The Voyages of the Penelope and the Yydryl

.......Unsavory Options.......

Ben was losing his patience waiting on Gert. "Daft old bat," he muttered. "How hard is it to find a fire axe?" He grinned, thinking of that lovely Kate Winslet in the classic film Titanic, wading in hip deep water to bash the handcuff chain that held her beloved "Jack" tethered to a pipe in steerage as the mighty ship took on water. "Good flick, that," he mused to no one in particular.

A few feet away, Brittle was sitting with his back to the wall cleaning his nails while Mucklebones watched whatever she saw in her monocle. It was mesmerizing enough that she was drooling, and Ben wondered if she even knew it.

He'd been holding onto Wild's wrist for so long that he no longer felt himself doing so, in that strange manner that limbs have of becoming 'senseless'....but when the girl's injured hand twitched, she had his attention.

"Let go of me!" she snapped. She yanked her wrist free of him and jammed her finger stump into her mouth.

Ben grimaced, but said, "Good, that thing was startin' ta smell like three-day old roadkill on a hot day in July (he pronounced it 'JEW-lie') but, Ah kin stand it for ten more ticks while ye tell me where to find whoever shot them beams, 'n then ye can suck on it all ye like." Ben said. "All's yer missin's a finger; ye got another un....We got a stolen ship, a dissolved friend, 'n a whole lot 'o nuthin' else."

Wild glanced around to get her bearings, and when she saw the numbers (Ben guessed they were numbers anyway, those cuneiform shapes painted on the warehouse wall) she groaned. "Oh, crap!" she said. "You found it, you old fart, now I'm leaving," she said and started to rise to her feet.

"Ye'll do no such thang!" demanded Ben.

She turned to look at him, brushing her clothes off. "Yes, I will. Because if I see him I'll have to kill him," she said. "That no good bastard ruined everything. I told him I I was done, and I'm done. I haven't laid eyes on him in seven years so far, and I plan to make it seventy." She plugged her mouth with the stump again, turned, and started walking.

"Hey!" Ben yelled. "Wait!"

Wild simply waved her good hand over her head.

"Brittle!" Ben then barked. "Stop that wench, bring 'er back here, and hang on to 'er."

Brittle looked up and cleared his throat as he rose to his feet. Ben yelled in through the crack in the doors: "Gert! What in tarnation's takin' ye so long, ye old crone!"

A male voice replied, in a library-hushed tone, from inches away. "No need to holler, man, she's right here. I'll trade you this gal for that one, alive for alive." Ben's goggly eye honed in on the darkness beyond the crack, and saw a faintly lit face. The man appeared to be in his early thirties, and was startlingly handsome. He stood with his arm around Gert's shoulders, who was gazing up at him adoringly.

"What the---," said Ben. Gert was in a trance of some kind; drugged or hypnotized, it appeared. Ben sighed, "What is it with women folk?" he muttered. "They see a pretty face and they come unglued." He turned to see Brittle only speed-walking toward Wild, who was nearly out of sight. "Run!" he called to Brittle. "Do not let 'her git away!"

Wild began to sprint then, a good ten yards ahead of her pursuer, and disappeared around a corner into an alley.

Muckles seemed suddenly to come to life. "She's gettin' away?!" she barked. "Oh no, she ain't!" She rose to her feet and then, like a slung shot, sped after Brittle and the girl.

The man inside the warehouse chuckled. "Well, this is more action than we've had here in many, many moons," he said. Ben heard the jingling of keys, then a rattle of the chain and the click of a released padlock. The door was pulled open a few feet. "Come in, please," he said. "I'm sure we can sort this out like gentlemen. I could really use some help here."

Ben glowered at him. "Why should Ah help ye? Ye destroyed one of our fleet; one of our crew's nothin' but a cold mist now...an' the horse we rode in on's been stole by Gargantua. What kinda hell is this place?"

"For now, the most hellish kind," said the man. "And I'm trying to turn it around. Wild deserted me, and I can't do it on my own. If you ever want to get off this planet, you'll have to cooperate with me. I'll explain everything, so kindly step in."

Ben frowned. "What about th'others?"

"They'll find their way back, I'm sure," said the man. "With or without the skittish young lady." He smiled, and his teeth were perfect. "Looks like I'm you're best bet. And I'm holdin' all the cards."

Ben knew the man was right. He needed to know what was going on, and he needed help if he was going to get everyone back to the Yydryl. If there still was a Yydryl. He hesitated for just a couple of seconds longer, and then stepped into the warehouse.

The younger man thrust out his hand, "Alaag," he said. "Alaag Tlaa."

"Ben," muttered his guest. "Just Ben."

.........................~First Floor -Ladies Lingerie And Sundries, Second Floor -?~.......................

The humming came first and then as the hairs on Nenothtu's arms began to bristle, the air
around his face began to shimmer. "Get me up quick, something's happening down
here" he growled into the small mouthpiece and reached for the tightening wire.

The tip of the spire seemed to give out a crackling sound and as the Vandal watched
the point above where the plaque was seated, a faint-green glow began to emanate from
it's surface.

"Push it Margot!" Neno shouted and shuffled away from the throbbing glow, his skin was
tingling now and his temples copied the pulsing light with a oncoming headache.
The structure moved.

As long-ago dust and dirt plumed up from the steep rooftop, Nenothtu scrambled away
from the source of the eerie-glow "GET ME UP NOW!" he shouted and felt the wire slacken.
What the hell was going on up there?

Tibbs brushed past Margot at the controls and reached to re-engage the safety-cord, the
small green-light still showed that the system was operating and yet, the hull-camera
showed the huge reel of wire spooling free -as if the power was off.
"He's being kidnapped" the Vithian hissed and beat his fists against the console, Margot
looked on with wide eyes as the tall spire began to descend.

Boy In A Dress scanned the interior of the craft for anything that would do as a second
harness, but without a result, the Man/Girl set about devising his own rescue-plan.

The broken door slid a few inches as the massive building rumbled downwards and the
faint smell of a forgotten room wafted out again, Neno felt the sudden lurch in his stomach
as the last resting place of Rebo began to plummet downwards.
Again, he shouted into the mouthpiece.

"If'n you don't pull me in soon kiddies, I'm gonna be takin' a ride to Hel!" he called without
any humour in his tone and yanked the cable twice, the 'zzzzz' sound and the sight of the
falling wire didn't help to bring any levity.

Weighing the situation in an instant, the stone-faced new owner of the surrounding area
released the useless cord from his harness and hung-on to the metal-surround of the
hatchway. "Basement-floor" he hissed to himself and hoped The Starwolf was clear of any
danger.

The sight of BIAD's 'under-carraige' and the waving arms brought a shudder to Neno and
tearing his gaze away, he realised that the hermaphrodite was using his hair to attempt a
rescue. The long black strands were bringing the grinning BIAD closer, but the speed of the
descending building had also increased, he'd better get a move-on -Neno thought.

The Starwolf was struggling with the fall and Nenothtu knew that any plan to grab him was
useless, with a flailing arm to 'shoo' Boy In A Dress away, he shouted into the mike to
let the craft move back. Then he saw Tibb's bearded-face appear over the shoulder of
his friend in the red dress.

"We're coming!" Tibbs called and offered a hopeful smile, but as the surrounding treetops
suddenly swooped past, Neno knew it would be too late. Grimacing he held on for the
impact.

The clatter of high-heels on metal and the sound of an old man saying "oof!" told the
Gunslinger that the two rescuers had arrived, the sight of BIAD's hair falling in piles
around the grinning-idiot also told Neno that the Man/Girl had let go of The Starwolf.
"We thought you'd need company" BIAD shouted over the noise of the descending
structure.
Tibbs untangled himself from the shortening strands and lay flat against the spire's
steep sides "All-for-one, and all that" he whimpered and closed his eyes behind those
little-round spectacles.

"I'll land the 'Wolf' near to where you're going" Margot crackled into Nenothtu's earpiece
and without replying, the short-haired U-man with a penchant for stubby-cigars nodded
once.

The hole was black and the three passengers of the hell-bound building guessed it was
deep. Really deep.

.................................~You've Gotta Be Kidding Me, huh?~........................................

The sonic drill-bit penetrated the the tiny cave where the Shadow Diamond lay at
approximately 2.30am on the morning after Nenothtu, Tibbs and Boy In A Dress were
placed in the make-shift holding-cell at Bisley Deeps, the ancient town never had jail
cells per se.

Bisley Deeps harks back to the time of when the residents... and I supposed the mummified
remains of Rebo is a testament to those people, when the residents of Euzkala scoured the
bowels of their planet for minerals and ores to enhance their lifestyles.
Again, the husk known as Rebo showed how that had idea panned out.
............................................

"We used to get a lot of off-worlders mooching about up there..." the man in the silk suit
said sternly "... you're lucky the Uktenas didn't take you" he offered with a small-smile.



Tibbs nodded with a serious face as the dark-haired man with thin moustache walked
out of the 30-seater room of Bisley Deep's Recreation Cabin.
Nenothtu stared at the wall holding a machine that offered different views of Khalamzadar IV
and pondered what silliness he'd been dumped into -this time.
'I own the damned planet' he thought and wondered why he hadn't taken point.
............................................


When the huge spire had finally came to a rest and the small Vithian had brought light
to the surrounding darkness of the cavern, the three passengers of the structure and looked
in awe at the massive underground world around them.

We'll pretend Neno looked on in awe, but the wig-wearing Man/Girl and the bearded dwarf
with the illuminating apparatus -in hand, stared at the sky-high roof and the small twinkling
lights of Bisley Deeps slightly below them.

"Don't move... you are trespassing on private property, Mr. Craddock will need to speak
to you" the voice snapped from the shadows. The craggy-featured Vandal turned his head
slowly and took stock of the situation. "Ah' think yer' got it bass-ackward-there fella" he said
softly -but with menace and spotted the gleam of gun metal.
Tibbs touched his flint-eyed friend's hand and whispered "let us see where this trail takes
us, heh?" and showed a kind smile across his white-dusted face.

"This site is strictly off-limits to any unauthorised persons, please follow me" the voice came
again and this time, the owner of that voice stepped into the meagre light.

The guard that presumably protected the subterranean world of this 'Mr. Craddock-guy'
looked like he'd just stepped away from the front-door of a Night Club back on planet
Earth. Maybe sometime in the seventies -if you get my drift.
He sported a nose that pointed South with enthusiasm and his brow told of many a beating
and many a puzzled frown. It was obvious to the trio that the speech he had growled would
have taken a couple of hours to get down to-pat.
In retrospect, the sonic drill-bit may have learned the warning quicker.

The thug called Varga waved the barrel of the automatic-rifle and set off along the grill-
floored walkway. Neno -shaking his head in disbelief at the sloppy behaviour of the sentry,
waved for the black-maned BIAD and the smiling Tibbs to follow him.
............................................

Gilland shook his head at the small figure near the bore hole, Dorothy Anne Goodyear was
down there and all was right with the world -he thought with heavy sarcasm.
"Can you retract the drill another two feet. please Dearie?" Dorothy asked and leaned her
helmeted-head closer to where the metal rod had broken through the rock.



Henry Jessup kicked the motor into gear and showed Gilland a high-eyebrow 'she wants
something'-look through the window of the Rig's Cockpit, the whining-sound told the pair
that the sonic drill head was being brought out.

She knew it was close, most of her suit's systems were alerting her that an anomaly was
in proximity and Dorothy mentally placed a bet that she would recover the legendary Shadow
Diamond.
(Continued Below)

(Continued From Above)

When James had approached her about the assignment and explained his predicament, she
could see that he was genuinely concerned about not being with her for such a long time.
"We're soulmates..." he had said as he'd checked the cleaning company hadn't ruined his suit
"...and I wouldn't wish us to be apart for so long"
The dark-blue tip of the drill-head appeared and slipped away from Dorothy's sight, she was
alone in the dark and over three miles down on.
With a flare showing a terrible light, she looked down into the hole and hoped she would be
able to deliver the goods for her lover.
............................................

"Well this was your call little 'un, what's next?" Nenothtu said through a blue-cloud of cigar
smoke and pondered the small Being in the dark robes doing something with his handset.
The idea that they hadn't been searched or at least, held in a place that didn't have windows,
left the bewildered ex-Security Officer with the idea that he was in some-sort of stage-show.
Boy In A Dress looked at the darkness outside the large window and the Gunslinger sighed
again as he saw the faint-shape of BIAD's reflection wave in-unison with it's owner... BIAD
was playing again.
"This is your town..." Boy In A Dress said off-handledly "...what do you think is going on?"
and this time, the reflection waved at the watcher. Neno realised that the Man/Girl wasn't
just fooling around. The eyeless idiot , if he had owned a sleeve -had something up it.

Tibbs tapped away on his handset and kept his gaze there, but Nenothtu felt that something
important was occuring at that moment. With a cautious voice and some levity at his present
predicament he asked "what do yer' suggest?"

............................................
He loved her, that Dorothy had no doubt.
Even after he'd sought her out at the academy, she knew it was only a matter of time before
they would be together as lovers.
"It's like..." he mumbled softly into her ear "... it's like, you know what I want and I hope that
that you know that what I want -you will be part of" he had admitted and Dorothy knew that for
a man to reveal his heart like that, was quite a feat.
She had given in to his demands that night because of it.
And now here she was looking at the stone that his hard-assed Boss demanded that he'd
find, the freaking thing looked like quartz.



Except... there was something else down there.

................*There's Always Another Plan With These Criminal-Types!*..............

It looked like that they had found another one and as Billy Kramer moaned that he'd
had enough of this nightmare and the two older-men crossed themselves, the girl in
the metallic-suit peered closer at the remains of the Euzkalian.

Speaking straight to the Headquarters, Dorothy related her find through the radio.
"It seems like this one was looking for the Diamond too..." she muttered and held the
feary-green flare closer to the borehole.

When the crew had first begun drilling into the bottom of the massive cavern, the first
thing they had discovered was that Khalamzadar IV or if one wished to use it's old name
-Euzkala, was riddled with caves and potholes.

The amount of water on the planet would account for some of the huge hollow places
with natural erosion, but Dorothy believed that the Euzkalians had created many of the
rock halls and tunnels... she believed they were looking for the stone too.

James Craddock tapped the Veldor-pen against one of the many executive toys strewn
about the ornate desk and wondered if his time with the young woman was about up.
"You're sure she's smitten with you?" Kershner had once asked during one of his visits,
the big man never had female-company and his dapper-dressed Second-in-Command
reckoned that the dog-collared crime-boss frowned on such behaviour.



The many nights he had 'wooed' Dorothty had now come to fruition.

"The Diamond... is it accessible?" he said softly into the comm and fought himself not to
add the word 'Honey'

Dorothy held the Drill-stem and leaned closer, the odd-looking skull and the breathing
apparatus were only a few inches away from the large clear stone and yet, no skeletal
hand could be seen reaching for it. "It would make quite a handsome wedding ring" she
whispered huskily into the helmet's radio and imagined James' face redden with
embarrassment. Craddock lifted an eyebrow and touched his thin moustache 'In your
dreams' he thought -but didn't reply.

Scraping the thick glove into the hole, Dorothy reached for the Shadow Diamond.
(Continued Below)

(Continued From Above)

Akron checked that all his systems were in the green and that no radio-signals were
announcing their intrusion. There was some chatter from above from Mutt worrying
about Cecilia not checking-in, a hard-wired requirement for Tumblers, but there was
nothing from the small buildings in the darkness of the cavern.

"If you wanna know what ah' think..." Valve Twenty-Three hissed "...ah' thunk we
should skidaddle back top-side" and creaked his head to seek approval from his small
friend monitoring the low-lit consoles.

That's when the massive column that they had assumed was rock, began to descend.
As Tumbler I converted the heat-signatures of the three humanoids hanging onto the
plummeting spear of stone into discernable computerised -images, Valve pointed a
dented metal-finger at the Being in the red dress and said "that's the one that visited
the foundry!"

Bernard the Maintenance-Droid saw the laser light on Akron's window first and realised
that someone or something below was looking for them. "We're being checked-out" the
small Sewer-pipe Inspector said softly.

Akron suddenly moved to the left and the action tossed the ancient Valve-Twenty-Three
from his position, the sound of escaping hydraulic-gases and wheezing joints told Bernard
that his friend was injured.

"Oh crud!" Valve groaned and attempted to get to his feet, a low farting-sound accompanied
his clattering back to the metal floor of Akron.
Tumbler I tilted slightly and began a falling-feather motion towards the thre crew members
that were now at the bottom of the cavern. The appearance of the unknown humanoid with
the weapon halted his flight-plans.

"Take us near to where those lights are..." Bernard said confidently and scanned his broken
friend again. "...That will take us away from the searchlights and danger" he added and
peered back into the monitor.

It looked like the Drilling-Rig was active, but Bernard believed that the surrounding shadows
would help in their hiding. Akron remained silent as he brought his mag-lifters into play and
dropped soundlessly onto the cavern's floor.
............................................

Victor Kershner moved quietly for a big man, a talent that had saved his life on more-than
one occasion, The unknown object had disappeared and now a report had come in that some
intruders from above had been captured. With a heavy heart, he left the small private Chapel
in his quarters and re-entered his office.

"Have the scavengers destroyed and get your... your people to search for that object again"
he snapped into his intercom. He never announced himself to Craddock, the small box in the
wall connected to no one else.

The bald-headed Crime Lord looked back at the shadow-laden room that held the only peace
he could enjoy as he waited for a response, he wasn't used to waiting.
James smiled for a few more seconds before answered the thug who now worried about the
afterlife. With all his wealth and power, Victor Kershner's worst fear was what would happen
when he died. Craddock showed a puzzled expression as he struggled to recall something
about a camel and a needle... something he'd read once -maybe.

"The Diamond has been located..." he answered loudly, he was fixing himself a drink and
several feet away from his desk. The drinks-cabinet was near the full-length mirror, the
second of the two in his office. "...I've got men on the gantries scouring the outer-areas
of Bisley" he added and threw the fiery-liquid down his throat.

Victor showed the nearest he could to a smile and stepped away from the intercom, the
stone had been located and that was all that counted. The Chapel waited and so did the
large Book. The big shadow slipped ghost-like into the peaceful place and reaching for
The Cuspar True, Kershner breathed a sigh of relief.

The book that held the spells of redemption, that would help him pass through those
hallowed gates, the pages showed the weird rune-words in the multi-coloured light
from the Chapel windows.

It had cost him a fortune that would pale the cost of the mining project that Craddock
whined about, the imagined-sight of the fop's shocked face threatened to make Victor
smile again.
"With the Shadow Diamond in-hand, I shall cheat death itself" he hissed and touched
the rendering of some-sort of animal-headed creatures at the bottom of the pages.

"Every story has it's demons" he whispered and set off to take the sacred stone from
the dizzy-girl that sought Craddock's heart.

.......Intrigue Mounts...........

Alaag Tlaa was cordial enough, to be sure. It was no wonder that Gert was mesmerized.

Ben found him to be enigmatically friendly, but, of course, did not trust him. He could see, however, that Gert was beyond coaxing away, and since the others had yet to return, and Cecilia was.....where?!!....he cautiously entered the "alliance" between the three of them.

They had walked no further than three meters into the warehouse when an alarmed sounded, shrill and menacing, and Tlaa began to run.

"Follow me!!" he called out, his voice echoing in the cavernous building. The alarm continued to sound, deafening and grating...enough to bring bile to even the hardest and most jaded veterans of life...

Ben and Gert exchanged glances before Ben looked back at the door. It was still cracked open, but he saw no sign of Mucklebones, Brittle, and Wild. He sighed inaudibly and grasped Gert's elbow, steering her toward where Tlaa had ducked round a corner abruptly.

They had nearly reached the frosted glass door labelled "Security Room" when they heard commotion behind them. Brittle was shoving Wild through the door, ignoring her protests and spinning and hissing. Clearly, she did not want to be in this place. Brittle, his face flushed with the effort of overmastering her, was sweatinig. Mucklebones followed him, wearing her monocle and visibly mumbling: "Oh, dear. Oh, dear. Oh dear!" Ben could make out from watching her lips. His anxiety began to rise wondering if something else was wrong. They were far from the Yydryl, and there was no telling what had become of Nenothtu and his squad.

Mucklebones nearly tripped on an unlevel slab of concrete floor, and Ben could have sworn her face was pale....a paler shade of grey....she would fill him in later, he supposed, on what she was viewing via Tibbs' button-cam.

Wild was nearly hysterical. Ben was nonplussed with her dramatics, and couldn't have cared less what her problem was with the man residing (or at least working) here.

"Now, Missy, you need to calm yourself. We're here, and we ain't a-goin' nowheres lessen you help us all out. Don't care whatcher problem is with this feller here, but yer gonna play 'long. Got it?"

His absolute dearth of sensitivity hushed Wild immediately. The tantrum was not serving. She frowned and hunched her shoulders over in surrender.

"Fine," she said.

***********************************************

Redbeard continued to flick and twist and push the buttons, levers, and knobs in the Tumbler with his remaining hand, cursing under his breath as he took breaks between sucking on his stump of the other forearm. He surveyed it with a frown. It was not healing up as quickly as it had when he was a young giant....some 200 years earlier.

He hated this planet, and wanted nothing more than to get away from it; to shake off the last dust of memories of his wife and his daughters.

Although a green light came on and flickered after he toggled a lever to his left, he ignored it. There was no sound, and the light was faint and small, tucked to the side of the instrument panel and seemingly inconsequential. As if it was a signal that the water closet was vacant or some such thing.

************************************************

Inside the office of the warehouse, Alaag cried loudly, "Holy Mother of God!"

He could hardly believe his eyes. In the Deeps they had finally found the prize. "NOOOoooo!!" he lamented, holding his head in his hands.

A moment later, Wild thrust the door open and came in, breathless. "They found it! Are you kidding me?"

Alaag shook his head without removing it from resting on his palms.

"Oh God," Wild muttered, and her good hand flew to her mouth. She ran to him then, and wrapped her arms round his shoulders, enfolding him as only a person quite familiar with another can do. "Oh, no," she whispered into his hair.

********************************

Akron's panel began to buzz faintly with the new connection; Cecilia was back online. Valve and Bernard then stopped what they were doing and looked at it, and Valve released another farting sound. At least one other of their small fleet was still in touch.

>>>>>>>>>>~Dark Plans... And On A School Night Too!~

(Continued From Above)

"Oh I agree..." Death said as passed through one of those walls to join his lover. "...My
Brother must not shirk his responsibility" and drew a look of a serial-killer from beneath
Pandora's gorgeous hair.

Time ticked by and names came and went on the pages of the Book, the eternally-grinning
baby slept on.

"The man is the slayer of BIAD's father-figure and it seems the Fates that took his side in
our last encounter have decided to level the scales... to make amends -one would say"
and Pandora was sure that if Death could, he would be smiling like the baby right now.

Placing a smooth-bare thigh into view as she tucked the dull-coloured cover over her child,
she muttered "And the pay-back is?" She added a hair-flick to make the Moon-Ghost gasp.
Death called on all his will to not leap on the Goddess of his black heart and take her right
there... right now. Instead, he promised himself he devour a planet later.
"BIAD will be with this man and does not know it... he is also accompanied by that wretched
U-man and the dwarf" he spat and sought strength from the feel of the name-littered pages nearby.

Pandora stood to her full height and let the gown slip to the floor, a whimper came this time from
the cowl. "Then we don't have much time" she cooed and stepped away into the shadows.
Death panted after her and the pages of The Book Of The Wretched continued to turn and turn.

***********~Next Time I say Bolivia, Let's Go To Bolivia~****************

With Valve Twenty-Three seeping a brown-orange fluid onto Tumbler I's cockpit
floor, the idea of investigating further seemed to be a doubtful option. Bernard the
Maintenance-Droid knew his friend thought this too.
"Ah'm not the Gaffer ah' wuz ten years-ago..." Valve said from his leaning position against
the Engine Room door and craned to see if the smaller robot disagreed, Bernard kept his
optical lens on the main-monitor.
"...My Gyro's are givin' me hell" the ancient Foundry Boss groaned and wished he could
sigh like a human.
"You could always use the Bell?" Akron suggested, he wanted to get back to his fellow
-Tumblers above, Cecilia had come back on-line and Mut was indicating an uneasiness
about the whole exploration-jaunt.
Bernard touched the button on the panel that would call up Akron's Display Manual
and there on the bright-green screen, the instructions told of how the domed-section
of a Tumbler could be utilised.
'The Bell' or as Drake The Repair-Droid back on The Yydryl would call it a Single-Carrier
Automated Bell... or 'S.C.A.B' -would certainly be a better mode of transport to get closer
to the mysterious Drilling Rig and with the wheezing-sound from Valve getting louder,
Bernard agreed that the option was a good one.
The Bell set out keeping close to the Cavern floor and Bernard the intrepid-explorer,
wondered why he hadn't just stayed at his post, inspecting the sewer-pipes.



.....................................................
"Did she handle it with her bare hands?" Victor Kershner growled across his desk at the
man dressed in a Security jacket and pegged jeans, James Craddock had changed his outfit
again.
"No, Doro... Ms. Goodyear placed into the anti-mag container and brought it to the lab"
James said and stroked the leather Biker-jacket and felt a 'rebel-like' power tickle his
chest. "Knock it off..." the huge man in the small-dark glasses rasped and watched his Second
-in-command dwindle away from the Devil-may-care Rocker style to his usual vain, foppish
businessman-style.



"...This isn't a game. That artifact holds great power and it should be held with the greatest
of reverence" Kershner warned. The silence in the room condoned the warning.
With an alarming show of stealth, Kershner moved from his chair and stepped towards the
door of the room Craddock had never entered, the ornate carvings on it's surface told of
religeous magic and fear of the unknown.
"I will need the Shadow Diamond brought here... to my office" the Crime Boss whispered
"...It has a destiny to assist in"
James touched the studded wristband on his right arm and wondered if a tattoo would be
a good idea. He knew it wouldn't be a good idea to ask the bald-headed man with his back to
him.
"I'll go to her at once" James said and left the dark abode that shunned reflective surfaces,
not sort of Mr. Craddock's place.

.....................................................
Dorothy nibbled her bottom-lip and wished she'd gone to the bathroom earlier. Sitting in
the small room just off from the laboratory, she stared at the metal-door and wondered what
secrets the Shadow Diamond would bring.
Of course, there had been theories and wild-stories about what the chunk of uncut crystal
could do... it could reanimate the dead, it could re-set time and it could open doors into
other dimensions. Dorothy had heard them all.
The faint light-blue glow from the Cage never made it to the foot of the toilet door.



The stone was suspended in the Mag-Cage and the scanners were doing their work, she
wondered if James would come around this evening and this brought a small-smile to the
young woman in the rather-serious spectacles on the can.
It was around that time that the Diamond Dark began it's dance.

.....................................................
Pandora felt it first, maybe it's a female-thing or it may have been that Death was too deep
in thought about how the meeting with Boy In A Dress -would go. His own brother -who stole
the virtue of Death's only love.
The air stank of sulpher and crackled with static, the raven-haired Pandora glanced over at the
cinereal-coloured crib of her child and as her form began to fade, she whispered "I love you"
Death followed a moment later.

.....................................................
The first portal rippled like a pond kissed by a Autumn breeze and the Ophi-Leader in a coat
not dissimilar to Nenothu's Duster, nodded to his two fellow-buzzards that it was time.

* ~ * Fail * ~ *

‘But I don’t understand why we’re still aboard Ship.‘ Her voice cracked with emotion, ‘Why the teleport didn’t work.’ Jeni’s red swollen eyes reflected a misery hard to witness. Both Newman and Silo were relieved when the young woman turned back to staring down at Adam ensconced in the coffin like healing pod. A soft hum from the translucent machine filled the awkward silence in the Recovery Bay.

‘Look Jen, we don’t even know how those teletabs work in the first place sooo...‘ Silo couldn’t finish around the lump forming in her throat when Jeni’s shoulders began to shake with quiet sobs, her tears falling to bead atop the pod’s surface before trickling down it’s smooth luminous side. Aching to ease Jeni’s pain Silo reached out to wrap an arm around her friend but for all her effort got shrugged away.

Impatient for action Newman lowered his voice, ‘Jeni hun, Silo and I are going to look for Chumley and Ship. We need to find out what that wobble was all about.‘ At the moment of teleport the three of them had lost their grip on Adam and each other when Ship gave a mammoth shudder. ‘So, you stay here a little longer then meet us in the Swamp, you need something to eat and...’

Jeni spun around to face him her eyes bright with tears and new hope. ‘‘You mean you think that’s what stopped us? Something Ship did?’ She actually held her breath waiting for him to respond.

‘No, I wouldn’t go that far...’ He hesitated knowing what he was about to say would hurt. ‘What I’m saying is it doesn’t matter why the transport wasn’t successful because...‘ Newman swore, ‘Jen, we’ve got only one teletab left. You understand the implication right?’ He grimaced and ran his hand across his eyes when she shook her head.

’Whoever uses the last tab will be marooned. Unable to return to Ship. Marooned for good.’ Frustrated he dropped his hands hoping she’d understand.

She didn’t. Her eyes narrowed cat like her last hope quickly replaced with hatred. Slamming the heals of her hands against his chest in a hard shove Jeni stood firm. Newman nearly toppled to the floor.

‘What?‘ She advanced ready to push him again, her pretty face turned ugly with loathing, her teeth bared. ‘You saved Adam’s life once and what? That once was enough for you?‘ She snorted sarcastically, ‘Or is it since your miserable little life’s turned into something worth living you’re not going to risk it again!‘ She snarled looking from Newman to Silo her meaning not lost on either of them.

‘Jeni, that’s not how it was, not how it is!’ Silo tried but the girl ignored her.

Newman’s mouth opened only to close again. Adam must have told Jeni of his encounter with the dragon. How ‘Carpet’ had repaired Adam back to life and their subsequent race to return to Ship before they were forever trapped in the same body. The rest she’d figured out on her own and she’d figured right. Now that he had a chance with Silo, a real chance? He wasn’t as willing to take such fantastic risks again.

Watching Newman’s expression turn from stunned to guilty his face paling with embarrassment Jeni shook her head sadly and turned back to the healing pod her soundless crying more heartbreaking than ever.

‘Jeni, maybe you’re right but I’m not giving up. But not giving up doesn’t mean I’m going to be...reckless.‘ He’d been about to say ‘stupid’ and caught himself. He waited a moment wrestling with a decision before going on.

‘Ok, enough said. We’re leaving. But first Jeni please look at me.‘ Newman waited until she complied, their eyes met and he continued, ’Once we can figure out what happened, what’s going on aboard Ship? I give you my word we’ll do what it takes to get Adam better.’

‘Or to Scotland...‘ Jeni whispered her own promise over the healing pod but no one heard her. Silo and Newman had already gone.

.......Ceclia had come back online....

Redbeard heard a strange shrieking in Cecilia's cockpit.
It was distorted, as though bouncing off of very solid surfaces. He winced.

Below, on the northern continent, Wild simultaneously put her hands to her ears and opened her mouth in the gape of agony.........the stump of her finger began to throb.

Of course, there had been theories and wild-stories about what the chunk of uncut crystal could do... it could reanimate the dead, it could re-set time and it could open doors into other dimensions.

Alaag turned to look at his erstwhile lover when he heard the gasp-rattle of horror..
She had turned ghostly pale. He glanced back to the monitor, the view from which had prompted her to embrace his back and shoulders (at least).

"To the tunnels!" he cried, and grabbed her by the nearest elbow, even while she ranted, shaking her head and flailing her arms like a windmilll....
Despite her acrobatics, Wild did not resist. Not really.

Ben, watching, drew in his breath and placed the back of his gnarled hand against his flaked lips. "Dear Lord above," he muttered. He cast a glare over to Brittle, Mucklebones, and Gert. "STAY PUT!" he said. He turned to go.

He paused, and turned back. To Mucklebones, he said, "You still got that eye-thing?"

She nodded. Ben dashed over and grabbed her slender wrist. "C'mon!" he growled.

Nenothtu was getting impatient, and when he got impatient, "stuff" tended to just happen. At the moment, he was pacing the room where they had been sequestered, searching out the seams. He'd already checked the door - locked, of course.

That left the windows he'd already noticed.

"Buncha amateurs!" he huffed. "Lockin' me up in a room with winders! What the HELL are they using to think with?" he asked of no one in particular, and the Universe in general. The Universe chose that precise time not to answer him. "I'll tell yers right now, iffen you don't jump yer brilliant plan inter motion, and soon, I'm just gonna solve this problem by tossin' that there chair right THROUGH one o' them perty winders!"

"Then what?" Tibbs asked, attempting to pacify the gunman with a dollop of logic.

"Wal, then we go find the honcho in charge o' this chicken-crap outfit what has imprisoned me on MY OWN gorram planet, whilst simultaneously goin' into a hole in the ground an' diggin' it out away from themselves, minin' MY mineral deposits, of course!" he eyeballed Tibbs like that answer should have been self-evident.

"To do what?" Tibbs continued, unfazed.

"Yer startin' to sound like a little kid, Tibbs, usin' 'what' instead of 'why'" neno growled. "I dunno what - I'll play it by ear when I get there, I reckon." When neno played things by ear, the results were often spectacular - and colorful! Usually painted in reds and greens, frequently splattered on walls like some obscene mural.

BIAD calmly said "But it's not yet time."

Nenothtu picked up the chair and took a couple of practice swings at the window. "Time don't mean much to me any more, an' that winder right there has got a bulls - eye all over it. ALL over it!"

Tibbs wondered who would be the first to rush in at the sound of crashing glass, and just how long that one would last. he heaved a sigh. Some times, the gunman's patience left something to be desired.

----------------------~The Steps In The Dark~----------------------

They were in Nenothtu's place of ease now, darkness and stealth. Boy In A Dress
assisted the small Vithian through the broken window and after moving his head
from one-side to the other, he found the silently-moving Gunslinger on a high gantry.
"He's not one for patience...?" BIAD commented as Tibbs straightened his robes and
stretched his back "... so I suppose we'll be hip-deep in trouble again" The wide grin
shone in escaping-light of the Rec Room.

"When you said it wasn't time, what did you mean?" Tibbs whispered as the pair
dropped into following the fast-moving Vandal with the bad temper. The metal
walkway spidered away towards the peeking roofs of Bisely Deeps and whatever
problems lay ahead. BIAD remained quiet until they joined their friend at the cusp
of the rise.

"I think something is supposed to happen..." the bare-thighed oddity hissed over his
shoulder at the bearded Time-traveller "...and happen soon"

***************************

"I think something is gonna happen" Gilland muttered to Henry Jessup as the
bushy-moustached man searched the darkness around the Drilling Rig.



James Craddock had called down from his ivory tower and told them to pack up the Rig,
the two seasoned-Drillers had argued that there were still minerals to excavate.
"Listen to me, you've been well-paid for your time..." the smart-mouthed executive
snarled "...now shut it down and I'll send someone to escort you my office"
Jessup mouthed the word 'asshole' towards the frowning Gilland and snapped the
walkie-talkie off.

"Do you know what I think...?" Gilland said as the generator became still and only the
emergency lights offered an off-green illumination "...I think there's someone else down
here with us" The small hairs on his sweat-sheened neck were tickling again.



Billy Kramer had left nearly two hours ago, he'd listened-in on the chatter from Dorothy
Goodyear and the well-dressed sleazeball by changing channels on the Drill-Cab's radio
and overheard something about the discovery of another Euzkalian.
That was enough for him and the kid was gone.

Henry Jessup clicked on the heavy-duty torch from his holdall bag and set off up the
make-shift steps towards the twinkling lights of Bisley Deeps. "Let's just get our money
and get outta here" he rasped over his shoulder towards his friend.

***************************

The Shadow Diamond, Calculus Candidus, Bufo, Capillus, Diamond Dark and even the lesser
-known title of The Rootak Lapis. All names used to describe the semi-clear stone that hovered
in the Mag-Cage, the three Ophi Buzzards that looked in from the Time-Shimmer had never
heard of any of them. The tall black figure that shadowed the beautiful female in the second
portal had heard them all and had enjoyed everyone one of the poor souls that had attempted
to harness it's power.

Death placed a bony hand on his heart's desire's smooth-skinned shoulder and knew he would
not be dissappointed with this latest batch of fools.

............En Route to Ruin?............

"Ya see anythin'?" asked Ben of Mucklebones, half out of breath from the pace set by Alaag. Muckles was sweating -- something Ben had not seen, nor smelled before.

Wild was keeping up with her 'colleague' (Ben guessed that was the best thing to call him for now, and tried not to think about what their private history might have been) and a couple of times clipped the heel of his heavy boot. The third time he spun around, scowling at her.

"Woman!" he snapped. "Get out of my bubble!" and he spun in place, his arms cast wide. Wild skipped back a couple of steps and ducked to avoid being smacked by a rotating limb.

"Fine!" she snapped back. "You used to want me in your stupid bubble at all times, remember?"

"Well, now I don't need you to be. Just -- just let me be in charge -- for once!!" He hollered.

Wild spread her hands and raised them slightly, the universal gesture for "hands off." "Don't blow it," she said. "This may be our one and only last chance." Alaag glared at her. "You could at least give me credit for mapping out the tunnels, Al! While you were playing with your silly beams, doing nothing!"

Ben spoke up then. "Hold up there! Them 'silly beams' destroyed a ship, and two of my friends, and nearly kilt a whole posse! Doin' nuthin' you say?!"

Suddenly he felt the pinch of Mucklebones' claw-like hand on his biceps.

"They seem to be climbing out a broken winder," she said. "Neno went first. There was a chair..."

"Is BIAD with 'em?" asked Ben. Mucklebones nodded. "Well, at least they ain't all separated. Long's they stick with derchudders, that's a good sign." He grinned. He couldn't recall the exact time, place, and players, but he'd liked the phrase when he'd heard it. Had it been Chumley? Ben frowned to himself; he was a mite tired of this planet, and as fond as he was of the duster-clad gunslinger, he did want the man to give up on this new "project."

"We shouldna let Dag bring us here, chasin' them beams," he said. "Weren't no use, no how. Ya see anythin' else?"

Mucklebones shook her head.

Up ahead, Wild was following Alaag a few inches further behind. In the distance, Ben heard a roaring sound, as of water rushing in a flash flood. He froze.

"Wait!" he called. "This ain't one o them, them dissolving tunnels, is it?"

Wild shook her head. "I'll explain later!" she called over her shoulder. "But we gotta hurry or we'll miss the ferry!"

"Ferry?" Ben heaved behind her.

"To my ship!" she said. "C'mon!"

They continued to run in the dimly lit tunnel until suddenly they turned a sharp right and were in a cave, an immense cavernous thing that looked out onto the vast sea that separated them from Nenothtu and his party. Ben winced in the sudden light; the sun was gleaming harshly at a southerly angle.

"Crap. It's already gone. Okay, now we have to swim a piece," Wild said. Alaag had already ducked below the surface of the foaming surf. Wild disappeared next, and Ben thought it was a good thing Silo wasn't with them -- she'd not have survived this part of the trek -- wherever it was they were going.

Ben grabbed hold of Mucklebones' chilly hand and said, "Hold yer breath." And down they went. There was a strange green glow coming from ahead, as if a light were submerged somehow. In silhouette he could see Wild and Alaag pulling and kicking. His lungs began to ache, and he was nearing panic, when he saw Alaag's head disappear and his body become vertical, now treading water. Wild followed suit, and Ben kicked even harder and pulled Mucklebones up with him. They both were breathing hard.

Alaag was already scrambling up the slimey steps onto a wide platform and then dashed out of sight to the left. Wild followed him, and Ben hoped they were nearly there. Once he and Mucklebones rounded the curve, they were met with a sight Ben had only seen in old black-and-white encyclopedias, and had often wondered how such a thing could possibly fly. He panted up behind Wild. "Thoughtcha said it were a 'ship'!" he said.

"It is!" she retorted. "An airship, and it will take us to the terminal. C'mon, we have just enough time to go scoop up the others, and make it. Then we have to go south, and we have to make time!"

A few minutes later, they were aloft.

"Well, it ain't the Cecilia, nor it ain't a proper starship, but....okay," Ben muttered. "It flies." Muckles remained fascinated by her monocle, and Wild tossed a towel at Ben's face. "You gonna gripe? Or you gonna help?" she said, and thrust an antiquated radio into his hands. "See if you can raise your shuttle. I'm sure the old man will be heading the same way. We need to shoot him down."

Ben handled the radio mike, an old-timey one with a side button and a dusty grill that smelled of eons of bad breath. "Hailing Cecilia," he said into it.

The ship was in view of the ruins of the city where they'd left Gert and Brittle, and then he saw them, standing atop a tall structure and waving.

"Prepare for passenger pickup," said Alaag, and Wild suddenly ducked through a trap door while Ben and Muckles watched, trying to see through the choking black smoke that the ship's stacks emitted.

...........Loose Ends..............

Brittle had stood watching the southern horizon while Gert fretted and paced.

"He's a magic man," she kept muttering. "Magic man. How's it, a crone older n' dirt got so .... so .... Magic. It were magic."
Finally she'd slumped down against the water tower that topped the concrete building and just gazed at Brittle's silhouette. He was a slender youth, and his shoulders now sagged in helplessness.

Gert thought back to Earth, where in Vandalia the boy had been kept below-ground, in the Palatial Caverns of Sanctity. He and the female-droid Dag had nearly made it to the portal at Fairy Stone Park, where she'd fully expected to find the portal to Avalon. She'd waited decades for it! Finally he'd found the girl, with the strange-looking but shapely red-dressed figure and a simple U-man doctor, who was her lover.

The wild goose chases on which they'd then embarked -- she an abductee, to be treated as the long lost Goddess Gia; and the doctor led astray by her Fae friends and the Gypsies -- though separated, had led to this, in the end.

Dag was gone from the physical realm; and it had been Gert's "hazing" by the Sisterhood in the cockpit of Cecilia, back aboard the Yydryl, while she was sequestered after they'd all left Earth --

Gert thought back. Dag had been told she was of the Sisterhood. This meant she had a protege; a ward, and she'd believed the doctor, Adam, was her ward. It had been Brittle, however, and Dag had never had a chance to know it until she was gone.

"Where ye at, now, miss?" muttered Gert. "Here he is, forlorn, alone, lost, abandoned." She grinned selfishly. "Ye failed." Suddenly a hiss of steam burned the small of her back, and she yelped. Too old to jump up quickly, she put one hand to the place and felt that her garment was hot and wet. She turned to see from where the steam had come. There appeared to be a leak at the base of the water tower.

Steam continued to pour out, and as Gert watched, it took shape...and there appeared Margot, the wraith who acted as Sister Superior to the team, which included also Mucklebones and Dag. "Gertrude," she heard deep inside her head. "You are to be watching out as well. My Nenothtu is in trouble, and so is Mucklebones' Tibbs. Your meddling with the affairs of the travelers has resulted in much pain and gravity for those upon whom you pounced. Did you thiink I'd forgotten? Or had lost track of you?"

Gert frowned at the steam-wraith. She remembered very clearly her hazing and Dag's Initation, how Margot had dressed her down and marched her to meet the Maker. She'd been stripped of all her powers and was told she'd be on stern supervision, but Margot had not reappeared to her since. And now, Dag was dead.

"It weren't my fault the girl wanted to chase the beams," Gert muttered."Or to help that cat git here to find your boy Neno. So blame her; she's the one who let down her protege, the eunuch...look at him, standin' there awaitin', still no clue what to do."

"You were to be her servant," Margot hissed. "To be retrained."

"Well, she don't need nuthin' o' my help now, does she?" Gert said, and was immediately sorry for her snippiness. Margot was in charge here. Gert had once been an Admiral; now she was merely an inmate at the Sisterhood's mercy.

Margot said, "I'm sure you recall the recounting of how we triggered Dag into morphing from androgeny into a female."

"Yes, made the kid 'drop-dead handsome'. And I guess he were, in the end, drop-dead handsome."

"But it was not Adam's handsomeness that led to her death, Gertrude. It was her will to help her friends, and to stop the destruction of the Fighter. Which she accomplished. Now, I want you to think for a moment about how you felt when you laid eyes on Alaag Tlaa, here on Khalamzadar-four."

Gert's brows met in the middle. It had been disconcerting; she'd been instantly transfixed, unable to do anything but gaze at his beautiful face. Then her brows raised up and creased the lines on her forehead even deeper. "You made me fall for him like you made Dag fall for Adam?"

Margot nodded. "And you will not be released from the heartache of your adoration of Alaag until you have made up for what you did to Dag and Adam. And all that conniving with Pandora, Death, Charon, the Raven Mocker....all of them. From now until I give the word, you are hopelessly devoted to Alaag. You shall learn how it feels to be seduced and held captive by a man. And you will, as Dag's servant, look after Brittle, no matter what Alaag does to, or for, or with you. It will not be easy. But if you succeed, you will be restored to full Sisterhood and put on a Millennia Probation. If you fail, you will stay here alone and brokenhearted indefinitely."

Gert took a deep breath, and then heard the propellors of the airship approaching. She rose and walked to Brittle's side.

Behind her, Margot faded back into the ether, but Gert heard her say, "You cannot resist Alaag, but you must assist Brittle. It's time for him to become a full man. Do what Mucklbones tells you. I'll be back."

Gert raised her arms and waved along with Brittle as they watched the awkward and unlikely airship approach to pick them up, and wondered what was next. Aside from unrequited love and heartache, that is. Those she'd heard of, but never felt. Now, evidently, she was going to find out.

.......Collateral Damage.........

In the Airship, Ben was seated next to Alaag, who was maneuvering the hulking thing toward the two tiny waving specks ahead. Ben figured the boat could hold a few thousand.

"Who designed this bark?" he asked Alaag.

Alaag responded, "Wild and I did. We were scavenging parts we found lying around after the topside was deserted and the zombies were gone. But we ran out of materials. That's when I developed the green beams; to try to reclaim some of the space-junk floating around. We needed more ---. " He broke off.

"More what?" Ben asked.

Alaag spoke into an empty food can that dangled from a wire. "Wild, are you ready?" he then put the can to his ear.

"Yes," came the tinny echo of Wild's voice from the bowels of the ship.

"More stuff. More junk, to try to put together a way to get off this planet. We were looking for plasma, for carbon, for sturdy space-worthy materials. The beams were meant to bring space debris down here, and I've been tweaking it for years." His brow furrowed and he leaned forward to look out the windshield. Then he heard a referee's whistle coming from the can, and he hauled on the two levers in front of him to activate the aelerons and put the thing in 'neutral.'

The ship slowed to the speed of a blimp, and the building on which Brittle and Gert stood for pickup disappeared from view under the bulk of the ship. The next sound was that of a gong, which resonated through the cockpit, and then a slamming sound. The stacks belched smoke and flames as the ship struggled to stay aloft at such a slow rate.

Wild's voice emerged again from the can: "They're in. Head for the terminals, we might still have time," she said.

Alaag's face relaxed and he banked the ship hard, turning around almost in place, and then levelling off abruptly as they sped toward the setting sun.

"So," he continued, as though the rescue had been nothing more complicated than stooping to pick up a discarded item for the rubbish bin, "the beams were nearing perfection. I was working on the extraction process, but occasionally the beams went out of vibratory range, and dissolved some of the junk. That's what happened to the Fighter you say was destroyed. We didn't think any living things had come near this place in centuries."

The ship coughed and lurched, knocking Wild off balance as she came back above with Gert and Brittle.

"I'm sorry for the, uhm, collateral damage," said Alaag blandly.

Ben harumphed and sat back in his seat, arms folded. He watched as Gert approached the front of the ship, and he noticed she could not take her eyes off of their pilot. Brittle simply sat down to wait for whatever next befell them.

Wild approached Alaag and put a hand on his shoulder. Ben saw him stiffen, but he did not shrug her off. "Nice flying," she said. "I've missed this."

"So have I," muttered Alaag.

Wild looked at Gert, who was staring at Alaag's profile with a dazed expression. Another admirer, she thought. She really didn't want more females around; they were trouble. At least Mucklebones was distracted and staying out of the way. But Wild wasn't about to let an old crone like Gert get in the way of the head games she'd been playing with Alaag Tlaa for the past few months. She settled onto a bench beside Brittle, and wondered whether the Shadow Diamond would prove to support its legend.

To Alaag, she said, "Any sign of that shuttle?" She was referring to Cecilia, which her father had stolen.

"Not yet," said Alaag. "But, the beam is ready to fire if we catch up with it."

Good, thought Wild. If that giant gets to the Diamond before we do.... She sighed. Nothing at all was working out according to plans.

And now, it might be too late.

...................................~We're Coming, We're Coming!~...................................

The green cat with the terrible fangs scoured the terrain of the dark cavern and then
nodded to the three pairs of eyes that waited close by. The Fourway wolves padded
forward as if an unsaid-message was passed from Sslar.
The four animals moved further into the blackness in silence.

The Starwolf slowly descended into the huge hole that Nenothtu and his friends
had disappeared into. With Margot at the controls, the going was tough.
"Why me...?" she hissed and with wide-eyes, quickly avoided a outcrop of rock that
suddenly came into view "He's my guy, but I don't need to follow him to the ends of
the earth... or here, do I?" The lurching spaceship didn't reply.
Down, down and down they went, the Vandal with the lop-sided grin certainly had
devoted followers.

===========================

Dorothy Goodyear gulped twice at the crackling Shadow Diamond floating in the Mag
Cage and watched lightning show, the lab flashed as if a hundred cameras went off
at once. It seemed like a scene from one of those retro sci-fi horror shows that Craddock
kept on something called a 'video tape' He had a cabinet full of 'em.

The chairs at the blinking consoles spun in a clockwise-fashion and the monitors kept
buzzed with static and yet, a face could be vaguely seen through the screen noise.
It was Kershner and he looked angry.



The overhead lights swung in the opposite direction of the seats and the effect made
Dorothy's stomach lurch with the dizzying sight.

The two entrance ways to the laboratory had gone, a bluish swirling vortex pulsed in
the frames of both of them and the young girl steeled herself not to retreat back into
the toilet.
"....Switch... off.....DO AS I....." the Crime Boss roared through the cacophony and by
suddenly flinching at the voice, Dorothy avoided a flapping clipboard that flew past her
face.

It was the sight of the gloved hand appearing through the spiraling doorway that caught
the Dorothy's breath, something was trying to get through.



(Continued Below)

(Continued From Above)

James Craddock held his head and wondered if he could leave without anyone noticing.
The small screens on his desk showed that something strange was happening in the
laboratory and loosening his silk-tie, he feared the worst.



The report that the three intruders from the surface had escaped had come in only
minutes before the nightmare had begun in Dorothy's lab and with Kershner's private
intercomm buzzing incessantly, Craddock wanted out -and quick.
Any thoughts of Dorothy's safety never crossed his mind.

===========================

Revandah tugged his gloves tighter and perused the room full of machines, the
feathered head held eyes of cruelty and vengence. "We are fortunate my friends..."
he said softly "...it seems we have a second chance at finishing our quest" The burly
Fandor beside him creaked in his leather suit as he scanned the monitors in the strange
room.

"Can we go through...?" the pale-feathered Ophi asked, he had fought in many wars and
he disliked waiting for external reasons "...I want to see who this 'Neo' is" the quiet words
told of a hidden menace.

The third figure on the otherside of the swirling 'light-wall' sighed to himself and patted
his attire, the 'Earth-seventies-suit' looked at-odds against his comrades clothes, but that
was the way Jekyll liked it.

"Keep cool Fandor, just dig the scene -man" he whispered and drew strange looks from
his Ophi brethren. The feline-headed Ophi rolled his eyes and moved his attention to
being ready for the entrance.



===========================

Sslar eyed the blinking lights of the subterranean town and the machinery further out,
the sudden black-out of the Rig made the Xang Cat's eyes narrow with cunning, it was
beginning. The three large Lupus looked at each other then split up, the surrounding
rocks held small pathways and trails.

The movement of three humanoid-shapes sneaking away from a group of small out-
of-place structures told Sslar that the one she knew as Neo was up to something.
Licking her massive fangs and hoping that the powers she been given by The Committee,
were still active, she struck out to join her friends.

===========================

"I have no need to speak to Boy In A Dress..." Death said softly "...he has chosen his
path and that is it" Pandora stood ahead of the taller figure and said nothing, The Reaper
wished he could run his hands through that gorgeous hair.

The pair waited for the time-weave to increase and without discussing it, The Soul-
Collector and 'She That Confines Hope' knew that this would bring them into actual
reality, they would be physical for the first time.
"When you meet, please pass on my greetings" Death hissed sarcastically and drew
a vicious look from Pandora over her beautiful shoulder.



The Reaper pondered on how to neutralise the one called Nenothtu and anyone watching
would see dark smoke drifting up from the dark robes around him.
"It's time" Pandora growled and stepped forward.

===========================

"I don't think it's a good time" Bernard IV said and brought the Bell to a slow halt. The
Drilling Rig had gone dark and apart from two figures leaving the tall contraption, nothing
moved ahead of the small waiting- pod.

The radio was still working and yet Valve Twenty-Three didn't reply, the little Maintenance
-Droid hoped that everything was okay back in Tumbler I.
After a couple of minutes, Bernard decided to take the Bell further towards Bisley Deeps,
maybe someone there could provide the answers.

...........................~Chess Pieces In Place Or It's Your Move!~.......................

"...You see, reality doesn't exist when one is not observing it" Tibbs said to Boy
In A Dress. The Vithian was catching his breath as Nenothtu reconnoitered the
scene below. "Have you heard the old Earth adage 'if a tree falls in the forest and
no one is there to see it, does it make a noise?" the sweating old man panted as he
straightened his beard, BIAD tilted his head in thought and then said "I think so"

The tall U-man with the drooping moustache ignored the dwarf and the Man/Girl,
the strange tendrils of light from one of the structures was more interesting than
a lesson in quantum physics.

Bisley Deeps was close to where they waited and some of the streets indicated that
someone was living in this underground-maze of alleyways and machinery.
It would be something Neno would investigate later -the Vithian wagered to himself.

Tibbs followed Neno's gaze and then without looking at the eyeless being in the
red dress, he whispered "well, we know now that if no one was there to witness
it, it may not have even fallen down"

Boy In A Dress breathed deeply and adjusted his shoulder-strap, the common-place
grin faded as he thought on Tibbs' words. "Will you-two shaddup...?" Nenothtu hissed
softly "...it's like bein' at school again" the narrow-slitted eyes tracked the shadowed
-guards scurrying around the building with the strobing-effect.

The dark-visors of the paid-thugs hid their faces as they surrounded the building
where the activity had started and Nenothtu got the impression that they were
panicking.



Tibbs lifted his small spectacles and rubbed the red-marks on the sides of his nose,
this latest adventure was taking it's toll -Neno thought and showed a very rare act of
kindness. "Take it easy old-hoss..." the Vandal whispered and patted the little man's
hand "...ah'll be needin' those brains of yours soon-enough"

Tibbs breathed in deeply through his nose and stifled a proud smile, but Neno saw
the emotion. The sudden sound of gunfire broke the moment.

"Looks like you're up" the Time-Mechanic muttered and any signs of happiness drained
away, the scrape of worn-heeled boots told him Nenothtu was on the move.
Without checking on the puzzled Boy In A Dress, the odd-pair began to clamber down
through the rocks towards the gantry that would lead to the portacabins and walkways.

Boy In A Dress shrugged his bare shoulders and was about to follow them when he
suddenly sensed someone was watching him, he looked back into the darkness and
saw the Fourway wolves looking back. "Hello" the Man/Girl chirped and stepped closer.
The Starwolf came into view only a few yards away and with a red-nailed hand, he waved
at the shape in the cockpit window.
Margot waved back.



Nenothtu pulled his pistol and heard the familiar beep as it adjusted for action, Tibbs
lifted the edge of his robes and attempted to keep up. The metal-grilled gantry was a
welcomed feel under the old man's sandled-feet and as more-and-more shots rang out,
Tibbs was glad that the gunman was leading the trail.

Scarlet-smoking flares brought a smell of sulpher and a feeling that they were all in
Hell, the situation was now becoming a siege -Nenothtu thought and this drew the lop-
sided smile "Here we go" he mumbled to himself.



"BIAD, go to my left" Neno shouted and fired at the figure that stumbled out of the
building's door, the guard spun once, dropped the strange rifle and collapsed in his tracks.
The Vandal shot a glance behind him and with a roaring growl he barked "BIAD...! WHERE
THE HELL ARE YOU?"

A yellow-coloured beam shot out of the doorway and a scream of pain accompanied it,
Nenothtu kept low and fired a shot into the rectangle of light, whether it hit anyone
-we don't know.

Tibbs scrambled for his handset and hunkered beside one the gantry-fence posts.
A female-yell of "KEEP OUT OF MY WAY!" rang out and another scream came from the
room.

The silhouette at the far-end of the walkway took aim at the grizzled stranger with the
handgun, the guard realised it was one of the intruders from above. Craddock would
pay him double -he thought, and prepared to squeeze the trigger.

(Continued Below)