Conf : Flipper's Oceanarium Msg# : 65/101 Lines: Extended Read: 10 Sent : Nov 25, 1993 at 11:58 PM To : Finally... From : Rancid Instigator Subj : ...it's happening to me. All was silent at the Oceanarium. All was peaceful. Not a sound disturbed the sounds of nature echoing from the nearby forest. Not a single creature stirred in any of the empty tanks. Slowly, from somewhere yet indeterminate, a slow rumble filled the air. One of the deepest whale tanks, ringed with barbed wire, began spitting an eerie, grayish-white smoke. Slowly, like the head of a turtle awakening to the world, a sharp, needle-like point began to stick through the cloud of smoke, as the smoke continued to build and roil over the tank wall. Soon, a large surrounding area was inundated with smoke, as the sharp, needle-like point continued to climb, and soon revealed itself as Steiner's scoutship. It cleared the tank on a column of blisteringly-hot fusion emissions and shot into the sky. Smoke continued to roil from the inside of the tank as the last of the paint and non-fireproof concrete smouldered on. Steiner sat at the controls, while Sequoia stared intently out the rear view-port, looking desperately for anybody with paramilitary weapons who might pose a threat. No military jocks appeared, however, see something else that attracted her attention. "Land THERE!" she yelled over the whining of the engines. --------------------- Flipper and Carolina, flipper in flipper, stood on the beach and watched as the last of their purchases were released into the sea. "You know," she said, "maybe this is for the best." "Bye-ee!" called one of the younger dolphins in dolphinese, hastily swimming out to deeper waters. "Why?" asked Flipper, entirely engrossed in the proceedings. "Had someone else bought them," she murmured, "they'd likely spend their lives in captivity, flipping for food. That would be bad." They were interrupted by the sound of a rather-high pitched whining noise from the sky. Looking up, they saw a rather spindly craft descending on the beach on a column of searing blue flame. The ship landed, kicking up a great column of steam and dust. When it finally settled, they saw the access hatch slide open, and a short, red-haired woman stepped into sight and addressed them. "Hey!" she called, "What are you two planning on doing?" "Uhh," began Flipper, but was poked in the ribs by Carolina's "elbow". "Not much!" Carolina replied. "We're going to Europe to attend to some family business. How'd you two like to come along?" She clamped a flipper over Flipper's mouth. "We'd love to!" she yelled in reply. --------------------- The ship took off again, slagging the bit of beach they'd landed on to a large, circular patch of flat glass. All four occupants were punched cruelly into their seats as Steiner twisted the throttle with a vengeance, working up an incredible amount of speed in a very brief period of time. "Welcome to National AeroUnfriendliness," growled Steiner into the intercom, "or NAUsea, if you prefer." "Our destination is the Black Forest, somewhere around Germany. My geography is bad, so live with it. We'll be flying at about 500 feet at supersonic speeds to avoid radar detection, since the last thing we need is more trouble, so if I'm not very communicative for awhile, it's because I'm trying to fly this tub without crashing it." He tossed the intercom headset to the ground, and rivetted his eyes to the front viewscreen, then cranked the throttle back some more. Soon, the vessel began shuddering as it approached the sound barrier, and its occupants were treated to a very rough ride. Within a minute, the sound barrier was shattered, and the passengers turned to watch the sonic booms casting circular explosion-patterns on the water's surface. Sweat began to bead on Steiner's forehead, to trickle into his wound. His jaw tensed in either concentration or pain, as he kept one eye on NMA radar and the other on the altimeter. A few times, he banked the craft rapidly, pinning the passengers to their seats in a 6G turn to skirt military surface vessels. Conf : Flipper's Oceanarium Msg# : 66/101 Lines: Extended Read: 5 Sent : Nov 25, 1993 at 11:59 PM To : Yeah From : Rancid Instigator Subj : ... so it's been awhile. In about three hours, the coastline of Europe hove into view. Steiner flew down the centre of the Mediterranean and slowed the craft to a modest 400 km/hr. "This is where it starts getting ugly," he grumped, tension visibly erasing itself from his face. "We get to try to sneak past several NATO country's airborne radar. Isn't this going to be fun?" Consulting a computer-generated navigational chart, he banked sharply northward near the Greek isles. More than one Greek fisherman was treated to the sight of a wingless ship flying no more than 500 feet overhead. At least one crossed himself. They managed to fly over Turkey without any trouble, by skirting through through an uninhabitable region, but at this point, things started getting confusing as there were too many small towns to try to skirt. Steiner opted, at this point, to go for a simpler routine. He parked the ship inside a farmer's field, just inside the German border, and with Sequoia, walked to the farmhouse. An old, wizened farmer sat in a chair, rocking slowly. "Uhh, Guten Morgen," began Steiner uncertainly. The farmer turned to look at him. Steiner waved his hand at a flatbed rig parked in the long driveway, and racked his mind for the suitable words in german. "What about the truck?" asked the man, in perfect, nearly accentless english. "We want it," stated Sequoia. "And what will you be using to pay for it?" asked the man. Sequoia flashed a credit card at him with a flourish and a smile. It bore the name Elmer Tavener. --------------------- It was blatanly clear that the only way the ship would fit on the flatbed properly was if it was lying on it's side. Since they had no crane, they couldn't lower it down. They wound up spending a good half-hour before they found an alternative. Sequoia drove the truck down a dusty road as fast as the truck would go, which was 130 km/hr, while Steiner flew the scoutship as slow as he could without stalling, which was about 150 km/hr. Without the engines on, the ship would glide like a brick, and so it was a rough, 20 km/hr landing on the top of a flatbed. Steiner quickly transferred himself to the cab of the truck, leaving the inside of the scout to the two porpoises. When the engines had cooled off, they covered the monstrosity with tarps and drove the thing off, causing at least one traffic-jam before they managed to find their way onto the Autobahn. The trip down the Autobahn was anything but uneventful. Several drivers in expensive sportscars shook their fists angrily at the slow-moving transport, until Sequoia, in a rare fit of annoyance, started weaving the ancient flatbed rig across a pair of lanes, cutting off several of the fist-shakers and snarling up traffic for an appreciable difference. In due time, they found the appropriate turn-off, and spent many hours driving through innumerable side-roads before they found just the right logging trail that lead off to just the right section of forest. Finally, in a small glade, surrounded by trees in a dense, shadowy forest, they shut the engine on the tractor. Forest-life made itself heard, gently, over the clicks of the engine slowly cooling. With an almost reverant attitude, Sequoia slowly opened the door and stood in the glade, arms outspread, gazing upwards. Steiner, shaking his head, cast off a few of the tarps and punched the access hatch open. Flipper and Carolina stepped out into the forest, Flipper massaging the cricks out of his neck. "Ugly ride, hey?" grunted Steiner. "Yeah," replied Flipper, looking about with undisguised interest. Sequoia, at this point, began turning slow circles, her arms still outspread. "So, what ARE we doing here?" asked Carolina. "She had some people she wanted to see," muttered Steiner, "Maybe she's been in cities too long or something." Conf : Flipper's Oceanarium Msg# : 67/101 Lines: Extended Read: 6 Sent : Nov 26, 1993 at 2:37 PM To : Aunt Jemima From : Phantom Subj : Feed me!! Brian leaned back in his chair, absorbing all of the twists and turns his life had taken. All the coincidences, all the breaks, all the good fortune that brought him to where he was today. In high school, he was the top of his school. Quarterback of the football team, top of the school in marks, and he could have had any girl he wanted with the snap of his fingers. From there, he went to the top science University in the country, reaping in the rewards of his hard work and diligence, propelling himself to the top. Eventually he graduated, with not only the highest marks in the country in his field, but also with his beautiful wife Nancy, who he loved more than anybody else in the world. That alone would have brought any man exstacy, but then to get here.... He had it good. Brian leaned back farther on his chair, braced himself, and spun around in it as hard as he could.... Nine and a half revolutions later, he stopped, facing the temperature gauges. Brian smiled to himself, feeling newfound pleasure. Yes sir, not only was he Head Controller of this here hydroelectric dam, but he was also the best chair spinner in it's history. No amount of luck could get someone this far. It had to be skill. Leaning back again, he tucked one hand in the top of his pants, somehow managing to squeeze it past the newly formed layers of fat, while the other hand reached into a nearby box and pulled out a prize. "MMmmmmmm..... Chocolate......" For a brief instant, the control room was filled with inhuman snorts and slobbering, deafening any other sound that could be made in the room, including that of the warning buzzer which now suddenly started wailing, signalling something was going terribly wrong. Brian lerched forward, putting the uneaten portion of his donut in his pocket, and took in the situation with a gasp. According to the indicators, an immense force was sucking all of the power out of the city to somewhere else. Spinning around, he looked out the window and watched as the city lights flickered wildly, getting dimmer and dimmer with each passing second. He spun back again, looking once again at the needles. It was still sucking out power. He spun back to window. The lights were still dimming. He spun and spun and spun and spun. It sucked, they dimmed, it sucked, they dimmed. Fed up, knowing he had to do something, Brian, top of his class, best in the country, spun back to the controls, and with all of his skill and intelligence, yelled at them. "STOP THAT DAMMIT!!!!" The needles, as if moved by some supernatural force, moved back to their proper place, and the lights in the city returned to their normal strength. Brian heaved a sigh of relief, and once again leaned back. Either he could report this to someone, or he could finish off his donut. A sickly sucking sound came from the booth, followed by a muffled "Mmmmmm..... Pocket lint...." Conf : Flipper's Oceanarium Msg# : 68/101 Lines: Extended Read: 5 Sent : Nov 26, 1993 at 2:50 PM To : O.e.f. From : Phantom Subj : Fauna-chickens. Wan's take-out Chinese Food Palace wasn't what one could call a historical land-mark in the city, but they did have the best Gung-Piao-Shrimp that money could buy. They also had a cable as thick as a large tree hooked up to their back of their restaurant, leading from their electrical box into the forest. Following it along, the cable led you on a harrowing chase, going through brambles, around trees, over trees, through trees, through rabbirt holes, and even through trees, all in an attempt to lose anyone who would happen to come across it. The fact that someone could come across it right where it ended was irrelevant. It a cable attempting to be stealthy, not intelligent. Where it eventually led was a farmhouse, some three miles outside of the city. Twisting through the chicken coop, and past the house, the cable eventually made it's way to the barn, where it curled inside one of the doors which was slightly propped open, as the cable resisted any attempt to be forced underneath it. An electrical hissing could be heard in the air, under-cut by a faint bubbling of beakers filled with volatile chemicals. Suddenly, the cable jumped, and a huge burst of energy ripped through it, illuminating the barn so brightly that people miles around could have seen (although nobody did, because that would ruin it). The shadow of a man who was inside the building played against the door, it's arms stretched above him, glorying in his success. As soon as it had began, the light flashed out again. Replacing the the sound of the buzzing energy was cackling laughter, tinted with just a little hint of stupidity. "They're alive.... ALIVE!!!!!!!!!" Conf : Flipper's Oceanarium Msg# : 69/101 Lines: Extended Read: 6 Sent : Dec 04, 1993 at 3:23 PM To : Whomsoever Should Read It From : Tuxedo Dolphin Subj : Where there's a Will, there's a Way. The town was rather quiet that evening. It was a early thursday night, too early for the bar strip, too late for evening diners. A few people wandered up and down the street, pausing occasionally to look at the disaster site, where huge chunks of metal and concrete lay piled about, the work crews having left for the day. One of these quiet, wandering folk was tall and dark haired. He too paused, momentarily, to gaze at the wreckage, before continuing on to his destination -- the town library. ********** It had taken hours of research, planning and mediation, but it was complete. Will sat back in his chair in the library and considered the scrap of paper in his hands. It contained, in brief, the plans for starting a new religion. Will was quite pleased with it. After all, he thought, if a schlock fiction writer can invent a church and make millions, think what could be done by a thousand year old traveller -- like himself. ********** All plans, thought Will, begin with a single meal. Most people believe that they begin with a single step, but a thousand years of inter-dimensional voyaging had taught him that more is done after a lunch than after the march. And besides, he was more than a little hungry. He had 'borrowed' a few dollars that Flipper had left in his Ocenarium desk, and now he let his nose lead him to some food. In moments, he stood outside a Chinese restaurant, just at the edge of town. The wonderful smell of cooking vegetables filled the air. He entered, and ordered up a vegetarian dish. "The snow-peas sound good," he told the waiter, who bowed, smiled and hurried off. Will chuckled softly to himself. Today, chinese food, tomorrow, the world... Conf : Flipper's Oceanarium Msg# : 70/101 Lines: Extended Read: 6 Sent : Dec 07, 1993 at 2:59 PM Recv : Dec 07, 1993 To : Flipper From : Rancid Instigator Subj : So, now you can do something. Sequoia slowly came back in touch with reality, and scanned the motley group of critters with a jaundiced eye. "C'mon," she ordered, setting off towards the ring of trees, leaving the truck behind. Steiner followed relatively closely behind, trailed by Flipper and Carolina, who looked around like a pair of tourists. They were quickly enveloped in a dense coccoon of trees, with relatively little light filtering through. Steiner stared very intently at the ground, cautiously avoiding roots and imbedded rocks in the very faint animal trail Sequoia was following. Sequoia, on the other hand, navigated the path with ease, almost skipping along in joy. Flipper and Carolina struggled desperately to keep up, their anatomy not being very well suited for forest travel. --------------------- In another part of the globe, Janne ploughed desperately through city streets, knocking people out of her path like a bowling ball through a bowling pin factory. Her armour, backed by her impressive bulk and great strength, dealt great, allowed her to deal great, smashing shoulder-checks. She stopped briefly in front of a restauarant, saw that it was open, and saw that it was also empty. She threw the door open and ran inside, and saw the reason why it was empty. Holding a knife, an average-sized man, wearing a black balaclava, was threatening a woman behind the cash-register. It was impossible to determine what he was saying, due to the excessive profanity colouring his voice. He turned to face Janne, insanity bulging his eyes wide. Without waiting for a proper introduction, she whisked off her cloak and cast it at the man, rather like a net. As he was busy dodging it, she unsheathed her bastard sword and smashed the flat of the blade against his face. Several teeth flew from his mouth to clatter and skid against the tiled floor. "Hi," said Janne, putting a foot on the fallen thief's chest, "I want a chocolate coffee-thing, to go." The woman behind the counter looked confused. "Well, you know, chocolate and coffee or something," explained Janne, visibly relaxing due to the very recent violence she'd engaged in, "and put it in a thermos." Somewhat shaken, the counter-woman ran into the kitchen. "Hired help these days," muttered Janne. The man beneath her boot began to moan and stir weakly, so she smacked him upside the head with her sword again. Part of his head bounced off the floor with a sick thud and rolled into the corner. "Oops!" she called to the door where the waitress ran to, "I didn't mean to use the edge!" Noticing the growing puddle on the floor, she stepped into the kitchen as well. The back door was slowly swinging closed. Beside the door was a poster: "Techniques for dealing with hold-ups. Demonstration today." Janne laughed obnoxiously, and began experimenting with percolating coffee and hot chocolate. --------------------- Conf : Flipper's Oceanarium Msg# : 71/101 Lines: Extended Read: 6 Sent : Dec 10, 1993 at 1:55 AM Recv : Dec 10, 1993 To : Flipper From : Tuxedo Dolphin Subj : Ongoing nastiness, and other things. With a flourish of chalk and a hearty chortle, Will finished the last line of the pentagram. He looked around the inside of the deserted warehouse where he had set himself up. It was dark and dingy, but most importantly, it was private. He checked out his equipment one last time. Pentagram drawn correctly? Check. Candles in proper position? Check. He placed a twenty dollar bill in the centre of the pentagram and stood back. He had last used this particular summoning ritual in another universe, to convert lead into gold, but it should work just as well here to create money. He lit the candles and stood back. Waving his arms in a strange manner, he muttered an incantation under his breath. A sudden gust of wind came up in the enclosed warehouse. The candles blew out with a sputter of wax, plunging the building into darkness, lit only by the moonlight from a line of windows along the top of the walls. There was a small cling, and a rattle. Will adjusted his eyes to the dimness and peered into the pentagram, now scuffed and distorted as if by a great clawed foot. What had he obtained? Gold goins? Rare metals? With a shudder of disappointment, Will discovered two copper pennies. The twenty dollar bill was gone. Evidently magic didn't work as well as he was used to here. So be it. With the last of his borrowed money, Will set out to find an all night coffee shop. He would stir his brain with caffeine, and attempt to find another way to raise money for his new church. Conf : Flipper's Oceanarium Msg# : 72/101 Lines: Extended Read: 8 Sent : Dec 10, 1993 at 3:33 PM To : Victims Of The Quadro From : Rancid Instigator Subj : ('cause you'll be hearing a lot of Lard lyrics) Kramodac huddled in a dank, damp, dark and smelly concrete hell, confusion his only state of mind. He had memory of the last week, and no idea of where he was. As he looked, a horizontal line of light appeared, and slowly widened. His eyes watered, temporarily blinded by the light. As his eyes focussed, he saw a tall, powerful form standing in the pool of light, wearing a black cloak. Long hair and cloak waved in a powerful breeze. The person took a step inside, and Kramodac saw the person's black plate armour and a stained sword in the right hand. He was too confused to do anything except stare. "I have come," said the form, in a husky, feminine voice. The form lifted her sword and pointed it at Kramodac. "I've come for you." The form's other hand pulled a metallic cylinder and tossed it at his feet, where it landed with a thud. His heart jumped in alarm. The cylinder did not explode. It didn't spew foul, noxious gasses. It simply sat. He stared at it. It sat some more. He stared at it some more. Finally, he worked up the nerve to touch it. It was warm. He rolled it. There was a handle. Eventually, he recognized the cylinder. It was a thermos. Mentally shrugging, he picked it up and looked at his benefactor. She had not moved a single millimetre from where she stood. He unscrewed the cap, and a gout of warm steam bathed his face, carrying a delicious aroma. He poured himself a cupful and sipped; the delicate flavours of chocolate and coffee attacked his tongue, pummeling it into subservience. A trail of warmth burned through the slime in his throat, to sit contentedly in a pool of heat in the pit of his stomach. "Is it good?" she asked, worry tinting her voice very slightly. He nodded his assent and tossed off the rest of the cup. It was very good. She sheathed her sword, squatted in front of him, carefully removed the thermos and cup from his grip, then stared at him with cold, crystal-blue eyes. "I want to be with you," she said, in a perfectly level voice, "I want to be your bodyguard. Will you have me?" Kramodac found himself unable to wrench his attention from her stare. Her gaze was far too commanding. Memories stirred themselves in his addled brain. He nodded his assent. Without any warning, she drew him against herself, crushing him against her breastplate in a powerful hug. He found his breath squeezed from his body. Unseen by Kramodac, tears slowly leaked from her eyes. A decades-long search was finally complete. --------------------- General Case's chauffeur paused, that morning, when he saw a cute, adorable little kitten perched on the front fender of the General's car. It tilted it's head to the side and mewed a high-pitched, heart-string-tugging mew. The chauffeur scooped the kitten up into his hands and put it inside the car, on the passenger seat. It sat perfectly still, looking at the chauffeur with large, liquidy eyes. Conf : Flipper's Oceanarium Msg# : 73/101 Lines: Extended Read: 8 Sent : Dec 10, 1993 at 5:14 PM To : All From : Flipper Subj : I'm updating, finally. I hope you're all happy now. Flipper and Carolina continued on after Steiner and Sequoia, slowly, not paying much attention to them. They talked to each other, on and off. Flipper looked around himself with unhidden excitement, being unused to such a dense forest. He paused suddenly, catching a small movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned to look, but saw nothing. "What is it?" asked Carolina. "Nothing, I guess," replied Flipper, and they continued along. Again Flipper caught a movement at the edge of his peripheral vision. He whirled his head around, and distinctly saw a small face zip back into the darkness. "What?" asked Carolina, again. "I think I saw a leprechaun," replied Flipper. "Silly," cooed Carolina. "Leprechauns are Irish. We're in Germany." Flipper peered into the darkness at the side of the path. "I don't care, I saw it. I'm going to catch it." "Why?" asked Carolina. "Well," replied Flipper, "I heard if you catch a leprechaun that you get a wish." Flipper plunged off into the trees, and Carolina sighed, watching Steiner and Sequoia disappear down the barely visible path. * * * Several minutes passed, and Carolina began to get concerned. "Flipper?" she called. After hearing no response, she entered the darkness after him. * * * Flipper had given up in frustration, unable to find the small man who would give him the wish he needed to simplify his life and make everything perfect for himself and Carolina. He sat on a log, a rotting tree which had lng since fallen, and was now covered with damp moss. Flipper liked the dampness against his skin, but he was concerned, as he couldn't figure out which way was back to the path. He didn't want to call out for help just now, he just wanted to rest. He lay down in the cool dampness, and soon was asleep. * * * Elmer crouched on the beach, examining the strange burn marks surrounding the layer of glass near the water. An incredible heat had melted the sand. He smirked evilly. "They took one of those space ships that were rumoured to be around here, did they? Well, should be easy enough to figure out where they went..." Conf : Flipper's Oceanarium Msg# : 74/101 Lines: Extended Read: 7 Sent : Dec 13, 1993 at 3:24 PM To : Sorry Tux... From : Phantom Subj : A Hero's Duty. Will sat in the coffee shop and slowly sipped his weak, lukewarm coffee. He had spent his last couple of cents on this coffee, so he figured he'd have to savour it for as long as possible, as it could be a very long time until his next one. He shivered involuntarily as the door to the shop swung open, and large, hugely muscled man entered into the store. The man looked around from within the dark folds of his trenchcoat, and then marched across the empty shop and sat on the stool right beside Will. The man ordered a coffee and a chocolate donut with sprinkles on it, and started to munch away, apparently completely oblivious to the fact that Will was staring at him with a bit of nervousness. Seeing that the man had started eating without even looking at him, Will soon began to feel better, figuring the man had sat down beside him, the only other person in the completely empty store, just because it was his favorite stool or something. Laughing inwardly at his foolishness at assuming that man might have wanted to beat him up or something, he went back to savouring his now less than lukewarm coffee... Which as soon as he took a sip of it he ended up spitting all over the counter as the other man suddenly swivelled around on his stool to look straight at him and say, "Sure has been cold out lately, hasn't it?" Will, slightly miffed, whiped the coffee dribbling off of his chin with his sleeve and glared at the man, "Yes, it is cold." In an effort to end the conversation, he carefully scrutinized his coffee, noticing for the first time the green algae scum floating around the rim of the cup. "Yes sirree, it really is cold out. And you know what's really good on a cold day?" Will, still miffed, said nothing, hoping the man would go away. Unfortunately, the man assumed that Will was stumped by the question and proceeded to answer it for him. "Hot food!! Yes sir! Give me a stomach-full of hot food and I'll be a content, hard-working man, I tell ya. Give me a stomach full of warm food, and I won't even notice it's cold actually. Say, when was the last time you had warm food?" Will sighed, realizing that it would be impossibly to simply ignore the man and make him go away. The next step was to make pleasant conversation and try and bear it. "Well, I had a hot meal earlier on today, and let me tell you, it was mighty scrumptuous." The man's eyebrow's perked up interest, causing Biff to feel a warm spot starting to burn a hole in his chest. He'd never be able to get rid of this guy!! "Oh really. Well, what did you have?" Will sighed, "Well, I went to a chinese food place, and..." The man suddenly leaned forward, his face pressed to within inches of Will's face, the smell of his chocolate doughnut with sprinkles on it washing over him. "And?" the man asked, his voice piqued with interest. Will leaned back, almost falling out of his stool, "And... I had a vegetarian dish. You know, celery, rice, snow peas..." "A-HA!!!!!!" The man jumped of his stool and ripped off his trenchcoat, revealing a hugely muscled body barely covered by a pair of green tights with a big white dot in the middle of his chest, with a smaller green one in the middle of it. "INFIDEL!!! I SHALL SMITE THEE!!!!" So saying, the man proceeded to tie Will and his bar stool into an elaborate knot that any boy scout would be proud of. As Will slipped off into unconsciousness, seeing as the flow of oxygen to his brain was severely restricted, he last saw the man leaving the store, clad once again in his trenchcoat, saying, "Now, back to the story." Conf : Flipper's Oceanarium Msg# : 75/101 Lines: Extended Read: 8 Sent : Dec 19, 1993 at 1:52 AM Recv : Dec 24, 1993 To : Phantom From : Tuxedo Dolphin Subj : Not nice. But what can you do? Will gasped one more time, as his broken body sagged around the twisted stool. Blood leaked from torn flesh and shattered bones, which protruded from the skin at a variety of interesting angles, not unlike a piece of modern sculpture. As Will's brain was about to finally expire, a distant thought occured to him, and with an odd twisting effect his body changed shape and became a large pretzel. Pretzels don't suffer oxygen starvation from being tied in knots, so Will felt immediately better. In fact, pretzels are downright comfortable tied in a knot, so Will spent a few seconds rearranging the various damages to his body and, satisfied, returned to a less bent and knotted human form. The waitress, just returning from the kitchen, stared at what had once been a nice stool. "Sorry about the mess," said Will, eyes alight with irritation. He bent down to the stool, and, with a brief tug of supernatural strength, unbent it and straigtened it out. It was harder than it looked, but Will had enhanced his musculature to make it possible. Pointedly leaving the remainder of cold and green scummed coffee, Will left the greasy joint and stepped into the cold night, looking for his attacker. He would not be caught off guard again. His eyes peered into the night sky, but the only thing to be seen was a patch of low lying smog, glowing dimly orange in reflected city light. Will sighed and let his anger cool. He'd seen more bizzare things in the past week than he had in the last century of his travelling and gospel spreading journey. He considered himself a peaceful sort, but he hadn't lived for over a millenia by passive resistance. He'd used means fair and foul to dispatch his enemies over the many, many years. Will wasn't going to let some vegetable loving fanatic stand in the way of his self-designated duty. Somehow, he would teach the crazy denizens of this world the secret. Conf : Flipper's Oceanarium Msg# : 76/101 Lines: Extended Read: 8 Sent : Dec 20, 1993 at 12:52 AM To : All From : Flipper Subj : Carolina's reckoning Carolina looked nervously around herself. It had occurred to her suddenly that she was lost. She had blindly plunged into an unfamiliar forest, and now had no idea where to go. She had not found any sign of Flipper, either, and she was quite concerned that he was lost also. "Leprechauns," she sighed, sitting down against a tree. She began to dream, seeing odd, shifting patterns of light, and small creatures dancing around her. They looked like tiny men, and were dressed in dark green clothing. They spun light from their fingertips, and chanted in a rather hypnotic way. She watched them, entranced. One of them suddenly reached forward, and held his hands against the sides of her head. With a quick kiss, they all vanished. She sat up and looked around. Shaking her head in disbelief, she stood up and looked around. All appeared to be as it was when she sat down. She couldn't remember falling asleep, but it had to have been a dream. She had herself fully convinced up this when she noticed that she was walking several inches above the ground. * * * Flipper woke up and looked around himself, startled. He strained his eyes and ears to see what had awakened him. Finally he heard it, the tramping of feet through the forest. With a cheer of joy, he ran towards the sound, no longer lost. He was even happier as he got closer, and recognized the footsteps as belonging to Steiner and Sequoia. He'd never been so anxious to see them as he was just then. Conf : Flipper's Oceanarium Msg# : 77/101 Lines: 16 Read: 9 Sent : Dec 20, 1993 at 12:56 AM To : Ah Well From : Flipper Subj : work with it After a short time, Carolina made several other discoveries. Not only could she walk several inches above the ground, she could also fly to practically any height she chose. At first she was nervous, but soon she relaxed and allowed herself to soar and loop. It was just like swimming free in the ocean, except she could go even faster. The fact that she was practically indestructible also became apparent, at her first attempted landing, when she plowed through 3 large trees before coming to a stop. She didn't know exactly why she had the powers, but she suddenly knew what she was going to do with them. A certain Mr. Taverner deserved a visit from her. But first, she'd have to find Flipper and let him know she was leaving. She didn't want him to worry. Conf : Flipper's Oceanarium Msg# : 78/101 Lines: Extended Read: 8 Sent : Dec 26, 1993 at 7:10 PM To : Nyah. This Comes B4 The Rpg From : Flipper Subj : I'll ruin his day. Flipper was just about to break through the trees and step in front of Steiner and Sequoia when something large fell down in front of him. He lept back, startled, as Carolina stood up from the ground. Flipper looked up at the tall tress. "Carolina! What happened? Are you all right?" he asked. Carolina brushed herself off, the hugged Flipper. "I'm fine," she said, "but I have to leave here for a while." Flipper looked around himself. "To where? For what?" "I'll probably be gone for a while. It's... rather hard to explain. I don't know when I can see you again." "Wha...? I don't understand, Carolina. What are you saying?" She sighed, and looked down at the ground. "Some... things... have happened, and I want to take advantage of them. I also need to think a bit about them, before I can tell you." Flipper looked shocked. "I don't understand. Tell me what you mean! Is it another dolphin? I can take it, if it is. Just tell me!" She smiled at him. "Of course not. There never would be another one for me. Besides, ARE there any others like us?" Flipper shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe." "No," she said, shaking her head. "And I wouldn't have it any other way." "Then... why are you leaving? And why won't you tell me?" She moved to hold him. He lightly held her back, awaiting a reply. "Someday, I'll tell you. You'd better go catch up with Steiner and Sequoia now, so you don't get lost. They'll look out for you, if you're nice to them." "I dunno," mumbled Flipper. He held her tighter. "When will you be back?" Carolina ignored him. "I have to leave now," she said. She stepped back. Flipper sniffed slightly, but stood watching her. "I love you..." he whispered. "I love you too," said Carolina, "but I have to do this." With that, she shot straight up into the air, and disappeared among the treetops. Flipper stood there, staring after her blankly. He rubbed his eyes, but he still couldn't shake the image. Then he remembered Steiner and Sequoia passing by, and he stepped out in front of them. "Carolina just flew away," he said, blankly. Conf : Flipper's Oceanarium Msg# : 79/101 Lines: Extended Read: 8 Sent : Dec 28, 1993 at 5:52 AM To : Time For Change From : Flipper Subj : Bye Bye, Flipper. SYS. "Uhhh, yeah, that's neat," replied Steiner. "I don't feel too happy. I don't think it's neat," sulked Flipper. "Flipper, we've got to move on," prompted Sequoia. "You could come with us?" Steiner glared at her. "No," replied Flipper, "that's ok. I think I'll just go back home and wait for Carolina to return." "How will you get home?" asked Sequoia. "You can take the ship, Flipper. We don't need it for a while, anyway." "Oh, ok. Thanks." Flipper walked off into the forest behind Steiner and Sequoia. "Let's get moving already," grumbled Steiner. * * * Flipper stumbled along through the trees for a long while, searching for the road. He wasn't searching very hard, as he was upset over Carolina leaving. Thus it was much to his surprise that he finally found himself on a highway. Although the truck and ship he arrived in were nowehere to be found, he chose a direction and struck out anyway. After a short while, he heard the blare of air horns, and whirled to see a large 18-wheeler weaving wildly across the highway, horns honking. He raised his fin in a hitchhiking manner, and then decided the road, and anywhere near it, was probably not a safe place to be. He leapt off the road into a nearby field, just as the truck swerved back, spewing gravel on him as it turned back towards the pavement. "DAMN YOU!" yelled Flipper, shaking his fins angrily. Suddenly the truck's tires screeched and locked, sliding to a shaky stop. The passenger door opened, and a woman looked out. "Flipper?" she asked. "We've been looking for you. Get in!" Full of curiosity, Flipper approached the truck, and deciding it was a ride, if nothing else, climbed in. An observer by the side of the road might be impressed at the truck drove off, slightly more stable at low speeds than high. He might be even more impressed as he noticed the truck vanish after about half a mile. * * * Carolina had little time to think of Flipper. She had been given her powers for a mission, and she was going to fulfill it. No more would Elmer Tavener terrorize living creatures. She would see to it that he lived a straight and narrow path of goodness. Or else, well, she'd have to get nasty. She crossed the ocean and reached the Oceanarium in only seconds, and quickly began using her heightened sonar senses to search for Elmer. Conf : Flipper's Oceanarium Msg# : 80/101 Lines: Extended Read: 9 Sent : Dec 29, 1993 at 7:23 PM To : Parade Time From : Phantom Subj : Kiddies Everywhere!! There was a festive spirit in the air today. The sun was beaming brightly through the cloudless skies onto the throngs of people who waited along the roadside of the city, waiting for a chance to get a glimpse at the parade as it followed it's route towards the centre of the city. You see, today was the most celebrated holiday in the city. More celbrated than Christmas, Thanksgiving, or even the anniversary of the invention of toothpaste. Today was the day that they had the city gave thanks for making their wonderful city the biggest worldwide producer of spam in the entire free world (the black market production of spam is not reported, but experts are sure that it measures several million tonnes of spam a year). The day was an extremely popular one with everyone in the city, however, and the happiness of the city was contagious. There was no call for police on this day, for even the hardiest of criminals was seen enjoyingly savouring a cherry lollipop while giving a three year old a piggy-back ride through the park. A hush fell over the crowds gathered as the first of the floats appeared on the horizon. As always, it was the cu-tip float, which had lead the parade ever since it began, some 3 long years before. Float by float drifted by, each one as beautful as the last, in their own, unique way. The hospital float was once again covered with beautiful yellow daffedils, except this time they had been replaced from the year before, and this drew many appreciative gasps from the crowd. Next came the Pillsbury Dough Boy balloon, which was one of the most popular in the parade, mostly because of the memorable way it had pierced itself while going over the bridge the first year the parade had happened, cutting the bridge off from all traffic for the next three days. After that came the high school band, clad in new uniforms. Two years ago, they smartly marched out in there thin white uniforms, twirling and playing with enthusiasm and zest, only to discover that when it rained halfway through the parade route, they were revealing a lot more to the crowds then their joy for life. Each float was different, yet each was the same, as they all had the same uncanny way of self-destructing, destroying not just themselves, but most of the parade route that they had been going along. Not to be seperated from them all, there was the big round green float, humming along silently in the middle of them all. It was just simple flatbed truck, covered with a green tarp, overtop of which there were hundreds of midgets wearing pea costumes, brandishing fake toy guns at the corwd. Normally, people would be confused by such a weird display in the middle of a celebration, but it's passive green colours, with the big sign on the front of the float reading "Peas are beautiful", could hardly be taken as a threat, could it? Of course it could. In fact, every float in this parade, thanks to shoddy workmanship and uncoordinated workers, was capable of costing many people in there lives. In fact, it would be a first if at least ten people didn't die due to float related injuries. It's just the way it was. The difference with this one, however, was that it was meant to cause damage, rather than it being accidental. And so it was that the tall figure in the pea costume was thinking to himself, smiling, as he waved to the crowds of infidels that had dared to harm his children. They would all pay... Conf : Flipper's Oceanarium Msg# : 81/101 Lines: Extended Read: 9 Sent : Dec 29, 1993 at 7:45 PM To : Ben Jhombi From : Phantom Subj : Control!! The parade continued to weave it's way through the city, slowly getting closer and closer to city hall, the centre of the city. Onlookers began to get more and more sparse, and more and more disappointed. After all, a parade in this city had never gotten this far before, and so nobody expected it to even get this far. In fact, most of the people who were now around to watch the parade go by were either looters, beggars, or morons who simply didn't know what year it was, let alone that it was a day of celebration in the city. Because of the sparsity of the crowds, only three were killed as the eventual finally happened. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as the big green pea float began to waver slightly, and then shot dramatically off course, jumping off the parade route and jounced down a nearby road at extremely fast speeds, last seen disappearing underneath a bridge. "Finally," people gasped. Celebrating in their continued stupidity, hoping that the float would find a soft landing in a farmer's field somewhere, they went home to bed, revelling in the warmth of their love. At least, that's the way things were supposed to go. As per plan, the green pea float whipped through the tunnel and came out just three blocks south of the city hall. Flashing with speed that a normal parade float just owuld not have, it flew through the last three blocks, crashing it's way through it's shut gates, finally coming to a rest right outside the building. After it stopped, the peas, for that is what they really were (created by the evil genius of Peewee Pinrut), ran into city hall and took everyone hostage, using their guns as a suitable menacing device to make the city hierarchy wet themselves. After it was all over (which was less than ten minutes in total time), the peas looked to their leader, so that he could tell them how they could continue onwards to take over the rest of america. They were shocked, however, when they discovered that he wasn't there. Determined to see this plan to the end they continued on, figuring that their leader had gone off to carry through a more complex feature of the plan through. They would have been shocked to know that Peewee was instead lying in the middle of the road, spread-eagled, a bloody puddle was forming underneath him, forming from the huge whole in his head where it had collided with the bridge at extremely high-speed velocities. Minutes passed before Peewee finally showed a sign of life. An eyebrow twitched... A finger gently raised up and lowered again. Finally the eyelids opened up, revealing once again a living, breathing person... Who it actually was, the person who was once Peewee Pinrut was completely unsure of. Conf : Flipper's Oceanarium Msg# : 82/101 Lines: Extended Read: 10 Sent : Jan 20, 1994 at 11:38 PM To : Blah. From : Rancid Instigator Subj : You countries better get along... or we'll call Mom. Steiner and Sequoia continued tramping through the forest. At least, they continued tramping through the forest until Steiner suddenly, much to his annoyance, found himself upside down, viciously tangled in a net about thirty feet off the ground. When his virtigo settled, he noticed Sequoia laughing her foolish head off, leaning against a tree and slapping her thigh in hilarity. "Lovely, dear," he muttered in acid tones, "I'm pleased to note that you're having a really good time at my expense." He paused to collect his breath and fought an urge to scream obscenities. "Now, would you kindly get me out of this thing?" he asked in a too-level tone. Sequoia, after a brief burst of continued laughter, finally climbed up the tree the net was attached to, finding a level platform, and began searching for knots. Much to her surprise, she found herself being tapped on the shoulder, and swivelling around, she found herself towering over a short and slim individual. "Excuse me, miss," said this person, "but there are several people who would like to talk to you." He motioned with his arm, and Sequoia, her eyes focussing, saw a number of other small platforms in nearby trees, most of which sported an archer with a cocked bow. "Ah," she replied, and gesturing towards Steiner, asked, "May I?" "Certainly," replied the lad, and with a flourish, produced a small knife, which she used to cut the vines holding the net up. Steiner took the 30 foot fall with a resounding crash. * * * Steiner, still moaning slightly and holding a few abused, tender places on his anatomy, and Sequoia, still smirking evilly, were marched up a tree and into a virtual village in trees. Vines and carefully lashed branches formed large, swaying platforms, leaves and branches served as huts and thatching, thicker branches served as inter-tree bridges, and several large bridges butted together served as a sort of multiple-tree communal courtyard. In this courtyard was easily the largest hut, almost tall enough for Steiner to enter without stooping. The residents of this curious village had no problem, all of them shorter than Sequoia, but spanning all ages in appearance, from what might pass as seven to seventy. They were presented to an older man, no taller than four feet, six inches, who began to show small signs of age. "I found these two near our nets," stated the boy who'd first found the pair. "What were you doing around here?" asked the man. "Just passing through," stated Sequoia, "I'm heading towards Arbre." As she spoke, she tugged down her right sleeve, showing the bottom of her forearm to the man, whose eyebrows betrayed a small amount of emotion. "Very well," he replied, and turning to the boy who'd first found them, added, "Would you show them a safe route through here, please?" The boy nodded, bowed, and escorted Steiner and Sequoia out of what might have been City Hall. Conf : Flipper's Oceanarium Msg# : 83/101 Lines: Extended Read: 10 Sent : Jan 21, 1994 at 9:37 PM To : Wakey-time? From : Flipper Subj : Oogles boogling in the night. Carolina quickly scanned the Oceanarium complex, using her new enhanced x-ray-sonar, and was disturbed to find that Elmer Tavener did not seem to be on the premises. She began to widen her search. * * * Several days later, Flipper hopped out of the back of a beat-up pickup truck, waved to the driver, and walked up to the gate. He paused to look at it, as he had so long ago. The ornate iron sign had rusted somewhat, and was in generally poor repair. A heavy chain which had once locked the gate shut now lay on the ground, cut open. The complex itself looked... empty. Flipper sighed and pushed open the gate. He walked in, and went straight to his office. He had much work to do. He had his plan. It was time to make his existance worth something. * * * He looked up from his work, finally. Now, at last, he had laid the groundwork for his grand plan. No more would he flounder, no, that wording made him hungry. No more would he wander aimlessly, trying to find his purpose in life. This, surely, was it. After all, if Disney could open a theme park named after himself, so could Flipper. Conf : Flipper's Oceanarium Msg# : 84/101 Lines: Extended Read: 12 Sent : Jan 22, 1994 at 12:34 PM To : Macho Insecurity From : Rancid Instigator Subj : You can't stand yourself. General Case, as always, in a serious rush, raced into his car. "To the U.N. building!" he declared, hastily reviewing the notes in front of him. Fluffy's eyes twinkled briefly, and it climbed onto the top of the passenger seat, where it confronted the general. "Mew?" it asked, in a tiny, kitten-like voice. The general looked up, and seeing the cat, immediately put aside his notes and scratched the kitten beneath its chin. It began to purr. General Case picked up the cat and began to pet it for a long while, eventually placing it on one of his shoulders and returning to his notes. "I hope you don't shed," said the general to the cat. It simply butted its head against his chin in reply. Time passed. The drive to New York was long. * * * Janne and Kramodac stood in his hotel room, a newspaper in front of them, a lurid description of a restaurant murder on the front page. Janne nudged her toe into the carpet on several occasions, as Kramodac leafed through the paper and Janne noticed that off the city's recent rash of murders, she was responsible for them all. "Sir," she said, "Were you not the owner of a space-faring vessel?" "Yeah," replied Kramodac, "but I crashed it and this place doesn't have any of their own... except for that silly... waitasec..." Obvious deep thought coursed through his face. "You know," he mused, "I did accidentally leave a few parts in orbit... all we need to do is get into orbit, and..." He smiled maniacally. "Are you ready for something really stupid, prepared to engage in lots of meaningless violence, all to steal the most ugly and useless piece of machinery that exists on this planet?" Janne began to smile a little, and nodded enthusiastically. "I have a plan," Kramodac murmured, and taking up a pen and paper, began to sketch some notes out. Conf : Flipper's Oceanarium Msg# : 85/101 Lines: Extended Read: 12 Sent : Jan 27, 1994 at 4:26 PM To : Live... From : Rancid Instigator Subj : from Sin City... USA for South Africa! Sequoia and Steiner, marched through the forest. It was dark, dark, really dark. It was night. No light broke through the dense foliage. Sequoia, as she walked in the lead, heard the occasional moist thump. Steiner, the cause of these thumps, kept walking into the occasional tree. Lacking the capability to see into the infrared, he kept colliding with a large number of trees that had the nerve to get in his way. Constantly muttering to himself, he tried the best he could to stagger along behind her. She paused in the middle of a clearing, uttering a soft gasp. Steiner accidentally bumped into her from behind, knocking her offbalance. "What is it?" he grumbled. She elbowed him in the gut and remained really still. Slowly, as his eyes focussed, he was able to make out a slightly glossy dark form in the otherwise very dark forest. The form moved. Slight brush-crushing noises emanated from it on occasion, and once, nay, twice, it whickered... "A horse?" Steiner asked softly, stepping into the clearing. The form turned to face him, and a pair of red, balefully glowing red eyes winked open. Steiner paused in his tracks. It charged, and as it approached, Steiner made out a large, straight, sharp-looking, and exceptionally cruel horn mounted on its head. "Yee!" whimpered Steiner, nimbly ducking behind a tree and climbing fast enough to do a squirrel proud. "If only I had that GUN," muttered Steiner to himself, as the horned form got up on its hind legs and clawed at the tree. Sequoia still stood still, utterly entranced. * * * Kramodac returned to his apartment, his shopping-trip complete. He dumped a huge hockey-bag on the floor, where it landed with a metallic clang. All manner of black-anodized metal things spilled out. He smiled evilly. Janne, looking up from the couch, upon which she'd sprawled to read a newspaper, sniffed in disdain. She cast a meaningful glance at the small pile of leather and metal armour lying nearby and returned to her newspaper. * * * Fluffy, when the general was really preoccupied, climbed into one of his cavernous shirt pockets and fell asleep, purring warm against the man's chest. Overwhelmed with an odd paternal streak, General Case let the kitten sleep. Conf : Flipper's Oceanarium Msg# : 86/101 Lines: Extended Read: 12 Sent : Jan 28, 1994 at 1:49 AM To : Toker, You Butthead. From : Rancid Instigator Subj : Adara's Pleasure. The creature, whatever it was, continued to claw at the tree, and due to its massive size, strength and weight, was causing the tree to rock back and forth alarmingly, despite the thickness of the tree that Steiner climbed. He clung to the branches and yelled a constant stream of foul-mouthed curses at the creature, which got all the more livid and continued to claw at the tree. Sequoia crept up to the creature's side, slowly, quietly, stealthily, and laid a palm on its sweaty flank. Instantly placated, it dropped to all four feet and stood still, whickering once. Steiner peered out of the tree's crown, to observe Sequoia rubbing it's side. It dropped to its knees, and Sequoia began to whisper in it's ear. Observing it closer, he noted that the creature was shaped a lot like a horse. It had a horse-like head, a horse-like body, a horse-like mane and a horse-like tail. The similarities ended there, however. There was a sharp, double-edged horn, three feet long, growing out of the centre of it's head. Each foot, instead of ending in a hoof as a normal horse would have, ended in a set of wicked claws. The teeth looked like they were better suited for shearing than merely cropping grass, and the eyes literally glowed. As Steiner stared, it looked upwards and glared briefly at Steiner, exposing it's wicked set of teeth. Steiner angrily cocked a fist back at it. Finally, the creature stood. It was a magnificent beast; standing over six feet tall at the shoulder and hugely packed with dense, rippling muscles. It was heavier and stronger than any normal horse... it bore an uncanny resemblance to a chalicothere, the horse's precedessor, instead. Sequoia was barely able to get her hands around the creature's neck. It suffered her embrace briefly, then kneeled again, while she mounted it. "Hey!" cried Steiner, but before he could yell again, Sequoia and her jet-black, chalicothere-unicorn were already out of sight, swallowed, black-on-black, by the pitch-dark night. Grumbling, Steiner climbed down from the tree and struck out on his own. Conf : Flipper's Oceanarium Msg# : 87/101 Lines: Extended Read: 13 Sent : Feb 04, 1994 at 2:54 PM To : Rip Van Halen From : Phantom Subj : Me tooth. "Well, you were right, he seems to be a fine looking specimin. And you say that you just found him lying on the side of a road somewhere?" "Yeah, he was just lying there, right in the middle of the road, his head leaking all over the place. It was pretty messy. The damage was so extensive, it's almost like he tried to head butt a bridge or something." (laughter) "Anyways, we rushed him to the hospital and fixed him up as best we could. Physically, he's in top-notch shape, but mentally, well, we're not quite sure what to do with him." "What exactly do you have in mind?" "Well, we have the skill to repair everything and bring him back, but there a few, certain... functions, that we could neglect, so to speak, should we have the proper incentive to do so." "I see. And how is it that this would affect me?" "Well, we could, just for example, forget to fix his memory complex, which is very badly screwed up, so that the poor guy would have no knowledge of he is or where he came from, and we could, I don't know, tap into his brain so that he was receiving a constant supply of adrenalin all the time." "You could do all that, eh? And what exactly would that do, if I may ask?" "Well, since you seem interested, what you would be getting would be a person who, already stronger then most humans, would quite possibly be the strongest human being on this Earth, by far. Add to that the amnesia, and you would have in your hands one of the most potent human killing machines ever seen. That's if it was done, of course..." "I see. So, doctor... Hows the wife and kids? I bet you're outgrowing that little house and two-door car that you have, aren't you...?" The voices faded into the darkness, leaving the two shattered eyes alone, staring up blankly at the ceiling, seeing nothing, hearing almost nothing... Conf : Flipper's Oceanarium Msg# : 88/101 Lines: Extended Read: 15 Sent : Feb 04, 1994 at 3:21 PM To : Leeping Lily-pads!!! From : Phantom Subj : Poffo wonder puffin. The crowds roared out their approval as the man was carried out, blood streaming from a cut on his forehead. As the stretcher passed by, various objects were hurled from the crowd at the man who barely had the strength to bring up his arms over his head, hoping to shield his eyes from the torrents of abuse. Finally the man was carried free from the pandemonium, and the crowd began to quiet down. A few people left their seats to go get another beer, but most of them remained in their places, eyes fixed ahead of them, not wanting to miss any of the up-coming action. Five minutes later, the crowd was beginning to get restless, but finally the blood was mopped up by the cleaning crew, and the lights suddenly dimmed. All eyes were directed towards the centre, where the lone source of light spotlighted a man dressed in a tux, holding a microphone in front of him. Waiting until the most dramatic moment, the man leaned forward and let out in a deep, booming voice, "And now what you've been waiting for, tonight's maaaaaaaaain eeeeeeeeeevent!!!!!!!!" The announcer quieted as the crowd began cheering and hooting loudly, and then spoke again as their bloodthirsty cheers die down. "Tonight, fighting in this corner, weighing 347 pounds, current world champion, Thhhheeeee Punisher!!!!!!" The crowd leapt to their feet as a man entered into the arena and began running towards the centre ring. Clad in purple tights and a purple cape, his huge muscles remained still remained unconcealed as he made his way down to the ring. The crowd broke into a frenzy as he made the ring and leapt over the top rope, landing in the centre where he stood with his arms outstretched. He was undefeated, he was the best that had ever been, and the people loved him. Finally the crowd died down, and the announcer came forward with the microphone again. "And facing our champion in this corner, weighing 290 pounds, in his professional debut, Traaaaaiiiinn-Wrecked Tuuuurrrrnip!!!!!" The crowd began hooting in laughter, rediculing the name of the man who was about to get slaughtered, and already betting was beginning as people tried to predict just how long it would take for the challenger to get his neck wrung. After a moment or two, Train-Wrecked Turnip walked out from behind the curtain, and suddenly all betting stopped. In fact, the whole place went completely quiet. The fans, some slack jawed, some just scared silly, stared in awe at the figure before them. He stood about 6 foot 4, was clad in green shorts with a flaming 'T' on them, and everything else on him was pure muscle. Not just normal muscle either, these muscles were stretched and quivering. These were muscles that didn't have to worry about whether a beer was a twist top or not. Even with all the muscles, that wasn't the worst thing about him. It was the stare. It was a burning stare. It was a stare that seared right into your soul, scorching everything and anything it found, leaving nothing behind but a wisp of smoke. Right now, it was focussed on The Punisher, who was having a hard time keeping from wetting himself (as some of the weaker members of the crowd had already done). Slowly, methodically, Train-Wrecked Turnip (TWT for short) walked towards the ring, where he climbed in and stood with his arms crossed, his eyes never wavering from his opponent. The bell rung, and The Punisher, knowing he was the bigger man, decided that it was best if he took to the offense, not letting this Turnip get in the first blow. The Punisher ran towards the opposite ropes, bounced off, and game flying at TWT, arms oustretched into fists, at full speed. Train-wrecked stood there and watched as The Punisher bounced off him into the corner of the ring, unflinching, unfazed... The Punisher, sweating profusely, got up again and launched himself at his opponent's knees, hoping to knock him off his feet.... But all he did was his Train-wrecked Turnip's knees and lie there, suffering from what was definitely a concussion. Train-wrecked Turnip slowly uncrossed his arms, reached down and grabbed his opponent by the head, and flung him out of the ring, into the third or fourth row of seats. And then he re-crossed his arms. Conf : Flipper's Oceanarium Msg# : 89/101 Lines: Extended Read: 20 Sent : Feb 04, 1994 at 5:04 PM To : Ah Ha! An Opening! From : Flipper Subj : hmmm Suddenly, a large hole appeared in the roof of the stadium, showing cheap plaster and gyprock onto the first few rows of seats, where it mixed with the urine of the weaker audience members, forming a foul, smelly mud which would dry to the seats and take many hours of scrubbing to remove. There was a loud thump, and suddenly standing in front of TWT was a tall, white dolphin. She was wearing a cape, and on her chest (or what would be her chest if she was human) was a large 'C". Train-Wrecked Turnip began staring into her soul, but only a second passed before, with her flipper a blur of motion, she had slapped him and sent him sitting down in the corner. TWT stood up, slowly. Never removing his gaze from Carolina's eyes. A slight tinge of annoyance was there, as he crossed his arms definantly. "Mr. Pinrut, you and I have some talking to do," said Carolina, loudly and evenly. Recognition flickered briefly in TWT's eyes, and vanished. Before him stood another opponent, begging to be trounced. He approached her slowly, and she held her ground, returning his gaze with a defiant glare that all females have mastered. he lifted his arm, and nonchalently slapped her back. Carolina flew backwards and hit the ropes. They flung her back forward, and she ended up laying face down. With a flash of motion she jumped up, and flew at TWT. They battled for a long time, trading blows that would have flattened an ordinary man, or a small building, for that matter. But after a while, Carolina felt her strength begin to ebb. She needed food. Swiftly dodging a mighty double-axe-handle by TWT (which hit the ground hard enough to set off seismographs), she flew 15 feet into the air. She knew she could not win today. TWT gazed upwards at her for a moment. "This isn't over!" she cried, and flew back out the hole in the ceiling before he could jump at her. Satisfied, TWT returned to the centre of the ring, and crossed his arms. The crowd spontaneously went wild with applause. Conf : Flipper's Oceanarium Msg# : 90/101 Lines: Extended Read: 24 Sent : Mar 08, 1994 at 8:50 PM To : Ah Ha! From : Flipper Subj : alive again? noncomittallism "Well, Mr Flipper, I've gone over your application, and, well, I'm not sure we can accomodate your loan request." "What? Why?" Flipper looked over the man in the dark grey business suit, the perfectly creased slacks and the stiffly starched shirt. The black tie and the silver tie-clip contrasted sharply. Flipper had grinned with amusement when he noticed that the tin-clip was a dolphin. "Mr Flipper..." John Smothy sighed heavily. The records showed that Flipper Dolphin had special status, yet his account had been hovering near zero for months, with no income. Bank policy was against giving him a loan for a new endeavour. "We can't give you the loan. To put it bluntly, Mr. Dolphin, you're a risk. You had a lot of money, spent it to open your aquatic theme park, then closed the park down. All the controversy has made the park worthless, and I honestly don't believe that you will make money with a new theme park, uh," he examined the papers on his desk, "'Flipperland'." "Mr Smothy," lectured Flipper, "I have here extensive plans and estimated incomes which will more than cover any loan payments that I have to make. There will be no problem with the loan. I," he emphasized, waving his flipper, "have gold customer status!" "HAD," corrected Smothy. "I'm sorry, Mr. Dolphin, we can not give you the loan, unless you can provide a substantiated source of income. Good day." Flipper was escorted out of the bank, and he stood for a while looking dejectedly at the ground. His dreams seemed to be extinct. He sighed and looked around. Across the street was a 7-11, so he crossed over to get a pop. A 'help wanted' sign on the window caught his interest. "Substantiated source of income?" he thought. "How hard can this be?" He entered the store, removed the sign from the window, and presented it to the clerk. The clerk took the sign, put it back in the window, and instructed Flipper to fill out an application form. Flipper set to work filling out the form. He paused at the "spouse" line. After a moment he wrote "Carolina" in the space. Where was she, he wondered. He decided that she would probably be home by the time he got back, and got back to work on the form. Conf : Flipper's Oceanarium Msg# : 91/101 Lines: 14 Read: 24 Sent : Mar 08, 1994 at 8:55 PM To : One More From : Flipper Subj : why not? YOUR turn. Carolina returned to the Oceanarium and landed, cautiously. There seemed to be nobody around. Sighing with exhaustion, she went into the main building, and laid down in her room to rest. Elmer could be found another day. And Pinrut was harmless, for now, anyway. * * * Elmer Taverner had other plans than rest. He gingerly touched his bruises, and set back to work sharpening his new knife. He lovingly shaped the blade into an evil curve, and tested the sharpness against his thumb. She'd pay. Oh yes, this time, she'd pay. For her friends, he had another surprise. Conf : Flipper's Oceanarium Msg# : 92/101 Lines: 18 Read: 23 Sent : Mar 16, 1994 at 8:16 PM Recv : Mar 17, 1994 To : Flipper From : Tuxedo Dolphin Subj : Well, why, not... It had taken billions of dollars of carefully diverted tax money, but at long last, the project was completed. The Richard Nixon Continental Defense Bunker was fully operational. Buried kilometers beneath the surface of a granite mountain, the base was proof against any attack. Protected by elaborate security, it was invulnerable to any infiltration. At the very centre of this fortress lay the command centre. This inner sanctum was forbidden, on pain of death, to all but the highest ranks. The huge computers of this centre were cabable of controlling the entire defense force of a continent, using them to meet almost any conceivable threat. Such as the threat of alien invasion, which, more and more, of late, had been on the minds of the top brass. One of these top brass was General Case. The General, admitted to the control room after many security checks, breathed a deep sigh. At last, a place where everything was under control. Nothing could get past this place. Nothing, that is, except for a small kitten, which poked its tiny head out of the General's pocket to peer, intently, at all the flashing lights.... Conf : Flipper's Oceanarium Msg# : 93/101 Lines: Extended Read: 20 Sent : Mar 28, 1994 at 11:02 PM To : All From : Flipper Subj : ok, you asked for it. Flipper proudly adjusted his new 7-11 paper hat, and adjusted the apron that he was given. He felt pleased. Getting this job was easy. Now he needed his first customer. A man walked in. A very nice, well-dressed man, in a business suit. Flipper liked the man on sight, and he seemed very important. He came up to the counter where Flipper stood. "May I help you?" asked Flipper. "Yah, gim'aPlarsLight," he replied. "A what?" asked Flipper. The language was hard enough, Flipper felt he'd misunderstood. "PlarsLight," repeated the man in annoyance. "Comon, I don'havalday." Flipper paused, confused. "Are you speaking English?" he asked. The man glared angrily at him. "Gim'thedamnedcigs!" "Jack!" called Flipper. "I don't understand this guy!" Jack, the pimply 18-year-old who hired him, came out and looked at the man. He glanced at Flipper, then turned back to the man. "What can I get you?" he asked. "IwanadamnpackaPlarslight!" snarled the man. Jack turned to the cigarette rack, gave the man a package of Player's light, and rang it up on the till. "About time," snarled the man. Flipper understood him this time. Jack turned to Flipper after the man left. "Listen, if you want to work here, you have to get used to the way people talk." Then he went back to arranging the chocolate bars. Flipper sighed. * * * Elmer stood outside the Oceanarium again. He'd lost Carolina, so he came back to the last place he'd found her, to look for clues. He fondly caressed the scaling knife he'd recently purchased. "Yes, my darling beauty," he gloated. "I got a present for you. I hope you left me a note telling me where you went." Carolina slept on, unaware of anything going on around her. Conf : Flipper's Oceanarium Msg# : 94/101 Lines: Extended Read: 20 Sent : Apr 04, 1994 at 5:11 AM To : The Birth Of A Character From : Captain C Subj : trouble for the dolphin As Caroline slept on a small glow started to form at the end of her bed. Within seconds the glow turned into a whirlpool of light that was mysteriously confined to a 5' by 5' radius the glow stayed there for about a minute doing nothing but glowing. if the glow had a self concious it would probably be thinking about what a dull existant it had. the glow would get so depressed that it would consider suicide as an option. It would then relize that it did not have the ability to knock itself off whereas depressing it even more and live the rest of eternity in a puddl of glowing self pity. However the glow was not alive and after a minute of doing nothing, but glowing, a figure stepped out of the glow. As soon as the figure stepped out of the glow the light dissapaited and left the man in the dark.Caroline shifted in her sleep dreaming of what life would be like being a banana split.the figureput down a back-pack he had been carrying and pulled out an already lit torch to read a peace of paper in his hand.the change in light must have been a shock because Caroline woke up with a start. "Who are you?" she snapped not enjoying being waken this late at night. "I am Smalljaw," the man stated, "I have come to help you." Caroline thought about this before saying,"I don't need your help, I know that I can handle this on my own." "Your a brave,uh, dolphin(?) to think you can handle the boundry of hades," Smalljaw replied keeping the same sarcastic politeness that Caroline had. "What!," Caroline asked still trying to comprehend what this man was saying. "It's very simple, Smalljaw began," you aquired some supernatural powersfrom the wizard Vlard, The more you use them the shorter you live and quicker you will lose your soul." Caroline gave a small gulp and asked "why me?" "Because you will soon play a key part in time that will benifit all of mankind.I have been sent to make sure that you are not harmed for the time being." With that said, Smalljaw pulled out a small object and pointed it at Caroline. A tiny white beam emitted out and bathed caroline white light. When the light stopped Smalljaw threw the object into his pack. "There," He stated matter of factly, you seem to out of danger. I have removed the spell and as of now you are safe." Smalljaw then began walking towards the wall, and with elegance walked into then falling to the floor. "What are you doing?"Caroline asked. "Somethings wrong,"Smalljaw said with a growing fear," the portal should have opened." To the amusment of Caroline; Smalljaw got up and tried again, and again hitting the wall.After enogh tmes to put a large dent in the wall he finally stopped. "Great, just great,"he whined," i'm stuck here in this demension! what else could go wrong?" After speaking this, Elmer smashed through the door shouting HONEY, I'M HOME!!!" and weilding his knife in a evil way Conf : Flipper's Oceanarium Msg# : 95/101 Lines: Extended Read: 16 Sent : Apr 12, 1994 at 1:59 PM To : All You Lazy Non-writing Sods! From : Captain C Subj : a big fight Carolina stared at Elmer as one thought raced through her mind,REVENGE! she lept out of the bed and tried to fly at Elmer. Of course try was the key word in that phrase, for as she leapt off her bed, she did a wonderful bellyflop onto the floor. "My powers!" She exclaimed,"I've lost my powers." "Of course they're gone,"Smalljaw said. "If I didn't take them you'd be dead by now." "You're going to be dead very quick" interrupted Elmer, charging at Carolina. Carolina did a swift dodge as the knife sunk into her bed, and retalliated with a stinging flipper to Elmer's head. Of course Elmer, not wanting to be undone, grabbed Carolina and with elegance threw her into the wall. He then turned towards Smalljaw and rushed to attack. Elmer got about as far as a ford pinto winning the grand prix when Smalljaw grabbed him, and demonstrated how painful getting your head pounded down to the shoulders was, then threw him in the wall that Carolina was prying herself out of. "You're all going to die!" shouted an erratic Elmer. Carolina by now had recovered the knife and was holding it ready in case Elmer charged her. She was right in her thinking for as soon as Elmer pryed himself out of the wall he jumped at Carolina. She gasped at the sudden speed and as she closed her eyes she stuck out the knife in a pitiful intent on self-defense. Elmer let out a howl of pain as his knife went into his thigh and ripped through a couple of tendrins, and collapsed on the floor. Carolina opened her eyes to see Elmer on the ground reaching to pull the knife out of his leg. "Oh no you don't!" she screamed and kicked Elmer in the gut. But it was too late. Elmer had the knife in his hand, and after getting kicked he slashed wildly, cutting Carolina badly.She yelped in pain and fell to the floor by Elmer and tried to crawl away. "I got you now!" screamed Elmer, raising his knife above her. Flipper was being very pleased with himself. only after a few hours he had manage to understand the customers. the only problem was he was beginning to talk like them too. Smalljaw leaped at elmer and made a successful tackle, saving Carolina from fate and wrestled the knife away from Elmer. The maniac however squired out from under him and stood up. As Smalljaw stood up Elmer jumped at him, costantly blabbering at how Smalljaw had interfered. Using cat-like speed, Smalljaw turned around held held his backpack open. Elmer was heading right for the back-pack and was wondering just why the big freak chose a back-pack as his weapon of choice. Elmer hit the back-pack and his head went in, then his body, then his feet. Smalljaw closed the back-pack and tied it shut. "What is that?" Carolina asked. "It's my magical backpack," Smalljaw said trying to calm down, "it can hold anything you want." From inside the pack they could hear Elmer screaming about when he got out there would be bloody murder. Smalljaw looked at Carolina's wounds and figured that she needed a doctor. Before they left Carolina suggested that he leave a message for flipper and drop Elmer off at the jail. Smalljaw got a pen but couldn't find any paper. when he tried to write on the wall, the pen ran out of ink. As he looked around he decided that there was enough red "ink". He would just use that. Minutes later he and Carolina were on their way. Flipper came home feeling generally quite cheerful. Things were beginning to look up and pretty soon everything would be fine. He opened the door and noticed that it had been kicked open. He walked inside and found a few holes in the wall and a note written on the wall that said: I HAVE THE DOLPHIN SMALLJAW Flipper's good mood was shot. He looked at the writing closer and he was horrified. This was blood! Dolphin Blood! He looked around. There was blood everywhere. Within seconds 911 was dialed. Conf : Flipper's Oceanarium Msg# : 96/101 Lines: Extended Read: 17 Sent : Apr 19, 1994 at 12:04 AM To : Ok, Ok, Ok. From : Flipper Subj : Let's get back to work... I guess. The 911 operator answered the phone with a ploite, pleasant voice, the kind that said she'd just had a delicious lunch with a pleasant gentleman whom she really liked, and hoped to hop into the sack with. Flipper replied with the screaming panic of someone who hasn't had hardly anything go right in his entire life who's just found that the most important thing he ever had was gone. "She's gone! That Elmer thing might have killed her!" "Calm down, sir." 'Why do they always panic?' she wondered to herself. "Who are you and where are you?" "I'm Flipper! I'm at my Oceanarium, and there's blood everywhere!" "Um... aren't you that psycho that killed a bunch of people at the killer whale theme park a while back?" "WHAT?" screamed Flipper. "Yeah... it was called Flip The Ocean or something, too... and I think..." Flipper hung up. He sunk dejectedly to the floor. All he'd ever wanted was a peaceful place to live, someone to love and have love him back, and enough money to get by. It seemed there was always something. he glanced back up at the wall where the words "I have the dolphin - Smalljaw" dried slowly on the gyprock. The blood mocked him, and concerned him. But something seemed odd. He stood up and examined the message again. "Smalljaw?" he wondered. "Never heard of HIM." He look around the room, and on the floor, saw footprints and streaks in the blood. He clearly saw Carolina's tail print, but there were two sets of footprints, one smaller, about the right size for Elmer, and one larger. Only the larger pair exitted the room. A new enemy? Flipper was suddenly furious, and began tracking the footprints out of the building. * * * "His real name is Elmer Tavener", explained Carolina as Smalljaw carried her towards the hospital. "I used to work for him in his travelling sideshow." Her eyes misted with memory. "I had a great show, any dolphin would've been proud of it." "But Elmer wasn't a dolphin," she finished, returning to the present. "He preferred to be called 'Al', because he said 'Elmer' was a sissy name, and he pushed me and pushed me to work harder. He hit me many times... sometimes I couldn't even work. I was so afraid of him..." She paused for a while, while Smalljaw considered the information. It might be best to leave Mr Tavener inside the other dimension of his magic backpack until such time as he learned his lesson. * * * The blood trail did run out, eventually, which suggested to Flipper that Carolina may only have been hurt, not killed. But he was at a loss as to which direction to go next. To avoid making a decision, he continued the same way. * * * Finally, the doctor had finished stitching and bandaging Carolina's wound, and she was free to go. She called back to the Oceanarium, hoping to catch Flipper. There was no answer, so she left a message on the machine, and, with Smalljaw, headed for home. Conf : Flipper's Oceanarium Msg# : 97/101 Lines: Extended Read: 15 Sent : Apr 25, 1994 at 4:46 PM To : Bill Cosby From : Captain C Subj : a little tiff Flipper began to panic. not only was the love of his life gone agin but this time he seemed to aquire a new protagonist. He began to think horrible thoughts about what he would do when he ran up to this Smalljaw, and most of the dreams included dismemberment. After awhile he stopped and looked around. he was in the center of town across from the hospital. He walked up and sat down outside on a bench outside of the main entrance, and softly clicked to himself. @@@@@@@@@@@@@ The doctor had done a good job sewing carolina back up, and was just washing up when he heard a noise coming from a dingy back-pack on the floor. "Help! let me out of here." the bag shouted. The doctor look at the bag and was considering answering it when Smalljaw came around the corner. The bag was still constantly shouting so Smalljaw gave it a good stomp. the bag became silent for a short time before finally saying a small "ow".Smalljaw walked away and the docter decided he would need a shot of painkillers himself. _____________________________ Flipper continued to sit on the bench and curse the bad luck he had for the longest time. he was about to get up and leave when he heard a familiar voice. "But i don't want to go there." Flipper look up and saw Carolina being held by a big,very big, burly big man. the man was saying back,"I'm sorry you feel that way but you will come with me." She replied with "Put me Down!" "Sorry but i can't do that." the man replied. Flipper walked up in front of the man, and gave the meanest glare that a dolphin could.Carolina couldn't see what was going on but when she heard a voice say" put her down now", she knew who it was. Smalljaw sensing another fight instictively put Carolina behind him. "If you want her you'll have to get by me" Smalljaw growled. "That's fine by me."Flipper replied just as fierce. hje had lost Carolina for so long and now that he was so close not a force in the world would would stop him. He was about to make this very clear to Smalljaw, who was ready for the fight. both were so intent on the upcoming battle they never heard Carolina terying to call them off. Only one person will leave standing, flipper thought to himself, and that is going to be me. Conf : Flipper's Oceanarium Msg# : 98/101 Lines: Extended Read: 14 Sent : May 11, 1994 at 2:41 PM To : Ah... From : Rancid Instigator Subj : ... does it matter? I've been remiss. Steiner climbed back up into the tree and went to sleep, nestled most uncomfortably in the crotch of a tree. Much time passed. He awoke to the sounds of very loud chirping. When he opened his eyes, he saw a small songbird, pouring out a torrent of avian song to the air in general. As it twitched its head to look at Steiner in face, it stopped singing, gazed at him curiously, then flew off. He paused, a confused look on his face. As he sat and pondered the bird's obvious lack of fear, he heard, in the distance, the sounds of metal clashing on metal and screams of fear. Also, passing nearby, was a small squad of the ugliest looking creatures he'd ever seen. They stood around five feet tall, wore stained leather clothes, and had a small sword on their hips and an ugly shield on their backs. What really attracted his attention, though, was their pig-like faces. Protruding from their faces was a long snout, from which curled a pair of ugly, yellowed tusks. "Naw..." he muttered to himself, and shook his head. A few more squads of these creatures passed by, obviously unaware of their observer in the trees. Finally, a single, lone creature passed, with a small crossbow on its back isntead of a shield. Steiner opted to sate his curiosity, and deftly climbed down the tree when it passed. "Pardon me!" he called, standing about twenty feet behind it. It hastily turned around, tugged out the crossbow, and hissing, leveled it at Steiner. His eyes shot up in concern, and the creature, most obviously displeased, began looking Steiner up and down, slowly advancing with the crossbow levelled. "Uhh, what the heck are you?" asked Steiner of the creature. "You wit' dem?" hissed the thing, speech obviously not being easy for one graced with a pig's snout. "Hunh?" replied Steienr. "You look like dem," it hissed, "but you bigger. Maybe you taste like dem too." So saying, it sighted down the crossbow. Steiner, not the world's intellectually swiftest men but certainly one of the fastest, did an impressive cartwheel behind a tree as the bolt, poorly aimed, grazed his thigh and plunked into the ground. Most definately angered, Steiner jumped out of cover and rushed the creature, which was now hastily trying to recock the bow. Towering over it by almost a foot and a half, and easily weighing twice as much as it, he tackled it to the ground, knocking the crossbow from its grip. It snarled and spat as they rolled along on the ground, trying to bite or gouge Steiner, but didn't have much of a chance when Steiner threw it free. Both combatants stood, one snarling and unsheathing its sword, the other cocking his fists and striving to remember some rather recent essons he'd learned. The foul-looking (and smelling, as Steiner could now attest to) creature scuttled forward, stabbing with its sword. Steiner, suddenly recalling something he'd seen, snapped his right foot in an arc, catching the creature in the wrist and knocking the sword flying. The ugly thing glared angrily at its wrist, then looked up at Steiner with eyes, looking for mercy. Mercy, however, was not forthcoming, as Steiner hammered the creature's snout back into its face with several very powerful blows. Conf : Flipper's Oceanarium Msg# : 99/101 Lines: Extended Read: 11 Sent : May 18, 1994 at 3:52 AM To : Been Reading For An Hour From : Flipper Subj : gotta get back on track here... Flipper and Smalljaw faced off, while Carolina stood back and watched fearfully. Once again Flipper's anger was flowing freely through his veins, giving him strength and purpose. Uttering a roar Flipper leapt at Smalljaw, his weight easily toppling the stranger to the ground. Without so much as a pause Flipper began pummelling Smalljaw for all he was worth. "You. Will. NOT. Hurt. Carolina!" Flipper grunted between blows. "NO-ONE will EVER hurt her again!" Smalljaw's thoughts were more on self-preservation at this point, and with a mighty heave he tossed Flipper off of him. Off-guard, Flipper hit the ground, and paused a moment before moving. A moment was all Smalljaw needed. With his speed and agility borne of years of combat he leapt at Flipper, intent on immobilizing him. But Flipper was not built like the humans he was used to fighting, and the dorsal fin made it difficult to get a good grip from the back. Flipper, however, was perfectly comfortable with his shape, and rolled over under Smalljaw. He flicked his tail, sending Smalljaw somersaulting to the ground, and Flipper leapt to his feet again, unhurt and undaunted. Carolina called again for them to stop, but it fell on deaf ears as Flipper and Smalljaw faced each other again, watching each other's eyes for clues. Flipper leapt again, and again Smalljaw was forced to the defensive. In speed, agility and strength, they seemed matched. But Flipper had the extra weight, while Smalljaw had the experience. Still, the experience didn't help much against Flipper's cetacean-style attacks. Flipper refused to relent this time, and Smalljaw was finding it increasingly difficult to defend all attacks. Then Flipper started using his teeth too, and caught Smalljaw's hand. Blood streamed out of several tears in the flesh, and Smalljaw backed off. One last look at Flipper's eyes showed no mercy, only the hatred glare of a being possessed. Smalljaw took the opportunity the step back, and quickly opened a rudimentary portal. Unsure that it would take him where he wanted to go, he stepped through it. Conf : Flipper's Oceanarium Msg# : 100/101 Lines: Extended Read: 11 Sent : May 18, 1994 at 3:59 AM To : Me, An You From : Flipper Subj : an you, and me. The light from the portal quickly faded, leaving Flipper standing there, facing off against nobody. The adrenline rush faded quickly, and Carolina came up to him. "Flipper?" she asked, nervously. "Where'd he go?" asked Flipper, confused. "What happened?" Carolina didn't answer, she watched Flipper with frightened eyes. "What's wrong?" he asked, facing her. "He was helping me," she replied. "He stopped Elmer. Why did you attack him?" Flipper felt a twinge of guilt, and fear. "Elmer? Where is he now?" "he's in some kind of... magic backpack, I guess." She moved up to Flipper. "He's gone, I think. We don't have to worry about him anymore." Flipper looked back, unsure. Carolina smiled as she looked into his eyes. "You defended me again. This is getting to be a habit." Flipper laughed, his mind relaxing for a moment. Then he remembered. "The blood! Are you okay?" Carolina shuddered involuntarily. But she smiled. "Yes," she replied, pointing to the stitches on her tail. "Elmer cut me, but Smalljaw saved me." Flipper looked down at the ground. "I'm sorry I overreacted. I thought he was trying to hurt you." "It's been a stressful time for both of us. Maybe we should go back home." Flipper nodded, and they turned back towards the Oceanarium. Conf : Flipper's Oceanarium Msg# : 101/101 Lines: Extended Read: 9 Sent : May 18, 1994 at 3:34 PM To : Oooo Now He's Mad From : Captain C Subj : where am i? Spin spin spin spin spin spin spin spin spin spin spin THUD!! The trip was just as painful as before except this time there was additional nagging on his right hand. Smalljaw raised his hand to take a look. It seems okay, He thought to himself. From the blood dripping on his face it reminded him that he was lyeing on the ground. he stood up and wiped the blood off his face,then grabbed a rag from his backpack to wipe off his hand. He cleaned hispalm and was just starting on his fingers when he paused. Smalljaw thought for a moment and had a conference with his brain and memory. Small : I thought i had 5 fingers. Memory: That's right you did. Brain: but you only have four.Memory : We don't have four fingers, we're supposed to have five. Smalljaw: Well i'm missing one. Brain:We lost one in that fight with the talking fish. Memory: yeah, I remember that. Smalljaw: So that dam dolphin bit one my fingers off. "Excuse me but what are you doing here?" shouted an angry voice. Smalljaw turned around to see a female dressed head to toe in tight fitting armor. Seeing as how his meeting was interrupted he decided to answer. "Where is here?" he asked. "that is not important." the woman replied as she pressed a console in the wall. As small jaw started to pass out from a surge of energy that shot through him, he thought "This isn't my day. =================================================== harmlesslion.com - Not for Commercial Use