Emit a deflector pulse then!

I CLAIM THE FOURTH PAGE!

'Foo Kaz, you could keep up!

Okay, a simple explanation,

In order to go into HyperSpace(I.e faster than light travel) a ship creates a hole

through the time/space continumm. It's like

a vacuum, and anything nearby will get sucked into it, unable to escape on it's

own power, until the ship generating the hole shuts it down.

Hahahahah! Kaz beat you AGAIN Kovu! Hehehehehe. Funny stuff!

Poor Kovu. He won't even notice it until tomorrow, either.

bah! I forgot! I must retalliate and make sure I don't miss the next one!



Ah... I think I get it... a ship continually creates a vacumm to hurl itself, but once it's being hurled the vacumm destabilizes and it acts like a sapling being pulled back. So the other ship got caught as well... we'll, the simple answer to this is to disrupt the black hole right before it ends.

Why disrupt the wormhole thingy, if the Knn

fighter can't shoot, all they have to do

it extend the boarding thingy, and shoot

the two pilots, and once they leave HyperSpace the fighter will just drift...

darn, did I just give away next chapter's plot? Curses.

Lol, that doesn't make it any less interesting, Kove!

Here 'tis, ya har har,

I'm a crusty old sea dog, ya har har,

me mates! Hard to port, a chapter of ye

starboard bow, ya har har!





Chapter Fourteen: HyperSpace



HyperSpace is a funny thing, it really is. It was discovered about 34567 B.C. The Czm brought it to our galaxy from...where ever they came from. Initially it was crude device, requiring massive HyperSpace generator ships to fire a beam to create a rift in to the HyperSpace dimension. A ancient species that ruled the galaxy about that time waged war aginst the ambitious Czm, using there own, albiet crude, method of faster than light travel. The ancient species managed to capture a few Czm HyperSpace generator ships. Once the Czm had been beaten into there corner of the galaxy. The ancient race modified the technology, spreading it to the lesser species and creating a galactic economy that ushered in the current age.

HyperSpace itself is a sort of sub universe. It is void, filled with anti-energy, creating massive energy storms that can last for millenia at a time. The HyperSpace dimension is smaller than our own, so every mile crossed in the HyperSpace dimension equals ten thousand miles crossed in our own. It also negates all forms of time dialation. However, in a unfortunate twist, the massive energy storms that rage through HyperSpace make it sometimes impossible to cross it. (Unless one is fortunate enough to own a A-space drive, for more on A-Space drives see 'A fools guide to Everything' by Joe Nulithen)



"What?! Blast it out of the sky, then!" Seraph hissed, pounding her fist on the terminal, as blue chaos of HyperSpace stained the color of the cockpit.

"That's impossible." A chirpy voice sounded.

"Shut up, Tymen." Seraph snapped.

"I didn't say anything..." Seraph inquisitivly, turned around.

"Juiso?"

"Nope."

"Then who?"

"I did." The voice said again. Seraph turned around, quicker this time, to see the sound was comming from a screen that bared a familiar face on it.

"Kazooie." Seraph whispered.

"Yup."

"But...how, you're dead?" Tymen scratched his head.

"I am? How unfortunate...however, I am not him, persay, I am the original Kazooie's personality, stored in the Penultimate's data. I'm exactly like him in every aspect, well, except I'm a computer, and, as a computer, I have acces to all of the Penultimate's data and sensory devices." The digital Kazooie frowned a moment at his physical manifestation's demise, and then explained himself.

"Fine then, why can't we fire at the fighter?"

"Because, numbskull," the image of Kazooie's face was replaced by a wireframe image of the Penultimate and the tumbling Knn fighter caught in it's wake.

"If we tried to fire the weapons, it'd start a HyperSpace storm that would annihilate us!" Seraph clenched her fist, realizing her options had been starved.

"However, we could extend the boarding plank, and kill the pilots, so the fighter would be of no threat once we leave HyperSpace." Kazooie postulated, a image of the boarding plank appearing.

"Alright, let's do it, to weapons!" They all left the cockpit, trusting the autopilot to guide them safely through the torrent that is HyperSpace.

"Uh, guys, there is something you should know!" The digital Kazooie shouted after them.

"What?" Seraph snapped, not wanting to delay things.

"Tyio and Ducky are in the hangar area. Ducky has been mortally wounded and is bleeding to death. She may already be dead, however, as her heart has stopped." Kazooie stated, displaying security cam footage.

"They...made it?" Tymen asked, amazed.

"Yes, but Ducky won't if you don't get down there NOW!"



The three of them scampered down the ladder to the hangar, quickly seeing Ducky in Tyio's arms, and a blood stained floor.

"Ducky! Tyio!" Seraph shouted as they ran. The latter and Juiso hefted Ducky up to the medical bay, while Tymen checked to see if Tyio was injured.

"You okay?" Tyio still crouched, his teeth clenched.

"I'm fine." Tyio began to rise, then Tymen noticed his right arm, the one he was clasping, was twisted and mangled.

"Hey, that looks like it's broken, you need to get to the medical bay!" Tymen offered his support, but Tymen rebuked him, pushing him off, and began to walk away, saying,

"I'm FINE."



Ducky lay on the hover strecher that Kazooie had summoned while they were below.

"She's not breathing." Juiso informed the computer.

"Applying static force." Ducky's body jumped, as energy coursed through her.

"Re-applying." Again it happened, and suddenly the whine of the heart monitor turned into rough beats.

The screen with Kazooie on it came barreling down the hall torward the crisis.

"I've made ready the backup healing vat, the droid can put her in there right away." Kaz informed.

They payed the digital representation no mind, as the bulky droid grabbed the formless Ducky, attaching a oxygen mask and placing her in the vat as the cylindar slid up and filled with the greenish liquid.

Everyone paused, waiting for the medical droid to offer some analyasis.

"Analaysis complete: cardiac arrest, left lung collapsed, severe loss of blood, estimated healing time, one day." The medical droid intoned, then hovered over to the second vat.

"Analaysis: Unit: BlackSheep, healing is 75% complete, activating reGrow armor."

"What's he talking about?" Tymen asked, almost to himself. Kazooie's flat screen swivled around to face him.

"ReGrow, a corporation existing on Grnome, is a highly advanced healing system, using blank cells and mutating them to the injureds needs. It functions better than a healing vat, but the robotic armor that engulfs the recipient makes it far more practical, since the injured can still function while being healed." Kazooie smiled, and, had he a body, he would have probably acted quite proud, with all the information he now had in him. Mere moments after his speech concluded, the glass of the vat fell down, the liquid being reabsorbed, BlackSheep strode out, her body covered in elaborate, glistining plates of metal.

"Well, welcome back to the land of the living, BlackSheep." She remained silent, the robotic eyes she used while her real ones were being healed scanned the room. Everyone was anxious, and a little afraid, after all, being partially robot now, she was stronger than all of them.

"Hello, it is good to be back." Her voice came out grainy and metallic, but the sentiment was enough. Seraph patted her on the back, and Tymen gave her a hug, Juiso remaining back in the shadows. When she saw Tyio walk by, she ran up and embraced him, unaware of her new strength or his injury.

"You saved my life, Tyio, I am grateful!" Not what BlackSheep would have normally said, it was just the way the voice device let out her meaning.

"Ahhh, aahhhh!" Tyio squirmed in pain, until BlackSheep sheepishly(haha) released him, her gears whirring, as she realized her own strength.

"Uh, sorry." Tyio grasped his arm, wenching, and hobbled into his quarters.

"Just a handshake will do next time!" Not wanting to waste any time, Seraph stormed into the hall.

"Enough idle chit-chat, Tymen, Juiso, with me, BlackSheep, fly the ship, I don't strust the reincarnated bag of bolts with it." Seraph looked up at Kazooie's screen.

"Humph!" He moved away, as dignantly as he could.



Hustling through the metal passage ways, they donned armor and began selecting there weapons.

"Two blaster pistols, and a shotblaster." Seraph holstered the guns at her waist, holding the shotblaster.

Tymen picked up two, uzi like guns.

"Dual vulcan guns." He said, striking his best pose whilst holding them. Juiso then twirled his staff around, it leaving a streak of red energy.

"Magma staff."

Seraph looked over them, then said into her armored mask.

"Open first air-lock door."

"Roger." BlackSheep's grainy voice was heard over the comm. Then, the elaborate doorway opened, steam hissing from the hydraulics loudly. Then they all strode into the tight room that was the air-lock, there armor covered boots making a plesant resonating sound.

"Close first air-lock door." Once they where inside, the door closed again, with just as loud a hiss as before.

"Okay, now, extend boarding plank." BlackSheep replied nervously, a thing easier said than done,

"Okay." She began aiming the extention of the boarding blank, it had to his the tumbling fighter at just the right time or the fighter would rip off the plank and they'd go tumbling into the torrentious hyperspace.

She carefully watched the wireframe image of the fighter, fingering the activation button...

"Don't screw this up, BlackSheep." Seraph snapped. As this was said, a loud SSSTHUNK could be heard, as the boarding plank shot out and hyposealed to the fighter.

"Boarding plank extended." BlackSheep said, with a sigh of relief.

"Okay, now, open second air-lock door." Silently, the second door opened, and with a thunder crack, all the air fled into space, and the three of them began to drift.

"Quick, everyone, activate the magnitisim in your boots!" Seraph ordered, and they fell to the bulk head with a humming sound of magnitism. Then they began the trecherous trek across the thin strip of metal, as the maelstrom of hyperspace wailed on outside.

After five, agonizing minutes, they finally arrived at the air-hatch of the Knn fighter.

"Okay, I'll go in first, you two, after me..." Seraph commanded, fingering the air-hatch switch with her glove...



"Now!" She yanked on it, and charged in, the other two quickly behind, as the air-hatch closed rapidly behind them. They found themselves in the tight room sperated from the cockpit, but the door opened, alerted to there presnece.

"Go, go go!" Seraph shouted, charging into the cockpit, as they took a strategic formation.

"Okay, you two, turn around so we can see you!" The two black Knn chair swivled around to reveal.

Two rabbits?

"What? Carrotians....what are you doing here? Traitors, you must have surrendered to the Knn!" Seraph snapped. The one on the left stood up.

"I assure you, my good lady, that's not the case, we are working under-cover in the Knn army."

"Oh really, then just who are you then?"

"This is my friend, Slayer, also known as Louie, and I am known as Kovu."



Up next, Chapter Fiveteen: The Planet of Fire and Glass, ya har har.

Whoa, in your own story? Unheard of!

I'm just in for a cameo, don't worry.

Rrriiiight. As usual, I don't believe you.

Anyway, I'm not gonna be blasted to kingdom come, am I? These stories are suspicious of no worries about my welfare.

Oh well, make sure Tyio and Sheepie get bettary.

Groooovy. I couldn't just put a oneliner now, could I ;P

`Ducky

Cool is a needed ingredient for a good story



i see it in this one

Thankies, all, well, Here 'tis:





Chapter Fiveteen: The Planet of Fire and Glass



"Working under cover, I don't believe a word of it!" Seraph shouted, aiming her gun at the one named 'Kovu's' head.

"Really! It's the truth!" The other one, Louie, protested. Seraph waved her gun in his direction.

"I don't think so, you're traitors, and you'r going to di--"

"Incorret, Captian, I have searched through there pocket computer files and find no ill intent in them. In addition, there heartbeat and brain function remained normal, which would indicate." Kaz droned on.

"Alright, alright! Okay...metalhead here says you're telling the truth, but I don't know if I believe him, prove it, somehow."

"Uh, how?" Kovu asked, both there arms in the air.

"I know, give me all the mission and tactical information, all the military secrets, this fighter contains."

"We'd really rather have more time to gather--" Louie began, until Serap's shotblaster hummed to life.

"Okay, okay, we'll do it." He swivled around and pulled the data-core out of the terminal and cautiously laid it at Seraph's feet.

"Excellent." Seraph picked it up, smiling ear to ear, fingering the cylindricl device. Suddenly the ship bucked, the hull moaning.

"What the yotz was that?" Tymen asked, the hull continuing to moan.

"Myrandnites. They live in HyperSpace, feeding on ships that pass through." Louie stated

"How...fast will they eat the ship?" Seraph asked.

"Fast, we have to go, now." The three backed out the door, and the other two donned Knn EVAs.

Once they were all suited up, they moved into the second room, and then out ontop at the boarding plank.

"There everywhere!" Seraph shouted. Little horshoe crab like beings(except being composed of energy) populated the hull of the Knn fighter. Tymen unholstered his vulcan guns, and started firing at them, the shockwaves from the bullets being only minimal, and damaging only the fighter. Under Tymen's cover, they all crossed the boarding plank.

"BlackSheep, open the second air-lock door, now!" Seraph snapped.



"Righto." With Kazooie looking over her shoulder, BlackSheep flipped a switch with a mechanical finger, and the coresponding door opened just as Juiso, who had taken up the lead, arrived to it. They hustled in as quickly as they could, but Tymen was finding himself being overwhelmed by the numbers of Myrandites, and his ammo was running short. Just as Louie strode into the air-lock, the consisten KAKAKACHAKA of the vulcan guns turned to a empty whirring of ammo cartridge.

"Blast, out of ammo." Tymen hurled the empty guns behind them, and the increasing horde of Myrandites consumed them in a instant.

"BlackSheep, de-extend the boarding plank!" Tymen shouted into his mask comm.

"But you're not in the air-lock Tymen." BlackSheep checked various gauges.

"Just do it!" Tymen snapped, deactivating this magnatismal boots. BlackSheep considered what insane plan Tymen might have, but finding none, just followed his command and deactivated the boarding plank.



Just as the Myrandites consumed the whole of the Knn fighter, Tymen snatched the retreating boarding plank, shooting him torward the air-lock. But just before it slammed him into the under-bowls of the Penultimate, he somersaulted off and into the air-lock.

"Nice escape, Tymen." Seraph patted him on the back, as the second-air lock closed behind Tymen.



The rest of the day proceded uneventfully. Seraph interrogated Kovu and Louie, discovering that they too were looking for Symballen's Archon, but were willing to merely help them find it. Tymen and Tyio (the latter rather begrudgingly so) tried to figure out the object Tyio found in Daroth in the recreational sub-deck.

BlackSheep's reGrow deactivated, and she reveled in a completely healed new body. Juiso slunk around, watching the activity from afar, and Kazooie watched him, for he didn't trust Juiso any farther than he could spit(and he couldn't spit.) Everyone was quietly asleep in there quarters(after much debate as to who went where) when Kazooie barreled through the hall, shrieking,

"Wake up! Wake up! Were leaving HyperSpace! Wake up! Wake up! Were leaving HyperSpace. As they all emerged, Seraph attempted to shoot Kazooie, but he sucked himself back up into the Penultimate's technological intestines.

"Tymen, you take the controls." Seraph ordered, as they all crowded into the cockpit area.

"Okay, the preparing apeture." Tymen slowly gave power back to the HyperSpace core. He checked a series of graphs on the screens beneath him,

"We will arrive at 5:00 pm, Tubelectric time, I'm taking us down into the second largest city cluster, Ranhaften." Tymen updated, as the world of HyperSpace twisted and mutated, creating a small portal into normal space.

"I'm taking us through." As the triangular Penultimate flew through the hole in both time space continumms, something gave. A explosion echoed through the halls of the ship, scorching most of it, but missing, thankfully, the medical bay and the cockpit.

"Holy crap! Our second HyperSpace drive just blew up!" The cone of the portal began to become erratic and insane.

"Normal space cores #3, 4, 7 and 8 were severely damaged!" Tymen desperatly tried to control the ship, moving it as quickly as he could, before the portal into normal space collapsed(them not having any HyperSpace engine) and being trapped in HyperSpace forever. Tymen forced the controls to there maximum abilities, all power was to the remaining cores.



Miraculously, just as they left the apeture, it closed in a violent fury, exploding outward, sending the ship carrening torward the planet.

"Activating reentry shield. The view of the yellow planet was lost, as giant plates of ceramic covered the tip of the Penultimate.

"This is the Penultimate, requesting docking procedure." Tymen activated a comm. channel and spoke into it.

"Hello, and welcome to Tubelectric, planet of fire and glass," a tractor beam took hold of the ship, easing it down to a docking area. "At our welcome centers you can sample our tridenten fruit juice. If you need assistance, call for a droid, we'll hear you. Again, welcome to Tubelectric, and have a nice day." Once there ship was clamped by the large robotic arms, the stairs descended, and the whole crew of them (minus Ducky, who had moved into a reGrow suit to keep watch over the ship until they returned.) exited the ship.

"Okay, guys, what's the plan, now that were here?" Seraph genuinley asked her subordinates. Tyio, with his good arm, pulled out and showed Seraph the strange object he found wedged between the buildings in Daroth.

"We think this might help us find where Symballen's Archon is hidden. Me and Tymen only figured out it was a map, but there must be someone here who can read it for us." Tyio proposed.

"Okay, that's a start," She turned around to face a passing by droid."

"Hey, you! Find someone to fix this ship, everything that's wrong with it, got it? Money is no object!" She yelled to the droid, which quietly dropped what it was doing and moved to fetch a repair the ship. They passed through the docking area, quickly finding a hoverpad that they could use to find someone to read the map. As the hoverpad disembarked and moved into the streets of the city. They flew through it, marveling that the entire planet was choked by technology, and the 24 hour a day 7 day a week constant party that raged through the streets. Tubelectric was a product of technology. They needed lights and technology to guide them through the perpetual dusk and night, but could not feed off the energy of there dying sun. So, they had to have energy constantly carried to them in massive cargo ships.

"Computer." Seraph said in a commanding voice, and rather loud, over the roar of the party below.

"Where would you like to go today?" The computer intoned.

"Where can I find someone to read maps?" Seraph asked the device.

"Why, that's easy..."



"I can tell you, right off the bat," A old Baarshardian( a weasel-like race) examined what Tyio and Tymen believed was a map, "that this crystal is Gentanium, found only in this paticular star cluster, so it must have been produced here. The Gerenpfpssh on it,"

"Wait, I AM Gerenpfpssh, and I don't see any Gerenpfpssh text on that thing." Tyio hissed, feeling as though the Baarshardian had insulted his heritage.

"Right here." He shoved the object into his face, pointing to a thin line, that Tyio assumed was just a line.

"Oh..." Tyio blushed and moved back.

"It tells me each square represents 20 lightyears, and I'm assuming that this circle at the tip is Carrotous, since this was found there. I'm also assuming that this other sphere is a planet so many lightyears away.

Lesse, that would mean tubelectric is here," He painted a dot in one of the squares.

"So you need to go 120 lightyears west of here, and you'll find the planet that this map leads you to." He handed the object back to Tyio.

"Thanks!" Seraph tossed him a carrot(the coin, not the foodstuff) and the reconvened outside.

"I think this is our best chance at finding Symballen's archon. According to the note Tyio found, I"m thinking this other planet will have another shard of the map on it, and that'll lead us to the next, until we find the last one that has Symballen's Archon on it. Who's up for this plan?"

They all cautiously thought, then gave there awnser...



Up Next: Escape from The Esx

Cheers. Very nice

`Ducky

Cool. Except when they're in space there is no west. Just co-ordinates.

west on the map, falcon, west from tubelectric on the map! Gah, don't question

my logic, minion

Ah okay Kove.

Get on ICQ. Go on, click the button. That's it. I need someone to talk to. I'm bored stiff!

Yeh don't talk to ME. :P

Hurry up, Kovey, Vader is not patient. *evil wheezing*

Erm, Please.

`Ducky

Here y'ar, lord vadar.



Chapter Sixteen: Escape From The Esx



"Okay, let's do it." Tymen sounded first, followed by similarly concuring statements from the others.

"Excellent." Seraph smiled, then activated her wrist comm.

"Ducky, how are the repairs comming?" She asked, trusting she was somewhere near the cockpit.

"Okay, I guess," she replied through mountians os static and her own reGrow mechanical voice,

"They already took out all the old cores, and are bringing the new ones in. They're repairing the turrets, and are going to repair the blaster damage."

"Estimated time?" The captian asked coldly.

"They say about two hours." Ducky stated.

"Good, keep us posted." Seraph deactivated the comm. and looked up to the others.

"Guys, we've got two hours to burn." Seraph turned to them, awaiting a solution. They all shrugged in unison.

"Fine, everyone, go do something, but we meet back here in 200 hours, understood?"

"Aye!" They all saluted, and then dispersed.

"I'm gonna go be a street urchin, anyone wanna come?" BlackSheep asked, and Juiso walked up beside her.

"Street urchin, tell me more." They walked into the writhing crowd in the streets.

"I'm getting something to eat." Tyio stated, and began walking off, and Seraph ran and caught up with him.

This left Tymen, Kovu and Louie still standing outside the mapreader's shop.

Then they all leered at one another, and crept into the innards of the city.



In her large mechanical body, Ducky lumbered around the Penultimate, watching the nimble Tuberans repair the ship, mumbling things about antiques. Tuberans where not natural inhabitants of the planet, thease lythe, staticly charged beings moved here (through the good courtesy of the ruling Rabbit Empire) after there planet was destroyed by the Eanstansem in the western quadrant. They where sly, talented people, a intresting tradmark being the use of there static powers to create paintings. Sadly, thirty years earlier there entire existance was threatened during the Rancorian invasion, but thanks to the Diamondians and Medivians, they made it through well enough.

Standing between the two quarters, Ducky issued commands.

"Be careful! Hey, that's high priced leather! DON'T PUT YOUR TOUNGE ON IT!"



"A carrot ale, please...and the soup of the day, light on the 'shrooms." Tyio said, as a large, frothing mug of red liquid was slammed down infront of him.

"An' fer the lass?" A very bulk, tall Tuberan asked.

"A Rigelion SynthAle Carrot Beer, with extra juice...and some fried Diamondian sand fish."

"All right, yer food 'll be with ya in a minute." He placed the mystic fluid of the Rigelion SynthAle Carrot Beer infront of Seraph. Spinning in there stools, Tyio offered a thought,

"Y'know, this place reminds me of the War Tavern..."

"The what?" Seraph asked, sipping the SynthAle.

"The War Tavern. I only went there once, it was on the Emerald Coast...on the other side of the Bourn, that is." Seraph sneered,

"My clans operations never went that far north, except during the attack of Carrotous City but...my father never allowed me to go anywhere..."

"You're father?" Tyio asked, intrigued.

"Yes, my father, Konitus the V," She snickered," may his soul rest in *agony!* If it weren't for that idiot, things would be a lot better off on Carrotous, let me tell you."

"Sure..."



The music blared through the glass city, as BlackSheep and Juiso slunk through it.

"Street Urchin, lesson two, never look before you leap." BlackSheep stated. Suddenly, the two of them where approached by several tall...well, there skin was blue, but they had no fur, and there ears where small and on the sides of there heads.

"Hello, would you happen to know someone by the name of BlackSheep?" He said, with a heavy british accent.

"Well yea...that's me..." BlackSheep wondered, who could be looking for her?

"Well that's good, 'cause I have a present for ya." Suddenly he reeled back and punched her straight in the face, hard, knocking her to the cement. More filed in, and one seeped in from the crowd and, with two large blasters, blasted Juiso into the building behind him.

"The Esx have arrived, mate."



As Tymen, Kovu, and Louie walked through the skyscape of the lofty city of Ranhaften, a red ship sped by, then landed on the outcropping(on the building) they where standing on, and out jumped more of thease furrless beings. Immediatley the tallest of them smacked Tymen across the face, while two others fired a stream of blaster fire at Kovu and Louie, who ducked in a alley between two buildings, glass shattering all the way. The tall one was giving Tymen a hard time. He punched to Tymen's left, but the latter dove right. However, at the last second, all of the cretures energy shifted, and it turned into a left punch. Dazed, Tymen ducked when he saw the creature about to kick him, but at the last moment it somersaulted up and elbowed him in the face. He then drew two wooden sticks, using the same confuse technique with them. Tymen fell over, the menacing Esx preparing to give the final blow, when Tymen activated his comm.

"Seraph, where under attack!" He managed, before blacking out. Tyio looked over at Seraph, wondering what the message could've been, while still eating his soup.

"Forget the meal, Tyio, Tymen is in trouble." Seraph said, tossing the Tuberan some Carrots. As they walked through the crowd, she again picked up her comm.

"BlackSheep, BlackSheep pick up!....Juiso, you there?"

"Yea..."

"What's going on!?"

"Thease furless freaks just knocked out BlackSheep, and there trying to blast me!"

"Where are you at?" Seraph questioned, as they exited the resurant.

"Right below you, love." He stated, before his comm. went out. Seraph looked over the side of the building, see, very faintly, a unconcious BlackSheep. Seraph saw a old Forenma(a race of ostrich like flightless birds) in a hovercycle. With Tyio in suit, she ran over to it, pussing the Forenma off, saying,

"In the name of galactic peace I'm commandering this vessel!" Once both of them where well situated aboard the hovercycle, they flew down, firing blaster bolts at the blue creatures circling BlackSheep.

"Juiso, get over here!" Tyio scooped up BlackSheep, who was becoming concious again, with the Esx detered for a moment.

"Righto!" Juiso ran out of the hole in the building, but not before firing a blast over his should at the Esx he knew was pursuing him. Quickly he climbed on, and, as they flew to where Tymen's comm. had been traced, Seraph called Ducky.

"Ducky! What's the status report?!" She shouted, with the hovercycles engine roaring loudly.

"About half an hour."

"You've got ten minutes, we've got bogies comming in!"



Up next, Chapter Seventeen: Revelations

best chap so far

They would seem to have a few problems, yes.





















































































































































Good chapter? Definetly.

A most unfavorable situation. YaY! You have appeased the Sith. For now. Brilliant chapter.

`Ducky

Wow, I must be the most annoying thing in cyberspace (or windows 95 ^ v ^).



Anywayz, nice writing, and I'm back everybody!

Relly good chapter. Outstanding wot!

Ducky, sith you are. But which one? The master, or the apprentice?

Chapter Seventeen: Revelations



The red Esx craft slammed into the side of the building with a moan, as Seraph, in her stolen hovercycle, fired a blaster bolt at it. Tymen smiled weakly, his body bruised and bleeding, as his comrades came in to save the day.

"Nice to see you guys!" Louie shouted, as he fired at the Esx attempting to kill them.

The one that was harassing Tymen turned, and with a evil grin, lept at the hovercycle.

Juiso lept from it, and, with his staff consumed in it's own flame, sliced the Esx in half, fourtnatley the upper part falling from the uppermost levels on which the battle took place, but down to the writhing crowds.

"Tymen, Kovu, Louie, c'mon!" Seraph shouted, former most of them quickly obeying, but Louie and Kovu continued to fire round after round at the Esx, who didn't seem to die very easily.

"Right!" They abandoned there guns, and ran to the hover cycle as it lifted off, barely snagging the bars that protruded from the side. As the hovercycle wheeled around in the direction of the dock when, quite painfully, Kovu and Louie realized they hadn't caught the hovercycle alone, when one of the two Esx that had attached to there legs, reached up and bit clear through the back of Kovu's left knee.

"AAAAH!" He yelped in pain, as the Esx clawed up there backs torward the occupants of the hovercycle.

Seraph prepared to fire her blaster, but was quickly stopped by Louie.

"No! It could destroy the hovercycle."

"You don't expect me to let them kill you and get to us?!" Seraph spat.

"You won't need to." Louie said grimly, then looked to Kovu. The latter, quickly interpreting his plan, nodded.

"Wait, you're not gonna..." Before Seraph could do anything to stop them, they released there grips.

The ship conpensated for the loss of weight, as Seraph opened a comm channel.

"Ducky, were comming in, no bogies...and we've lost Louie and Kovu..."



After the crew had returned to the Penultimate, they quickly disembarked and went into HyperSpace, and then they retreated to the inner bowls of the ship: the rec room.

As they all descended the spiral staircase that connected the medical, tactical, and recreational rooms, the mood instantly changed from the deep, serious one it had been since they left Carrotous to something more hopeful. As a quick description, the floor was rather disco-esque, with lighted tiles that would go on and off. There where two bars, on the left and right side, with three stools each, and a bartender droid on each of them. In the far back was a karoke machine.

"What can I do ya for." The two bartenders said simultaniously. They dispersed amid the two bars, with Seraph, Juiso, and Tymen sat at the one to the left and Tyio, Ducky, and BlackSheep to the right.

"Didn't we just come from a bar scene?" Seraph asked, as she sat down infront of the endlessly glass cleaning droid.

"You think to much." Juiso quipped, as the bartender slid him a Medivian milkshake.



"Didn't we just come from a bar scene?" Tyio asked, as they sat down infront of the bartender droid.

"You think to much." Ducky said, as the droid slid her a Rigelion SynthAle Carrot beer.

"You know I think," Tyio said, swivling in his stool with his Medivian milkshake,"that Seraph just said the same thing over there."

"Why, what?" BlackSheep asked, sipping her Ribblion Lite.

"Chaos theory." Tyio stated.

"Explain." Ducky asked, proping her feet on Tyio.

"Like, for example, every time I drink some of this milkshake, somewhere else in the universe, someone is squirting milkshake out there nose." Once Tyio took a sip of the Medivian milkshake, Juiso, on the otherside of the bar, broke into hysterical laughter and milkshake seeped out of his nose. So, then Tyio decided to take a big gulp, and milkshake spewed from Juiso, as he rolled on the floor in laughter.



Seraph helped Juiso up from his laughting fit.

"Okay, so a duck..." Tymen began, but was stopped by a severe look from Seraph.

"Don't tell it AGAIN." She snapped.

"Okay, okay I won't, if you tell me something, Juiso." Tymen asked, taking a sip from his Ribblion Lite.

"What?"

"Where you're from, why you helped up and how you got that staff?" Tymen posed, and Juiso seemed rather uncomfortable with the question, until he awnsered.

"I grew up in Hagravid...the last electric city, y'know? I was the eldest son in a very rich family. I made excellent grades, and I was the defunct leader amid my peers," he elaborated,

"However, I med someone named Sorett. She tricked me into following her, one time, when I discovered that Sorett was just the staff, looking for a new victim. The Staff of Magma is a parasite, and a drug all in one. It feeds off the energy of your soul. In addition, it sends a regular pulse of energy to you. If you're body doesn't recieve that pulse, if you're more than a thousand feet from the staff, you will die. In Hagravid and by my father, I was exiled as a dark arts user. As I traveled, I became weaker and weaker, till I realized that I was loosing vital energy taken by the staff. The only way to replenish my energy is to do acts of pure good or evil, I opted for the former. But...the more I restore my energy, the more it feeds...so I must travel constantly, doing good deeds whenever possible." Juiso took in a deep breath. Seraph and Tymen looked blankly for a moment, impressed by this tale.

"Wow."



The afternoon turned into night, atleast as well as the internal clock could tell. They all became rather drunk, and began dancing to the tune of a insane song Tyio sang(but had never heard before) around midnight the medical droid transported them to the medical bay for de-intoxication, as they left HyperSpace and arrived at...



Up Next: Chapter Eighteen: The Leaves That Are Green

Great chapter... hooray! The balance is restored and Kovu killed himself and Louie!



Jk... but what kind of leaves aren't green?

Oh dear...I forgot what I was going to say.

Oh right!

That de-intoxication thing...that sounds painful. Can we not ....never mind.

And Kallakazoo, its a song. Leaves that are Green.



I threw a pebble in a brook..and watched the ripples runa way..and they never made a sound...and the leaves that are greeeeeen turned to brown.



etc etc. Thank you.

Nice chapter, Kovey!

`Ducky

Actually, deintoxicination in this story is very simple (the way they do it in the 24th century =P)

It's the frillin' 29th century in this story, Kaz!

Thankie all

If it's in the 29th century they shouldn't need it at all =P

Yea, whatever...



Chapter Eighteen: The Leaves That Are Green



...Mosshein.

"Wake up sleepy noggins!" Kaz shouted, as the sun rose over the side of some planet.

"Shut up!" Someone shouted, rather violently.

"*Ahem* we've arrived at our destination!" Kaz beamed.

Begrudginly they filed out of the two rooms, as a random droid served them coffee and tea. Soon they where all around the cockpit, Ducky(out of her reGrow armor, mind you) took the controls today.

"Kaz, where are we?" Seraph asked, sipping some steaming coffee.

"I don't know...there are no radio transmissions comming from the planet." Kaz stated planily.

"Life signs?"

"Tons..." Seraph slumped in the co-pilot seat, then swivled it to face her crew.

"We are here upon the assumption that the next piece of the map Tyio found his here, and ultimatley the complete map will lead us to Symballen's Artifact. However, I pose this to you...who would hide a piece of a map that would ultimatley lead to one of the greatest and most powerful devices in the universe...on a planet with no technology?"

"You're right...we've been sent on a wild goose chase..." Tymen thought, cursing the piece of map.

"Wrong, my foolish minded crewman...only a fool would place such a thing on a well populated planet, rather on a out of the way planet, so only people they wanted to find it could." Seraph chortled.

"Miss Ducky, take us down." She grinned ear to ear, known she was much closer to her prize.



As the small, now battle scarred Penultimate descended through the light cloud cover, it became apparent the depths of Kazooie's statement about the number of life signs. It was covered in large, evergreen forest, interrupted only at times by clear, babbling brooks. There were wheat bound plains, and low hills covered by short, tightly packed grass. There where a few large animals, but most of them where small...with no civilization to speak of.

"What a wonderous place..." BlackSheep remarked, about the time Juiso spotted something.

"Look, there! Some buildings!" He exclaimed, as small cottages with thatched roofs gave way to stone structures, and soon they where over a stone city...of sorts.

"Set us down there, maybe someone can tell us where to get the next piece of the map." Seraph ordered, and with a low humm, the ship set down in a clearing.

"Is the air good?" Seraph asked Kazooie, as they moved to the exit hatch.

"Maybe a little thin for you guys, but it should present no problem."

They then quickly exited the Penultimate, and as soon as they set foot on the lush, springy greenery, the lot of them where swamped by locals.

"Syyvrenok shurnatem...Syyvrenok varkokie!" The natives chanted, as the transalator beacon at the base of the Carrotian's skulls took hold on the language.

"They came from the sky! From the sky!" Thease short, brown creatures that permeated the town said.

Being swamped by escastic locals, the heros gave light smiles and moved deeper through the stone city.

"Welcome to Mosshein." One of them, taller than the rest and with a ornate headress, approached them.

"Thank you." Seraph bowed, and was quickly followed by the others.

"What brings you to our planet?" He asked.

"Where looking for something like this." Tymen blurted out, displaying the shard of the map they had found in Daroth.

"Ah, good, we have that, and are willing to give it to the winner." The taller Mosshienite said.

"Winner?" Juiso asked, confused.

"You see, someone else has come here, looking for the same item." From behind the Mosshienite, strode a tall, muscular figure, with long blonde hair, piercing yellow eyes, and a faceplate, with a escort of twenty Knn soldiers in full combat armor.

"The Demon!" Seraph snapped, recognizing the infamous Knn commander. She pulled for a blaster pistol but the Mosshein shouted to her,

"They'll be no violence today! If you want to compete for the shard...you must go into the Hyai'kalla."

"What's the Hyai'kalla..." Tyio asked, rather confused...Hyai'kalla was Gerenpfpssh for 'cold underwear.'

"It's a test...you must choose a Jechgan, and each of you're Jechgans will race a obstacle course...the winner will receive the shard of the map..." Tyio was dumbstruck, was this some cruel trick fate was playing on him? Jechgan was Gerenpfpssh for 'smelly monkey.'

"What...you're just going to give it to us, just like that?" Tymen asked.

"Well...yes...if one wants something, one should recieve it, if it is as nessecary as you say, that has always been the way of the Purrpurn Namash. Come, you must choose you're Jechgans for the Hyai'kalla." Tyio nearly fell over, Purrpurn Namash was Gerenpfpssh for 'stick your ear in a coffemug.' The lot of them, rather uneasily watching The Demon and his soldiers, passed to the Jechgan bins, being led by the taller Mossheinite.



The Jechgans were apparently water beings, at the pins were basically trowels filled with them. There 'heads were pink cylindars, with a pointed snout, and they had two, long, whiplike red protrusions for porpulsion.

"What about that one, that one is rather robust." Juiso noted, pointing to one of the larger ones.

"We want speed." Tymen scoffed, Juiso replying with a scowl.

"That one...it has longer whip thingies...and it's rather streamlined." BlackSheep stated, pointing to one swimming about in one of the corners. Seraph eyed it sternly, but then her expression then melted to a smile.

"Good call Sheep, hey, you, we want that one." Seraph called over one of the Mossheinites operating the bins.

"Good choice m'lady." Gently, the Mossheinite removed the Jechgan, then placed it in Seraph's hand.

For a moment, Seraph seemed rather daunted, but she spoke weakly after a minute.

"I can hear it's thoughts...it's intelligent, very much so, and it can go very fast, I can see it through it's eyes...yes, this is the one we want."

"Excellent," the taller Mossheinite stated from behind them,"the race will commence in one hour."



As preparations for the race continued, several of the crew members returned to the Penultimate for a bit of a nap, they had been rather rudely awoken upon arrival after all. It was a bizzare twist, them thinking it was early morning, while the sun was setting on the planet.

Although, Seraph decided to have a talk with the taller Mossheinite, named Kremkrokalla(sidenote: Kremkrokalla is a Gerenpfpssh contraction for 'Aliens in you're shorts.')

"So, where you're people ever spacefaring? You speak as if you know of the things beyond you're own world...yet this," Seraph made a sweeping motion over the simple town,"beliyes that..." Kremkrokalla chortled,

"How old are you?"

"Don't awnser a question with a question!" Seraph snapped.

"I said, how old are you?"

"*mumble* 23 *mumble*"

"I could tell, you are still a brash youth, and it is all on you're face, and in you're questions." Seraph's temper was falling,

"I am the cheif commander of twelve thousand soldiers, the largest single military force on my home planet!"

"Yet you abandon it all on some fool hearty mission with nothing but rumors and a hope that you might be able to possibly change the course of history?"

"I have good officers to take my place." Seraph stated, as they walked through a stone pathway. Seraph was in awe of the lush green trees, standing tall and serene above them, and the neat grass beneath them. The sweet smells of life in the air, of birds chirping. Seraph remembered one time, when she was two, just before the Knn attack, she remembered it all so vividly. Her mother crouched, cooing, 'Come little Seraphine, c'mon' and, on weak, wobbly legs she plodded through the lush grass to her, light cascading through the tall trees. But then the Knn came...her mother died, her father became a hardened warrior...and the leaves that were green, turned to brown.

"My ancestor had good officers, really good, at the first sign of danger they launched a warhead that wiped out ninety percent of our population and all our offworld operations. Such a terrible force will never be seen again, all knowledge was destroyed, and we turned to a simpler way of life, a better way, mind you!"

Seraph used every vestige of willpower she had to control her anger at Kremkrokalla.

"You have a good head...but listen, you, prehaps less than you're companions, take many risks, foolish risks on foolish notions...don't. And once you find this...time device of your's, be very careful with it."

"I know what I'm doing..." Seraph said, standing on the last shred of dignity she still held before this clearly wiser leader.

"You may, but you still must be cautious, ten billion years ago someone tried to change the course of history...but history will always repeat itself, always." Seraph had nothing to say, except,

"Er...I think the race is ready."



The two Jechgans swam in a tiny preperation vault, with the whole watery course layed out before them.

"Is everyone present?" Kremkrokalla asked, with the squadron of Knn soldiers in a tight formation, and The Demon standing before them, and Seraph and her crew awaiting a slow-moving Tymen, as he streched from his short nap.

"Yes." The Demon snapped, his course voice rumbling,

"Aye." Seraph stated.

"Then let the Hyai'Kalla begin!" The preperation vault lifted, and the Jechgans barreled down the first, straight part of the course. It was apparent from the start that The Demon's Jechgan was slightly faster than Seraph's. However, Seraph's was rather more agile, as they wove down the first set of loops and sharp turns.

After a breif straight, a series of very sharp turns was about to occur, but, before they did, The Demon's Jechgan ran up just behind Seraph's and, it with snout bit off a portion of the latters porpulsion whips. This

signifigantly cut Seraph's Jechgan's performance, as they bolted through the four 180 turns, then moved to a upward slope. The Jechgans cut through several more such pathways, but, when The Demon's Jechgan bit off a part of the other porpulsion whip, and the weight was once again symetrical, Seraph's took the lead, however slight of a one it was.

As they came to the final leg of the race, it was all up to sheer speed, as the hoop with the word 'Finish' written on it came into the tiny animal's view. The Demon's Jechgan rammed Seraph's, but this act of greed got the better of it, when one of it's whips got entangled by a nail in the crude wooden construction of the course. In no time flat, the Jechgan passed through the finish hoop, winning the race.

"We won! We won! One step closer to Symballen's Archon!" Seraph shouted, and the lot of them jumped up and down.

"Not if I can't bloody help it!" The Demon snapped, and his soldiers opened fire, and several fighters descended from the sky, firing down on them.

And the leaves that were green, turned to brown.



Up Next: Chapter Nineteen: Not Quite Paradise

Seven minutes. No, SIX. Six minutes to read thhat. With distractions.

Nifty, KOveyyyy.

`Ducky

Here it is, you all. Sorry 'bout the delay,

things around here have been, as of late,

busy, and strange, and busy, and strange...

did I mention busy? And strange...





Chapter Nineteen: Not Quite Paradise



Bullets of plasma rammed through the track, overturning it, and then sliced through the Mossheinites behind it.

"To the ship!" Seraph ordered, and the crew ran torward the Penultimate, set down on the far side of the city.

"Oh no you don't!" The Demon hissed, and lept over the massacre, in the middle of the retreating Carrotians. With swats of his large, armored arms, he pushed his way to the one he sought...Tyio.

The Demon snatched the former's neck, rasing him high, all the while crushing his trecha.

"Go...now..." Tyio commanded weakly, as his friends attempted emptyly to free him from the Knn tyrant.

"Now!" Tyio whispered with what remained of his oxygen. Seraph, saying some small acknowledgment, ordered them all to return to the ship, which they did.

"You bloody, dirty, stinking Gerenpfpssh!" The Demon snapped, slowly tightening his grip around Tyio's neck, his feet dangling atleast two feet from the ground.

"How...do you know...the Gerenpfpssh?" Tyio said weakly.

"They've caused me more pain than you can fathom. In the time worn away, thatis. And you're there blasted leader!"

"The Gerenpfpssh...are all dead."

"Good thing I killed them too, before they gained strength."

"Wha--what?" Tyio asked weakly as the Demon still suffocated him.

"I descended upon them, like a great reaper himself! My great warship fired streams of plasma, tearing the city to shreds. Then, when it was toppled and defensless, my soldiers set amid it, using boats, as the water levels had already raised a good deal. It was from the last living Gerenpfpssh, that I garnered the information, as he dangled of the perilous waters, with Garngresk swimming in the overflown banks of the great Bourn river. He told me of a place, a mystic, faraway place, that was the key to my final and true demise. He fortold that the one I had met ten billion year would come, and destroy all that I have worked so hard for!" He screamed, shaking Tyio violently, then hurled him into one of the rock structures, as Mossheinites screamed and ran, being slaughtered by the Knn. He drew a large blaster rifle, and aimed it at the half concious Tyio, as he bled over the tanned rock. But, as the vile Knn tyrant fired his rifle, the bolt of energy did not hit Tyio, but Kremkrokalla, had intercepted it.

His bright and vivid leaders clothing splattered with blood, the Mossheinite fell to the already scorched grass.

"Blast!" The Demon snapped, as Tyio, praising the fallen leader with a silent nod, ducked into the building and fired a few shots from his blaster pistol, to ward off the Demon's advances. Tyio abandoned his barrier of the collum in the building and delved deeper into it, spying a curious green glow. After passing through several corridors, all the while the building being shook by the explosions from the Knn soldiers and fighters craft. Then he found it, sitting on a pedistal of lighten green stone, was a shard not unlike the one he found wedged between the buildings in Arean Daroth. He grasped it, it was his rightful prize afterall, and retrieved the other . They vibrated at there proximity, and when he fitted them together like a jigsaw puzzle, a energy egnited around them and they were fused together.



Outside the desolation worsened. The once paradise of the quiet people was being shredded by shafts of brilliant light, searing through thatch roofs, crumbling stone walls, setting ablaze fields. And the grass was covered in blackened corpses, with the triangular fighters circling high like buzzards.

"Curse you, Kremkrokalla, we had a deal!" The Demon picked up the Mossheinite leader by the scruff of his neck, and, dispite the serious injury he had sustained, he was still alive.

"This was NOT part of the deal, you wretched thing. You were not to harm any of my people, so I performed things as they are customarily done here."

"You call me the wretch?! I should have let the Esx feast on your flesh back on Barshaard!"

"Scampering beasts, feeding on corpses, such a dignifided monstrosity as yourself should have no need of them!"

"Then die!" The Demon again drew his blaster, firing through Kremkrokalla again, and casting him on the steps of a ruined stone building, just as Tyio emerged.

"You!" The Demon snapped, he was horridly annoyed, to say the least. Just as he was about to kill the befuddled Tyio, his back was rained upon by blaster fire, and the Penultimate gloriously hovered above, extending the ladder to Tyio, with BlackSheep, Tymen and Juiso firing the turrets at the fighters above.

"Did you get the shard?!" Seraph shouted down, over the whine of the engines.

"Yeah!" They exited the atmosphere, and the nimble ship moved past the main fleet too quickly for them to respond.



"Excellent...okay, this new piece of the map tells us to go 200 lightyears in a, uh, westwardly direction so uh...200 lightyears to the starboard bow." Tymen decifered, and, without a second thought, Juiso, the makeshift pilot on the motley vessel, sent the Penultimate into hyperspace yet again, to the second planet on the map, there adventure was well underway!



With a clang of the spiral staircase, Ducky descended into the recreational level, yet dispite the flashing colors and the bright music, and grim tone hung in the air. This was pronounced when she saw Tyio at the far end of one of the bars, miserably staring at a Ribbilion Lite.

"Hey Tyio...what's wrong?" She asked, sitting in the chair adjuctant to his.

"It's all our fault..." barely a whisper, Tyio responded.

"Pardon?"

"It's all our fault!" Tyio smashed his fist on the counter, his Ribbilion Lite jiggling from the impact.

"If we hadn't come to that planet none of those people would have died, we drew the Knn fleet there, they fallowed us all the way from Carrotous."

"If we don't get to this planet, we can never save all those who died at the hands of the Knn fiveteen years ago, and that will consequentally save all who were killed today."

"Bloody timetravel, I hate it, I don't know why..."



And so two days and nights passed on the Penultimate, everyone keeping a cheery face outside, but inside there souls were sinking into there boots, for they knew the darkest parts of there voyage lay ahead.

But it was then, on a Thursday morn, the day after the first week of the adventure, Kazooie came barreling down the halls,

"We've arrived, we've arrived!"

The planet Turtani.



Up Next, Chapter Twenty: A Calm Before the Storm, the last chapter of part 2.

Our brave heros come to planet Turtani, but what they find is not what they expect.

Is this even the right place? And who will get the next shard?

Find out, next time!

(yah, I know that was lame)

YaY, nice Kovey

`Ducky

Ya did it again

Yup...



Chapter Twenty: A Calm Before the Storm



The entire planet of Turtani was blueish green, with four moons that hung in it's sky.

"The whole planet is a gigantic lifesign reading...and I'd wager it's atleast six billion years old." Kazooie stated, listening to the Penultimate as it scanned the system.

"That's pretty old...be prepared for technological superiority, guys." Seraph stated, as the ship glided into the atmosphere.

"Is the air toxic?" Seraph questioned.

"Negative, infact it's largely oxygen...but there are lots of organic particles in the air, and it's very humid..."

As they flew through the atmosphere, nonchalantly, all of a sudden the constant humm of the engines stopped.

"What happened?!" Seraph demanded.

"I dunno, we've lost power to the engines, but were not falling." Juiso stated, looking at the various indicators.

"Trying manuvering thrusters." Juiso flipped some switches and moved the flight stick, but to no avail.

"Negative, it's not working."

"Curses, it's not working...Kazooie, assesment on what's going on." Seraph asked, taking a commanding tone.

"None...it defyes the laws of physics." Suddenly, as if hit by a physical force, Tymen began floating in the air, and his eyes turned from brown to blue.

"Tymen, whats..." BlackSheep began but, just as suddenly and just as ominously, a form appeared in the clouds ahead of them. It looked humanoid, but it had a squidlike head, and it was entirely made of cloud, except where the eyes should be shone two brilliant, menacing red lights.

"Ook'Tagoth nammala syesm," Though loud and deep, the voice(presumadley eminating from the cloud-figure) was fluid and soothing, but with a edge.

"Trespassers beware," Tymen said, in a altogether similair voice, but it became apparent he was being controlled by the prescence.

"Orfkamm uyluoyok eetmad Askaamla,"

"The secrets hidden by the eldest of the Ancients,"

"Preyn qudoson xelhuuaa buerna,"

"Are not for Demons or spirits,"

"Cvv Ka'konok, evpress Yulolulmada,"

"The Grey and the Black rend this place,"

"Ieyah weskrop maroonat varuylen,"

"Only he who stepped through the fires of darkness,"

"Juut tryemmrunn wakrusk oiunzaash,"

"May survive,"

"Estaron eyukan, jefan qweet mehad nelupius, varqus ned, ofan Knn ofan Jidem ofan Sikrem Teradoss."

"To four worlds, black and blacker, exclude Aad, of the Knn of the Jidem of Demon's Teradoss."

"Sufak...nimelan asanta Askaamla."

"Damned be those who come to the home of the Ancients." The apperition of cloud exploded violently and Tymen fell to the floor, unconcious.

"Uh...power has been restored to our engines...we're continuing our descent..."



The crew of the Penultimate discovered, soon after she set down, that the entire planet was a swamp. They had deployed a raft, and were rowing to a island of sorts, all the while seeing large beasts pick a curious eye out of the water to spy them, then sink back in just as quickly.

"I don't like this place...I don't like this place atall." Seraph said, barely above a whisper.

"It stinks...and there are no signs of civilization, dispite how old the planet is...Tyio, are you sure this is the right planet, where are a good deal of star systems near here?" Seraph turned accusingly to Tyio.

"Yes, I'm certain, this is the star system exactly two hundred lightyears from Mosshein." Seraph snorted.

"Strange beings in the clouds...water beasts of sorts...and it stinks, great, just great."

"Turtani..." Tyio said.

"Ah, what a keen thing to name this place..." Seraph stated.

"Hm? Oh...it's just Gerenpfpssh for 'stinking'...I didn't intend."

"I don't care, it's Turtani, planet Turtani, and what a appropriate name."

"It might...already have a name." BlackSheep said.

"I doubt it, there's no civilization, I wager, and thease fellows," She picked up one of the beatle like things that were climbing up the side of the raft, "sure haven't named it." They rowed for about two hours more, until they arrived at the banks of the largest solid island they had seen.

Not that it very solid, far from it, composed mainly of mud and sand, with thin trees lightly rooted in the soft earth, it indeed was far from

being solid. However, it was apparently the best this boggy planet could offer, atleast in this region, as Ducky piloted the raft up onto the

banks.

"Based on what we saw in the water," Seraph began as she disembarked from the raft, hefting a shotblaster,

"I wouldn't want to be caught by aything onland." Her crew nodded, each selecting one of the weapons they had brought with them.

"Okay, we form search parties," Seraph ordered, in her usual, clan commander's tone, "Look for civilization, or the shard itself, once you

fire something, fire a white signal flare, if you're under attack and require assistance, fire a blue flare, if you're under attack, but it is futile

for us to attempt a rescue, fire a red flare. Understood, men?" Ducky and BlackSheep made a phlemy *ahem* sound, showing there disapproval at Seraphs gender specific statement. The Seraph screamed, right in there faces,

"UNDERSTOOD, MEN?!" With quiet resignation, they stepped back, as Seraph selected the search groups.

"Tymen, you're with me, Tyio, with Juiso, Ducky and BlackSheep, you're together, report back here in three hours." Seraph said, after giving her first, very captian like speech since they escaped from Carrotous.

"Yes sir!" They resounded, and then spread into the humid underbrush of 'Turtani.'



"Just my luck getting paired up with you..." Juiso murmurs once there out of earshot from the others, he probably didn't intend for Tyio

to hear it, but his keen Akaeliian ears picked it up anyway.

"You're grouchier than that Tymen chap, and what's so bad about me, anyway?" Tyio snapped, as he ducked under a branch.

"You're so full of yourself on the Akaelian pride crap. And besides, you stole the Albatross, and then we had to rescue you."

"Humph, I was the one who saved you from the Esx on Tubelectric."

"Seraph did most of the work."

"Shut up, back when you were in diapers I led the Akaelian revolution, and was about to excecuted in a most glorious manner until Ducky saved me."

"And, you're feelings for her are not well hid, do you seriously think she'd care about some piece of scum Akaelian."

Tyio remained silent, deciding it was best to save his malice for later...



"Uh, thanks for choosing me, commander." Tymen fumbled, as he pushed through the brush.

"Think nothing of it, really, I mean, you're the son of the Duke of Daroth, if Daroth still held any power, but any case, that demands respect." Seraph smiled.

"That's my past...I'm not the son of any Duke anymore..."

"Fine then, I trust you over the others, and I'd like to consider you my friend...or something." Seraph winked...and Tymen hoped she wasn't hinting at what he thought she was, he recalled the last time he got that close to someone...like that, a image of Dehmali slashing him across the chest comes and fades in a instant. Suddenly, a blue flare shoots up in the sky, about a hundred feet northwest of there current position.

"Someone's found something!" Seraph shouts, and they take running through the soggy soil, torward the fading pillar of blue smoke.

Being slapped across the face by twigs does little for ones self esteem, but they got to the source of the flare soon enough, BlackSheep and Ducky.

"Hey guys, what's up, what've you found?" Seraph asks, a little out of breath, but the instant she does her own question has already been awnsered, stoof before her, there where multitudes of aquatic like beings, frogs, turtles, crabs, only with manipulates, moving through a camp(or so it appeared at the time) made out entirelly of wood, with thease crossing a lake on the swamp beasts much like the ones seen on the way to the island, only tame.

Tyio and Juiso arrived just as one of them, a turtle like being, crept up to them.

"Welcome to Turtani."



Epilouge

The Demon stood, silent as space, unmoving as stone, staring into the dark abyss.

"Tyio." He hissed between his teeth, atlast.

"Ten billion years ago he defeated me, and he is destined to do it again, I must stop him..." Suddenly, the door to his chamber hissed, and

a Knn officer stepped in.

"Sir, there is someone here to see you, I believe it is of grave importance."

"Fine, fine! Show them in." The Demon stated, his constantly thin temper showing. Deftly, and silently)(to you or I's ears, but The Demon heard it well enough.)

"You again." The Demon hissed.

"Yes, I'm back."

"I thought you were killed back on Carrotous."

"So did I." Asari chuckled.

"Well, what is it? What do you want this time? You couldn't possibly tell me anything I don't already know about the enemy."

"It's not about them, it's about you, I know who you are."

"Who am I then?" The Demon chortled, turning to face Asari, his shoulders shrugged.

"You were the one they thought they destroyed when time was worn away, you are the scourge, the destroyer of galaxies, you are...

Teross."



Up Next: Part Three: The End, Chapter Twenty One: Decades in a Bottle,

Our heros are on Turtani, planet of water and mystery, but, thease jolly people seem to have no knowledge of the shard, and something very strange is happening to time. And Asari is back in action, with Teross close at hand, can our heros survive the comming onslaught?

Find out next time on Sureal!

Ooh. Spifferlee.As if thats even a word.

Continuify. Pleasefulness.

`Ducky

ugh... that's strange... I remember something (I think it was on TV) like a mission... and some people were hoping the other team survived and were looking for a flare becuase they had heard something loud... but instead of going they waited and waited for a blue flare... but instead only got a red flare...

You talkin 08th MS Team, Kaz?

Yea, I totally stole that from that show...

*REALLY wants to be in as a hero using extreme smarts and psychic powers*