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Message no. 1
From: Avenger <Avenger@*******.DEMON.CO.UK>
Subject: RS: Library 4
Date: Sat, 26 Apr 1997 02:49:03 +0100
*****TO: Stonewall
>>>>>[
+++++ARCHIVE ACCESS: 4-3DA-8S
+++++BEGIN UPLOAD: RS2/4C9-A.ctx


+++++08:22:07


DA: "Ok people, you heard the lady, watch your footing, and stay awake.
Dewy, you want to take a look down there see what you can find?"


Dewdrop: "There will be little point. As you will no doubt be aware
from the thermographic imager in your eyes, there is little that can be
determined, the stone is particularly uniform in temperature and design,
revealing little. The fact that the corridors are constructed from
stone means that there is little in the way of life in these chambers
and tunnels, that means astral scouting will be much the same as walking
through a room with your eyes shut, I won't see much of anything, maybe
one or two things, but nothing of any consequence. Same goes for any
astral or spirit guides, they will not be able to determine much about
what faces us. We're going to have to rely on our wits, and hope for
the best."


DA: "Fine. Alright then, let's move out.


The harsh blue light casts sharp shadows on the floors, highlighting
the reliefs on the walls in it's cold glare. A sensation of freezing
age abounds in the area, the walls intricately carved with a bewildering
array of murals depicting scenes from Mayan life.


Ahead the passageway leads into darkness. DA glances behind him,
checking on the rest. Wells seems distracted, teeth gritted against
some personal thoughts, Dewdrop glancing left and right, wide eyed in
amazement as he surveys the murals they pass. Edge follows, lips moving
as he mutters to himself.


+++++(08:57:13)

"Wells! Chan! what the hell is wrong."

Wells, is prone on the floor, sweat streaming from his forehead, blood
trickling from his mouth where presumably he's bitten his tongue. Edge
sitting on his legs, DA clamping his shoulders down as his torso
writhes, agony stitched across his face.


"It... is... uhn..."


"Dewy, What the hell?"


Dewdrop, eyes white, with a faint golden glow around the edges, face
ridged with concentration shakes his head slightly as his eyes roll back
and focus on DA. "I don't know. There's another aura ther, something
strange, but too faint to identify, there's something else as well, but
I can't make it out. it's like there's three people trying to own one
body. I've not seen anything like it."


"What the hell do you mean, possessing? What, there's some spook
fragging with him?"


Stephanie wrestles with Wells' face trying to get a piece of wood
between his teeth.


"No. Not that. It's very difficult to describe DA. I can't expand
anymore than what Dewdrop has already said, except that there is someone
and something with Wells. Not directly, linked. Think of it like a
radio signal, only he's not a transmitter, only a receiver."


DA shakes his head in puzzlement, muscles bunched as he struggles to
hold Wells still. "Can't you people do something for him?"


"No. If this was something happening directly to him then yes, we could
help, but it's not happening to Wells, it's a reflection of something
that is happening somewhere else." Dewy studies Wells again, then looks
at Edge. "We could try to shield him, but I don't know what effect that
would have, it may be worse for him, as he's so closely tied up in this.
It's possible it could kill him."


"I don't think we should try it. I've not seen anything like this
before, and without knowing what's happening we're likely to cause more
harm than good." Edge struggles to keep his hold on Wells' legs.


The struggle ends as Wells slumps, muttering quietly. "It can't
happen... You left us... We needed you..."


"He's not injured DA, except for the bite, he's taken a chunk out of
mouth, which will be sore, but otherwise he's OK. You can let go of him.
Whatever it was, is over." Dewdrop moves closer to Wells, opening his
shirt, a circular burn in the centre of his chest. "Except for this.
This is new, and I have no idea what's caused it."


"OK, we need to get him to water, bring the fever down, and then get
him out of here. I heard water ahead, maybe a small stream or
something. Stephanie, you lead. Edge, watch for traps. Dewy, watch
Wells, if this thing starts again, I want some sort of warning." DA
stands, picking the unconcious Wells up and following Edge and Stephanie
down the passage.


+++++09:03:24

The chamber ahead appears to reflect the light of the glow rods, algae
climbing the walls glowing with eerie tendrils. Small protrusions
litter the floor at the junction of the flagstones. Faintly, running
water can be heard.


"Ideas?" DA turns to the team, Well slung over his shoulders like a
sack.


"None, but I don't trust this. It looks wrong." Edge crouches at the
entrance, eyes rolled back in his, head cocked attentively. He turns
back to the rest. "I can't see anything, but the algaae may be covering
any mechanism, I would say that it's safe, at least, as safe as anything
down here."


Dewy starts towards the chamber.


"Where the hell do you think you're going?"


"In there. Look Clint, there's waterr on the other side of that room,
and we're going to have to get there, so it might as well be now. And
it's my turn to work point."


"OK, be careful." DA shifts the weight of Wells to a more confortable
position." Wells appears to be stirring, his head moving slightly,
eyelids flickering.


Dewy steps into the chamber, gingerly stepping on the flagstones as he
enters the room. Head rotating on his neck as he scans for something,
anything, that looks like it's going to move. Half way across and he's
visibly sweating, shirt soaked. "You should be alright, follow my steps
through. Don't touch anything else."


A sudden blur, and a growled warning. Stephanie slams into Dewdrop,
driving him the rest of the way across the chamber, and out the other
side, moving faster than any human has a right to do as a large chunk of
the ceiling detaches and slams into the floor where Dewy had been
standing, several loud smacks follow the crash. A few small darts
litter the floor.


+++++RS H/set comm:

"We're OK, it's clear."


"Acknowledged, thanks Steph."


"There's a small stream running parallel to the passage here. Water's
clear and drinkable."


"OK, coming through."


Dewdrop sits near the chamber exit, nursing his ribs, and sporting a
livid bruise on the side of his face. Stephanie crouches nearby, hand
glistening, water dripping from her fingers.


+++++10:13:04


"What do you think it is?"


"I'm not sure DA, I don't have any experience of crabbing around in
freezing dungeons, bypassing ancient traps, or identifying oddments.
Plus it isn't wearing a label." Dewy crabs back away from the entrance.


Icicles hang from the ceiling, frost lightly covers the floor in a
shimmering sheet, water crystals flashing in the harsh light of the blue
lamps. A circular chamber ahead holds a deformed shape, something
trapped inside a huge ice block. The breath condensing from the
explorers indicates that they have worked hard to get here, and all are
showing signs of fatigue. Dewdrop has sweat beading his forehead,
freezing as quickly as it appears and dropping in small glittering
balls. Edge has acquired several scratches, and what appears to be a
serious cut on one arm. DA covered in dust and dirt, hands black. All
have frost decorating their hair. Further behind, Wells, face cramped
in agony, is being tended by Stephanie.


"OK, wait here, I'm going to have a closer look."


"Be careful Clinton, this is wierd enough already, who knows what the
hell's in there."


"I'm always careful Dewy, that's why I've lived so long." A wry grin
splits Dewys grim face.


DA checks his weapon, and re-holsters it. A prolonged survey of the
door entrance, hands tracing the stone portal, searching for something
that might indicate it is trapped. Tentatively DA sticks his head
through the doorway and inspects the room side of the portal.
Apparently eveything is satisfactory, as DA moves through into the
chamber beyond, staying close to the wall he circles the room, scanning
constantly. Closely inspecting protrusions and hollows. The shape in
the centre of the chamber remains unidentifiable from all angles. Simply
a shapeless lump of ice, something dark contained within.


A pained scream echoes around the chamber, and fades into the darkened
passageways, snapping DA's attention to the chamber entrance. Dewy and
Edge are looking behind them, towards Wells. A sharp crack, the sound
of a fist striking flesh.


+++++RS H/set comm:


"I'm getting Wells out of here, he needs medical attention, it's
starting again, something is wrong with him, and it is beyond my
abilities to assist him."


"Acknowledged. We'll meet you outside. Thanks Steph."


Dewdrop looks towards DA, concern on his face. "The problem I mentioned
to you earlier appears to be affecting him greater than before. The
second entity is stronger now, and something else appears to be present,
though it is faint, and ill defined. I don't know what is happening
with your friend DA, but his life may depend on the outcome." he
glances back down the passageway again.


Muttered curses issue from DA, as he passes a hand over his face.


"Avenger."


"Yes Edge?"


"Something is alive in there. There is an entity present in the room
with you, I can't identify it, but something is in there with you... Oh
my god! GET OUT! GET THE FRAG OUTTATHERE!"


A white light springs into life around the frozen shape in the centre of
the chamber. Dewdrop and Edge leap through the portal, spreading left
and right, both concentrating on the block of ice. A massive flare of
incadescence flickers through the spectrum, colours scattering through
the room in a silent explosion of magical energies. The torches flicker
out, DA's flare compensation is overcome by the brilliance of the
battle. Then darkness.


+++++LLE engaged
+++++IR engaged


Two bodies lie on the floor near the chamber entrance, seemingly
suspended in mid air, the floor and walls too cold and even to register,
simply appearing as blackness. A loud metallic clang rings through the
darkness, sparks throwing off the floor between the two prone mages.


An unintelligible string of words follows. DA smacks another glo-rod
against his hand, the blue light creeping across the chamber, his weapon
scanning with the light. The only targets registering on the smartlink,
Dewdrop and Edge. As the light starts to glow brightly, Dewy and Edge
stir, lifting their heads off the ground, looking around warily. Edge
shouts a warning and rolls rapidly to the left. A large chunk of rock,
and sparks showering the area where he had been. Dewdrop folllows suit
and rolls right, a bright blue glow suffusing his hands as he rolls to
his feet. DA's sidearm thunders in the chamber, rock exploding across
the room. The bright muzzle flash momentarily casting a huge shadow on
the opposite wall. At the same instant an area of the chamber is filled
with angry crackling electric discharge. A humanoid shape writhing
within the jagged bolts. A disturbance in the air rips frost and ice
from the floor and walls, creating a whrilwind of turbulence joining
with the electrical field. The humaoid shape appears to crumple, then
with a flash of brilliance, the two spells are dispersed, and peace
reigns in the area again.


Both mages rapidly scan the room, Edge showing only whites in his eyes,
Dewy's eyes glowing with an eerie golden light. Again both mages move
rapidly, air and electricity meeting in the centre of the room in a
manic struggle against the invisible humanoid.


"Will someone tell me what's fucking happening! I'm hanging in the wind
here!" DA's voice roars through the chamber over the deafening crackle
coming from the battle.


"Get out, we'll deal with it!" Edge shouts desperately, concentration
creasing his face.


"You can't help DA, this is beyond you." This from Dewdrop, who is
desperately assembling something from his pack.


DA circles the room, keeping as much distance between himself and the
battle as possible, heading for the chamber entrance. As he reaches it,
a massive voice booms out.


"You may not leave!"


A flare of green light, DA spins back towards the centre of the room.
The concussion throws Dewdrop and Edge through the air, slamming against
the chamber walls with a sickening impact. The floor climbs upwards to
meet DA as the room goes dark.


+++++12:14:22


"He's alive. Give me the water battle Dewy."


DA's eyes open. Edge kneels next to him, his hands red with blood, face
badly bruised, clothing torn. Dewdrop is no better, with one eye
closed, blood running freely from a cut in his forehead. "You had a bad
scalp wound, we were concerned about concussion. How many fingers?"
Dewy holds up three.


"Dewy, my mind may be muddled, but Nikon cyberoptics work fine. Three,
you fool. What happened?"


"What happened is immaterial. Your presence here offends me, and your
puny attacks were laughable. What species are you? Your clothing and
manner is not recognised."


DA turns towards the deep voice. A humanoid, dressed in exotic leather
armour with a large intricately carved head-dress, a large pole axe held
loosely to port. "What...?"


"Your magic is weak, your knowledge lacking, your manner... strange. You
use neither the speech, nor the way, minerals inhabit your body. Who
are you?" Again the figure speaks, in a voice that appears to come from
it's boots.


"I am known as Dark Avenger. This is Dewdrop and Edge. Who, or what are
you?"


"Here me now Dark Avenger. I will not tolerate untruths. Your lies are
transparent to me, and your minds are open. The titles you have given
are assumed names. I will have your real names, or you will suffer for
your deception."


"Don't tell him DA. If this is what I think it is, real names have
power over it, and it may then have power over us. The names you've
given are valid in our lives, it must accept them."


"You know little of which you speak priest. I do not hold power over
creatures such as you with names, as you believe. It is a sign of trust
that you will give me your names, to state your honesty and admit your
inferiority.


In answer to your question Dark Avenger, I am Chikantacz, Guardian of
Palenque, Holder of the Truth, Gatekeeper of Xibalba."


]<<<<<
-- Dark Avenger <14:51:12/25-04-58>
Message no. 2
From: Avenger <Avenger@*******.DEMON.CO.UK>
Subject: Re: RS: Library 4
Date: Thu, 15 May 1997 22:52:52 +0100
*****TO: Stonewall
>>>>>[
+++++ARCHIVE ACCESS: 5-4DA-9S
+++++BEGIN UPLOAD: RS2/6D3-A.ctx

+++++12:14:22

"You know little of which you speak priest. I do not hold power over
creatures such as you with names, as you believe. It is a sign of trust
that you will give me your names, to state your honesty and inferiority.


In answer to your question Dark Avenger, I am Chikantacz, Guardian of
Palenque, Holder of the Truth, Gatekeeper of Xibalba."


DA: "A grand title, earned, or self annointed?"


Spirit: "You would do best not to question me in such a manner Dark
Avenger, I have the ability to crush you. Compared to my powers you are
insignificant..."


DA: "That being the case oh mighty Chikantacz, why have you not done
so?"


Spirit: "You are... curious. Your clothing is unfamiliar, your manner
strange, your use of the power, feeble, your grasp of protocols, non-
existant. I would know more about you. Later I will decide whether you
are worthy of living."


Dewy: "DA, this creature is a spirit form, but one of great age, I would
suggest it has been here for a few centuries." Edge's whisper is barely
caught by the microphone. "It's possible it was set here as a guardian
by the priests who worked here. We don't have sufficient knowledge of
the wards and conditions set by those priests to be able to deal with
this thing successfully. Any further conflict may be beyond our
ability. It's power is not as strong as it maintains, it is under the
same constraints we are, however..."


DA: "Very well Chikantacz, you are curious. You may ask your questions.
We will answer them as best we can, but you must return the same favour
in return. You are as strange to us as we are to you. Your clothing
and manner is as strange to us as we are to you."


Spirit: "What is your purpose here?"


Edge: "Honesty may be our best chance here DA." Edge looks towards the
creature, a calculating expression on his face.


DA: "We seek an object, something that will assist us in a battle
against the creatures we call 'Invae'. It is known to us as Twilight's
Soul."


Spirit: "Invae is an unfamiliar word, do you fight amongst yourselves,
or a definable enemy?"


DA: "Invae are spirits, much as yourself, except they resemble insects,
man sized spirits who possess human bodies for their own purposes."
Hatred is plain in DA's voice.


Spirit: "I am familiar with creatures similar to those you describe.
They are a powerful enemy, something that is... was distasteful to the
priests of this city. You would do well to speak with their
descendants. They have much experience in the forms of these creatures."


Dewy: "That is not possible Chikantacz, they have been dead for many
years. The descendants of the Mayan priests who lived here in Palenque,
and other cities still live in the hills, they speak the same language,
but remember none of the teachings. The cities and priests you remember,
are no more, merely ruins, slowly being rediscovered by archeologists,
people who specialise in ancient cultures."


Spirit: "This news is not good. If the priests who run this city or
their descendants have forgotten the teachings and knowledge they gained
over many years of study, there is little hope of your success on your
quest. The item I believe you seek is not kept here, it was broken by
Pacal when the Invae were defeated at Chitchen Itza, it's parts stored
in various locations. It contained too much power to be allowed to
exist in a single location. I pity you in your battle, without
sufficient power, and ability, you have no hope of defeating these
creatures. They are subtle and alien. Their methods and choices are
rarely what you would expect, their motivations unknown. Pacal was able
to discern much about them, and it was this knowledge that enabled him
to destroy their power in this country, yet even he failed to utterly
defeat these creatures. I doubt that you will be sufficient. The item
you seek is beyond your ability, your power is insufficient, your
knowledge non-existant."


Edge: "The item is not for us. It is for those with power who fight the
Invae. We are not alone in this conflict. The Invae have returned in
force, they have occupied many cities and areas across the world. The
focus of the moment is a single city in the north of the continent, one
of the largest concentrations of Invae in our country, but they have
returned in force, a force that grows greater every day. If you are
unable to help us, then at least get out of our way so we can continue."


Spirit: "Kerb your tongue human, lest I choose to remove it. I did not
say I was unable to help. I am merely making certain you are aware of
your limitations. I am guardian of this site. You were not invited,
you did not use the correct entry, you did not know who I was. I have
little enough incentive to assist you now, do not seek to make it less."


Dewy: "Edge means no insult to you Chikantacz. He, like us and others
have lost family and close friends to these creatures. We seek a way to
fight them, a way that may assist us in killing these creatures and
avenging our lost."


Spirit: "Patience is something you must learn. All of you. I sense
great impatience from all of you. An eagerness to be on your way, an
assumption that you will be able to cope with what you find, and
interpret it's use from study. Hear me now. It took the Mayan
civilisation five centuries to uncover the means to successfully defeat
the ... Invae. They battled them with less power than you possess,
successfully, but many died in those battles. How many are you prepared
to sacrifice to avenge your friends and rid yourselves of this enemy?
The Mayan priests sacrificed thousands to gain the power to destroy the
insect spirits. Are you prepared to sacrifice as many?"


DA: "Many have been sacrificed already spirit. More will die every day
at the hands of these creatures, anything that will help in the battle
cannot be ignored."


Spirit: "You misuse the word sacrifice Dark Avenger. The Mayans used
blood in their magic. The more powerful the magic, the more blood was
required. On the night of the battle with Sayil, tens of thousands
willingly gave their life blood to seal the magic into the item you
seek. Many thousands more died to empower the priests with sufficient
strength to destroy the Invae, thousands of Jaguars, Panthers and other
creatures were sacrificed to infuse warriors with their strength and
abilities in the battle. All, willingly, knowing that a fate worse than
death awaited them if they failed. Can you guarantee that your people
will sacrifice themselves so willingly, allowing your priests to cut out
their living hearts for the rich power contained within hearts blood?
That is what it will take."


DA: "We do not sacrifice people anymore Spirit, that is a barbaric act
that was discontinued many years ago, though some would have it brought
back."


Spirit: "Barbarism Dark Avenger? The willing sacrifice of your own life
to save those of your countrymen is hardly barbaric, it is heroic. The
choice to die so that others may live in peace and safety is hardly
barbaric. You should be less eager to condemn something of which you
know so little. Is there nothing in your history where people have
sacrificed their lives so that others may live? Or are you all so
civilised now that death of this manner is no longer necessary?"


Dewy: "There have been other conflicts Spirit, where millions have died
in the defence of an ideal, an ideal that was sometimes mistaken. The
state of the world today would not allow the willful destruction of
lives to benefit others. In this day, that sort of thing is known as
murder."


Spirit: "So you will not willingly allow sacrifice in this battle, yet
still expect to succeed. Such arrogance is unbecoming, and not to be
trusted. There are certain things that are written as law in the
existence of all things. One of those laws is that the blood of humans
is a source of considerable power, the release of the soul generates
more strength than you could possibly imagine. The preservation of that
life for a mistaken purpose, not only discolours the purpose of that
life, but is calculated to prevent others from living in peace and
prosperity. If this manner of worship has been discontinued, you live
in a dark, miserable and depressing world. One filled with hate,
suffering and senseless death. That is not a world I am prepared to
help you defend, it is not deserving of the power offered by "Moreno
Espiritu".


DA: "The fact that we are unwilling to kill thousands of innocent
people for the purpose of infusing ourselves with temporary power is not
something you can judge Chikantacz. We are a different people from the
ones who imprisoned you here. We are more advanced in civilisation than
they were, with different weapons and different abilities. The people
you know would not be able to survive in our world. Theirs was a world
of simplicity, using primitive tools and equipment. Now we have
communications networks that span the planet, enabling us to talk to
people on the other side of the planet, with little or no time delay for
message transfer, we have weapons that would obliterate entire cities of
the Mayans, killing all within, turning them into dust, in the blink of
an eye. We have constructions amongst the stars, constructions where
people live and work. Transportation that allows travel to anywhere on
the planet within a few hours. Do not seek to compare our abilities
with those of a civilisation that has been dead for several hundred
years. Your arrogance is also unbecoming Chikantacz, you seek to
compare us with those you dealt with centuries ago, a civilisation that
hasn't existed for centuries. The world and the people who live now in
cities more glorious and more vast than anything the Mayans built are as
far removed from your knowledge as you are from ours. It has already
been proved, years ago, that many people working in concert are able to
cause natural events of vast destructive power. If it is necessary to
employ many people working in similar concert then that will be done
again. We may have less magic than you, we may have less power than the
priests who lived on the strength given by the lives of others, but our
power is clean, unblemished by the deaths of innocents, unsmeared by the
murder of women and children in the name of glory. Man's intelligence
and abilities have grown in tandem with his advances in technology, we
are no longer one race, we are many, with other beings of equal and
superior power who would be willing to work in concert to rid our planet
of the threat offered by the Invae.


Yes there is conflict, it is the way of man to fight amongst himself
when he has no other enemy to focus upon. That is how many advances are
made. if it was not for war, we would not have the communications,
transportation, weapons and civilisation we now have. If it was not for
the competitive and inquiring mind of man, we would not have the world
we have now. Do not seek to judge us until you have more knowledge of
us."


Spirit: "I will think on what you have said. What you seek was given
to me to protect and prevent its misuse. I must consider what you have
said, and speak with others of my kind, who may also have knowledge of
the things you speak about so passionately. Do not attempt to leave
this chamber until I return in judgement. Your deaths will occur as a
result of any such attempt."


+++++03:13:22

A ball of blue-white light hovers in the centre of the chamber,
illuminating the cicular room.

Dewy: "The doorframes themselves are integral parts of the wards that
contain the spirit within these boundries, the carvings and heiroglyphs
carved into the wall are an active part of the spells that maintain and
seal the ward. That thing is a spirit of man, trapped in here by the
priests, when they built this section. His purpose, may well be what he
says, as a guardian, though what he's guarding may no longer exist."
Dewdrop looks towards Edge, who is studying some of the wall carvings,
near the lightless portal opened by the spirit. I'm not sure how well we
did convincing it of our purpose, though I would suggest we have given
it cause for thought."


DA: "Let's hope it comes back with a favourable judgement, I have no
wish to die here."


Edge: "We'll not die here DA. The spirit has been imprisoned here as a
guardian, he can prevent entry, and prevent exit, but he has little
ability to actually terminate our lives, I don't think that was part of
the bargain that trapped him here. From what I can gather from these
inscriptions. The agreement was that he would remain here guarding
something important, until certain criteria were met, at which point he
was to release the item, and would be able to return to his home plane.
Whether we meet those criteria, is something only he can determine, but
live in hope. We fight an enemy he is familiar with. Something that he
can use his knowledge of to judge our need. I am optimistic. I have
not found anything here so far, that would imply the spirit has the
ability to cause our deaths, if that was the case, he could easily have
destroyed us when we attacked it earlier. Also, there is no evidence
here of any corpses. Which is another good sign. His absence has given
me time to think about this, if necessary, I believe Dewy and I can
defeat the spirit, though it will not be easy."


DA: "I'll reserve judgement on that if you don't mind. Do either of
you have an idea of where the spirit has gone?"


Dewy: "He announced himself as the Gatekeeper of Xibalba. Xibalba is
the Mayan land of the dead. A spirit world where they could meet their
ancestors and talk with them. According to legend, it was preceeded by a
period of fasting and worship, with sacrifice of one's own blood to open
the portal. It may be, that this spirit is able to open the gates at
will, and the ritual was something used by the Mayan priests as a
purification ritual. I suspect that the spirit is able to leave this
chamber for short periods of time to ponder a situation that has arisen.
We are the first reason he's probably had in many years. You may also
notice that since his awakening, the temperature in here has climbed
considerably, it may be that somehow there is something in this area
tied into the creatures power, without further investigation I can't
really judge. Edge may be right though, we may be able to defeat the
spirit if necessary." We learned a lot from the first meeting. I agree
that the spirit may be constrained not to kill here, for the simple
reason that he could have killed us at the beginning, yet chose not to,
or was unable to."


DA: "The spirit also learned from that meeting Dewy. We wait. In this
situation I would prefer that combat was our last available option. I
would be useless in any battle with the spirit, and therefore a
liability, that may be a bigger problem than you think. Don't be too
quick to judge our survival as an inability to kill, the spririt may
have been curious. It has to have been aware of the passage of time.
The fact that we were so different from what it expected, may have been
the mitigating factor in our survival."

+++++END UPLOAD: RS2/6D3-A.ctx

]<<<<<
-- Dark Avenger <14:51:12/20-04-58>
Message no. 3
From: Avenger <Avenger@*******.DEMON.CO.UK>
Subject: Re: RS: Library 4
Date: Mon, 14 Jul 1997 13:27:49 +0100
*****TO: Stonewall
>>>>>[
+++++ARCHIVE ACCESS: 5-4DA-9S
+++++BEGIN UPLOAD: RS2/6D3-A.dat

+++++03:13:22

DA: "The spirit also learned from that meeting Dewy. We wait, in this
situation I would prefer that combat was our last available option. I
would be useless in any battle with the spirit, and therefore a
liability, that may be a bigger problem than you think. Don't be too
quick to judge our survival as an inability to kill, the spririt may
have been curious. It has to have been aware of the passage of time.
The fact that we were so different from what it expected, may have been
the mitigating factor in our survival."


+++++05:11:27


"You may continue," the deep echoing voice startles the three men
sitting huddled round a small primus stove. "One piece of the item you
seek can be found beyond the second exit, it is the first of the fan,
last of the mask, and central to the Soul. Treat it well Avenger, the
spirits smile upon you today. Mistreat the Soul or use it for evil
purposes, and you will live to regret it. Go now, before I change my
mind and choose to distrust you."


Dewy, Edge and Avenger leave the chamber with little hesitation. Dewy
looking behind him at the spirit, standing near the black gate, an
unreadable expression on its face.


+++++06:57:39


Blue light reflects from crystal formations, revealing a natural cave,
the walls deeply cracked, though none of the usual seepage based
formations are visible. In the centre of the room is an article that
may one have been an ornate set of clothing, rotten with the passage of
time. Hanging round the neck of the stone 'dummy' is a gold coloured
chain with a dull looking crescent shape attached.


Dewdrop appears to be meditating, sitting cross legged in fromt of the
stone shape, eyes closed, head bowed forward, the only indication that
he is concentrating on something is the sheen of sweat beading his brow.
Edge stands nearby, faery fire playing around the tips of the fingers of
one hand. DA leans against a wall near the entrance, smoking, judging
by the extinguished butts on the floor at his feet, they have been here
for some time.


"How much longer Edge? The others will be starting an assault on this
place if we don't get out soon." Avenger shifts his weight, stretching
his spine and shifting the weight of his packs.


"Rushing in where fools fear to tread has caused us more than one
problem in the previous chamber, I agree with Dewdrop, caution is of
utmost importance. If this article here is part of the artefact you are
searching for, then it is likely that the spirit is not the only
guardian. We aren't dealing with magic that is familiar so extreme
caution is necessary, while Dewy figures out what wards, if any, have
been placed around the object..."


A loud crack interrupts Edge, as the stone 'dummy' cracks. Almost
instantly, Edge is poised, ready for something. Locked targetting and
trajectory/range information from DA's smartlink indicates that he is
also ready for - whatever.


Dewdrop rises gracefully, reaches forward and retrieves the artefact.
"Piece of cake. Now, what the hell do we do with it?"


"First, get out. We'll figure out the rest later."


The three men head for the exit.


+++++09:10:19

Daylight streams through the entrance to the library, outside, the
remainder of Red Shift wait nervously near the entrance.


"How did it go?" Nemesis voices the question written on every face.


"We have one piece, and the blessing of the spirits, whatever that
means. How's Wells?"


Shado shakes her head sadly. "Not good Clinton, not good. Stephanie
take him camp, he very sick. Something eating him from inside. Loch
with them, but she hurt, Wells not like her some reason, and attack her
one time. Stephanie knock him out. Ben and Anna go with them."


Pharaoh walks out of the brightly lit jungle, seemingly appearing a few
feet outside of the tree line, more ghost than human. "Nothing is
moving in this area. I found some tracks, but they're old, aside from
Jaguar and other wildlife, there's no fresh spoor from anything we need
to worry about."


Avenger unslings his pack, and sits on a rock outside the library
entrance. "We need a breather before making the trek back to camp.
Blaze, see if you can get Ben or Anna on the radio, let them know we'll
be setting back within the hour. Ok, who's got coffee on the brew?"


Dewdrop gingerly places a wrapped object on top of his pack, almost with
reverence, before stretching out in a patch of shade. Edge sits himself
near the entrance, running a large silver dollar around his fingers,
humming some tune under his breath.


"Well? What happened then? I mean, don't think that you can all just
stroll out of there, after everything that's been going on, looking like
you've just returned from a Desert scenario, and expect us all to just
hang around at your convenience."


"Blaze," Dewdrop raises himself on one elbow. " It went fine, we have
one piece - we think. There were a couple of interesting situations,
but aside from the crisis with Wells, nothing of any note happened in
there."


"Oh, Bull. You've been gone for hours. You all look like you've tangled
with the Tampa Bay Pirates in a superbrawl. Wells comes out screaching
about something or other in Chinese, Stephanie beats the crap out of him
and strolls off to camp with Wells slung over her shoulder like a sack
of coal, and you mumble something about the spirits blessing you. And
you honestly expect us to accept 'nothing of note happened'? Give me a
break!"


"It's kinda like this, sweetie - Nothing of note happened. If you want
to know the gory details, wait till Gates finishes assembling it all for
the archive, then you can scan it at your leisure. Right now, I want a
coffee, a rest and some peace. So, unless you have something
constructive to offer, please, shut-up."


Blaze glowers at the reclining Dewy, seems to think better of it, and
makes her way towards a small camp fire, pouring coffee for the three.


Pharaoh walks over to DA, casualy scanning the treeline and ridge, his
eyes never still. "There is something strange about the Jaguar spoor."
He speaks quietly, his voice barely carrying to the microphone, no-one
hearing his words. "It's too heavy. Jaguar are light hunters,
relatively small cats working at night. The spoor I found was fresh,
and indicated a creature at least twice normal size. There is also
indication of some native habitation further south. I crossed two
trails, none leading here, one looks to be fairly well used, and could
be a regular path for villagers. There is also some evidence of stone
structures to the south, whether they're old or recent I can't tell, the
undergrowth ahs got a reasonable foothold, but it'll take an
archaeologist to figure out what they are. No one has used either of
the trails for at least 72 hours, maybe longer, So I don't think we need
to worry about them, but the Jaguar bothers me, there's something
strange about the prints I can't quite put my finger on."


"OK." Avenger looks around at the others. "Scout around again, see if
you can pick up a trail. Take one of the others with you. We'll rest
here for 2 hours then return to camp."


"Shado, with me." Pharaoh and Shado disappear into the jungle.


+++++END UPLOAD: RS2/6D3-A.dat
]<<<<<
-- Dark Avenger <04:36:12/13-07-58>
Message no. 4
From: Avenger <Avenger@*******.DEMON.CO.UK>
Subject: Re: RS: Library 4
Date: Tue, 15 Jul 1997 05:25:38 +0100
*****TO: Stonewall
>>>>>[
+++++ARCHIVE ACCESS: 4-4DA-12S
+++++BEGIN UPLOAD: RS3/8D7-S.dat

+++++09:10:19


"OK." Avenger looks around at the others. "Scout around again, see if
you can pick up a trail. Take one of the others with you. We'll rest
here for 2 hours then return to camp."


"Shado, with me." Pharaoh and Shado disappear into the jungle.


Dewdrop, coffee mug precariously balanced on his chest lies in the
shade, gently snoring, Edge still travelling his coin, seemingly without
any wear at all on his nerves. Blaze sits by the campfire, smoking a
ludicrously coloured, and probably foul smelling cigarette, muttering
under her breath and casting glowers at the sleeping Dewdrop. Nemesis
is casually cleaning his rifle, eyes travelling the tree line regularly.
He looks over, noticing Avenger's attention and strolls across, slumping
in a heap nearby, back against a rock.


"There aren't enough of us you know. If Wells is cracking up, and
Stephanie is leaving us in Progresso, we won't have enough to continue
without some considerable risk to the rest."


"I know, I know." Avenger answers softly, weariness evident in his
voice. "Talisman and another should be re-joining us soon, I can
replace Stephanie once we get to Guyana, assuming we actually turn up
something that will give us a clue to what we are searching for. The
rest we'll pick up in Brazil."


"Avenger. We've known each other for a while now, why do this? We're
on a quest for something we don't even know exists, if it does, there's
no guarantee it's survived the centuries it's been buried in this
hateful part of the world. If we do find it, we have no way of knowing
how the damn thing is used. I mean, if it's based on blood magic, who
the hell is going to sacrifice the number of people it's likely to take
to power the thing, and if that problems is overcome, how the hell are
we going to interpret the magic rituals required to use the
contraption?"


"Questions, questions.. Don't you ever run out?"


"Nope, why, do you want me too?"


"Nah, you wouldn't be the same person. Why do this? That's a question
I've asked myself often, I am bringing people I care about into a
situation where we are unable to predict the outcome. It's a strange
thing heading into the unknown after the unknowable without
understanding. Not a feeling I relish. I guess the reasons are
personal. I lost some very good friends to the Invae, people that I
have trusted and shared my life with, they are sorely missed, also a
promise I made to a young boy, what seems like years ago. I've tried
convincing myself that what we do affects a greater design, and has some
grand cause behind it, but in the end I guess it's pure revenge. If
this item allows us to kill bugs, and kill them in numbers, which seems
to be the indication from what little we have discovered, then it is
worth it. To see them suffer in the same numbers that we have suffered,
to avenge not only my friends but those who had no chance and were
abandoned by the powers that be. Maybe this is a pointless quest
Nemesis, I don't know, but at least we're doing something. The problem
won't go away by ignoring it, and as we found in Seattle, too many
people have already ignored the problem, finding other things to concern
their petty little lives. Thousands of people across the world are
destroyed by these creatures, these /spirits/, yet nobody does anything,
the media consider it old news and are bored with it. The shadows are
also bored with it - try and figure that out, their biggest threat, and
it's ignored with the same contempt you'd treat old garbage. I even
begin to wonder about Government commitment to the destruction of this
threat. Dewy says the bugs are merely a beginning, a start of some
terror that is coming to haunt mankind, they are the forerunners of our
destruction. He's a bit of a conspiracist fan so I don't take him too
seriously, but on the offchance that he's right, can we really afford to
ignore this or what may come after? Deep in the temple we encountered a
spirit, Edge calls it a guardian, a spirit of man. The thing was
powerful enough to be a threat, yet cannot do anything to assist us, and
can't hurt us beyond it's domain. The bugs don't suffer those
restrictions. The concetration may at this time be Chicago, but how
many other areas across the world have been contaminated. How many other
towns and cities are occupied by these creatures? Yes it's easy to
shrug off the Chicago problem - Ok the army are there, the government
are dealing with it, but that's only Chicago, there are so many other
places they could be. And if, the association with the Universal
Brotherhood is true, then it is likely that this is not a localised
thing that can be ignored with impunity. It is something that has
infiltrated the very society we claim to be a part of. In cities and
large towns, or rural districts, how many people can be trusted now, how
many people have been infected, how many areas now belong to the bugs,
but aren't noticed yet. If they beat the Chicago problem, where is the
next one, and how many people will be able to afford the technology
required to beat these creatures? Too many variables, and the lethargy
that the threat is greeted with is sickening.


When I was first posted to Chicago, to retrieve data and possibly eye
witnesses for a media channel in Seattle, I didn't fully understand the
threat that had existed in Chicago for some time. The jungle has that
affect on you. News and events occur and fade while you're out of
general touch. When I met the creatures getting an ork and his family
out of the zone, it was a hell of a culture shock. I misjudged them
right down the line, and wonder how many others have misjudged the
threat they pose. England, Europe all civilised nations may be infested
with these /bugs/ and people continue life just as before, ignoring this
threat to their humanity with a slothfulness that is truly terrifying.
No doubt corporations like Ares and Aztechnology have their own bugs
somewhere in a bio-chemical research lab, cutting them up piecemeal to
make better warriors or somesuch, later on, when the government has
dealt with the larger nests, we'll have a new set of bio-mechanical
cybernetic system on the market, something that uses technology learned
from the bug/human merges. Something that insinuates itself into your
system with less rejection possibilities than present systems, yet
something that is more sinister in it's nature than anything we've seen
before. Nests that aren't generally known like the Chicago situation
will continue to breed and flourish, until they are too big and
extensive to be easily dealt with. Which then begs the question, what
do the bugs want here? Nobody has found a way to communicate with them
that I'm aware of, nobody has been able to interpret their methods or
reason. It would be nice to think of this as a noble quest for the
salvation of mankind from an enemy we can't hope to beat, but it's not
that neatly defined. It's less and more than that.


You mention the possibility of sacrificing large numbers of people to
empower the Soul. Something that has plagued me since we started this
hunt. However, something that Gates turned up was interesting. The
Mayans didn't sacrifice people as such. They sacrificed blood, not
people. The blood was invariably from those of royal descent. Only
they had the right type of blood that could be used to pacify the gods.
This bloodletting was apparently done by piercing the tongue. Aztecs
sacrificed people, as did the Toltecs and another race who's name I
forget. Blood sacrifice was vitally important to the Mayans, but it had
to be done in a particular way, from a particular type of person, and
for all the faults of royalty, I can't see them willingly allowing a
priest to tear their living heart out. No I don't think we need worry
about sacrifice, that is likely to be of a limited rather than mass
nature. Human and animal sacrifice only became popular towards the end
of the Mayan civilisation, when they sacrificed everything from children
to Jaguar and monkeys to appease the gods they thought had turned
against them. Dewy speculates that by the end of their reign, magic was
at such a low level that they had lost much of the power that fed their
culture and only the most powerful artefacts worked any longer. Leaving
the civilisation with a failing priesthood, and a royalty that could no
longer produce the goods, Wars became more frequent as they invaded
neighbouring cities to gather goods and crops to continue living, until
finally their civilisation collapsed, and the people returned to their
mountains and previous life, leaving these vast cities to rot in the
jungle. OF course, the Spanish invasion helped a lot to destroy what
was left of that culture, with Christianity glorifying the "heathen"
method of live sacrifice, and burning their written works, not able or
refusing to understand the nature of what they dealt with. Magic has
returned to the world, and although old timers like me might hate it,
distrust it and fail to comprehend it, it is here, and is likely to be a
major part of our lives for some time, a few thousand years I
understand. That it was here before is evidenced by Egyptian, Greek,
Roman, Babylonian, and other ancient records, we just mistook it all for
advanced science. Druids once again stalk England, meddling in affairs
they should stay clear of. Europe and the States are overrun by
awakened creatures, strange forms that have no right to exist outside of
legend. How can I question that an artefact, allegedly used to combat
the invae before, either doesn't exist, or won't be effective. I must
believe that it can be so, or the others will also fail, and we return
to the darkness that will eventually consume us all.


Have you ever faced the Invae, Nemesis? They are strange, unpredictable
and virtually unstoppable. If they ever organise into the hives and
nests we see in the insect kingdom, then mankind is under considerable
threat. Oh the lethargic crowd may claim it's under control, but is it?
Have you ever heard of a household succesfully destroying an ants nest,
or ridding itself of a cockroach infestation? No, because it can't be
done without extreme measures. So, let's just speculate that somehow
the government clears Chicago, where does it go next, how does it deal
with the next hive or nest, where _is_ the next hive/nest. How do you
find something that you can't see or touch until it chooses to do so.
They are more sinister and terrifying than many admit, or want to admit.
These creatures are invisible to any who look, until it suits the bug to
make it different, then it's suddenly there, manifesting itself
literally anywhere, seemingly at will. I've seen wasps take down a
fully armed combat chopper simply by materialising inside the cockpit.
They sacrifice themselves on weapons without fear or remorse, they are
unstoppable, and to our standards utterly without mercy. You can't
fight something like that with conventional methods, nor can you ever
hope to beat something like that. The invae are here to stay, and the
longer they stay, the more people will forget about them, until it's too
damn late.


I used to consider corporate power and government bureaucracy as my
enemies. I would fight against them whenever funds or situation
allowed, exposing what corruption I could find, trusting none and
working only for choice paying customers, normally in some fight or
other that helped to cure a problem. The loss of friends and the
experience of watching these creatures first hand, woke me up to realise
that the crusade I'd been following was so petty in comparison as to
seem childish in it's very nature. I fought against the very people who
have the power and finance to carry a war with these creatures. And
don't let any doubt enter your mind, anything to do with the invae, is a
war. Heartless, coldblooded and calculating, a war, and it cannot be
ignored or swept under the carpet. It's not going to fade away with
time, it will get worse with time, and the more people deny it's
existence, the more of a threat it becomes.


Bugs have no respect for our lives or our society, we are merely food
and tools to them. They can't possibly comprehend our society, just as
we cannot comprehend theirs, but they at least have the ability to meld
with us, and become like us, using that merge as a means to
understanding us, and probably with an aim to controlling mankind like
cattle.


This is one of those things that can only have two outcomes. Mankind
unites in the total and utter destruction of bugs, or we succumb to
their lordship. And I for one will not go into the night quietly, they
will have to drag me down kicking and screaming and fighting every last
centimetre. I can only pity those who deny the threat and ignore the
consequences of their denial. They have already surrendered themselves
as slaves.


Nobody depends on me Nemesis, except this motley band of cutthroats. My
quest is not an honourable one, though I could possibly convince even
myself of that, it is simply a desperate attempt at survival, a personal
vengeance against an enemy I can't possibly hope to beat, but by God I
can damn well try, and spit in the eye of the defeatist assholes who
deny the threat as a viable danger to humanity."


"Well, all you had to say was you didn't like bugs." Nemesis grins
wryly, attempting to bring some levity to the empassioned Avenmger.


"Hah! Ok, I don't like bugs." Humour works it's way painfully back
into Avengers voice, an obviously physical effort to bring himself down.
"You're right, I get a little carried away, but I've seen these things
up close and personal, fought hand to hand with them and watched good
friends torn apart by creatures I can't begin to explain. It will be
some time before I am able to sleep comfortably again Nemesis, and that
goes for those who survived the last battle with me. Look at Wells'
face when he looks out into the night, Loch, Shado or Gates. None will
ever see the night in quite the same way again. And that hurts as well.
All of them are young, and should have no fear of the dark. Darkness
has always been a close friend, something we have embraced in the past,
and used to our benefit, yet now, we fail to trust it, like children
afraid of the boogeyman. You flew missions into the Zone, you must have
seen some of this."


"Nope. We flew missions in sure. Took in supplies, troops, medical
materials, you name it, we dropped it, including several canisters of
raid and some explosives at the request of the enclave near the museum,
but never once did I encounter anything that resembles what you mention.
Most of our flights were quick in an out, carefully planned by the
military, and executed with extreme precision. In the six months I was
stationed there, I didn't see anything like you describe. Oh yeah we
occassionally saw something that didn't look right, either lumbering
over the rubble, or sometimes in the distance in the air, but up close?
Nope. I guess the closest we got to what you describe was fighting off
some pretty desperate refugees who had encountered a horde of what they
called cockroaches, the army boys shot 'em off the plane, those that
managed to grab something. I seriously considered going AWOL then, I
don't like the killing of civilians at the best of times, but when
they're as desperate as that group, I object even more. I didn't fly
any ground missions after that, just supply drops. Brass must have
figured I was a risk to quarantine or something." Nemesis broad drawl
slows even more as he remembers. "I guess that's why I was so eager to
blow when you shouted for an assist. Couldn't take it anymore. Too many
people suffering for no apparent reason, and the mil-boys were a bunch
of the coldest hearted sons-a-bitches I have ever met."


"You think so. Talk in Seattle or Washington, Detroit or New York,
mention bugs, and you'll have a pile of people leaping on you as though
your some kind of wild heretic come crying about the second coming. The
one place we thought to find support was the first place to turn it's
collective back and announce blindness. Bloody Ostriches the lot of
'em. There are so many people out there with the "If I can't see it, it
ain't a threat" attitude. Damned American ignorance, they really
believe that nobody or nothing would dare to threaten their beloved
country, the UCAS is too big to worry about a few bugs - 'Shit we'll let
the marines stomp 'em a little, then mop up later...' Fucking idiots."
Blaze and Edge look over, concerned at the edge in Avenger's voice,
something teetering on the border of sanity. A deep breath, and control
is once again evident in Avengers' voice. "I can't give up like that
Nemesis. I can't leave the children to grow into a world where their
future is governed by whether they'd be a good host or a good lunch. I
can't possibly hope to defeat these damn creatures either, but by god I
can hurt some of them. As the Americans are fond of saying - 'Get me
some payback!' Hell, if I only destroy the hive that took my friends,
that will be sufficient to quench the thirst."


Blaze strolls over, some concern evident in her expression. "Avenger,
you should get some sleep, you've been up for nearly four days solid,
either you rest, or some poor slob is going to be carrying you home."


"Yes mother." Sarcasm drips painfully onto the ground where it sizzles a
while. "I'll go to sleep soon ma, honest I will." Blaze snorts in
disgust, and opens her mouth to retort. "No. Don't bother Blaze. I know
you're right, but I have a few concerns at the moment. I'll rest once
we get back to camp. At least there I can let somebody else worry for a
while."


Blaze nods, realising that she's not going to get anywhere, and gestures
to Nemesis to follow her. Avenger leans back, relaxing, if not actually
sleeping.


"He bothers me Nemesis. Shado has been with him since this began, and
she says his whole manner has changed. There's a hatred inside him
that's eating him like a cancer, and if we aren't careful, he's going to
get us all killed. You've known him longer than me, is there anything we
can do?"


"I'm not the right one to ask girl. I've known Avenger for a number of
years, but even so, I keep finding things out about him Ididn't know
before. I'd say he's been feeding off his hatred for a lot longer than
these few months, without that hatred, he wouldn't be who he is.
Without it, he may even cease to function normally. If you want to know
a little about him, catch Pharaoh when he's in a good mood and ask him,
or Wells, if he even recovers. Maybe Avenger is on the edge of
insanity, but he's been there a long time, adn I figure it's what keeps
him alive."


"Shado has been with him since the beginning, only Dewdrop knows him
before... Well, before. She is worried, which means, I reckon, that we
should worry."


"Blaze, Shado worries when Avenger doesn't drink all his coffee, she's
the wife he lost, dnd the daughter he never saw. I wouldn't base my
concerns on Shado's reaction to the man, she'd worry if he failed to
spit out the pips from a grape. I figure the time to worry about the
man is when Pharoah or Dewdrop start worrying, at that time, we should
get pretty damn scared I reckon. Look at Dewy, if he was worried do you
really think he'd sleep like that, or Pharaoh, is he likely to trust DA
so implicitly if there was a threat of him flipping out? I don;t think
so. No, I wouldn't worry just yet."


Blaze simply looks over at DA, thoughtfully. "Don't bet on Dewy Nemesis,
I've worked with him for a while, and he really is certifiable. The man
should be locked in a padded cell and doped up so he never sees the
light again. You haven't seen Dewy get wierd yet, believe me, he's out
where the buses don't go."


+++++11:17:22


A whistle from the jungle brings Avenger, Dewy and Nemesis to their
feet, Blaze crouches next to the fire, firearm ready.


"Shit you should see yourselves, Goddamed rabbits." Pharaoh strolls
around the edge of a rock ridge, almost opposite from the whistle, only
Avenger faces the right direction.


"Oh yeah, real funny Pharaoh. I was enjoying that coffee till you
spilled it." Nemesis looks down at the growing stain around the ankles
of his fatigues.


"Take a leaf out of Dewy's book, hell he hasn;t even woken up." Edge
kicks the sole of Dewdrops boot. "Wakey wakey, sleeping beauty, we're
going home."


"Edge, you know damn well I am not sleeping. I've been aware of
Pharaoh's presence for some minutes."


Nemesis snorts in derision, obviously disbelieving. "Bloody philistine,
you wouldn't believe the sun rises and sets unless you witnessed it
yourself." Dewy glares at Nemesis, something like humour written across
his face.


Shado grabs a fresh canteen and rinses her mouth out. "Strange out
there Clint, ver'strange." A glance from Pharaoh and Shado makes a
point of drinking from the canteen.


"We need to talk." Quietly, almost sub-vocal. Avneger nods slightly, a
barely perceptible head movement.


"Break camp, we're heading home people. C'mon, let's get busy."
Gratefully the team start to break camp and prepare for the long journey
to the archeologists encampment. "What's up?"


Pharaoh watches the rest for a moment. "The trails we found. The
Jaguar. the depth of the print puts these creatures at mansized. Shado
figured it once we found a fresh trail. They are way over their normal
size DA, way over. Also they don't move right. Don't get me wrong,
they're cats, and damn big ones, but the trail suggests they were
stalking something, problem is, there's no animal or human track that
would explain the signs. A pack of maybe 15 were hunting something that
didn't exist. And that's the really wierd thing. Jaguar do not hunt in
packs. They are solitary hunters, killing small game and wildlife, they
don't work in large co-ordinated teams. There's something seriously
fucked out there, and I dont like the way it feels."


"OK, talk to Stephanie when we get back to camp, she may have some
knowledge that may help you. I'l talk to Ben and see if anyone else has
seen these giant Jaguar of yours." Avenger looks around, checking that
any sign of them has been cleared up. "Right people, move out. Blaze,
take point."


"Avenger?"


"Yes Edge?"


"If I may be so bold. It would not be sensible to send Blaze out on
point." He backsteps a pace and continues in a rush, something in DA's
face making him instantly nervous. "I'm not questioning you, but she has
had as little rest as we have. I can use a couple of spirits to ward
our path, they will warn us of any trouble, and take some strain off
us."


"Not such a bad idea DA." Pharaohs voice is soft, but carries meaning
in it's tone.


"Very well Edge, do it. But fuck up, and I'll crawl so far up your ass,
you'll see me lookin' at you when you clean your teeth."


+++++End Archive Access

]<<<<<
-- Dark Avenger <05:24:17/15-07-58>
Message no. 5
From: Avenger <Avenger@*******.DEMON.CO.UK>
Subject: Re: RS: Library 4
Date: Thu, 17 Jul 1997 05:34:50 +0100
*****TO: Stonewall
>>>>>[
+++++ARCHIVE ACCESS: 5-4DA-9S
+++++BEGIN UPLOAD: RS2/6D3-A.dat

+++++23:47:09
+++++Personal Note.


As always with something like this our schedule is about 2 months
behind, damned irritating but there's little I can do to speed things
up. Information is slow in coming, even with the programs Gates and
another archaeologist have written translation of the Mayan scripts is
slow, and often a hit and miss affair. even with all the information
collated in the last couple of centuries, it seems we still don't fully
understand their writings. Misinformation is an art with this
civilisation, if they want something hidden, they're damned good at it.
Funds for this expedition have already exceeded the planned amount, and
are escalating further, if it continues in this manner, we may need to
seek alternative methods of funding it, but I'll deal with that problem
if an when we come to it.


The heat is, as always a problem, it saps the strength and determination
of everybody, and the interminable bloody insects are enough to drive
the strongest person insane. Damn buzzing 24 hours a day. It's bad
enough knowing that we oppose an enemy that closely resembles insects,
without worrying about whether thye have insider information from their
smaller colleagues. God that sounds paranoid, but could it be possible?
Dewy is doubtful, there is no indication that the invae have any link
whatsoever to the indigenous insect kingdom, yet I wonder, the
resemblance can't be co-incidental. I'll see if Gates can hack some R&D
net around Chicago, someone somewhere must have speculated about the
link, maybe there's an answer somewhere.


The archaeologists here have been a godsend, without their assistance
whole expedition would have been hopeless beyond comprehension, even
with Dewdrops' fascination for ancient civilisations and artefacts.
Though he resists admitting it, I feel that he would have been way out
of his depth here. The information we have pulled out of the carvings
and scripts is amazing to say the least. And there are several strange
links to other lands, that were not immediately obvious. Nemesis
speculated the other night after one particular revelation that we may
yet end up hunting for lost Atlantis, I can but hope that his jest
remains exactly that, a joke. Similarities between other civilisations
are stronger than I at first suspected, which seems to indicate that
there was either a trade route to other areas of the world, or some
other connection. Dewy, in his usual conspiracist nut attitudes has
come up with all manner of wild schemes, from Atlantean survivors to
world-wide communication. If the legend of Atlantis is ever given more
credence than the rumours that abound now, then maybe it would seem
logical there was some sort of connection. Hell, maybe survivors did
make it to these shores.


The exporting of articles seems to be going well, Emma has at least at
this point shown that she is reliable. I wonder though, Dewy says I
have a couple of extra articles in my body, something that must have
been placed after Gates made the arrangements with her to rebuild my
chest. I can only speculate what they are, but most likely some sort of
tracer. I can't find it in myself to be surprised, but they are going
to have to go. It may be possible to have them removed in Guyana, we
shall see. Unfortunately this damn backwater doesn't havfe sufficient
technology to identify the extra implants, which means I'm just going to
have to live with it for now. Damn the woman for her interference.
Though, in her position I would probably have done the same thing.


I am concerned over the fate of the others. It has been some months
since any communications were interecepted by Gates on the old IF ident,
which means they've either succumbed to the bugs, or have fragmented
beyond recovery. Probably the latter, I've never met such a bunch of
complacent nitwits in my life. Maybe I'll get Shenandoah to track them
down, and check on the kids if nothing else. Canis' silence is possibly
the most concerning. The last communication we intercepted from him
indicated a desire to enter the CZ, god help him if he's gone in there.
Hell, they're grown people, they know the risks, I can't chase every
damn shadow in the possibility I may be needed. Damn I hate this
uncertainty. No information from my sources is not good, and the lack
of any contact with Gemeos has got everybody hyped. What are the damn
invae planning now, and why the hell have they gone so quiet? Questions
questions questions, so many questions and no answers, it's enough to
drive a person mad.


I must confess to a certain amount of concern. Though morale is still
high, the team are suffering from the extended pressures of this
expedition. Little sleep, heat, insects, more heat, and random attacks
by wishful rebels are taking their toll. Hopefully I can arrange some
leave when we hit Guyana, but I have a suspicion that is unlikely.


Communications in general with the UCAs are scattered and unclear, and
that's easily the most irritating thing of being in this godforsaken
place. The team can't even keep up with general news. The Azzies have
a huge finger in the media and seem to censor everything, the few priate
rags available are worse than useless, singing the praises of the
revolution, down with the government, and all for a couple f weeks
before Azzie troops stomp all over them. Damned idiots are never going
to get it sorted unless they get organised.


Organised, now there's a handy word. Bit of a joke really, I guess I
shouldn't use it to loosely. If we ever get organised we might be able
to figure out what the heck is going on. Between travelling from one
ruin to another, digging aruond in chambers and temples, deciphering
gobbledigook heiroglyphs and fighting the local wildlife, I'm beginning
to suspect that we're going in reverse, quickly. Shado keep smothering
around me, under the strange impression that my mind is going loose on
its gimbals. I should be flattered, but she's worse than a broody hen,
and of course Blaze just makes matters worse. Thankfully Steph made it
back to her unit OK, so I don't need to worry about that one doing
something rash as a result of the tedium.


Damned irritated at the loss of Edge though, damn senseless way for him
to die. Dewy and Pharaoh checked the arae and his tyre simply blew out,
250 feet later, he's hamburger, not even his power could save him.
Bloody country is going to be the death of all of us.


No communication from Emma, for over a month now, not sure if that's a
good thing or bad, provided the flights keep coming in, I'll ignore it,
though it concerns me. If something happens to her, it could have
disastrous effects on the expedition, and it's purpose. Damn the woman,
what the hell kind of game is she playing? Well, hell, I'll post the
usual update, and see if we get a rise out of her. maybe ask for
somethinjg like air conditioning, that should get some sort of reply.
There's got to be some way of finding out what these damn tings are
she's stuck in me, and getting them sorted. I'll have a word with
Gates, see if we can't trace back through the ripper's find out what the
hell they are. I swear, if she's putting this team at risk, I'll tear
her pretty little head off.


This is one wierd place. Two weeks back, we get a call from Ben, "Found
something" he says. So like a bunch of loons, we pack up shop, and dive
out into some horrendous area of the countryside, halfway up a bloody
mountain. Arriving on the scene, what do we find. A sodding sink hole.
It wasn't that he'd found something on the Soul, he'd found a damn water
hole, with mayan goodies laying about in it, and needed a couple of
experienced divers to go fetch it for him. Hopefully he'll not repeat
that mistake in a hurry, assuming he forgets what Shado did to him.


Even with all the wierd shit I've seen in this world, never in my
wildest imaginings did I ever figure that shapeshifters were anything
other than a rumour. Then within two a two week period, I get to see
one in the flesh, and then fight a damn colony of the things. What the
hell next next? Extraterestrials? Demons? And Dewy tells me that
things will get stranger, jesus. Apparently large portions of the
Amazon are "awakened", whatever the hell that means. I suppose we're
going to start meeting trees and bushes that talk, and grass that
complains if stepped on. What a fucked up world we live in.


+++++Include SecuriCam RS28:2-32/D.vid

The camera looks out at the quarterdeck of a generously-sized yacht: a
small boat hangs in davits and the background view is of urban skyline,
but what gets your attention is the tiger lying on its back, sleepily
basking in the early morning sunshine next to an untidy pile of clothes.


It's a large and magnificent example of _Panthera tigris altaica_:
orange and black stripes vivid in the light, and the softer white belly
fur clearly visible as it luxuriantly stretches, large claws sliding out
of larger paws as it flexes its muscles lazily.


"Stephanie?" Blaze's voice calls from off-camera and the tiger looks
around. "We might have some company coming."


The tiger makes a deep whuffing noise of disgust, rolls over, and
somehow in the process flows and changes into a five-foot-tall girl:
Stephanie bounces to her feet, naked and apparently unconcerned about
it: she's got a startling hourglass figure, emphasised by her well-
developed muscles and short height.


"This had better be good, I was having a _really_ nice dream." she
grumbles as she reaches for her clothing: looking out across the bay
after she pulls a T-shirt over her head, she says "Whoa! YEAH! Blaze,
we're going to have a fight! Pirates coming to board us!" She sounds
delighted.


Blaze's voice - still off-camera - says "Is that meant to be a good
thing?"


"Well, it'll be fun, even if it's dangerous. Let's just try not to break
Dewey's boat, it's really nice." She pulls on her shoes, picks up a
faded combat jacket and her cutoff denim shorts.


"We've got a gang of armed robbers coming and you're happy?"


"Yeah!" Stephanie disappears off the quarterdeck, and a few seconds
later the camera view kicks in of her operating the security console.


Blaze wanders up. "They're two hundred yards out and closing, Stephanie.
Shouldn't you be using George on them or something?"


"I'd really like to, but if I did that -" Stephie finishes adjusting the
console - "then the port authorities would ask us why we were shooting
machine guns in harbour, which would be hard to explain, and anyway if
they shot back they'd make holes in Dewey's nice boat, and we'd have
ever so many questions to answer, so we'd better kill them on board,
then we just have to clean the carpet and chop up the bodies and throw
them over the side and then nobody will bother to investigate." As she
speaks, she checks her scoped Matchmaster automatic, picks up two spare
magazines and her combat knife.


"I hope you know what you're doing. Making holes in Dewy's boat might be
unpleasant, but cleaning up litres of blood off his carpets is going to
be harder to explain."


The short girl smiles up at Blaze, then glances around. "They're here.
Let's go."


"Looked like seven or eight of them. Got a plan?"


"Of course. We let them get aboard and then we kill them. Hopefully
they'll split up to search so we can do them one or two at a time. Try
to do it quietly at first and try not to kill me, please, being killed
always sounded uncomfortable."


Blaze snorts, "That's not a plan, that's an opportunist event."


Stephanie moves forward into the owner's quarters: Blaze climbs the
ladder to the bridge.

+++++

The camera flicks to Stephanie, looking small in her bulky combat
jacket, standing by the (closed) door of the owner's bedroom. You hear
movement and voices outside, a clatter of cookware, and the door from
the galley opens: Stephanie seems to fade from view as the robber walks
in, a machete held loosely in one hand, looking around with satisfaction
at the opulent fittings. The door closes silently behind him.


<I think I died and went to heaven.> he says in the local dialect.


"Not yet!" a voice behind him says softly, and he turns around in time
to take four inches of steel in the chest: he staggers and Stephanie
pulls his head down, covering his mouth with her hand and digging
fingers into the back of his neck. He thrashes twice, then goes limp.


<Enrique, you find something good?> calls a voice from the galley.


Stephanie wipes her bloody fingers, then the knife, on the dead man's T-
shirt: takes a deep breath and screams, cutting it off with her hand.


Laughter from outside. <Lucky Enrique! Save some for us! You want some
help with her?>


Stephanie glares at the corpse, and her features blur and change for a
moment into a tigerish mask: Enrique rises to his feet, eyes vacant and
the wet red stain on his T-shirt spreading. She opens the door and the
corpse staggers out.


+++++

Blaze crouches behind one of the struts of the flying bridge, gripping a
pistol that looks like it should be mounted on something with tracks.
An unnatural stillness and steadiness of her uncomfortable stance
indicates her cybernetic enhancements are more extensive than her
appearance suggests. Expensive stuff. Two youths round the corner of
the cabin, Blaze moves, and caps off three rounds. The pistol flares
and bucks viciously, one youth is lifted from her feet and hurled
overboard, the second loses his head - literally.


"Two down, unknown to go. I suppose this _is_ better than a tan." She
reaches into her pants pocket and extracts a luridly coloured cigarette.
Lighting it, she draws deeply, and heads off to the other side of the
boat.

+++++

Two teenagers - one male, one female - are rummaging the galley, when
Enrique lurches into view. Blood runs down his chest and his eyes are
vacant.


They pause and stare. <Enrique, are you all right...?> the girl asks,
her boyfriend moving forward. Enrique lunges at the youth, sinking his
teeth into the boy's neck. The girl screams and flees, as the struggling
pair overbalance and fall to the floor.


Stephanie strolls into the galley, steps over the corpse and the robber
as they battle on the floor - the boy has a knife and is stabbing
Enrique repeatedly in the side, with no effect at all - and examines the
knife rack, humming to herself.


"God Money I'll do anything for you, God Money just tell me what you
want me to do-" she selects a Sabatier cleaver, hefts it thoughtfully,
nods - "God Money nail me up against the wall -" Enrique's battered
corpse goes limp suddenly, and as the robber starts to rise Stephanie
buries the cleaver in his cranium.


"Head like a hole?" she says and giggles.


+++++

"Now where the hell are you hiding? Come out come out, wherever you
are. Olly olly oxenfree!"


The deep explosion of a shotgun announces another 'pirate' and a large
portion of the cabin wall gains a new style of air conditioning. "Oh
damn, now you've scratched the paint, that'll take hours to polish out."


The pirate looks around in confusion, Blaze is not where she should be,
which is to say, she's not laying on the deck, bleeding, all nice and
dead. Damned incovenient of her. "Looking for me?" The young pirate
spins, bringing up the shotgun. Blaze fires twice, hitting him in the
chest. The pirate goes down. "Oooh, that's gotta hurt."


"BITCH!" Blaze sidesteps away from the dropping ganger, He hits the
deck hard. She spins, dropping low, sweeping his legs out from under
him, in the same fluid nmovement she straddles the unfortunate lad.
"Now, that wasn't a very nice thing to call me was it? There are three
things I hate in this world. Being disturbed from my beauty sleep, not
catching the latest fashions, and being called bitch. You upset me -
twice. Now what _am_ I going to do with you?"


The youth says something indecipherable, and undoubtedly obscene.
Grabbing for a switchblade. Blaze relieves him of the offending weapon
casually, and throws it overboard. "Nope, you're not a nice person."
She hit's him twice, mashing his face and hurls the twitching corpse
into the sea. Repeating the exersize with the other two corpses, she
grabs the tee shirt off the last one and starts cleaning the blood off
her arms. "Damn, I hate it when they bleed everywhere like that." She
pauses for a moment, loking for signs that the local militia or
coastguard heard the excitement. No movement from the harbour seems to
reassure her. She opens the cabin door, and carefully steps inside.


+++++


Running feet approach and she drags the body to its feet, muscles
rippling in her slim legs: as the galley door flies open and the girl
and another companion rush in, they find their late friend's body flying
at them. There is the boom of a shotgun, followed by four fast shots -
two double-taps - from something smaller: Stephanie, still holding the
big .45 automatic in a two-handed grip, regards the tangle of bodies
over the Matchmaster's scope as blue smoke wafts in the galley and is
snatched away by the air conditioning.


"Yeah!" she says enthusiastically, still watching the door.


There is a scream - a male one - and a thump that makes crockery
clatter, from somewhere overhead. Stephanie slides the part-used
magazine out of the .45, replaces it with a full one, strolls through
into the lounge - the muzzle of the large pistol following her eyes,
slightly giving the lie to her relaxed demeanor.


After a few moments, Blaze enters, wiping splashes of blood off her
forearms with someone else's T-shirt. "Four down, no problems." she says
calmly. "No reaction from shore, doubt they heard. Or that they'd care."


"Four dead back there." Stephanie clicks the Matchmaster's safety on,
turns the Aimpoint scope off. "That was fun."


"You killed four people and call it fun?"


"Why not?" says Stephie innocently. "Now we need some spare sheets and
some heavy stuff. Or a chainsaw. Sheets and heavy stuff is probably less
messy, though."


"I don't want to know."


+++++END Include: RS28:2-32/D.vid


Who would have figured it? I mean, a slight slip of a thing like Steph,
and she's a damned tiger, err, tigeress? Hell, whatever, a bloody big
cat. I pity any future lover that makes her angry, mind you it might
add a new dimension to the phrase "wild in bed". We all miss her. That
warped sense of humour of hers was always one of the high points around
here, but she's a lively active person, and it wouldn't have been right
to keep her cooped up in hotel rooms and prowling around a camp for
months on end. It's driving us crazy, someone as hyperactive as
Steph... God knows what it would have done. Strangely enough out of al
of us, I think Pharaoh misses her the most, Nemesis teased him about it
a while back, saying he was getting sweet on her. I wonder if Nemesis
knows how close he came to checking out?


+++++ Include CyberCam RS-7A/9-1.vid

Jungle, at night. Whoever's carrying the camera is moving through the
undergrowth with an unnatural silence, holding a fairly steady course as
they climb a ridge: moving from a walk to a crawl as they approach the
crest.


Peering out, the camera sees only dark, misty triple-canopy jungle for
some long seconds as it's wearer scans the other side of the ridge.


Dropping back, you see a small Nav-Dat unit come into view, though the
camera's evidently on a shoulder rather than a helmet mount: you can't
make out the display, just that the user is checking it.


"Romeo Sierra, this is Stephanie on the ridge. Looks clear from here. No
lights, no noise."


"Confirm no lights on thermal, Stephanie." Dark Avenger's voice.


"No lights, no noise. Repeat, no lights, visual or IR."


"There should be an infrared beacon... Advance with caution. Possible
trouble."


Stephanie clicks the mike twice, crawls over the ridge crest and a short
distance down it, rises to her feet and continues to move forward.


She's gone maybe two hundred yards when she whirls and dives for cover,
as the mike picks up a noise that sounds eerily like microwave popcorn
cooking. Facing back the way she had come, she can see only a faint wash
of light in the sky: one, two, three green fireflies arc into the air
before winking out. A faint flicker of yellow is followed a second later
by the thud of an explosion.


"Oh, damn." she mutters to herself. "And _I'm_ meant to be
indiscreet?"


+++++

Pharaoh spins, arms swinging wildly, demanding immediate attention.
Rustling and metallic clicks as Red Shift scatter and hit the dirt.


A loud crack and a green flare pops into the night, followed by small
arms fire. Trailing fireflies of tracer rounds buzz irritably through
the jungle, searching for targets, hungry for warm flesh.


"Ambush... Concentrated fire, fall back in pairs. Nemesis, get that
thumper up here, hit the damn MG nest." Avenger, rolls behind a wide
boled tree and unclips two grenades.


+++++

She picks herself up, moving forwards again with the same eerie silence.
"This is not good. Don't know where the friendlies are, can't wade in to
help, so I'd better make sure they can still get... where... they..."
There is an instant of silence that seems to last an eternity.


Dull thumps from the distance as grenades explode in the undergrowth.


Suddenly the jungle darkness winks with fiery flashes, as Stephanie runs
at a desperate sprint right into the enemy fire, screaming like a
banshee and firing her FN-MAG in a wide arc: tracers flick out into the
undergrowth and the muzzle flash is enormous.


A dark shape rises in front of her, bringing an AK to bear: Stephanie
leaps into the air, hitting him in the chest with a flying kick
(accompanied by a "Hai-YAH!") and hurdling the gasping man as she
continues her mad sprint: chased by a few shots, but behind her you hear
confusion and alarm: she stops abruptly, using one of the huge trees for
cover.


<Where'd he go?>


<They! There was two of them!>


<One, only one! Where's Ramon?>


<He's hit, he'll live. Where did that guy go?>


Stephanie attaches a new belt of 7.62mm to the remainder of the old one,
carefully lays it in the carrier so it will feed correctly without
twists or snags, leans out to look back at the ambush: which has broken
up, several figures visible moving. Three are gathering in one spot, by
the man she kicked, and you hear her intake of breath and muttered words
in a strange language.


+++++

"Steph's in trouble, firefight at her Sierra."


"Shit... Dewy, any chance of support? We've got to do something before
these fuckers carve us up for lunch, they have the advantage of
familiarity here." Avenger throws another frag in the direction of the
enemy fire-teams.


"Areas too closed, nothing I can do is going to have much of an effect,
but if you want it, you got it." He appears to concentrate for a
second, then punches his hand forward in the direction of the enemy. A
dull roar, and firelight illuminates the jungle as a fireball detonates
in the vicinity of the gunfire. Several prolonged screams are heard
before the gunfire starts up again. More desperate, angrier and denser
than before.


"Thanks Dewy," sarcasm can be heard in Pharaoh's voice." You've managed
to piss them off."


"We've got to clear, get everybody back, Nemesis, bring the thumper.
Pharaoh, regroup at Oscar 9, wait there for 15 minutes, if we're not
back, check Steph, and get out."


Avenger and Nemesis disappear into the thick growth off the path and
head for the enemy line.


+++++


The three rebels are silhouetted for a moment against a painfully bright
blue-white light, before the camera overloads and all you can hear are
screams.


As it returns, the camera is pressed into the leaf mould of the jungle
floor where Stephanie is lying prone; the deep thudding of her machine-
gun is blocking out any other sound as she fires short bursts into the
night.


The view moves suddenly as she rolls to the side, firing at something
the camera doesn't register behind George's muzzle flash, but you hear a
cry of alarm and pain as her bullets register, then she's up and running
again.


"Jungle boys. Locals. Know the terrain." Bullets snap through the air
near her and she turns, finishing the belt in a wild burst from the hip:
finding cover to reload, throwing the belt over a shoulder rather than
placing it in the carrier. "Difficult. Not friendly." She backs up, the
MAG-5's muzzle sweeping the jungle: pauses by one tree, moves across to
another. "Bad news fighting locals on home ground. Oh, well." Stephanie
fires a long burst, a dozen rounds or so, at a blurred shadow: breaks
cover and runs as bullets rip through where she'd been.


+++++


Several dull thumps, followed by the hard crack of exploding grenades,
and the gunfire starts to track off to the east. Red Shift move rapidly
towards the regrouping point, and wait there. A ten minute period,
before two then three rapid clicks are heard. "Delta Aplpha incoming."


"Cleared DA, Papa Sierra cleared."


"They're hunting off to the east. Any news on Steph?"


+++++


She turns and fires again, short bursts, then keeps running: green
tracers zipping through the night, evidence that at least her opponents
lack good night vision gear. Finding a fold in the ground that seems no
different to half-a-dozen she's ignored she drops into it, settling
George on his bipod and firing short aimed bursts: left and right, but
never dead centre.


"They missed the trap. Oh, well, cheat." There's a red flash and a
thunderclap of noise, followed by agonised screams: unintelligible
voices, and the gunfire ceases.


There is a long pause: the firefight in the distance has died down also.


"Romeo Sierra, this is Stephanie. I hit an ambush en route to the camp,
estimate five to ten strong. Three to five enemy casualties, I'm okay.
Suggest we consider the camp hostile, over."


"Ditto Steph, Romea Sierra concurs on boogeymen. We have no casualties,
possible four or five charlie down. Will rendezvous, Delta-Foxtrot-
Niner. Repeat, Delta-Foxtrot-Niner. Consider area, hostile, bad guys
our Echo 1 click. Caution advised, out."

+++++END Include


Oh yeah, we're going to miss her alright.


Wells worries me, a lot. Since the ambush, he's just not been the same.
Loch is suffering from worrying about him, and his problem is beginning
to bother me more than a little. Dewy still can't trace what's going on
with him, but it's linked to another, we think it's his brother
Scorpius. Speculation is that he's suffering whatever fate Scorpius is
going through at the moment, if it's that intense at this end, what the
hell is happening at the other end? I may have to leave him in
Progresso, I can't take the risk of Wells freaking out in the middle of
the jungle, or at some other inopportune moment in the future. Damn but
it's unnerving, far worse than an epileptic fit, and somehow more
personal as well. We can but hope that Dewy will figure out the problem
and find a way of stopping it. For Loch's sake if nothing else. If
only she'd listen to reason and let someone else take responsibility for
watching him.


Hell, I figure I've rattled enough for now. Maybe we'll turn up
something in Xultan tomorrow.

]<<<<<
-- Dark Avenger <23:36:12/16-07-58>

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A Dark Shadow in a Dark World |___/
Web page at: http://www.shalako.demon.co.uk

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Thwap!