You wake from horrible dreams of an evil clown possessing you, and making you scoop french fries out for bratty little kids who would bite your fingers, and use your blood for ketchup...

And there is this beeping robot that continually examines you...

And then you realize you do hear a light, beeping noise, and then a mechanical clitter-clatter from nearby.  On the other hand, the air is clear, and scented with cherry blossoms, and the soft grass feels delightful.

PT

Shaken from my disgusting nightmare, I shake my head several times to come back to reality fully. The first thing I do is: check that I'm in my own body. Regardless of the possible eventuality that I'm in John's, I raise into a sitting position and take a look around myself No psycho-lady around... great. But what about John?


OOC: The name of this world scares the crap out of me. If I laster 100 posts or so in the others, with more friendly names, imagine in this one...

You see no John, nor Pschyo Lady.

Instead, you see a foot tall robot in the midst of wild, greenish-yellow grass.  Its looking at you, as you sit up, from about two feet away.  And then snap, metal rails come out from it, and form a wheel rim around it.

It rolls away, picking up speed.

Above and around you is an orchard or grove of medium sized, pink-blooming trees.

Through the trees you can see some square, white buildings, and in the other direction, you can hear a booming noise.

PT
OOC: Well, you should last longer hear, but we'll see.

You see no John, nor Pschyo Lady.

Instead, you see a foot tall robot in the midst of wild, greenish-yellow grass.  Its looking at you, as you sit up, from about two feet away.  And then snap, metal rails come out from it, and form a wheel rim around it.

It rolls away, picking up speed.

Above and around you is an orchard or grove of medium sized, pink-blooming trees.

Through the trees you can see some square, white buildings, and in the other direction, you can hear a booming noise.

PT
OOC: Well, you should last longer hear, but we'll see.

Marveled by the trees, but confused by the robot's behaviour, I trot after it, not intending to chase him to death but not wanting to let go of a possible source of information "Wait up, robot-thingy! I-er, mean you no harm!" I say while waving my arms after it.

It spins, stops, waves its short and stubby antennae at you, and then zips off at even greater, breakneck really speed.

You're unable to keep up with it.  But you do spot it racing up into the back of an open black van down the street before the door of the van is slammed shut by a human hand, and the van accelerates off with a screech of tires.

On one side of the road is the grove of pink flowered trees, and on the other side is white square blocky buildings of between two and four stories tall.  More buildings ascend up the hill behind them, although with plentiful greenery between each row of buildings.

PT

I'm left scratching my head and looking at my surroundings "Weird place. I should find someone to explain to me where the heck I am" I decide, and then I actually do so, moving along after the white buildings, looking for either human or robot assistance.

You see a door slide aside, and a girl in a miniskirt steps out.  Her arms are full of books, and she walks down the sidewalk, thinking.

You call out to her, and she trips.  Her books fly everywhere.  She saves herself from a nasty spill by a nice cartwheel.  And then she stumbles back, with her face red.  And she turns to her books to pick them, and her loose papers in them up before the wind can blow her papers down the street.

PT

"Ouch. Sorry about that, didn't mean to startle you" I begin, as I approach her quickly and begin to help her as I can in getting her books back into her arms Way to go Tomas! "I just wanted... information. Are you alright?" is my question to her, truly concerned. Who knows? Maybe she will call this world's police on me!

"Information?" She squeaks, and then clears her throat, and begins to speak rapidly.  "My grades are very good sir, and I enjoy the college very much.  My name is Liselle, and ..."  She pauses.  And then blushes again as you hand her the rest of her papers.  "Thats not what you wanted.  Oh, I'm such an idiot."

Pause.

"Um, what information did you want?"

PT

I blink a couple of times, trying to make sense of what she said and why she said it in the first place I'm not THAT intimidating, am I?. While I begin to scratch my head with one hand I explain to her "Er, my name is Tomas, and I really don't know where I am, Liselle. Could you tell me a bit about this, uh, city, and maybe about any rules I should be aware of?"

Intimidating?  Only if she is trying to impress you.  It dawns on you with a sense of shock that she thinks you're cute.

"Karton City is a college town.  Um, rules. You know, the average things.  Don't hit, don't steal, don't walk on the grass...at the college.  If you have a scholarship, like me, you have to show up for most of your classes."

PT

"I see" I respond eventually, analyzing the information just given to me "I know this probably sounds like too much, but... would you mind if I accompany you? I badly need to get a feeling of my surroundings, being new and all" I ask in a calm tone.

If you date another girl in another world... would it be considered cheating on the first? It's another world, after all!

"Oh!"  And then much calmer.  "That would be fine."

She takes you with her walking on the sidewalk through a very pleasant community.  White stone walls, and sea breezes, and fruit-bearing vines and small trees.

As you get higher, you realize you're on a peninsula with three sides of the city facing a turbulent ocean.  You can see surfers on what she tells you is the North Beach, and one or two on the West Beach.

"But the West Beach is very dangerous.  Twenty foot waves are common."

On the south side is a small harbor dotted with sails.

As you get to the top of the hill, you see Karton College, and on the south side of the hill (a rather strenuous mile long walk, up one road, and then slant back up the other between white stone houses) and down to the harbor is the 'downtown' with its shoppes, and such.

At the south gate, a girl is handing out pamphlets.

PT

"Nice place. Are there any, uh, bad places in Karton city? Like, places where one would't want to be?" I ask, just in case this is one of those places that has the "bright and shiny" area, and then there's the "dark and forlorn" section.

Whatever Liselle's answer, I also ask "What do you learn in this College?"

"Bad places.  Well, there's the North Beach cabins, the college and party crowd likes to hang out there.  Not really dangerous, but best not to go by yourself after dark.  Now, the West side of the harbour, the college forbids us from going there.  Day or night.  Mafia guys run around over there."

She smiles at your personal interest.

"Oh, I study  History, I mean Politics and Sociology."

You find your hand filled by a pamphlet.  You look down, and a blonde with a perfectly sunny smile, the kind that would make you feel like you kicked a puppy if you were mean to her, is standing there.

"Please come to a Teaching about the Great Ones."

You're still standing at the south entrance to the college.

PT

I smile back akwardly at the blond "Sure. Sounds interesting." then I look back at Liselle "Where and when can I meet you after this teaching about "Great ones"?" I ask her, hoping that we can coincide in a place, so that I still have her to tell me more about this city When I stumble into a new world, I almost feel like I hit the jackpot with the first person I see. Especially with the ladies...

"I can teach you about the Great Ones, no need to go to a Teaching."  Liselle says.

"Hi, I'm Rannee, and while I hate to disagree, I do.  Its helpful to find out about them from a fully trained teacher rather than someone who..."

"Who what!?!"  Liselle glares down at Rannee.

"Who is perhaps devoted to other worthy topics of study." Rannee says looking perplexed.

PT

I glance at one girl, then back at the other "I... would prefer to see this teaching for myself, and then maybe Liselle, here, could tell me her view of it. Fair enough?" I ask the two of them with a shrug, feeling that any decision that favored one over the other would get me killed.

Rannee takes your arm, and leads you off while Liselle looks decidedly unhappy.  But she smiles faintly at you, while glaring daggers at Rannee.

The blonde is perky, cheerful company as you walk into the college proper on the brick walkway.

She leads you up to a stand-alone ice cream diner.

"They couldn't buy out Roberto, so they ended up building the college around him. Now its the favorite snackery on campus."

She sits down and orders a hot fudge sundae, a banana split, a Super-special, and an ice cream cone.  Then she looks at you, and adds a Super=special.

"My treat since I'm going to be Teaching."

PT

"No thanks, I don't feel like having an ice-cream right now. You said you will be the one Teaching? I thought it would be someone else..." I reply to Rannee, looking a bit confused, but otherwise fine with the idea "You are having ALL those ice-creams by yourself?"

"I'm a missionary, fully accreditted and everything.  If you want, I can take the paperwork out of my purse, and we can decipher it for the next ten minutes, but I prefer.."  Smile like the sun just came out, and she produces a small book,

"The Teachings of the Great."

Meanwhile, she has demolished her banana split, and is setting out on her sundae.

"Oh, I like ice cream."

giggle.

Then she starts telling you of this pantheon of gods, who live far away in space, but can hear prayers from Earth (which at one time had been with them, but got tossed across space due to earthlings greed for the Great's powers), and will eventually come to Earth to reward the decent and the kind who follow them.  There is a long list of deities, ten of them to be exact.  Most are expected.  A Leader, a Mother, a brave Warrior, a Healer, an Inventor....but one strikes you as odd...the youngest, the Lost Goddess who herself is lost, and looks after lost things.

PT

I glance interested at the book of the Teachings, but I raise an eyebrow at the mentioning of this Goddess "Tell me more about the Lost one. She kind of got my attention, somehow" I ask Rannee in calm tone, pointing at the page where the writings talk about her.

"Oh yes, she's fascinating.  Takes an interest in lost things, and is young and cute.  I wish I could meet her."

She shows you about a dozen passages that deal or seem to deal with the Lost Goddess.

And she who was not, will be, when the graspers after that which they should not, shall be.

"Can you decipher that?  Its a prophesy."

You look up suddenly, and out the window, and across the walkway, on the manicured lawn, you see one of those robots looking at you.

PT

"Can't say I do, sadly" I reply a bit absently, looking at the robot curiously "What's up with that robot looking in my direction?" I ask her quietly.

She looks at it, and frowns quizzically.

"I don't know. Its strange, one would think it above the tech level available, um, I mean, its got to be state of the art! Wow!  Now why would someone from say the Robotics Labs on campus want to spy on you?"

PT

I raise an eyebrow at her particular way of commenting about the robot, but don't say anything about it "Er, why indeed? They can spy people with those things? Is it even legal?" I add in a low voice, now ignoring the robot.

Does it resemble to the one that I first saw when I versed here?

"Um, I'm not sure.  I don't think its legal.  It doesn't sound like it should be."

It looks identical.

PT

Ho ho! What do we have here, then...

I decide to think about this for a moment "I need to ask you a couple of questions, Rannee, kind of important" I begin to say to her, still pretending like I didn't see the robot "First, has anyone here ever talked about other worlds, other universes, anything like that? I'd also like to know if the robot can hear me; Lastly, but not less important, how can we report the robot spying on me?"

She blanches, and then attacks her ice cream cone.  Once she has cooled down, she smiles blithely.

"Um, things like the Seven Planet Alliance, or faster-than-light starships, or the Planet Salthoei, or Temporal travel from the 24th century through a time gate?  Um, no.  No one has talked about these things.  Not at all."

"I'm not sure if the robot can hear you.  As to reporting it, well there is the police, also campus security, and even the Dean of the Robotic Lab would frown onhis students misusing school resources, and bringing dishonor down on the school."

PT

"So no one talks about anything called 'verser', then. All I needed to know. Which one is the closest one? I wish to report a certain robot spying on me" I comment to her in calm tones looking around to see if I can actually spot any of the things Rannee mentioned.

No starships or time gates around that you can see.

But you do see a large building with the words on the side of "Robot Laboratory".

She points to it, and says the Dean should be on the first floor, and do you want her to walk you over there?  She says this as she finished up her last ice cream.

PT

Normally, I would go on my own, but I didn't want to take my chances with some wacko scientist spying on me in a world still foreign to me "Actually, since you've been such a good guide so far, I would prefer if you take me there; I'm rather new here, and I wouldn't like to get lost in my first day" I say to her with a small smile.

Come to think of it... versers are anomalies to each religion's view of death!

She smiles at you, pays the bill with a large coin she tosses on the table, and takes your arm as you walk outside.  You stroll across to the asphalt walkway, and around the empty grass square and up to the front door of the Robotics Lab.

A robot doorman bows, and opens the door for the both of you.

Inside, you see a brunnette receptionist with a button on her shirt.

"Don't yell, its my first day!"

She seems kind of frazzled, as she searches for a paper on her desk, and then she looks up at you, and knocks her coffee off her desk.

PT

"Hey, it's alright, I know how you feel; I've had my 'first day' too" I say to the receptionist with a wink "Now, I'd like to report a certain robot spying on me. Yes, I'm pretty sure it's the same one, since it saw me coming to this place and was later on looking directly at me"

"Hmm. Oh really. Well. Um.  Here."  She reaches under the desk, and pulls out a stack of papers on a clipboard which is a quarter inch thick. Then she hands you a fancy pen.

"This will allow us to properly process your complaint.  I will go tell the Dean now."  She gets up, walks away, and then at the door turns back.

"I expect it will be done when I get back, right?"

PT

I nod and shrug "I'll do my best" I assure her, not quite answering the question completely. I look at Rannee (If she's still with me) "Between you and me, I don't think I'm that fast. Please help me out?"

Then I quickly fill out the application.

There is a complaint form group, but also an application for membership in the college stack. They seem to be woven together somewhat, but the end result is a LOT of questions about your life, interests, aptitudes, former employers, grades, etc. etc...

Rannee cheerfully helps you out.  It seems like nothing gets her sad.  Even the prospect of spending a half hour wading through paperwork just has her laughing.

PT

I shake my head in amazement at her cheerful disposition "Rannee, girl, I simply don't know how you do it, or how to thank you for helping me out" I say, looking at her and chuckling.

"Oh, Tomas, I just realize that the Great care for me, would endure any pain for me, love me, and then everything else, waiting in lines, eating cafeteria food, even getting struck by a car and hospitalized for nine weeks is just small stuff."

It sounds incredibly sappy, but she seems to mean it.  There are stars in her eyes.

"And I don't sweat the small stuff. So..."

You get finished, and a minute later, the receptionist is back.

"I'm Helen, by the way.  And this is your culprit."

She drags in a young male student who looks angry, embarrassed, and plain unhappy.

"Um, sorry man, I was testing my bots. Won't happen again."

PT

I nod in awe and respect at Rannee. When the culprit comes into sight, I simply look seriously at him and say "Reeeaaally. I've got a couple of things to talk with you, mister robot-person. Would you mind?" with a casual tone, aiming the question to the lady who brought him. If the answer is yes, I'm taking him with me to the side to have a more private dialogue.

(If "no", I'll tell you what I try to do then)

Helen and the culprit look at each other, and then she shoves him your way.  And then she acts unsure if she should have shoved him.

He grimaces, and walks over to you as you walk around a corner so you are out of sight of the two girls in the lobby.  However, loud voices, or ah, breaking bones would likely be heard.

"Um, really sorry about that man.  Just, calibrating the bots."

PT

I fold my arms and give him a stern, dead-serious look "Listen, dude, you can't just spy people like that. Would you like to be, say, taking a shower, and then you notice there's a girl taking pictures of you? I didn't think so" I begin outloud, for others to hear parts of it. The next part I say it in a lower tone "Now... what did you see when I appeared in this world?" and I wait for his reaction, trying hard not to blink.

He seems to agree with the first part, and from his puzzled expression, he has no clue as to what you are talking about for the second part.

PT

I sigh, trying to find a way to ask him the following question "Nevermind the last part. Why were you spying on me in the first place?" Just when I thought he was shocked and appalled that I versed into this world...

"Um, I said I was trying to calibrate my robots, didn't I?"  He tries to look...innocent, you decide, which is odd, considering he is confessing to a crime.

PT

I rest my body weight against a nearby wall by placing my outstretched hand on it "Oh really? And what for?" I press on, realizing that there's more than meets the eye in this fellow.

"Oh, um, " He pauses to invent a story.  "You know, robots that are designed to track people in the wilderness need to be able to find a specific shape, otherwise they'd end up tracking and rescuing a pine tree or a big rock."

Toward the end, he begins to sound like he knows what he is talking about.

And the receptionist, Helen sails around the corner.

"There we are, everything is all set then.  Apologies made, and feelings unhurt,"  And she places her hand on your arm to usher you to the front door.

PT

I nod to Helen, going along with her, but as I go I glance back at the culprit and give him a look which would mean something like This ain't over, kiddo before I leave the building and thank the receptionist for the assistance.

I'm assuming Rannee is there "Well, that was interesting. I'm still wondering why he really wanted to spy on me. Anyhoo, where were we...?"

She looks apologetically at her watch.

"I have class in fifteen minutes, so it will have to be a short Teaching session.  However, I can give you a copy of the Teachings?"

She hops lightly up on a picnic bench seat you both are passing, bends down, and kisses you on the cheek.  Then she waves...

A bit later, you hear some scuffling noises in some bushes you are passing.  Its thick bushes.

PT

Blushing slightly because of her unexpected kiss, I realize that there might be yet more things spying on me. Instead of directly confronting the thing in the bushes, I move around feigning ignorance of its existance, but keeping an eye on it all the while Crazy-robot-dude again? What's up with him?

You keep an eye on it, and there is some larger noises in the bushes.  And then you stumble over a young kid in your path.

You were sure he was not there, but then again, you were looking over your shoulder at the bushes which seem to have stopped moving.

He looks up at you.

Frowns as he continues to play with his Gameboy.  He looks at most ten years old.

PT

I quickly apologize and squat down to face the kid at his own height "Hey, sorry about that, didn't see you; what game are you playing?" I inquire regaridng his Gameboy Ooooh, I had one of those!

"You're in my light." He says.

You check, you're not.

Suddenly you feel off-balance, and you realize your feet have been knocked out from under you.  You land on your back.  The kid puts his foot on your neck. About this time, your ankles relay the information that they have been solidly thumped.

"There thats better."

He continues to play with now feverish intensity.

PT

Okay, freaky... "Mind getting off of me, kiddo?" I ask calmly as I begin to take his foot away from my neck and to get up on my own How tha' heck did that happen...?

It seems likely you got leg swept.  But having someone considerably smaller do it smooth and fast enough for you not to catch it implies some things about your relative skill levels.

"Kiddo is fine, but not when I'm teaching you."

He taps you with his foot on the elbow you're bending to raise yourself up.  Your elbow collapses. He hit the 'funny bone'.

"Then its 'Yes Sensei!!'"  He stops hollering.  "Do I make myself clear, little grasshopper?"

PT

"Yes... sensei? Sorry, but I didn't expect someone to know so much about martial arts when he looks like a 10 year old" I begin to say apologetically, deciding to rest on the ground until he decides that it's time for me to get up "What can you teach me, sensei?"

"Reincarnation." He mutters.  "They use to call me the Ancient Master, but you can call me Bobby, except in training sessions when its Sensei."

He steps away.

"I can teach you how to be still while I finish this game."  He continues to hammer away on his Gameboy.

PT

I assume a student-like stance and nod at him respectfully "What would the purpose of learning how to be still, Sensei?" I ask in a measure voice, taking into account that he really is someone to be wary of "And why would you play with a Gameboy, instead of training?"

"You are persistent aren't you?  Well, let me tell you, back in the eighteenth century we didn't have Gameboys, so this is really cool. "

He pumps a fist.

"Level up, yeah!"

He frowns at you.

"Assume the Horse Stance!"  He then spends three minutes pointing out every minute flaw in your stance in a rapid-fire mix of English and Japanese.

Then he's back to the gameboy.

PT

"Instead of spending time in playing with that, you could be training, Sensei" I recommend in a sensible tone, trying to be reasonable with him "And I'd appreciate it if you'd use your full-attention on me, rather than half-and-half with the gameboy, or I won't be your pupil for long"

"And who else will train you? They are all afeared of the Ancient Master."  He says, and then snarls at the computer.  "Now look what you made me do."

He puts the Gameboy up, and turns to you with a gleam in his eye.

"THe first thing to do is to learn how to stand.  I've already taught you that, or would if you were paying attention.  Assume HORSE STANCE!  The second thing to do is to learn how to fall so that you may right yourself after an unexpected attack."

He dumps you on the ground from behind, and then critiques your performance.  In the midst of the abusive comments about your stance, and your readiness, and general resemblance to tropical fruits, you catch a few useful comments on how to improve your falling skills.

PT

I decide that this fellow is worth my while, and thus I remain training with him, enduring somehow his very original lines and comparisons "Sensei, while I would like to train with you forever (Literally), I don't have a place where to live in this city. Know anyone willing to share one?"

Suddenly a girl with long raven black hair steps out from the bushes.  She's dressed in a fashion-forward style.  Her jumpsuit is dark purple with black side panels.

"Hi, I'm Raven. And I happen to know this great realtor who's trying to unload a property for very cheap.  I could show it to you."  She strikes you as imperious, but right at the very end, a small grin leaks out.

Behind her, the bushes ruffle.

PT

Funny, it's almost like... I look a bit startled at Raven appearing out of the "green", but I respond quickly nonetheless "Er, it almost seemed to me like you were expecting me to say that, as if you had been spying on me or something" I say at first, glancing at the bushes that are still moving "In any case, I'm Tomas, and I'd be willing to help with unloading the house" and I finish with a smile.

"OH." Blush. "No, no. I mean my ah dog is tied, ah using the bushes.  And I overheard what you were saying."  She takes your arm.  "We'll leave Poochie there for a while.  She's been eating too much, getting fat, and she needs discipline."

The bushes shake more.

"I will see you tonight for  your lesson, grasshopper." Bobby says, and then he yells with genuine enthusiasm. "Yeah, the boss is dead!" as he turns back to his Gameboy.

PT

I roll my eyes, not believing what Raven is saying, or at least not all of it "If you say so. I'll just play along, since nothing bad can ever happen to me. Say, do you know if magic works in this world, Raven?" I ask casually, so that I can turn the question into a joke if she gives me a "wierdo" look.

"Um, well yes." She says. "But only special people can do it, not the common ordinary sheep."  She then smiles at you in a manner that lets you know she thinks you and her fit in that 'special' category.

She takes you down to a house on the third switchback down from the college.  Once there, she tells you she wants to talk to the owner first.

You can see a "For Rent or Sale" sign out front.

PT

I nod and tell her to go ahead "Sure, I'll wait around meanwhile" and while she's away I will use that time to test my magic by channeling mana into the gem I have, and see the results.

Soon enough you have your gem brightly glowing.  It seems easier than when you were casting the spell in Timwrath.

You quickly hide the gem as the front screen door opens, and Raven comes out with the owner.

She smiles. The owner looks a little haggard.

"Uh, I can rent it to you for" cough, cough, get red in face "150 creds a month."

"And" says Raven.

"First two months are free."  He grinds out.

PT

"Sounds... good. Let's just do that. Thank you for everything, mister" I respond in gratitude to the haggard-looking owner. I then proceed to complete my part of the deal.

Once the deal is complete, Raven drops a piece of paper in your hand, and leaves.

You examine it.

"Call me, cutie." And her phone number.

The front yard is a small garden behind white stone walls, and the backyard has an above-ground circular pool which takes up most of the space.

The house is two stories, and about twelve hundred square feet.  Its furnished with a stove, and a room heating furnace.  Nothing else.

But it seems in good condition, and the back second story balcony has a great view of the ocean.

PT

I stare at the paper Raven gave me with plain amusement Why, all of a sudden, is every girl in this world after me? It's kinda cool at first, but then it's complicated to juggle them all so as to keep the three but I say nothing to her when she does.

I spend the rest of the day exploring the house and enjoying the vista to the ocean. Since I'm not sure what time it is, I'll either go to my Sensei (Assuming he's still there) or call Raven. If neither is possible, I will instead practice my magic.

After a couple hours of relaxing, you notice a brown-haired girl next door who is out sunbathing.  She waves at you enthusiastically.

Shortly thereafter, the doorbell rings, and a chocolate cake with abundant cream frosting on a plate is sitting on the front porch step with a note attached.

The note has perfume on it.

"Dear neighbour, saw you. Welcome. I'm new too. Come on over some time. Tanya.  P.S. Keep the plate. I sell them at a crockery store after school, and so I have tons of them."

You go back to your relaxation, a little less relaxed.  Then a pigeon lands next to you.  Its got a note in its mouth.

"Hey, when is a good time to learn more about the Great? Rannee, your teacher."

PT
OOC: Let's see, Liselle the ?, Rannee the Blonde Teacher, Raven the black-haired snoop, and now Tanya the Brunnette Next door neighbour...you're definitely in Trouble.

Shaking my head at this avalanche of girls coming for me, I place the cake in the freezer so that I can eat it for later.

My heart skips a beat when I read who signed the letter Ouch. I can't just hang out with all of them! Lessee... Liselle, I barely saw her; Rannee, more attachment; Raven, she's crazy; And Tanya... we'll see. but I eventually calm down, deciding which ones I would see and which ones would be left for other guys to pick up "I'm not the only one they all like in town, right?" I say to myself shaking my head.

Looking at the pidgeon, I grab the letter and write my reply on the back "Rannee: I'll be there tomorrow morning. Kinda busy tonight" and then briefly consider and dismiss altogether the idea of adding hearts or something like that into it.

OOC: Just when I thought I would be chased by thugs once more... now I'm being chased by the ladies! How ironic, hmm? They are all probably psycho, meaning that if they find me with another, I'll verse faster than you can say "I can explain!"
This message was last edited by the player at 15:50, Tue 13 June 2006.

You enjoy the relaxation, but when it comes to bed time, you realize you have a problem.  No bed.  Ruefully, you sack out on the softest piece of beige carpet you can find, and try to go to sleep.

Its a bit tough, but soon enough, you're asleep.

The next morning, a shower revives you and loosens your muscles, and you face another lack...no food, no coffee, no banana nut oversized muffins!

However, you do have chocolate cake.

PT

OOC: What happened with my training and the sensei? I meant to go see him once more before going to bed...

You showed up, but found a note saying "I got a new game for the Gameboy. We'll practise tommorrow, or the day after that.  In the meantime, you can start your exercise. Start running to the college and back, and doing the exercise program on this video."

You see a video with Liselle on the front cover.

"Super exercises for Maximum Endurance."

PT

I eat a moderate portion of the hopefully delicious cake, so that I'm not overstuffed for my exercise What's Liselle doing in the video? Is she a gym teacher? I hope the people in this world make videos fully dressed...  and then I proceed to watch the video, so that I can perform physical stuff to get myself in shape (I'm thin, but not muscular or overly athletic).

If time begins to fly and Rannee comes by for the lesson, I go with her. Same goes for the sensei.


OOC: Seriously PT, am I going to end up versing by a jealous-as-hell lady? ^_^U

It is delicious.

She's wearing a karate gi, long pants, and a blouse.  No shoes or socks.  Her clothing is white and black.

She's demonstraing martial arts katas, jump rope work, and pounding a bag with her feet and fists.

She hits the bag really hard.

You practise as well as you can without equipment, and later Rannee comes by.  She looks about, and nods to herself.

She takes you with her, and begins to explain the Teachings.  She goes to a local soup kitchen and begins to pitch in.  Soon enough, you realize she is in charge of the place.  But she still stays with you.

You notice that a number of the people come by, and ask her to pray over them.  She mutters something, and has them bend down, and touches them lightly on the forehead.  They leave with smiles on their faces.

PT

I look at Rannee closely while she comes back to my side "I see you give people blessings, or something like that, yes? What is the purpose of that prayer?" I ask her, intrigued and curious If praying to the Buddha works... why wouldn't this thingy work, too?

"Well, most of them want good fortune with the various trials they face.  Some ask for strength or courage to continue on.  And of course, some ask for healing of pain." She shrugs sadly. "I cannot easily heal someone of a serious injury, but it is an easy matter to negate pain.  I do this once a week, and so I know what many of them already want from the Great."

She sits down, and for the first time you see her really down in the mouth which is unusual since her normal manner seems fixed on CHEERFUL.  She looks tired.

"It takes something out of you. Not even my, ah, not even the best scientific measurents can detect it, but its there all the same."

PT

"Rannee, what's wrong? It isn't like you to be un-cheerful. Is it the blessings?" I inquire, wondering what exactly are these blessings about other than a simple prayer Please don't tell me she's giving her own life force so that others have a little less pain or feel better; people should do that by themselves

She smiles a bit fragilely.

"Caring for other people wears you out.  But its a good thing. Its what the Great want, its what they designed us for. Besides, so does being selfish, that wears you out too, and its not helpful to anyone."

She holds out her arm, and asks that you hold it to keep her steady as she walks home.

She bites her lip.

"I wonder, if having no emotions would make you full of energy since you neither spent it on others, or spent it on yourself? In any case, its not what I want to be.  I'd rather be a shooting star than a cold rock tumbling alone through space."

PT

I nod slowly to her words "I understand and agree with what you say: I'd rather have happiness and sadness altogether rather than not feeling anything. Someone without emotions would be an empty person, devoid of meaning in this life, other than taking control over others, since that person can't really feel anything"

That would be a psycopath "What made you say something like that?" I ask, looking at her.

"Just thinking. I sometimes feel like I'm burning my self, but I can't see any way around doing it that would lead me to being a type of person I could live with.  So, if I must burn, then so be it."

She looks up at you as you both walk.

"So serious a face."  She pulls at your cheeks, and arranges them into a smile. "Much better." She giggles.

PT

I look at her unblinking, holding the smile in place "So pretty a face" I reply, tilting my head to the side while looking at her eyes. I give her a kiss on the cheek quickly and then add "Much better"

She blushes, two bright spots high on her cheekbones.

"There's something I need to tell you, I'm not like..."

And suddenly your feet fly up out from under you, only your training from Sensie Gameboy helping you catch yourself.  You see a small robot speeding off after it had crashed into the back of your legs.

It wiggles like someone shaking her finger at you.  You're not sure why, but you're sure its being controlled by a female.

And then a T-bird convertible comes up on the sidewalk, and drives over the robot.  Liselle jumps out.

"I've been looking all over for you, and then I find you...you...."  She rips off a side mirror off her car door with a screech.

PT

Oh dear I look away from Liselle akwardly, thinking that she was probably watching the whole thing from the beggining "Kissing her? I won't say 'it's not what it looks like' because I don't lie and because you won't buy it; What? When did I say 'would you marry me?' and you said 'yes'? I barely saw you for one day and you are acting like a jealous girlfriend! What's wrong with you?" I say, frustrated at her possesiveness.

Her face goes suddenly still, and for a second you feel the hair on the back of your neck rise up.  You see her fold the metal and glass side mirror in her right hand in two like someone was folding a wallet.  A tinkle of glass hits the ground from her hand, and the dead-eyed stare right through you is gone.

Instead, there is simply blankness.

"I'm sorry, I thought we had something.  I see I was wrong."

She vaults into her car, and throws it into reverse.

PT

I sigh, relieved and at the same time sad that she had to see all of this "I won't say 'sorry about that', since it isn't my fault that she's so possesive" I say at Rannee without looking at her. I then turn my head to say "Anyhoo, you were saying...?"

In any case, I look around for the robot that tackled me. Something wierd is going on And I know who is involved

She looks sadly after Liselle, and doesn't say anything.

You walk over, and see the ruined side rear-view mirror, and the garbage can lid shaped mess that was a robot before a two-ton convertible rolled on top of it.

PT

"Where did the robot come from, and why did Liselle run over it?" I ask to Rannee and myself, thinking that it could be related to that fellow who spyed on me "Er, what would you like to do now, Rannee?" I ask her at length to break the unconfortable silence.

It looked like to you that she didn't even see the robot.  She drove up on the sidewalk anyways in quite a rush, and a fury.

Rannee shrugs.

"I think I would like to go home. I don't like such unhappiness directed at me."

You take her up a street, and into a small garden behind some white stone walls.  In the back of the garden is a small 'cabin' of white stone which Rannee is renting from the householders.

You see an elderly woman pulling weeds in the flourishing garden.  She waves at you, and then turns back to her work.

PT

"I see. We all need time to be alone with ourselves from time to time in life. I'll see you later on, or maybe tomorrow?" I say to her, hoping that she gets better Huh. What to do now... maybe train with the sensei?

What time of the day is it? (I kinda forgot) I wish to train with the sensei, if that's possible.

"Tonight would be fine.  You tell me what you want to do. I'm just tired, and when I am, its hits hard that not everyone likes what I do.  It shouldn't, but ..." She shrugs.

You leave, and go track down your sensei.  He is at a dojo, in the center mat, surrounded by four black belts who are laying on the floor.

"I won our bet. We can use these facilities for free, which means I can afford to get Deadly Men IV, SharkRage, Dawn of the Mad, and Kill/Slash for my Gameboy.  Don't have to waste money on renting a dojo."

"But that is only for this month. Next month, your student has to beat one of my black belts." The dojo master says, bowing to the young boy.

"Not a problem. Tomas is the ...um...he's really got a lot of potential."

PT

"But of course! I believe I can do that, or at least get close to the achievement, if the Sensei trains me in his intensive course as he said he would, right Sensei?" is what I say confidently and winking at the sensei, hoping that he understands that while he didn't really say all that, I was looking forward to it Hmm. Training once per day, at least 3 hours... yeah, I can do it!"

He glares at you a bit, but then shrugs.  Possibly you've convinced him.  And then he starts chivvying you, racing you to get dressed, and out on a side mat.

Looking forward to training, you spend the next thirty minutes doing aerobics.

Panting a bit, you hear...

"Now that you're warmed up, real training for strength."

He has you kneel, and puts on an armour suit over your head and chest.  You can barely see out of its narrow visor.  Its a good thirty pounds.

"You must be full of breath. I have taught you this.  You must have balance, and be aware. I will now teach you this."

He has you stand on a low balance beam while he hits you with a bo stick.  If you dodge, and don't fall off in the cumbrous suit, he grunts.  If you get smacked, he laughs.  If you fall off or get knocked off, he yells.

"Ten pushups!"  Which doesn't sound so bad, but you have armour on, and it goes on and on.

Finally, trembling with exhaustion, he hands you a tennis ball, a long string and a nail.

"Hang this from the roof of your house.  Hit it with each hand one hundred times each day.  This is to develop precision."

PT

"G-got it, Se-sensei... I'll... do that..." I stutter from the exhaustion, nodding thanks to gravity rather than my own movements. I take out of the armor as soon as possible, grab the stuff he just offered me, bow in thanks to him, and then leave for my house.

If I have a sofa where to lay down, I collapse right into it.

You tumble into dreams filled with extremely beautiful and pschyo females chasing you, and then exhaustion grabs further hold of you, and you know nothing until the mid-morning sun hits you in the eyes as you lay on the floor.

Your house is almost completely unfurnished except for a fridge and a stove.

The morning's breakfast is another slice of chocolate cake.

Upon opening the front door at hearing a clump, you see a local advertising circular laying on top of a nice knife in a sheath with a note.

"I'd say lets bury the hatchet, but its a knife. :)  Um, I'm really sorry I flipped out. I don't do well when I'm startled.  Puts me back in combat mode. I hope we can continue to see each other. Liselle."

PT

Oh dear. She knows where I live! And she's definitely going to kill me. At the very least. Since I don't feel like versing at the moment, I'll skip her 'friendly' message... Without second guessing myself I toss the paper away and keep the knife "Great. Now I have a sword AND a knife. Nifty" and I try figuring out a good spot in my clothes where to hide the knife.

Since I'm oh so tired of cake for breakfast and no bed, I consider visiting the brunnete I have for a neighbour, to pay her a friendly visit and saying "thank you" for the cake.

You wander over to the front door, raise your hand to knock, and the door is flung open.  Tonya grabs your wrist, and hauls you in.

"Oh, I'm so glad you came over here."

She takes you into the kitchen by the long way around the house, and plants you down by the bar.

"Now, how are you liking this town? Anything you want to tell me is wholly confidential."

PT

"I-It's very nice, thank you. Lot's of pretty ladies around" I begin a bit nervously, not realizing the ambiguity of the comment "Lot's of interesting people, too. I've met this girl named Raven, and she pretty much came to me out of the blue, offering the house in exchange with helping out there. Any idea where I can get some furniture, or a job to have money for it?"

"Well, you have to understand, this island was the site for a woman's college which went co-ed only two years ago.  We still have four girls for every guy on campus, or in town.  And when you have a cute guy like you...well. Anyways."

She blushes just a bit as she verges from an academic minded comment into something personal.  And suddenly, you see how rigid she is sitting.  She has perfect manners, but you get the feeling she doesn't have much practise in using them.

"A thrift store will have cheap furniture.  Most of the college students haunt, MacPickeries, or the Embassy  of the Great which despite the name is a street mission, but it has a furniture store next to it.  Job, um, theres, no, that wouldn't work. I don't know."

PT

I raise an eyebrow at her last comment "Er, why wouldn't it work? Only women can work here?" goes my joke "Seriously now, how will I get furniture without a job? I mean, you DO use money or something like that to pay for stuff, yes?" I ask while trying to mentally recall people using cash or something similar to get things in exchange.

"Oh no, its not that.  You can get a job, its just that I don't know where you could get one.  I suppose you could go by the docks if you want to be a stevedore or get a fisherman's job.  But..And what a weird way to phrase it.  Of course, we use money.  What else would we use?"

And then she pauses, and you can see she has an idea.

"Oh, the food is ready."

She comes over with a bowl of oatmeal each, for her and you, with her tossing on handfuls of raisins, and brown sugar as well.

She goes and fetches milk from the fridge, and soon enough she's joined you in spooning hot oatmeal into your mouths.

PT

"Mmhh, this tests great" is my compliment for the food "Not as good as the cake, obviously" I add with a smile "Those jobs in the docks sound interesting, even if I never did anything in that area. Tell me more about it, Tanya, and I think I'll go there"

She gives you directions to the docks, both the small ship half and the freighter half.

"Its hard work, and from what I hear, they always need workers.  I don't really know much more, except we get a lot of our food from the sea, and most of the stuff you wear comes from freighters.  If an enemy wanted to close this island down, the port is an obvious target."

You finish your food, and after getting an invite to come over soon, you leave.  Its a couple mile walk up hill, and then over the hill, and down the other side to the dock.

Seagulls scream down here, and you see a harbor with perhaps twenty fishing boats in dock right now, and ten freighters who are either docked, or moving in harbor.  There are also a few pleasure craft, but its mostly a working harbor.

A door opens under the Sea Dragon Freight sign.  The building attached to the sign is a three story tall, small square, almost tower at the base of a freight dock.  Raven sticks her head out.

"Hey, cutie. Come in to the office, why don'tcha?"

PT

"Sure, why not... it's not like you knew I'd be here, right?" I say in a cheery manner, agreeing with her request and going right into the office Maybe she can read the future... or she simply knew that I'd get here eventually

You walk into the air-conditioned office which is a relief after several miles of hiking.  She sits you down in a comfortable chair, and grins at you from across the desk.

"Only one reason a fellow like you would be down here.  You're looking for work.  I mean, there's better views elsewhere, and the food is heavy on the grease in the harbor fish shops, and you'll pardon me for saying it, but you don't seem the type to be a slumming millionaire.  Thus, I deduce, you need a job."

She clears her throat loudly.

"Happily enough, I need good workers."

PT

"Glad to hear. I didn't know you were the owner or at least the manager of the place, but sure, go ahead and fill me in. I'm willing to begin right away" Not like I have SOMETHING else to do, really

"Oh, Dragon Enterprises has been in my family for a very long time."  She smiles, and despite yourself you smile back.  She really is pretty; its too bad she's pschyo.

"Well, we can start you as a stevedore, and train you to run a pallet jack.  Once you finish that, you can change over to a pallet jack driver.  Hmm, you people call that a forklift, don't you?  Anyways, I call it a pallet jack so thats what it is."

You and her start discussing salary, benefits...

"Oh, you may meet some people from Friendly Lines, which is a lie, not friendly at all, they're trying to squash my business, so I am getting into a price war with them.  Its gotten a little rough.  Someone had their car tires slashed last night."

PT

Barely conscious, I grasp the hilt of my sword with one hand at her last statement "Let's say I can defend myself if it comes to that. I hope it doesn't, though" I say simply "Let's get this going. I need a bed to sleep, and I need money to buy it, and to get money... I need to work"
Darn it, she had it all planned from the beginning. Where will this lead to?

You are soon toting heavy bags on your shoulders, forty and sixty pound bags of peat moss and corn meal respectively.  Most is being toted by the forklifts, but some occasionally falls off, and thats your job.

And then it gets worse.  The foreman calls you and a couple other guys over and puts in the great rust-sheathed monster of a ship.  Insided the Belladina Kyle, you have to tote pallet loads of corn meal to a far corner of the hold where the forklift can't go because of a pipe across the aisle.

Soon enough, you find yourself hating that gray-painted, foot-thick pipe, because you have to step over it every time.

After two hours of this, the foreman comes and relieves you and the others.

You go collapse in the break 'room' which is a spot on the pier.

A couple of the others with you slap your back, and sit down feet dangling over the scummy water along with you.

"It will get better man. First day is always rough. By the third day, or the fourth, you'll be able to do that for four hours straight."

You do notice that you're probably the weakest guy out there.  Even the short, skinny dude has the look of someone who could bend steel bars.

PT

No wonder. I've never been the physical type... I nod weakly, and smile in a similar fashion in gratitude to the buddies "I know, but thanks. I've never done this heavy-lifting stuff before, really. You guys can call me Tomas. Any tips about this job of ours?"

One of the older guys grunts.

"Drink a lot.  Water's good. Electrolytes are even better. And eat protein, a lot of it."

"Yeah." Another well-muscled guy grunts. "I'm a lifter. Protein to build muscle mass and to fuel you because carbs just don't cut it by themselves."

With regret you think back to your breakfast.  Oatmeal.

One of the guys hands you a bottle of Mega, 'the extreme sports drink', and another chips in a ten centimeter long string of beef jerky.

You hustle those down, and are still chewing on the jerky when its back to work, but happily its lighter duty.  Moving potted plants about twenty pounds each onto the ship.

The others take it as an opportunity to goof off, and play catch the potted plant.  Inevitably a couple miss and go straight to the bottom of the harbor.

PT

I sigh and shake my head at their immature idiocy Sheesh and continue with my work without allowing myself to get distracted "Isn't it risky to do that? What if the supervisor spots you?" I ask at length.

They laugh, and calm down a bit just in time for the foreman to stick his disapproving head out the door of the office and give them all a good glare.  They duck back to work with a will, and the Belladina is filled about twenty minutes before the shift ends.

At that point, the foreman comes around, pays everyone their days wages in cash, and as he hands you your money, he pats you on the shoulder.

"I know its rough the first couple days, but stick in there. I like how you work. You've got a good attitude.  Soon, you'll have the muscle to match it, okay?"

PT

I nod and smile, grateful for the appreciation of my work and respond "Yeah, I know, thanks. I'm training outside work, too, so I'll be in top-form in no time" before walking away and counting the money (And safely storing it, of course).

If I have enough for a bed or at least a sofa, I go buy one. Right away.

You have enough for a somewhat beaten up couch, or if you take all your money for a nicer futon couch.

Regardless, Rannee helps you deliver it from her mission store, and you can tell as she sits by you that she'd like to talk.  But you keep nodding off into the Chinese food she ordered as you both sit on the sofa.

Next thing you know, she tucking a blanket over you, and singing a song.  You drift off without conscious volition...

You wake the next morning, not stiff or sore at all, but the sounds of two high-pictched voices on the front step reach through the door.

Its sounds like Tanya and Liselle arguing.

PT

I pick the nice futon couch (Not that it matters, with the two psychoes aiming to impale me by themselves).

With a feeling of utter dread (Pretty much like when I travelled by the Gordian Knot), I raise up and begin to sneak close to the next room, trying to figure out the details on what the ladies are talking about (Again, I can guess what's it about). If they see me, or the situation gets deadly, I intercede and try to calm them down, praying to the Buddha all the while`for guidance.

You look out the window in the door.  Liselle and Tanya are both holding plates of breakfast food, and you can hear them arguing about who should be allowed to bring their plate to you for breakfast.

Beyond them, on the lawn, you can see a robot.

And then from Tanya's face, you can see Liselle said something really mean.

As you open the door, you see Tanya respond by hurling a pie from her plate into Liselle's face.  Liselle's response is to pick up Tanya left handed by the throat, and dangle her over the edge of the porch with an expression on Lisselle's face of cold indifference, and on Tanya's of "I can't breathe."

Behind you, you hear Raven's voice.  You turn and see her in a robe.

"Quick, shut the door, I've got food on the table."

PT

My face went from astonishment and fear (At watching the two fight) to complete disgust at Raven's indifference "Nu-uh" I say determinadely at her while opening the door and shouting at Liselle "Stop it!" while running after her.

Liselle puts Tanya down.  And Tanya gags a little bit.

"I'm sorry, its just when Miss Sneaky here threw that pie, I--I lost my temper again."

"We were both going to come over, and give you some breakfast..." Tanya begins.

"Ha. You saw me coming, and decided to get over here quicker.  It was my idea. YOu stole my idea."  Liselle yells back in a voice that would do credit to a drill instructor in the Army.

"How could I have? I was in my house..."  Tanya comes back...

"Girls, girls, no need to fuss, I'm sure Tomas appreciates your kindness, but I already have breakfast on the table for him."

Raven says from behind you.  She puts a proprietary hand on your shoulder, and you get to see Tanya and Liselle turn red in the face at the same time....

PT

I nod at Raven's comment, but give the two of them a look that should say Just play along, 'kay? and before going with her to have breakfast I say in a serene voice "Do me a favour, all of you: no more killing each other over who gets to give me breakfast, a massage, gifts, whatever. I'll have none of that, so stop competing about something like this; I won't stick with the one who pleases me the most, but the one I'd rather be with"

Raven chuckles in victory, and that tears it.

Tanya is the first to react.  She vaults over you, and crashes into Raven knocking her to the floor.  Tanya rolls back to her feet quickly while Raven rises sinuously from the floor.

Tanya takes a stance you recognize as the Tiger.  Raven smiles, and holds her hands wide while the shadow behind her grows to reach the ceiling.

Liselle says softly as she cleans pie off her face.

"I'm learning my lesson. 1, 2, 3, 4..."  She's breathing strenously.

PT

I take a step between the Tiger and the Shadowmancer, well aware that this could be the last thing I do before versing "When I said 'all of you' I meant ALL of you. That includes you, too, Raven. If you want to kill each other, you'll have to go over my body first" I say sternly and controling my voice as much as I can.

"How about I ressurrect you after I kill you?" Raven snarls.  Her clothing stretches, buttons pop, and then she turns purple and black and scaly as her neck elongates.

Tanya turns, looks at you in terror, and punches you in the solar plexus.  You fold, and she tosses you on her shoulder as she heads for the front door.

"She's the Dark Dragon!  We're DOOOMED!"  She screeches.

PT

With whatever amount of strength I have left from the punch, I yell at Dragon-Raven  "You can't resurrect me! I'm a verser!" but allowing Tanya to carry me away from the monster This is spiraling out of control. Really fast

"Whats a verser?"  The three girls ask in unison as Liselle rips the door off the hingest throw it at Raven-Dragon.

Thump.

"Ow." Mumbles the dragon as it surges forward, smashing the walls of your house.

"Stop the dragon." Tanya orders the robot as she runs to the front gate, and yanks it open.

You see the robot start firing laser blasts at the dragon, and Liselle points her finger at the dragon. Suddenly every window in your house is shattered and you feel like your head was put inside a bell, and a temple monk gonged the bell.

Liselle goes flying past you, over the white stone wall, and with an irritated expression on her lovely face lands on her back in the middle of the street.

You feel blood trickling down the side of your face, both sides.

PT

This isn't good

Taking out the gem I have for channeling mana, I concentrate as hard as I can into bringing forth lots and lots of shards of ice to pierce Raven-Dragon "This better work" I mutter under my breath as I concentrate.

Most of the ice shards pepper the front of your house, but a few penetrate the house-tall dragon's hide.  She screams in fury, and black light streams from her mouth in a plume eighty feet tall.

And then suddenly its completely black.

You realize you're lying in your sofa under the covers, and the sofa is not smashed.

A girl is standing in the corner of your room.

PT

"Ooookay, what's going on? Where's the dragon? And who are you?" I ask all at once, trying to get up from the sofa, which I thought it should be destroyed by now Maybe Raven's breath wasn't the typical fire breath...

"I rewound the clock four hours.  So she should be down at the dock, plotting how to turn you to the cause of Darkness.  My name is Yolanda."  Then she giggles.  "You're cuter than I remember."

PT

I stare at the girl for a little while, trying to make sense of what she's saying "Wait. You are saying that you took me back in time? Why? I don't even know you!" but then I abruptly stop saying whatever comes to my mind and add "Sorry, this isn't how I usually thank others for saving my life. It's just... things got out of control FAST. What can I do to defeat Raven? I don't want to side with this 'Darkness'"

"Things were not going how I wanted them to, so I thought to give you another chance to fix them.  Its the nature of materiality, its finite in both time, space, information, compassion, and all the other qualities that make up materiality.  So there does come crucial points where there is not enough time or other qualities to make the right decision with full knowledge.  One of your great warriors said that in war the simple is difficult, and the complex is impossible.  You are in a war for the soul of this planet, but it has more facets than simply killing Raven.  If I wanted Raven dead, I could kill her myself.  No, I want more than her life, I want her soul.  I want the Dark Dragon turned to the Light to the Great.  And these other lost souls, they need tending to as well."

She pauses, and smiles.

"Its really unfair of me to ask you to do this, but give it your best shot okay?"

PT

I nod, although I'm pretty much at a loss regarding how I can get Raven's soul sent to the Light "I'm all for it, you don't have to push me in that direction, but still... how can I help at all? I don't know anything about souls, only some magic and basic swordfighting skills"

"There's always good reasons not to fight, resources one lacks, but you have one key resource--she wants to be around you.  Its not enough, but its a start.  And I want all the lost, not just poor Raven."

And then suddenly the room is empty.

And you realize you have three hours and fifty minutes until Raven enters by the back door, and Tanya and Liselle start their fight at the front door.

PT

Realizing that I need to change things fast, I go over to the front door and wait there for the crazy duo to appear. Once they make their appearence, I'll tell them that I'm busy and to please come back later, or any other excuse like that. When Raven comes, I'll feign surprise and accept her presence in the house.


OOC: Just so you know, PT, I may leave this game after I verse, due to a lack of time to post.

Liselle and Tanya both look put out, and they leave squabbling with each other.

Raven seems surprised that you greet her at the back door which she had open.  She has breakfast--bought at the local fast food place.

She comes in, puts it down, and seems to be waiting for something.  She shrugs when nothing happens, and you and her dig in.

PT

Aha! She planned  Tanya's and Liselle's encounter all along too... a very sneaky and conniving lady

"This is good food. What brings you here, boss?" I ask jokingly, doing my best to pretend I don't know anything about her or her true form If she believes in time travelling or knows about it, this might be it for me

She blushes, and stammers some unconvincing story about being in the neighbourhood, and having bought too much food at the local drive-thru.

You look up and see one of those robots looking in through the window.

PT

Tanya's robot. Darn

"That's great; that you care about me and all, I mean. I need the food, y'know, in order to work well at the dock. With one more day of work I'll be able to buy myself... food, I guess" I say to Raven in a conversational tone

"How did you start your own business, anyways?"

"Well, I don't do this for every worker, but I feel like you're special."

She says with a shy smile.

And then she starts to spin a thouroughly unconvincing tale about how she worked a business up from the ground floor,a nd was able to make it one of the best in the harbor.  There's coincidences galore, bags of money found by happenstance, and gunfights against pirates who except for her heroic intervention would have taken over the island.

"Because most people are sheep, y'know..."

And suddenly you remember her dragon form.

PT

I somehow restrain myself in time from shaking my head and turning into an outraged preacher, and instead respond "Yeah, very true. Good to have you around, I guess"

"If I may ask, what's your goal in life?"

She pauses, gulps air, and looks very thoughtful.

"To me, thats a very personal question.  I'd have to know I could trust you before I, well went into detail.  Lets just say, I want to provide some more real estate for my kindred."

PT

"Kindred?" I say more to myself than to Raven, with a confused look on my face "Ah, sure, no problem, I was just curious, that's all"

Its another day of hard work.  In ways, its harder because you're more sore to begin with, but on the other hand you know what to expect.

You get to the end of the day, and your fellow workers josh you a bit about drinkiing on the job since you're weaving back and forth just a bit from exhaustion.

With your money, you're able to buy food.

Your sensei comes by to train you, but when he sees you, he abruptly changes his plans.  Instead, the young boy gets out a tea pot from who knows where, and makes you some hot tea.

You sleep that night right through an attempt to visit you by Liselle.

The next morning, after Raven brings you breakfast again, you see a note on the front porch.

"I rang and rang, but you didn't come to the door. Liselle."

And its back to work on the third day, and you surprise yourself by getting to lunch without it feeling that bad.  You're still tired and sore, but you can see the beginning of new muscles in your arms, and lifting a sixty pound bag has begun to seem routine.

PT
OOC: Sorry about missing yesterday.

In whatever amount of free time I get this day, I go and find Liselle Might as well talk to the crazy super-strong woman, right? to see what she wants to do with me (Even though I'm 99% positive its got to do with love)

You go meet with her after tracking her down.  She's at a television stage, filming her latest aerobics exercise film.

The guard lets you in, saying you were on the list of accepted visitors.

You see them filming, and then re-filming, and occasionally re-filming the exercise sequences so that they will look perfect on the video "Liselle at work V".

She's rigid in her control, and accepts direction from the director stoically.  When one of her support exercisers (the less attractive females or the big guys) who help fill out the stage messes up, she counsels them directly but calmly.

Its only when one of her huge guys talks back to her that you see a flare of rage penetrate her self-control, and she starts jabbing her finger in his chest, and chasing him off the stage.

The director calls for a break at that point. The lights come down, and Liselle sees you, and flashes a smile.

PT

I smile back and approach her (If possible). Once I get close to her I say "Hey, great going with the filming and all. I didn't know you were... so much into it, when I first met you. Anyways, I received your message"

"Its something I do for a couple weeks every few months.  The rest of the time, I'm just a normal college girl."  She smiles, and then raises a hand with two fingers high.

An aide comes over with two cups of juice mix and ice.

"Truthfully, I do so much exercise, I could live on greaseburgers and chocolate but thats bad for the image."

PT

With a chuckle for her joke, I look in amazement at the service she has under her command "Whoa. You raise two fingers and they bring two of them? You must be a pro here" I comment "Anyhoo, how's everything going?" I ask, even though on the inside I'm afraid I already know the answer Would she slap me and therefore behead me in front of so many witnesses?

"It is going pretty well, Tomas.  I hear you have a job at the docks working for Raven with her Sea Dragon company.  I can tell you're gaining muscle while you're at it."

She lightly jabs your bicep muscle.

"Good for you.  Just ....keep your eyes open, and watch your back, okay?"

PT

I feign surprise at that last suggestion "Uh, sure Liselle, I'll do that. Anything else you'd like to tell me?" is the last thing I ask her before leaving to see the sensei and resume training Thanks goodness he didn't make me do ANYTHING yesterday; I would've been destroyed otherwise

She looks thoughtful.

"Sea Dragon is famous, in its own way.  You might want to read up about it in the backfiles of the local newspaper."


She gives you a look like its serious advice she's giving you, and then pats you on the shoulder.

"Nice of you to come by. Come by anytime."

You leave, and go track down your sensei.  He's surrounded by ten young kids as he thrashes the newest "Night of the Undead Squid IV" game, and they are cheering him on with awe on their faces.

PT

Check the newspaper. Got it

"Yo, nice going with the gameboy, Sensei!" I say as I approach him and ask "Got some time for, you know, training?"
not knowing how he would respond, surrounded by little ones.

He ignores you, and redoubles his efforts.  His crowd of admirers spares you a cold glance, and then shuffles together a little tighter to block your passage to Sensei.

About twenty minutes later, he wins the game, and kills the Undead Squid which had been driving fish and chips vendors out of business by sinking fishing boats, and the hero of the story is at last able to take his girlfriend out for a date.

Sensei hands the machine over to one of the others.

He looks up at you.

Then he grins in a malicious fashion.

"Would you like to study situational awareness or improve your breathing?  Or do you want to really try my patience, and request some learning of your own?"

PT

Desicions, desicions... I ponder the options given by the sense for a little while before replying "Would you be able to make me better with the sword? If not, I'm all for situational awareness" and to make sure he understands the source of my question I point to the sword in my hip.

He nods and smiles.  He whispers to one of the kids who banters with him a bit, and then the other kid leaves laughing at a run.

Your sensei goes back to gaming, but gives you a few instructions in how to warm up.

Then the second kid comes back with a practise sword, and a roll of duct tape.  The sensei explains that he will now duct tape your swords to your hands, and then you will be responsible for doing your ordinary life for the next twenty-four hours with swords attached to your hands.

"This will most rapidly teach you to feel the weapon is part of you which is essential step in learning sword."

PT

After staring dumbly at him for a moment, I shake my head slowly "Can't. Unless I can tell my boss that I won't go to work because I have ' a sword sticked to my hands'" I explain to the Sensei.


OOC: It's my day-off, then I'll do it, since it won't make a difference.

"Your boss is Raven, is she not?  Tell her the Ancient Master instructed you so, and if she has a problem with it to come to me, and I will set her straight."

His eyes glint, and for a second you can see harsh dominance, hardened will in his eyes, an old man who would unflinchingly tell samurai and ninja, shogun and daimyo his rules, and expect unquestioning obedience.  But then he's just a kid again as he looks over his shoulder with delight as another kid comes up with a new game--"Slaughter at Shelby High: Alien Invasion II".

PT

"Yes, Sensei" comes my reply in a subordinate tone, caused by that look in his eyes Whoa. Just who was he, some years ago?

With that said, I depart, sword sticked to my hand.

Each sword is unsheathed, and the hilt is pressed firmly into the palm of its hand, and then duct tape is wrapped about the hand, binding the hand firmly in place.

Walking through the streets is a bit of an adventure.  You learn to step around large groups of people so as to not impale them.

Most people seem to think you're being hazed as a fraternity prank from the college, and laugh with some measure of sympathy.

The soup kitchen girl is there at home when you arrive, and she smiles in sheer delight at your predicament.  However, after teasing you a bit, she opens the front door, and begins making won ton soup.

"This is very strange cuisine you have here. I like it."

Your first big challenge is when you arrive at work.  You could just walk in, clock in by typing in your code on the keypad (how?), and begin loading bags (how?), or you could go by the office and tell Raven (but her door is a twist handle..)

PT

I ponder for a brief while what to do with the door Hmmmm... sometimes the answer isn't in how to twist the handle, but how to open the door! and I knock on it three times with the pomel of one sword, hoping that Raven is in there I can't wait to see her reaction to the mentioning of the Ancient Master. This could be handy

She comes to the door grumping about having to open her own door, and then does a doubletake as she sees the swords.  She's rearing back her head, about to yell at you, and from the look in her eyes takes off strips of skin when you mention the Ancient Master.

Suddenly she freezes.  Like a deer in the headlights of a car.

With very precise tilting of her head, she regains motion, and with her eyes firmly fixed on you, she asks that you repeat yourself.

So you do.

"Ah, he's back. Well...." And then she starts rather enthusiastically fishing for details, grilling you really, about where he is, what he's doing, etc...

She seems decidedly unhappy.

PT