you are?" "My name is Ash, and I'm asking the questions here, bub. Where's the Necronomicon." "What?" Vincent asked, genuinely suprised. "Don't you have it?!" "We were told it was here, we come here and find that its missing and youre here. So what'd you do with it?!" Ash began to tighten his grip on his gun. This constructive conversation would have continued, except for the fact that both of them were sent flying by something that hit them like a freight train and looked vaguely like a large man in armor. Vincent and Ash lay in a heap as the man walked over to them. "So, Vinny, who's your friend?" Ash asked with a bitter edge to his voice. "Hey, I don't know him, I thought he was your friend!" Ash whispered back. "Hand over your drium, mortals, and I might decide to let you live." the large man intoned. Vincent and Ash got to their feet. They both eyed the newcomer while keeping wary eyes on each other. "Can we help you, my good man? We were rather busy at the moment." Vincent asked the stranger. "Just who in the hell are you?" Ash got to the point. "I am... E'ris. You will give me the Drium or I will kill you. Painfully." "He means the buckles on your harness, as well as my dagger." Vincent helpfully told Ash. "Let me see..." Ash said in a thoughtful tone. "What was that word again? Oh, I remember... NO." E'ris unsheathed a large sword. "I was hoping you would say that." "Hey, Vincent, uhmm... how about a truce?" Ash eyed the sword nervously. "I believe thats the best idea I've heard today." Vincent said, unsheathing his dagger. E'ris rushed them. * * * Chaerii and Jeala watched in growing horror. Chaerii could sense that this E'ris being had immense power, more than Ash or Vincent had combined. She searched around frantically for something to help them with. Looking towards the gear hangar, she found it. * * * Both Ash and Vincent narrowly escaped dismemberment at the hands of E'ris' sword. "Tyrmagest thirsts for your blood, mortals." he screamed. "Hey," replied Vincent, deftly dodging another swing, "I'm over thirty thousand years old. I wouldn't call that exactly 'mortal.'" "Wow," intoned Ash as he parried a sword-swing against the barrel of his shotgun, denting the gun, "You don't look a day over seventeen thousand!" Ash scrambled back, drawing his chainsaw from his sheath. He quickly replaced his metal hand with the spinning blade. "Alrighty then, lets rumble." * * * Chaerii and Jeala climbed into the ancient gear and began to power it up. She hoped this would be strong enough to stun the armored man and allow them to escape. The gear responded sluggishly, after millenia of disuse. "c'mon!" Chaerii screamed at the reluctant machine. "Things might have gone faster if we had used that one." Jeala said, pointing out the cockput at a dark blue machine across the hangar. The sleek contours and aggressive look of that machine made the one she had chosen seem clunky and old fashioned. In all honesty, she had considered that one, but some unseen forboding warned against it. "This'll work!" she reassured Jeala. * * * The fight was going very poorly, Vincent reflected to himself, as he looked at the cold stone floor under his face. "Vince, get up!" he could hear Ash shouting, "I could use a hand here. Vincent got to his feet to see Ash on one knee, holding his chainsaw against the swordblade of the armored E'ris. Summoning his inner strength, Vincent rushed at the man, dagger extended. E'ris didn't even look away from Ash as he delivered a backhanded blow to the side of Vincent's head that sent him flying several feet, where he landed in an unconscious heap. E'ris used the distraction to kick Ash in the chin, rendering him unconscious as well. * * * E'ris looked at the limp forms of his opponents. "Mortals. Hmph." Grabbing a leg on each of the two men, he began to drag them deeper into the cave. They still had some questions to answer before he would let them die. "Not so fast, asshole!" came the amplified voice of Chaerii. E'ris dropped his quarry and spun to face his new assailant. What he saw was an ancient gear with its arm-mounted electron lazer pointed directly at him. Chaerii pulled the trigger. E'ris was flung against the wall, which immediately began to vaporize under the lazer's heat. Chaerii decided to fire a couple of missles to make sure she had done the job. She pulled another trigger, and was greeted by a large explosion on the back of the gear, as the ancient weapon malfunctioned. Instead of firing, it exploded in the missle tube, setting the entire gear aflame. Smoke began to fill the cockpit, and Chaerii released the Lazer's trigger. Unfortunately, the lazer had other ideas and continued to fire. As the gear began to stumble, the lazer swung wildly around the hangar, cutting holes in walls, floors, and anyting else in its path. "Shit!" yelled Chaerii, popping the cockpit open. Jeala and Chaerii hopped out of the cockpit and on to the floor of the hangar. They began to run from the gear just in time, as it fell face first, with the lazer drilling blindly into the floor. Vincent and Ash got to their feet. Chaerii ran over to Ash, hugging him. "Im so glad you're okay!" "Hey, hey, hail to the king, baby." replied Ash. Jeala was more reserved. "You fight well, Ash." It was as close to a thank you as she was going to give him. She turned to Vincent. "You also fight well." "Thank you." Vincent answered, unsure of how to reply. They stood, catching their breath, as Chaerii explained how she had shot the man. "Wait a minute, you say the lazer is still firing straight down?!" Vincent asked, urgently. "Is that a problem?" She replied, alarmed. Instead of answering, Vincent began to run towards his Gear. "What's wrong?!" Chaerii asked. As if to answer her, a loud rumbling came from below. Vincent spun on his heel. "The Zohar reactor is directly below the gear hangar, fool! You've breached the containment field! This place is about to become a huge crater! C'mon!" The began to run after him, but stopped short when the floor between them collapsed into an abyss. Ash and the two women were trapped on the top of small pillar of rock. Ash looked over the edge. un unmeasureable distance down lie a lake of molten lava. "Oh shit." "Oh shit is right, my friend. Shall we continue where we left off?" The spun to see the form of E'ris standing on the opposite edge of the pillar, only yards away. Other than a few wisps of steam coming from his armor, he looked unharmed. "Now... Give me that drium." Ash and the women braced to go down fighting as E'ris stalked closer. "Hey!" they spun to see the blue gear hovering behind them, hand outstreched. "We are leaving! Lets go!" came Vincent's voice from the loudspeaker. The three hopped onto the outstretched hand. E'ris leaped after them, but was met instead by a guided missle square in the chest, knocking him backwards into the abyss. He fell silently. Vincent immediately ordered Schmerzen to go straight up. He fired all the considerable weapons his gear was armed with into the ceiling, creating a hole just large enough to escape from. Tunneling up through the layers of earth, Vincent fired again and again as the rumblings and explosions grew in intensity below. Chaerii looked over the edge of Schmerzen's hand to see lava boiling at an alarming rate up the tunnel vincent was creating. Vincent finally broke through just as the Lava was lapping at Schmertzen's toes. He continued to fly at hig speed as a large dome of furious energy consumed what was left of the base. At safe distance, he turned Schmerzen around and watched the destruction. He popped open the cockpit so that the three could join him. It became rather cramped. "That was close. Thanks, Vincent." Said Ash. "It was nothing," he replied. "Besides, maybe we can help each other find the necronomicon." "Not so fast, mortals!" came a familliar voice from the comset. "What the hell!?" exclaimed Ash. Vincent wheeled Schmerzen around to face the now-familliar E'ris. He saw, hovering a mile away, an omnigear like his own. Schmerzen, Vincent reflected, was gunmetal blue with white trim. Its lines were curved and sleek, like a well-muscled man. This new gear -- Schmerzen identified it as "Schlechterstern" -- Evil Star -- was Black with red trim. Its curves were sharp and straight, like a suit of armor with blades. "I still want that Drium, Mortals." E'ris came over the comset. Vincent braced for battle. [Take it from here, Nemmers.] -- "Itchy. Tasty." -- Resident Evil Aaron Gover (aka VincentValintine) Subj: [ffml] [MW] The Garment Emerges Date: 00-03-27 23:04:28 EST From: magus@cyberverse.com (Daniel Polcari) Reply-to: ffml@onelist.com To: ffml@onelist.com E'ris leapt angrily, intending to rend the Gear apart and send its occupants into the lake of fire. In mid-jump, however, he was struck dead-on in the chest by a large anti-sattellite rocket. He had used enough foresight to throw up an AT field as the rocket struck him, but still he knew he would be bruised quite severely. He fell end-over-end, stunned, toward the lava river. As he drew closer, he righted himself so that he was now falling straight down with finesse and poise. Meanwhile, Vincent and his new "friends" were escaping through a minute hole in the base's cieling. "That gear is going to give me problems in my present condition.." E'ris grunted. His feet splashed into the lava, stopping after immersing in several inches of it. He looked around at his new surroundings - Apparently, the gear that attacked him earlier had damaged a large energy converter which proceeded to vomit enough energy to melt all the rock surrounding it. He knew that only one known fuel could power a reactor that strong. Pure, solid Drium. "Tyrmagest.. I think it's time we had a chariot of true, unbridled Nereid quality! Show me the Drium!" With that, a thin green sphere of energy radiated out from E'ris' fist and numerous massive lanoliths of Drium rose up from the lava, resonating and returning the same green light. "Forge of Aeons! Bear unto me the dark embers of creation! Give shape to my will by the power I feed you!" At this, E'ris thrust his fist into the lake of magma. An enormous hissing sound eked out from the vermillion battery as it began to crust over and freeze into rock, the raw energy being sapped out from it at an impossible rate and filtered directly into the Drium pillars. -=-=-=-=-=- Vincent, Ash, Chaerii, and Jeala escaped just in time to evade the enormous wave of energy which exploded out from the base, driving with it what remained of the lava. They took a few seconds to get comfortable as Vincent piloted the Gear away from the blistering heat. -=-=-=-=-=- The only sound illicited from within the cataract of Lava and explosive force was a mid-pitched chime. The Gage, Tyrmagest, wove its spirit into this new body. Identical in appearance to the recently-demised Kaymat.. But made entirely from the infinitely-strong crystalline metal, Drium. "Rise, as a Dark Phoenix to challenge the Sun, Tyrmagest. I give you form in this beast, Granatraeva!" +----------------------+ | Daniel Steven Polcari| Subj: [ffml] [MW] Dark Phoenix, Tell us Lies Date: 00-03-27 23:04:11 EST From: magus@cyberverse.com (Daniel Polcari) Reply-to: ffml@onelist.com To: ffml@onelist.com -=-=-=-=-=-=- Mere seconds after the explosion subsided and the lava ceased to glow, the near-hardened golden brown crust over the tunnel through which Vincent's gear had escaped was breeched. Moving like an obsidian crow, Granatraeva burst smoothly through the surface and alighted upon the air, its silent flight drives easily maintaining its altitude despite its weight. "I still want that Drium, mortals." E'ris called to Vincent via the channels of Schmerzen's comset. "What the hell!?" Ash burst out. "Where'd he get that one?" "It's an Omnigear like the one we're in," Vincent offered. "He must've found one of the other ancient hangars." E'ris chuckled slightly over the comset. "I'm afraid that the weakling Omnigear I found was destroyed some time ago, my new friends. You are looking at the real issue, here. You.. Vincent. I suggest you land the gear and power down, unless you are looking to die and take those three with you." "Uh, wait.. How'd he hear us? I thought the communicator wasn't turned on when we were talking..?" Jeala questioned. "No, it wasn't. And according to Schmerzen's long-range mass spectrometer, that gear weighs more than 290,000 pounds." Vincent uttered dryly. "It's not an Omnigear. I think it's a part of his body." "Wait, so what you're sayin' is that he just pulled this thing out of his ass?" Ash asked. "That's what it's looking like to me. And I don't think he intends to take prisoners. So get ready to be rocked around a bit.." Said Vincent. "So, you wish to fight us, then? That is unfortunate. I fear our combat may destroy those peculiar Drium artifacts you have." E'ris taunted over the comset. "Oh, and.. About your store of weapons, my good friend? I...Don't suppose you need them anymore." He laughed. Granatraeva's arm gestured back in the subterranean direction of Vincent's staging area. A series of enormous explosions from below ground began to shake the topography, and one final blast uprooted numerous trees. "Well, I must say that that was hardly as impressive as I'd hoped for. I hope the explosion of your gear's modifier engine is a little more.. Satisfying." he said with an imperceptible smile. Vincent cursed in a language his new comrades did not understand and entered a state of intense concentration which caused the gear to change stance, and several sounds of new machinery warming up became audible. "You wretched fool! I'll teach you to interfere in my plans!" Said Vincent. "Tal rautha genshar Surova!" E'ris proclaimed. Everyone somehow understood that E'ris had just apologized to their families. "Don't get ahead of yourself, Blacky, I may surprise you! And didn't anyone tell you that the Goth style went out a couple thousand years ago?" Vincent did not wait for a response, but rather funneled the gear's power into the leg actuators, allowing him to dash up to Granatraeva at lightning speed. He brought Schmerzen's knee into the Black Gear's gut, causing a dull, loud thud. "Wh..what the hell!? You..dented the armor!?" E'ris yelled in surprise. "It's pure Drium! That's impossib.." He was cut off when Schmerzen's boot covered 270 degrees and struck Granatraeva in the back of the head, toppling it to its feet. "Heeeellllll Yeah!!" Ash cheered from the 'back seat.' "Kick his ass, Vincent!" Chaerii and Jeala sat quietly and observed through the gear's 'windshield.' "Enough of that. I did not expect to have to actually fight. You have my admiration, mortals." Said E'ris. In a lightning-fast motion, Granatraeva's arm whipped back and struck Schmerzen in the right shoulder, sending a cloud of blue high-resistance ceramic shards flying to the ground. The cockpit was jarred significantly, throwing Jeala into Ash's lap. "Whoa! I have to admit it's bad that we just got whapped like that, but what a nice bit of hazard pay!" Ash said. Jeala slapped him and returned to her seat. "I'll have you know that I had.. That I have a boyfriend! And this is hardly the time or pl.." It was Jeala's turn to stop mid-sentence when another blow from the Black Gear connected, this time in the back of Schmerzen's right knee. The gear fell over and Vincent ground his teeth as Granatraeva stood over him, preparing to drive a bladed elbow clean through the cockpit. Reacting quickly enough to save the Gear, Vincent appropriately selected anti-tank armament and fired a short barrage of 142mm chain rounds into what would be Granatraeva's cockpit, were it a normal gear. The effect was not what Vincent expected. The gear reared back, as if in pain. Along the jawline of the gear's "head," jets of steam issued forth in a zipper pattern. When the finished, the jawline dropped down, revealing a row of black crystalline teeth and an angry surge of the gear's hot breath. "Whoa, shit! This' like in Evangelion, only that thing's definitely not on our side!" Said Ash. Granatraeva stood again, leveling its arms back as if to attack. The sunlight dimmed significantly despite the total lack of clouds in the sky, and the air was filled with an abrasive static that Vincent felt even inside Schmerzen's all-environment cockpit. "None of that, now!" Vincent grinned and fired another barrage of shots. Almost all of the bullets seemed to collide with an amber-colored force-field 20 feet from the Black Gear's hull before exploding, and those which reached it caused little damage. Granatraeva continued charging power as steam continued to rush from its mouth like the hot breath of a well-trained athlete. "Vincent, think faster! We're not going to live much longer if you don't do something!" Jeala complained. "I'm in the middle of a fight with god-knows what from god-knows where being piloted by god-knows who, and all you're concerned with is staying alive? I'm worried enough about having to fix this thing's shoulder! Now either shut up or you can get out and walk!" He batted back. Vincent stood Schmerzen up and brought out its shield, although he sensed it would do little good. "Damn damn damn.. I can't think!" Said Vincent. "Whoa, Vincent.. Didn't he say that thing is made entirely out of Drium?" Chaerii spoke up. "Yeah, he did.. That's why those globe-crackers I just shot at it barely scratched it!" Vincent replied. "Ash, Vincent.. I need the knife and the vest." She said. With some disagreement the two complied and Chaerii donned the vest as the static grew heavier. "Open the cockpit. Don't question me, just open it!" Chaerii commanded. "You're crazy! We'll have no protection from that thing if I.." Vincent was silenced by Jeala's hard grip on his collarbone. "Miss Chaerii has an Idea. You do not. Open the cockpit." Schmerzen crouched down and its chestplate opened forward. Chaerii stepped onto the narrow plate of metal, causing Granatraeva to notably falter in surprise. "Very well, then. I suppose you wish to die quickly instead of perishing in the flaming wreck of that Human-made trash." E'ris offered consolingly. "My death will come when I am satisfied that the world is free of your kind." Chaerii spoke, softly. "Well, I am sorry to injure your itinerary." He replied as Granatraeva pointed its palm forward and began firing a beam of solid energy. Chaerii produced the Drium Dagger from behind her back and raised it into the path of the beam. The Crystalline matrix of Drium in the dagger acted as a capacitor, storing the power of the beam within its lattices. Granatraeva angrily continued to fire for a few more seconds before realizing its error and standing off. Chaerii smiled and ducked back into the cockpit as Vincent closed it. "Vincent, keep him busy! I just need to get this ace in our sleeve!" Chaerii found the Generator access hatch and opened it. She had scarcely managed to crawl into it before E'ris' seething curses came over the comset followed by a rain of kicks and blows which destroyed Schmerzen's left arm and part of its hip armor. Vincent did his best to cope with the new imbalance in the gear's weight and retaliated with an uppercut which smashed one of Granatraeva's teeth. The stalactitic feature fell to the ground where it proceeded to drive itself hundreds of feet into the earth, driven by its enormous drium weight. -=-=- Chaerii slid into the Generator housing and, working with the finesse of a trained service personnel, opened the modifier containment door and tossed the dagger into the field. -=-=- Vincent, meanwhile, immediately noticed the Gear's massive improvement in response time, movement speed, and resilience. He proceeded to catch Granatraeva's leg and flip the beast onto its back before delivering a crushing blow to its lower back. It bellowed in anger and slashed open Schmerzen's knee joint with an elbow-blade, but Vincent reacted in time and snapped off the blade before it made a deeper cut. "I don't know what the hell she did, but I will never doubt her again!" He proclaimed excitedly." Vincent immediately stood, oblivious to the wounded knee, and delivered a two-fisted punch to Granatraeva's chest, leaving a set of knuckle imprints and knocking the gear backward several hundred yards. E'ris bitched angrily from within the Black Gear. "We're done fighting! I have things to do today!" He called out. "So go home!" He took control of the gear, causing it to propell a large shard of drium at near-light velocity through Schmerzen's lower torso. A jet of control fluid mixed with flames from the engine compartment shot out in a color eerily similar to that of blood. "CHAERII!" Jeala screamed as Schmerzen fell to the ground. Granatraeva retreived its tooth and sped off under full drive power, leaving the writhing gear and its confused occupants to their miseries. "She was in the engine compartment!!" The realization sunk into their minds quickly, and Ash lowered his hat. They would have many repairs to make, both on the gear and on their entourage. +----------------------+ | Daniel Steven Polcari| Subj: [ffml] [MW] Das voyeur der endgültigen Zerstörung [als Schönheit.] Date: 00-03-28 23:39:45 EST From: agover@midmich.cc.mi.us (Aaron Gover) Reply-to: ffml@onelist.com To: ffml@onelist.com (FFML) From: Aaron Gover [This comes after "Eins von ihnen ist Hoffnung" and before "Super Tuesday."] Vincent stood up. In one hand, he was holding the gate key. In the other, he was holding a small knife. "Follow me." He scramled up the tree he had just made his too-rapid descent from, and the others followed suit. "What the hell are you doing?" asked Ash. "Watch." He lit a match in the internals of the system, and watched it return to its original state. "You brought us up here to light matches?!" Jeala was growing impatient. "No, no! Look!" he handed the match. Ash and Jeala's eyes widened as the realized what had happened. "So what does that have to do with saving Chaerii?" Asked Ash. "Don't you get it? Time is messed up here! She isn't someWHERE else! She's someWHEN else! She's out of sync with the rest of us. You and I, Ash, have to go save her!" "What about me?" Jeala looked enthusiastic for the first time since Ash had met her. "I need you to stay here and get things ready. Chaerii may be hurt or frostbitten or any number of things. We'll need a warm bed and some chicken soup for her." "Okay." She reached out her hand to Vincent and shook hands with him, "Please bring her back." She turned to Ash. "And you too, you bring her back. Or I'll break your legs." She actually managed to smile when she said that. She shook hands with Ash. She scrambled down the tree as Vincent and Ash got ready. "Do you think it will be dangerous in there?" he asked. "Probably. I don't know anything about where she was transported to. Out of sync times tend to be a one-way trip." "Ouch." Ash's shotgun was still out of order, having been bent by E'ris, so he stuck his chainsaw on his back-sling. Vincent began to attatch wires to the gate key from the innards of the engine. "Synching. Are you ready?" "No." "Good." Vincent pressed a button. It wasn't as abrupt as Ash had been expecting. Instead of a flash, the surroundings began to... lose life. Flowers wilted, grass died, the sky turned grey, the stream nearby stagnated. "What the hell?" Ash asked. "Hmm... It appears she is out of synch in the past." They turned to fact eachother, and Ash gasped. Coming off the two were what could only be described as a blueish, faintly glowing vapor. "Mmmm...," mused Vincent. "What is that?!" "Life. This timeframe is entropy. It's dying. Its sucking our life away. We should hurry. Look." Vincent pointed to the skyline. Instead of a horizon, an inky blackness, like a storm front, was closing in. "Though I walk through the valley of of the shadow of death..." Vincent quoted scripture. "You know, you should be an inspirational speaker, you know that?" Ash said bitterly, "C'mon, lets go." Vincent searched with his power. It was like running through water. "I can't find her with my power!" Vincent was alarmed. His power had never failed him before. "You won't be able to, either." came a familliar voice. They both turned. "V'terr?" "Yep. Your powers aren't really you. Thats why they fail you. They will continue to fail you, as well, until you search your soul and make it yours." "What the hell do you mean?" yelled Ash. "Vince, you know this guy? What the hell? We've got to find Chaerii." "A noble sentiment, young man, now shut up." V'terr said without looking at him. "To find Chaerii, don't search with your mind, search with your heart. However, as you might still need some help, you should look over in that grove of trees." He pointed and they looked. "Than--" Ash cut off. V'terr was gone. "Whatever." Ash muttered. "Lets go." The grove turned out to be deserted. The smell of rot hung heavy in the air. "Dammit, where is she?!" Ash was getting upset. It seemed that no matter what he did, he lost friends. "Ash!" Vincent shouted, pointing up. Ash looked. In the top branches of the highest pine, he saw Chaerii draped over a branch. The bluish fumes coming off of her were very weak. "Ill go." They both said simultaniously. "Look, I may not look like it," said Vincent, "but I AM stronger than you." "Yeah... but you're also the only one who can get us out of here if anything goes wrong." replied Ash. "But... I.." "No buts, Im going." Ash said, starting up the tree. In all truth, Ash had ulterior motives. Chaerii had begun to mean a lot to him, not only was she pretty in her own way, but she was really smart and... dammit! What was he doing thinking like this?! Ash climbed, paying more attention. After nearly ten minutes of climbing, he reached her. She was still wearing the strength harness, and other than a few scratches, looked okay. The bluish life fumes, however, were very weak. "C'mon, babe, we're leaving." he whispered. "Ash... how?" she said very weakly. "Don't worry now, I'll tell you later." Ash put her over his shoulder, and began back down. Halfway, he slipped. As he tumbled end over end, he could only think about how sad he was that he couldn't save Chaerii. Vincent watched them plummet, and instantly siezed his power and started to slow their descent. In this place, though, he wasnt even one tenth as powerful as he was normally, and wasnt sure if he could slow them enough. They hit with a dull thud. Vincent rushed over to them, as Ash sat up. "Gee, Vincent, thanks for all your help." "How's Chaerii?" "'Oh thanks for risking your life, Ash! Thanks for nearly dying, Ash!' I don't get any respect." "Chaerii?" "Oh yeah, she seems okay. I took most of the fall." "Good, lets--" VINCENT. Vincent screamed and clutched his head. The words seemed to split his skull and threatened to drown out his own sense of self. VINCENT. I AM NOT PLEASED. YOU HAVE A JOB TO DO. "Vince? Vince! Are you okay? Vincent could faintly hear Ash's voice, and used what strength he could muster to tell him to run. "Run Ash! Run to the gear! Touch the engine and youll be home! GO!" Ash didn't need to be told twice. With Vincent's terrible screaming following him, he ran back to the gear, scrambled up the tree, and laid his hand upon the engine. The world faded back to normal. VINCENT. YOU SHOULD NOT BE DALLYING WITH THESE HUMANS. YOU ARE ABOVE THAT. THERE IS BUT ONE SEAL LEFT. YOU MUST BREAK IT. GO, AND BREAK THE SEAL. IF YOU DO NOT, YOU WILL FACE MY DISPLEASURE. THIS IS BUT A SMALL TASTE. Ripples of pain flooded through Vincent like white hot metal. He screamed. And then it stopped. Vincent opened his eyes to see V'terr there, his hand on Vincent's forehead. "Damn you make an awful din, boy. Let me tell you, you keep listening to that voice and your soul will never be your own." "Thank you." Vincent said, between pants. "Here," V'terr said, handing Vincent a pendant of some sort, "take this. Think of it as a good luck charm." Something struck Vincent as odd about V'terr, but he couldn't put his finger on it. "Boy, you better leave. Look." Vincent looked. The inky blackness that had been on the horizon before was now on the shore of the stream. "This little time frame was created specifically for Chaerii. Now that she's no longer in it..." "Okay, Im going. What about you?" "I'll be fine." "But youll be..." What was odd finally struck Vincent: V'terr didn't have any life-fumes. "...be... killed." he finished. "Hah, yeah, except that I'm already dead -- Sort of. Get going. Don't worry, we'll have more time to talk later." "Okay. Stay safe." "Hah, okay, I promise I wont let myself get killed. Again." Vincent smiled, turned, and ran to the gear. He reached the engine just as the blackness began to close on him. * * * Forgetting that the engine was suspended twenty feet in the air, he materialized a little too far to the left to keep his balance. "Not again!" This time, he landed on his feet. Running over to where Jeala was feeding soup to a sleepy-looking Chaerii. "Hey, hows it going?" "Vincent!" Jeala nearly yelled, "we thought you were gone for good! We were going to have to let Ash pilot the gear!" "God forbid." he said, shocked. They both laughed. "And how are you feeling, Chaerii?" he asked. "I think I'll live," she said, voice barely a whisper. She smiled. "Thats good. Ash risked his life for you, you know." "Yes, I know." "Where is he, by the way?" Jeala pointed to a large lump on the other side of the fire. The lump was snoring loudly. Vincent realized that he too was exhausted. "I think I'll turn in, myself. Goodnight, ladies." Walking over to Ash, he ignobly yanked one of the three blankets Ash was using out from under him. Ash grumbled, sleepily. Vincent curled up in the blanket, and slept the sleep of the just. Jeala talked softly with Chaerii. "They really are a couple of oddballs, aren't they?" Jeala was showing the first signs of happiness since her fiancee had been killed, and it moved Chaerii nearly to tears. "Nice oddballs, though." They talked softly a few hours more until Jeala finally walked over, stole another blanket from the grumbling Ash, and Curled up next to the fire. Although many nasty things lurked in the nearby woods, fate was kind and none of them bothered the adventurers that night. The hulking form of Schmerzen watched over them, managing to look almost like a proud parent watching its sleepy children. What none of them knew is what hell the next days would bring. [Please let me finish my ideas tomorrow morning, with These Guys, Junior, Good Vincent, and the last seal at the end of Spaces last post. Thanks. :)] -- "Itchy. Tasty." -- Resident Evil Aaron Gover (aka VincentValintine) http://happythoughts.8m.com agover@midmich.cc.mi.us ICQ: 30189072