To:ALL From:FLIPPER Date:It's the 24th, in Canada. I don't care about elsewhere. Flipper lay back, trying to sleep. He was nervous, and still a bit sick. Carolina slept peacefully in her bed, resting with a peace Flipper envied. He had been in the hospital for a long time. He didn't know what was going on in his oceanarium. The doctors wanted him to stay another week, since he had been so sick, but he insisted on being released with Carolina the next day. Besides, although the food was OK, it had been too long since he had been fully immersed in water, and he badly wanted to be. He had heard that his and Carolina's sickness came from something in the water, some kind of drug. A brief investigation had shown that a small statue in his submerged living room had been dissolving, releasing some kind of drug into the water. Reacting with the saltwater, it had gone toxic and poisoned them. Flipper tried to remember what he had dreamt as he was in his coma. There was only faint images, yet he had awakened remembering Carolina. She seemed to know him better than before they had gotten sick, too. Flipper shook his head and snorted. He didn't believe in supernatural events. He lay his head down and closed his eyes to attempt sleep again. Suddenly he heard Carolina address him. "Flipper? You awake?" she asked. Flipper turned to her. "Yes," he replied. "I want to ask you to do something for me. I don't think you're going to like it, though." Flipper prepared himself. "O.K," he began. "Go ahead and ask." Suddenly the door opened, and Ms. Ecklestein slipped in. "Hello, dearies," she said. To:REAL TURNIPS EAT MISSILES From:PHANTOM Date:Only 11 more shopping months til Christmas... (January 25th) Mr. Pinrut looked curiously at the sidewinder approaching him. "Hmmm.... It look like it's coming pretty fast. Yup. Sure does. I bet it has a huge warhead on it too. Yup, probably. You know, I don't think I could survive an impact with a sidewinder... Nope, definitely not. And if I didn't survive, then the whales at the Oceanarium wouldn't get their proper veggy diet. Nope. That would be bad. Yup. Getting hit would be bad. Yup. Dying would be bad. Yup. Guess I better now die then. Yup." As the sidewinder came closer and closer, Mr Pinrut closed his eyes and his whole body, his body turning rigid with concentration, and sweat began pouring out from every pore in his body (both of them). A scant five seconds before impact, he opened his eyes and screamed at the top of his lungs... "I AM A BIRD, MOVE ALONG!!!!" Mr. Pinrut closed his eyes and winced, waiting for the expectant explosion that would rocket his jockey shorts into orbit. It didn't come. Seconds stretched into minutes, minutes into hours, hours into days... It didn't come. Mr. Pinrut cautiously opened his left eye and looked around him. He was still flying through the air, but there were no sidewinders within sight. He seemed to be losing altitude though... A lot of it... In fact... "I AM A FEATH..." Too late. To:SEX FIEND? MURDRESS? OH! I KNOW!! From:PHANTOM Date:Only 11 more shopping months til Christmas... (January 25th) Ms. Ecklestein looked down at Carolina and Flipper (who was trying to protectively clutch his blankets to cover his privvies) with slight smile on her face. "Well would you just look at the two of you! You look so cute together!" So saying she reached forward and pinched both their cheeks, drawing a squeak of pain from Flipper and a squeal of outrage from Carolina. "Yes, I can't say I've ever seen a dolphin couple quite as cute as you two. You certainly are handsome. Yes sir. Not looking to healthy though. Haven't recovered yet Mr. Flipper?" Flipper felt his flippers become a little sweaty when this strange, unknown lady spoke his name with a familiarity normally reserved for close friends. "I'm sorry, do I know you?" Carolina laughed, a soft little trill which was a bit calming, but also a bit ominous. "No dear, you don't know her. She's just a human. Tell her to leave so that I can ask you.... something. It's very important." Flipper was a bit embarassed by Carolina's rudeness. Maybe he didn't know who this lady was, but she wasn't harming anyone. Before he could say anything though, Ms. Eckelstein, who's face had darkened slightly, jumped in. "Oh dear me, there's no need to be hostile. I only know his name from the charts here at the end of his bed. I'm from a room a couple of doors down the hall, and I just thought I'd come in and see how he was, seeing as I heard he was in very bad condition at one point." As if to emphasize the point, she came up on the opposite side of the bed from Carolina and began softly rubbing his flipper which had slipped out from underneath the blankets. "Yes, you must be so tired after what you've been through, but even though you're sick, I still can't help but admire the strength and the suppleness of you. You are a very fine specimin Mr. Flipper." Flipper finally managed to get in a word edgewise, but only because Carolina seemed to be rocking back and forth shaking slightly, making strange choking noises. "Why thank you, Ms...?" "Ecklestein." "Yes, Ms. Ecklestein. I'm getting better actually. Thank you very much for asking. The doctors say I just need some rest so that I can fully recover quickly." So saying, Flipper directed a glance towards the door, hoping that his subtlety would get through to her, and that he would finally be allowed to rest, as he was getting tired. "Oh, well that's good. I'd hate to see anything happen to you. In fact, I was wondering if maybe we could talk sometime about... things. I have certain... propisitions... I'd like to make." At this point, hell broke lose with a fury. Simultaneously in three different parts of the hospital, gun-shots were heard ringing through the hallways, accompanied by the sound of an unidentified flying turnip crashing through a window several stories up from Flipper's room, and Carolina's voice pierced the air above them all, screaming "You tramp, get away from him!!!" Who ever said hospital life was peaceful? To:PIGGY IN THE MIRROR From:FERAL FERRET Date:January 25th, and the Jazz Butchers still reign in my Walkman amplifier. He faced his opponent. It was some kind of ugly creature, bearing a really weird weapon. "Hanzup!" bellowed the creature, making the weird device spit flame. Two pockmarks appeared on the cold stone floor by his naked feet. He looked up at his opponent again. --- "TRAMP!" screamed Carolina. BUDDABUDDABUDDABUDDA. Automatic gunfire rang out in the halls. Drywall spewed out from the walls in discreet holes, with WHUP noises. With a screech, Carolina dove for the floor. Ms. Ecklestein, not being a woman to miss a moment, valiantly dove on top of Flipper to protect him with her body. --- CRASHWHAM! An unidentifiable object crashed through the roof and squash (squashed, rather) his opponent flat. It must have been a sign from the gods themselves. He picked up the odd weapon and trotted silently off. --- Mr. Pinrut began dusting white powder from his carapace, and discovered he was sitting on something soft. "Get off me," weakly whispered a voice from beneath him. --- RATTA. A short burst of gunfire echoed from farther down the hall. Flipper squeaked in amazement when he saw who was on him. "Augh!" screamed a voice. "You shot me in the foot, you lunkhead!" Ms. Ecklestein, her face scant millimeters from Flipper's, smiled ferally and moved in for the kill. --- CRACK CRACK CRACK. Gunfire whizzed over Giovanni's head. He had lost complete control of his team, who had gone mad, shooting at everything in sight. His wrist hurt from the recoil of the gun. The nurse attending to him squealed in excitement, and ducked a little lower. "I always wanted to be a medic in a battlefield," she said rather breathlessly, wrapping gauze bandages around his sore arm. He sighed heavily. There would be no end of shit to pay for. --- He snuck around inside the building, finding a hole blasted through the granite and t TO:FERAL FERRET From:FERAL FERRET Date:Shaddap, shaddap, it's the 27th already. (vargin fargin sysop-maroons.) Reply to 249 [continuing from my rudely terminated prior message] He snuck around inside the building, finding a hole blasted through the granite floor. He casually took the fifteen foot drop down to the next level, landing silently in a crouch and cautiously looking about. There was a foil on the wall. --- --thud-- heard Dim Willy. He turned about, and kicked the door beside him open. Some gooky looking person with wild hair was crouched inside the storage room, scraping at the paint on the wall. The person rapidly turned about, hospital gown flying about with the extreme speed of his maneouver. "STEINER!" screamed Giuseppe into his headphones. Immediately, gunfire burst out on several different floors. --- He had the grenade launcher loaded and ready, slung beneath his gun. "STEINER!" screamed a voice in his ears, and without thinking, he triggered the device. WHUMP went the concussion grenade against the wall. He was knocked senseless by the blast. --- "Ungh" puffed Flipper, crushed beneath the weight of the old woman. "I can't breathe." WHAM! Huge piles of debris shot forth from the far wall, as a concussion grenade went off outside. Ms. Ecklestein was blown off by the force of the blast, and the bed was tipped on it's side, dumping Flipper between Carolina and the old woman. Particles of dry wall clattered to the floor. --- He heard the portcullis being raised. A demon stood outside, bathed in bright light. --- "En garde!" yelled Steiner, rushing Dim Willy. The madman rushed him, making prodding gestures with his hand. He stood there, puzzled, as Steiner appeared to be fencing with him. --- Apparently, the skin of the demon was too think for the foil to have any effect. There was only one thing he could do. Tossing the foil aside... --- Crunch. Steiner flew through the door in a jumping side-kick, stunning Giuseppe. --- He loped along another hallway. Climbing up the stairs, he saw a ravaged room, a huge hole blown through the ornate wood. He stepped through. There was a fortification that had been erected, but it wasn't even a mino (minor, rather) hindrance to Steiner. He leaped atop it, to see three peasants, lying aside each other. One seemed to be tending to the other two. With a shrug, he trotted off. --- A man dressed in a hospital gown jumped on top of the bed, accidentally exposing himself with the angle. It caught Ms. Ecklestein's attention. Carolina came to to see herself lying beside Flipper in a compromising position. She looked up to see a man peering at her. He looked them all over incuriously, arched an eyebrow, then left. --- "This should be safe!" she said, perhaps a little too enthusiastically. He grunted, more in pain than in agreement. Apparently, the hall had just been the target of a concussion grenade. A hole was blasted in the wall, more than large enough for several people to walk through. Giovanni muttered beneath his breath as the nurse lead him in, then gasped in shock. Lying between two females was a male dolphin, with a sort of weakly tired look upon his face. "Hunh," he snorted in cynical amusement, and turned away. Carolina blushed. "It's not what you think!" she yelled, chasing after the Italian man. Ms. Ecklestein merely smiled a huge, chow-eating smile. --- He hadn't found what he was after yet, and he was sure he wouldn't find it here. The building was merely a lure; something designed to waste his time. He stopped cold as he rounded a corner. Ahead of him in the hall... was the woman he saw in the mirror. --- She knew he had to be around here. Her sense never failed her. She had a score to even, after getting pinned to a wall with knives, and she was going to get him yet. Around a corner skidded Steiner. She cocked her gun. "I'm gonna get you, you son of a bitch," she muttered softly. --- He came to groggily. He was in a hospital room, lying on the floor. Suddenly, he remembered the fist. He felt his nose. It was squashed flat. His knives were missing. No matter to him, he still had his hold-out pistol. --- He angrily ran down stairs, knocking loose items of debris out of his way. He followed the paths of devastation; surely, that was where one would find Steiner. --- She slowly advanced down the hall, snarling to herself all the while. Steiner backtracked, looked around the corner, and saw an ugly monster bearing down at him at an awesome speed. A device in the monster's hand spat flame, and a section of wall spat stone. He hastily jumped forward, pinned between the monster and the woman. --- He saw Steiner. He rounded the corner, and... --- She opened fire. Steiner ducked, just as planned. --- He looked behind him. The ugly monster lay on the ground, moaning weakly. Blood pumped from many puncture wounds. She stood over the monster, kicking it once. "Don't you *ever* throw knives at me again!" she screamed, going berserk and kicking the monster repeatedly. Steiner snuck away. --- "You're not going anywhere," she said, turning about after kicking that knife-freak repeatedly. "You're coming with me," she said. They left the building by the side door, just as the police were beginning to arrive. To:ALL From:FLIPPER Date:Now it's the 30th, and I'm still godlike. Flipper moaned weakly. He wasn't well eough for this kind of action. "Wait..." he called weakly after Carolina. She turned. Flipper struggled to a standing position. Ms. Ecklestein jumped to her feet, too, and continued looking Flipper up and down. Flipper felt very self-conscious all of a sudden. Flipper surveyed the damage to the room. He suddenly felt faint, and decided to let everything go black. * * * "Get offa me, ya freak!" yelled an angry voice. Mr. Pinrut looked curiously at the nice italian man he was sitting on. The man was struggled and uttering various curses, but was unable to move from under Mr. Pinrut's metallic mass. "He seems distressed," thought Mr. Pinrut to himself. "Maybe I should move off him now?" * * * The police were able to quickly handle the hospital. A quick search revealed all the perpetrators had escaped, except for one who who underneath a metal man with a vegetable head. The metal man had been mumbling to himself about whether he should get up or not. The police arrested the man and led him off. Police chief Mark Durnez surveyed the damage. "Giovanni," he spat. * * * Carolina laid back on her new bed. Since the old room had been destroyedm the staff had moved her and Flipper to a new room. They also, she noted with relief, took Ms. Ecklestein back to HER room. She had been worried when Flipper fainted, but he had since woken up, and was fine. He had gone to sleep again, having been given a shot to relax him. To:FLIPPER From:FLIPPER Date:Now it's the 30th, and I'm still godlike. Carolina thought back to what Flipper had said when he awoke from his coma. Did he mean it? Or was he delirious? She didn't know. She shook her head. Tomorrow they were both leaving, although he still seemed too weak to be outside. She decided to put off her question until he was better. * * * Giovanna nursed his bandaged hand on the ride from the hospital. Finally he picked up his radio, calling the others who were returning from the mission. "Did anyone get Steiner?" he demanded. There was no response. A chill ran down his spine. "Gonna be hell to pay for this," he thought. To:WHERE TO BEGIN? From:PHANTOM Date:This is February. The first of February. I hate getting tied up. The sun went down, ending it's unrelentless barrage of godly light on the grounds of the Oceanarium. The stars slowly appeared, their twinkling piercing the inky blackness of the night. A fog slowly drifted in, covering the landscape in a sea of silk, individual strands of it beckoning up at the full moon like a maiden for her lost lover. Flipper slept. Mr. Pinrut slept. Carolina slept. Bud slept. Wayne slept. Steiner... Steiner.... I dunno. Is Steiner even human? Does he sleep? The night passed uneventfully, for a change and the next morning a well rested, although slightly nerveracked, Oceanarium staff straggled their way to the conference room to have a meeting about the latest turn of events. *** Flipper sat the head of the table, looking through a stack of files and reports on how the Oceanarium was operation. Although he appeared to have recovered from his sickness rather quickly, occasionally he would wheeze and cough, occasionally bad enough to make him stop and try to compose himself. As for the rest of them, they all had their little nicks and scrapes that they were trying to deal with. Mr. Pinrut had tried to look for his arm this morning, but nothing had come up from his search. Wayne was suffering immensely from the increased responsabilities that had been placed on him, and he was at this time counting the exact number of days until his retirements. Even Bud was looking harried, as he had been completely responsible for the feeding of the animals. Carolina was fretting and making nervous gestures, as the question she wanted to ask Flipper so badly sat in her gut and slowly burned away. When would she get him alone again? Should she just ask him now...? The only other person that was there, wasn't really. Steiner sat staring at his hand, which was bleeding somewhat as a result of being shoved through a glass door this morning. [He stared at the water as it danced out of the central spout of the water fountain. What pretty colours...] Finally Flipper set down the last of the reports, most of which involved many repair bills and accident reports. Clearing his throat, he looked around the board room. "Gentlemen, and ladies, I hope this was just a bad day..." To:SEVERAL HOURS EARLIER... From:FERAL FERRET Date:Nyahahahah, I've survived until the second of February! Take that! "How does it feel like to be a pawn?" she asked, pointing him down an alleyway. He merely grunted and shrugged. "Hneh," she snorted in disgust. "Figures. Well, you, my friend, are most definitely a pawn." She paused to kick a can out of the way. It clattered down the alleyway a considerable ways. "There's starting to be a really big shakeup in the family, you understand," she said, pausing for a moment to kick another can. It whanged off the side of a garbage bin, and a cat burst out from the bin, screeching loudly. Steiner, in pure reflex, put a knife through the screaming beast, silencing it immediately. "Rumour has it that Giovanni's feeling around, seeing if he can't knock off the Don and take over," she continued, grimacing as Steiner retreived the knife from the transfixed cat. "Seems he's not overly thrilled with the concept of taking orders from a do-nothing now." --- They walked down a dingy, dirty alleyway in Veluna, perfectly empty and dead, as was the rest of the city. "I'm part of the old monarchy," she said, grimacing. "I support the king, and not his lieutenant." --- "The original plan was to break you out and use you to waste the Don. We figure nobody else could do it." "When you dissappeared, Giovanni thought about having a statue that would deposit an untraceable toxin into the Don's jacuzzi. If it wasn't for the fact that the statues got mixed, the Don might have been dead." --- "They sent some powerful demons out after the Statue of Power, some of which you met. The most powerful one of them all, called Giuseppe, might actually be on the right track --- "You've got to stop them," she implored. To:WHAT!? A PEACEFUL NIGHT? REALLY!? From:FLIPPER Date:Nyahahahah, I've survived until the second of February! Take that! The meeting had adjourned, and the workers streamed out of the conference room, well, Bud did, anyway, explaining he had homework to do after he fed the whales one last time. Wayne approached Flipper. Flipper couldn't help but notice how haggard he looked. "Wayne," began Flipper, "take a week off. I know you've been working too hard lately, so I'll take over for a while. And I'll try to get you some more help, too." "It's not that." Wayne shook his head. "We found something... bad." Flipper tilted his head. What was bad? Compared to what had just ended, what was bad? Repair bills were a lot, but there had been enough business to pay everything. "What?" asked Flipper. Wayne looked at Carolina. "I think I should tell you, and you alone," he said to Flipper. Flipper shook his head. "She can hear it, too." Wayne looked questioningly at Flipper for a moment, then nodded his head. "O.K.," he began, "we found a dead porpise this morning." Flipper looked down, sadly. He slowly nodded his head. "Alright," he said, "that's all right. I know you did your best to take care of them. You need more help." "That's not it," protested Wayne. "It was in the lounge, and it had been mutilated. We have a psycho on our hands." Flipper's jaw dropped. Carolina gasped, and stood back. Wayne just looked gloomily at the ground. "Who...?" asked Flipper. He was having trouble forming words, and emitted everal whistles and clicks, instead. Carolina understood him as having said ["Who would do such a thing?"] To:DIM WILLY From:FLIPPER Date:Nyahahahah, I've survived until the second of February! Take that! Carefully he watched the grounds. The fish didn't know where the statue wa, after all. He knew Flipper was a fish, but this place was full of fish. Sooner or later he'd find the right one. He decided to wait until nightfall. * * * Carolina was having a lovely dream. She knew she was dreaming as she romped and played in the ocean, and such a lucid dream was an experience she hadn't had in years. She loved it. A buzzer sounded, and the dream faded. carolina awoke with a disappointed squeal. Something was wrong. Where was she? She seemed to be in some kind of small tank. Her sonar bounced crazily around her and deafened her sense of direction. The buzzer came again. Now she remembered. The buzzer meant that man wanted her to jump, then she'd get a piece of tuna. She raced to the surface and leapt with all her might. There was the man, on the platform as he always was. But what was different? Suddenly he reached for her. Instead of fingers his hands had five long razors each. A wail of fear escaped her as she struggled vainly to change her flight. And woke up. She looked fearfully around the room. She was right where she should have been, in Flipper's guest room. She shivered nervously, the lonely emptiness of the room getting to her. She could put it off no longer. She ha to ask Flipper now. Quietly she got up and made her way to Flipper's room. He was sleeping peacefully, occasionally coughing. She gently bent over and shook him. "Flipper...?" she called. Flipper slowly rolled over and sat up. "Wha..huh?" he mumbled. "I have to ask you now," said Carolina. "I can't put it off." To:LAST ONE TONIGHT... From:FLIPPER Date:Nyahahahah, I've survived until the second of February! Take that! "wha? Ask me what?" asked Flipper, slowly waking up. Carolina sat down on the edge of Flipper's bed. She looked down. "I know your dream is to run an Oceanarium, and all, but what you're doing isn't quite right." "Huh?" asked Flipper. "You can't keep these dolphins and whales locked up. They don't like it. I know what it's like." She turned to Flipper. "They're our own kind. How can you lock them up?" Flipper woke up. Carolina's words hurt. "I..." he began. The door slammed open, and a large man stood there, looking into the room. "Which one if youse is Flipper?" he demanded. To:SHE WANTS HIM TO WHAT!?!? From:PHANTOM Date:February 3rd, 12:25 am. I wake up for work in under 5 hours now... Mr. Pinrut left the room, his head held high for the first time in several days. Everything was back as it should be. Flipper was back in charge, the Oceanarium was starting to get back to normal, and all he had to do was find his arm, and his life would be completely fulfilled. He quickly crossed the courtyard thinking to himself... "Now if I was an arm, where would I hide?" His thoughts of long-sleeved shirts and down-filled jackets were quickly shattered as the scream of a child ripped through his eardrums. Around the corner a six year old boy sprinted, arms and legs flailing in all directions while looking over his shoulder for something as yet unseen. Since he was looking over his shoulder, he failed to notice Mr. Pinrut, and ran into him full tilt, causing the boy to bounce off and fall to the ground, where he sat there panting, and looking at him. "You gotta help me Mister, you just gotta!!" Mr. Pinrut couldn't help but feel depressed. Last kid he helped cost him an arm. What did this one want? A leg? The other arm? Maybe his head...? Leaning forward he helped the boy up. "What is it kid? Is something to the matter?" "There's these guys with big guns chasing after me!! They want to kill me!" Mr. Pinrut suppressed his laughter. Kids these days. Such great imaginations... Smiling, he patted the kid on the head, "Don't worry, they won't get you. I'll protect you from those big, mean, ugly, old men with the...." As this point Mr. Pinrut grabbed the boy and ducked behind a nearby water fountain, as sub-machinegun fire whizzed overtop of his head... To:FOOD. FOOD GOOD. From:FERAL FERRET Date:It's the fourth of February, and Bayshore Mall will never be the same! "Let's do it," she said, handing him a pistol. He looked at it incuriously... --- "That's the fonkin' thing that fell on me!" yelled the man, slamming home a clip filled with tracers and opening up. Krrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Bullets whanged off Mr. Pinrut's carapace, as he staggered back under the endless stream of lead. He fell back over on top of the kid. --- "I wants da statue," said Giuseppe, trying desperately not to drool. "I wants da fonkin' statue NOW!" "I... I..." stuttered Flipper. "Aieeee!" --- Tump tump tump tump tump. Bullets spewed linoleum high into the air in the kitchen. A chef desperately dived for cover as gunfire pretty nearly took his head off. "Where's da fonkin' fish!" bellowed another man, his foot heavily bandaged. --- "I think it's time for us to make a move," she said. He stood there, turning the gun over and over in his hand. --- He had no idea what she had handed him. He figured it might make a nice club. "Go." was all he had to say. --- Bud was having a great time. Being young, having watched a lot of movies, and having no idea that the lead really was real, he donned his GI Joe bandana and went to war. --- The lobby had been cleared and secured, much to his relief. They used it as a staging area, and brought up more ammunition and reinforcements. He poked his head around a door, and suddenly everything went dark, and cymbals rang in his ears. --- Bud dropped from the chandelier as soon as he saw the Italian man walk by. Bucket in hand, he plopped it neatly over his opponent's head and began beating on it with metal spoons... --- Steiner kept trotting. He felt the presences of several monsters, and the demon he failed to slay. He had to avenge himself... To:I'M NOT WELL ENOUGH FOR THESE PROBLEMS ALREADY... From:FLIPPER Date:Congratulate me. On friday the 5th, I managed to change the date again. "Wha.. what statue?" asked Flipper. Carolina looked at him, inquisitivly, but he could only shake his head. "Don' youse play stoopid wit' me!" He anvanced into the room. The two big fish were scared. Yeah, he could see it. He'd get what he wanted. "If youse don' tell me where de statue is, youse is both gonna get it!" "We don't know what you're talking about!" wailed Carolina. Willy stepped into the room and grabbed her. He looked into her eyes, and pulled out a deadly looking knife with the other. "Youse has 3 seconds. One...two...uh..." Giuseppe paused. "Let her go!" yelled Flipper, panting from the exertion and stress. Giuseppe turned. "Dis yer goilfriend, is it? Start talkin, or she gets it..." He stopped to think for a moment. "Flipper." he finished. He mentally congradulated himself on his fine deducation. "Okay..." sighed Flipper sadly. "I'll take you to it." He stood up weakly, having no idea what he was going to do next. To:NETHERWORLD BEING From:FLIPPER Date:Congratulate me. On friday the 5th, I managed to change the date again. Mr Pinrut continued laying on the boy, effectivly sheilding the child from the hail of lead. Mr Pinrut silently considered the cursed beings small children are, and the man advanced towards him. * * * The Oceanarium was devoid of crowds, for the first time since opening. Most had fled when the shooting began, others had been chased out to ensure an easy search of the Oceanarium. A few newspaper reporters who happened to be visiting the oceanarium had hidden, and were taking notes on what was sure to be a major story. * * * Wayne heard the gunshots and screams, and ran immediately to the killer whale tank. Somehow, he had been missed while clearing the area, and he defiantly stood guard, determined that nobody would hurt his whales. * * * "Get dis brat offa me!" wailed the man with the bucket on his head. Several others ran towards him to help, but Bud lept off and ran into the twisting halls, where he quickly vanished. (But not before tossing a water "grenade" filled with red ink). To:MAKE YOU HIPPA HIPPA HIPPA HIPPA. From:FERAL FERRET Date:Congratulate me. On friday the 5th, I managed to change the date again. "What's the plan?" she asked. He shrugged. He was nearly there, and could feel it. "Riiiight, wait a sec, I know your plan. You're goning to sneak into the building by killing everyone in sight, aren't you?" she asked, alarm spreading across her face. He grunted in reply. "Here," she muttered, tossing him a few clips for the pistol that were taped together in a bundle. "You'll probably need 'em." --- "I'n gwanna start breakin' her kneecaps real soon!" he bellowed, spraying both their faces with a stream of doughnut bits. Flipper couldn't help taking a look downwards to reassure himself that she didn't, in fact, have kneecaps. --- The man with the bandaged foot craftily circled around the kitchen. He nearly had his quarry pinned, and was so intent on the kill that he didn't notice the puddle of water. He pulled a neat endo, and was treated to a demonstration of stars when he got clobbered in the head with a meat tenderizer. --- Whangwhangwhangwhangwhang... his ears were still echoing with the beating that had been administered by Bud's metallic spoons. He walked about in a crooked line, and completely forgot all about the reflection of the tall, sombre-dressed individual sporting a pistol standing behind him that he saw. He just saw a lot of blackness in a hurry. --- He dealt a swift and solid blow to the back of the beast's head when it wasn't looking. Morale must have been high here, for the beast staggered about as if it was drunk. He smirked to himself, efficiently searching the beast's clothes for a useful weapon. --- To:GO WHITE BOY GO WHITE BOY GO WHITE BOY GO... From:PHANTOM Date:1993020600280, and TIger is bushed. Bullets whined and wheezed over into the side of the fountain, sending a fine spray of dust billowing over the area. Mr. Pinrut hugged the (stupid, annoying, idiotic) kid to his chest, keeping him out of the way of the fire... All he could think was "Soon... Soon...." The bullets continued spraying almost deafening them both with their roar. All of the sudden the spray of fire stopped and the vicious assault on their ears halted... "Aww, man... how could I forget to pack extra clips!?! Hey you, with the kid. Hold on there for a second, I'll be right back!!" The man walked past the two stunned people, as they lay covering their heads on the ground. He soon turned a corner and disappeared, leaving them alone as the last remnants of the dust settled onto them. Mr. Pinrut looked at the (stupid, annoying, idiotic) kid. The (stupid, annoying, idiotic) kid stared at Mr. Pinrut. Both jumped up and took off into the Oceanarium... *** "Umm... The statue? Yes, the statue. Well, it's right this way. Yeah, just follow me... ummm...right down this hallway... Yeah, it's this way." Flipper led Carolina and Giuseppe through the hallways of the Oceanarium, which was rather difficult considering he didn't yet know the layout of it... "Ummm... We turn right here... yes... That's it..." Flipper reached up to whipe some non-existant sweat from his non-existant brow with a non-existant hand. *** Wayne stood, flexing, readying himself for anything that might try and threaten *HIS* whales. Suddenly, around the corner two figures whipped, running at top speed. Wayne dove out screaming... "Not my whales you murderers!!!" Then the lights went out. To:WAFFLES ARE NOT FOR FELCHING. From:PHANTOM Date:1993020600280, and TIger is bushed. Mr. Pinrut and the (stupid, annoying, idiotic) kid whizzed through the hallways trying to escape the armies of villains trying to get in there way. They rounded one corner at top speed, just pausing to notice a figure jump out of the shadows, screaming in rage and fury. They only paused shortly however, as the unfortunate man chose to try to tackle Mr. Pinrut low, and as Mr. Pinrut's legs were made of metal, Mr. Pinrut's only discomfort was the hair from the man that seemed to have wedged itself into his kneecap. Hobbling slightly, Mr. Pinrut continued on, pulling the twerp behind him. *** "Umm... Left up here. Then through this door. Now push this button here, yes... and now we wait for twenty-seven seconds... Perfect! Now we leave and go to the right..." Flipper's flukes twitched in irritation. He had been trying to think of a plan for fifteen minutes now, but the drugs must still be affecting him. "Now let's try to the left..." *** Hobble hobble hobble hobble. *** "Turn right here..." *** Hobble hobble hobble hobble. *** "Left here... Or is it right? I know! Straight through!" Flipper started through the fourway corridor connection, only to hear a huge THUD! as he cleared the intersection. Turning around, he found himself looking at a startled Giuseppe, who was no longer holding a gun... *** Hobble hobble hobble.... "Hey wait a second... What's this in my chest?" To:6 HRS TO GET ONTO MY OWN BBS. SHEESH. From:FLIPPER Date:I [expletive deleted] hate snow. February the [grumble] 8th. Flipper looked at Giuseppe's empty hand. Carolina looked at Giuseppe's empty hand. Giuseppe looked at his empty hand. "Wha...?" asked Guiseppe, looking around for the gun he somehow had then lost. Flipper saw his chance. Summoning all his strength (which still wasn't much, since he was still a little sick), he lept at Giuseppe, making his best impression of a killer whale death cry. In all, it sounded like a wounded sea lion, but Flipper was very proud and most dolphins were too polite to tell him the truth. Anyway, Giuseppe whirled around, and with a quick movement tossed Flipper against a nearby wall. "I may not be smart," he remarked, standing over Flipper, "but I ain't stoopid." Flipper saw stars, intermingled with little fish which he vaugely remembered not to bite down on. He watched with some fascination as the huge form in front of him suddenly collapsed in a heap, leaving a Carolina-shaped form holding an iron frying pan. The stars cleared slowly, as Carolina helped him stand up. "Where'd you get a frying pan?" asked Flipper. "The narrator gave it to me," commented Carolina. The narrator cringed noticeably. "Oops. Sorry," said Carolina. "I forgot. I mean 'It was just laying in the hall here.'" The narrator nodded to himself as Carolina and Flipper headed off to Flipper's office to try and understand what was going on. To:IN MEMORY OF THE STRAFFED DOLPHINS. From:FLIPPER Date:It's the tenth of Februaru now, and yes, I'm still insane. Flipper carefully opened the door to his office and looked in. All was clear. He and Carolina stepped carefully in. The office had been repaired while he was in the hospital, so the jungle effect was complete once again. Flipper sat down behind his desk, and Carolina pulled a chair around and sat beside him. Suddenly a figure leapt out of the vines covering the wall. "YO JOE!" shouted a young voice, and a sucker dart attached itself to Flipper's forehead. "Oh! Sorry Sir! I didn't recognize you!" Bud stepped in front of the desk. Flipper, startled, silently gave the rubber dart back to Bud. Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Bud leapt behind it. "I'll cover you," he said. Flipper got up, and moved Bud from the door. "I'll deal with it myself," he told Bud, shaking his head. He assumed the best martial arts stance he could manage, from old ninja movies. "Come in," he called. The door opened, and in walked a man wearing a long white lab coat. He was carrying a rather corroded statue. Flipper recognized it as the ugly one in the corner of his living room. The technician closed the door and followed Flipper back to the desk. Flipper sat down as the man introduced himself. "I'm Doctor Rob Richard, from the lab. We've finally finished analysing this statue." "What statue?" asked Flipper. "Wasn't that in my room?" "This," replied Rob, "is why you were sick. Underneath a protective layer of latex paint, we found a substance that would dissolve to become a deadly poison in warm water. Only a tiny amount need dissolve to kill. Apparently there was a small nick in the paint, which started the statue dissolving when it was submerged." Flipper was impressed. But Carolina wasn't satisfied. "If only a little would kill, why didn't it kill Flipper and I? It looks like a lot dissolved." To:CONTINUED. From:FLIPPER Date:It's the tenth of Februaru now, and yes, I'm still insane. "A lot did," said the scientist. "But for some reason it reacted with the salt in your water, and formed a slightly less toxic hallucinogen. Had you spent much longer in there, you would have died, for sure. But the salt reaction slowed the process." The door to the office suddenly flew across the room, hitting the far wall with a thud before dropping to the moss covered floor. Giuseppe stepped in, a noticable lump on the back of his head. His hand contained a rather evil looking, and quite large, knife, and his eyes showed that he intended to kill something, and very soon. "NO MORE GAMES," he bellowed. "YOUSE IS GONNA GIVE ME DAT STACHOO, AND DEN I'SE IS GONNA KILL YOU ALL!" TO:FLIPPER From:FERAL FERRET Date:Ferrette stars in GIFs. DL 'em! Date: February 11, 1993. I think. Thursday? Reply to 267 Reply to 267 "Waaaaaarrrrg!" The feral animal cry sounded to him for all the world like Pascal Blais screaming in rage. He skidded to a halt, slid up to a wall, looked around nervously and *RAN*. --- WHAM! "Die scum licking bastards!" he screamed, stepping forward with a baseball bat and cracking a man upside the head. Wayne had gone berserk, and was wielding his weapon with a strength unsurpassed by Hercules. The target of his venom flew across the room with his head virtually knocked completely off. The bat fragmented under the impact. "Ain't NOBODY touchin' my fuckin' whales!" he screamed, ripping a six-foot length of pipe off the wall and spinning it with ease. The other three men, armed with crowbars, looked at each other nervously, unsure of what to do. --- "Ki!" Steiner dove through the ceiling with a spirit shout, and landed, surrounded by debris, in front of Giuseppe. "Now we shall fight," he uttered, entering a battle stance. Giuseppe licked his lips and narrowed his eyes. "I'm gonna get you yet, Ricky," he muttered, his teeth gnashing together in anger, "and then I'm gonna get yer fish friends, too. McDonalds is gonna pay me a lot for deir caracca susses." He lunged with his knife. Steiner expertly blocked it and followed up with a backfist to Giuseppe's temple. Giuseppe staggered for a second, then lunged again, catching Steiner on the arm and severing a tendon. They circled about, glaring at each other with a hatred surpassing mere ferocity. Everyone else in the room stood well out of the way, completely silent. The anger in the room was like a living, liquid thing, replacing the atmosphere and drowning any hope of conversation. To:BLINK BLINK From:PHANTOM Date:Ya know that last countdown? It's today, the 12th of February, 1993. Mr. Pinrut reached down and cautiously fingered the barrel of the rifle that jutted out from his chest. Wiggle... BOING!! Wiggle... BOING!! Wiggle wiggle wiggle.... BOING! BOING! BOING! The kid (the stupid one) stood beside him, eyes somewhat glazed over in admiration. "Woooooooooowwwww! Wait here for a second!!" The boy ran off down the hallway, faster than a bat out of hell. Mr. Pinrut propped himself up against the wall, panting heavily. This things was rather unsightly (wiggle... BOING!), but at least the kid was going to help him get it out. Guess the kid wasn't as bad as he thought... Soon the kid came whipping around the corner, one hand hidden behind his back. Mr. Pinrut, stared at the boy as he stopped in front of him and stared, silently... offering no help whatsoever. Mr. Pinrut looked around. "Well?" The boy looked straight at the gun. "Well?" Mr. Pinrut, feeling that the boy had obviously missed something, reached down and began wiggling thegun painfully imbedded in his chest. Wiggle wiggle wiggle. BOING! BOING! BOING! The kid, his face lit up with joy (JOY!!) whipped his other hand out from behind his back, revealing two spoons held together, which he began clacking together with too much energy to be considered sane. Clackity-clackity-wiggle-BOING-clackity-wiggle-wiggle-BOING-BOING... The kid looked up at Mr. Pinrut... "See? We'll be famous!! Songs, albums, concerts, stadiums, groupies... BABES!! You and me, we're going to the top!!" Mr. Pinrut's erased his eyes and redrew them looking up into his head... "Oh God, what did I do to you...?" To:WELL, IF YOU WON'T, I WILL. GEEZ. From:FLIPPER Date:13 Feb 93...as Phantom finishes a 4 hr session. Giuseppe stared at Steiner for several minutes. Steiner stared back, seemingly displaced. Flipper, Carolina, and the lab guy retreated behind the desk and watched, fearfully. "Youse has caused us too much trouble," said Giuseppe, as deliberately as possible. "Time to finish youse once and for good!" --- The monster was standing there, growling and flexing it's claws. Steiner stood ready, waiting for the inevitable attack. "You will never defeat me," roared the beast, launching itself. Steiner stepped quickly to the side, liftinng his foot in a neat sidekick. --- The kick connected in roughly Giuseppe's groin area. He dropped the knife, and quickly followed it to the floor. "You little BASTARD!" he squealed. --- The monster appeared mortally wounded. Steiner glanced around, and saw a statue on a large shelf. Was it the magical statue? He walked over and carefully examined it. --- Flipper stood up. "Steiner?" he asked. "What's going on here?" To:YOU BLEW IT DUDE. I WAS LETTIN' PHANTOM HAVE A CHANCE. From:FERAL FERRET Date:It's the thirteenth of February, and I'm sober long enough to get drunk. He stood up, grabbed the knife, and hurled it with all his might. THWOCK! Steiner's hand was pinned to the wall by the wrist, and the statue flew across the room. "Asshole!" growled Giuseppe in pain, holding his groin with his other hand. "I'm gonna kill you." Bud stared anxiously, wishing he could do something, but knowing it was beyond him, until... his eyes widened, first in comprehension, then in a berserk frenzy. "Yoooooo JOE!" he screamed, caroming off the desk and into Giuseppe's knees. Steiner began tugging on the knife with his free hand, trying to release himself. "You BRAT!" grunted Giuseppe, grabbing the kid by the head, and almost releasing him, with a funny look on his face. His muscles completely relaxed, and a small look of fear spread across his features. Flipper looked up to see a small yet muscular woman holding a curious looking stick to Giuseppe's groin. "I just changed the batteries on it, too," she said with an evil smirk, as another spark shot out from the business end of the stick when Giuseppe twitched. He howled in animal agony. Steiner kept yanking on the knife. With a move so fast it was blinding, Giuseppe knocked the cattle-prod away and cuffed the woman upside the head. She crashed against the wall, but staggered to her feet, still full of fight. Bud raced across the room to attack Giuseppe again, who this time merely hurled him back against the wall, near Steiner. He lie there woozily. Steiner heard blows being exchanged, but couldn't see anything. He was still trying to free himself of the knife. Flipper and Carolina took the opportunity to sneak out of the room, unnoticed, as the woman reeled back from a dozen well placed punches, her face bleeding. Steiner still couldn't free himself. To:OH! IT'S MY TURN NOW? SILLY ME. From:FLIPPER Date:FLIPFEST TODAY FLIPFEST TODAY FLIPFEST TODAY FLIPFEST TODAY FLIPF feb20 Flipper led Carolina out of the office. They could still hear blows being exchanged inside. "You gotta go call the police or something!" said Flipper. "What about security?" asked Carolina. Flipper shuffled nervously. "We, uh, didn't hire any. Just go call the police from one of the pay phones or something. I'll go see if I can help." Carolina looked at Flipper for a moment, as the floor shook with what was probably the impact of another body with a wall. She turned around and headed towards the main lobby. Flipper turned back to the door, building up his courage. He took a deep breath, and uttering another strangled warcry, slammed the door open with all his force. * * * Wayne slowly regained consciousness. He groggily looked around. He was lying in front of the killer whale tank. Now he remembered. He had been there to protect them, and two guys had come around the corner at him. He rubbed the lump on the back of his head, and winced. He climbed up the stairs to the observation deck and looked in on his whales. The water was red. Wayne's eyes opened wide as he scanned the pool in panic. Ripples appeared, followed by a weak plume. One of the whales weakly surfaced to breathe. Wayne leapt into the water with a strangled cry, and swam over to the whale. It started to sink, but Wayne held it up with strong kick strokes. He ran his hand carefully over the skin, feeling dozens of bleeding holes. "Bulletholes," he thought. "The BASTARDS!" The whale uttered a low wail. It echoed around the Oceanarium, mourfully bouncing off the far-off mountains. Wayne had never heard anything so heart-renching in his life. The whale uttered a final sigh, and it flukes stopped moving. A white froth formed around the blowhole, and Wayne was no longer strong enough to hold the animal at the surface. Finally he was forced to let it go. An old voice echoed through his mind. "Don't get too attached to them. They won't be around forever." Wayne wailed his own cry of loss and pain, with an undertone of pure rage. To:I'M NOT REALLY SURE WHAT TO PUT HERE. From:FLIPPER Date:It's the 23rd of February, maaaaan. Flipper skidded along the floor of his office, neatly missing Giuseppe, who was grappling with a woman Flipper didn't know. Actually, noted Flipper, he was beating the crap out of her, and he didn't know how much longer she would hold out. He hit the far wall with a light bump, and looked up to see Steiner still struggling to pull a knife from the wall. The knife had his hand pinned, so Steiner was effectively trapped. Flipper looked around for something that might help, and his gaze landed on the statue, still sitting on the desk. Hadn't Giuseppe mentioned something about a statue? Flipper crawled over to the desk. There was a thud against a far wall as Flipper reached the desk. He turned to see Giuseppe advancing on Steiner. The woman lay against a wall, apparently unconscious. Suddenly Steiner whipped around, his hand free from the wall. Without a word he threw the knife which had held his hand at Giuseppe. The knife hit squarely in his shoulder. Roaring with pain and surprise, he staggered back. Steiner held his position for the moment, and the two glared silently at each other, their eyes communicating hatred more than words ever could. Several minutes passed, and nobody moved. The door slowly opened, blocking Giuseppe behind it. Carolina cautiously entered the room. Seeing Flipper by the desk, she began to speak. "The phones aren't working! They..." Giuseppe leapt around the door and grabbed her, simultaneously removing the knife from his shoulder and holding it under her jaw. "Awright," he growled, his eyes glowing with anger. "Gimme the stachoo now, or Ms. Fish here gets it!" Flipper's eyes opened wide. He glanced at Steiner, who still hadn't moved. He could only wonder what was going on inside Steiner's head. Slowly, cautiously, he picked up the statue and began to carry it to Giuseppe. A broad grin spread across his face. "Yah, dat's it. Nice an' slow." He reached out to take the statue. To:A BIT MORE... From:FLIPPER Date:It's the 23rd of February, maaaaan. Suddenly he twitched, an expression of extreme agony on his face. He dropped the knife, and Carolina raced across the room. Flipper stepped back, and Steiner even seemed to pay attention. Giuseppe stepped further into the room and whirled around. Several deep gashes in his back were bleeding heavily. Wayne stepped in, his clothes patterned black and white like the whales he once tended. In his hand he held a wicked looking whaling hook. "Murderer!" he spat, swinging the hook at Giuseppe. Giuseppe stepped back, in shock. He took a quick look around, to see Steiner advancing from behind him. With a cry of fear he raced across the room and leapt through the window, spraying glass everywhere. Wayne and Steiner lept through after him, leaving Flipper and Carolina to tend for the wounded woman. Wayne's cries of "Whale killer!" and "Murderer!" grew fainter, until they could no longer be heard. To:FINALE From:FLIPPER Date:On February the 24th, Feral Ferret posts an MiC on himself. A piece of paper fluttered aimlessly under the CLOSED sign at the entrance to the Oceanarium. It explained the Oceanarium was closed, pending police investigation of the events which had taken place. Several days had passed, and the Oceanarium was quiet. Even the usually rambunctious bottlenose dolphins were quiet. Flipper aimlessly tossed whole mackeral to the dolphins, not noticing they let it sink to the bottom of the pool. He stared out into space, remembering the senseless deaths the mobster's raid had caused. Not just the three killer whales, but 2 belugas and 6 spinner dolphins were also dead, victims of humans attacking something which could not fight back. Flipper tossed another fish, and another. The dolphins, having picked up on his sullennes, not to mention the quiet air of the entire complex, merely watched him. Another fish hit the water with a small splash. It drifted down, sitting on the pool bottom with the others. Finally a young dolphin could stand the silence no longer. He started collecting the fish, and laying them at Flipper's flukes. Every time Flipper tossed a fish, he grabbed it and lay it at poolside. *** Carolina could watch no longer. She moved up to Flipper. "You've got to let them go..." she said, laying a fin on Flipper, and pointing at the young dolphin who brought yet another fish. Flipper looked down. The young dolphin chattered excitedly, quite proud of his accomplishments. Flipper sighed, but said nothing. "They derserve to be free," said Carolina. "They deserve the chance at freedom. A chance even you had." Flipper sat down beside the pool, dangling his flukes in the water. The young dolphin excitedly invited him in to play, and splashed water at him. Flipper sighed heavily. "No matter what happens afterward," continued Carolina, "I'll stay with you. But give these dolphins, and the whales, a chance to live their own lives." She paused. "At some point, even dreams should be let go." Flipper stood up again. Quietly, in dolphin, he said "[I'm sorry.]" He left the pool and moved off towards his office. To:QUE? From:PHANTOM Date:Mar 2nd, 1993... 4 days before first spring training game is televised. Flipper slowly walked back to his office, head whirling around, muddled by a thick fog inside of it. Everywhere he went there was destruction, chaos... Blood. He slowly walked by the whale tank, where the red water was slowly being drained from it, while divers hooked lines connected to cranes around the dead carcasses of the poor whales. Meanwhile janitorial staff scrubbed the walls and the floor, removing the blood from Wayne's battle from them. Flipper knew that no matter how spotless they got it, he still always see that hallway as he had seen it today. Everything and everyone he worked for had seemingly vanished through his hands as if it was water, while he slowly watched it drain away, unable to do anything about it. Not only did Carolina want all his animals to be released, but the Oceanarium itself was a disaster. Not only that, but all his friends... His staff... He had hardly seen any of them. Mr. Pinrut had apparently disappeared into thin air, as had Bud. Wayne was taken down to the hospital where he was admitted into the psychiatric wing. Heck, even the painters had disappeared from sight. The only person that was left was Carolina, and instead of comforting him like and good, decent, female would do (As well as the dishes, floors, garbage, vacuuming, dusting, washrooms, cooking, etc, etc, etc) she just made demands on him, confusing his thoughts even more. No, everything had changed on poor Flipper. He could think of only one person who was the same as when he first met him. So saying, Flipper reached his office and slowly opened the door, revealing a drooling Steiner, who was leaning against the back office wall with a glazed expression on his face, as he had for the last 6 or 7 messages. To:IT'S OVER. From:FLIPPER Date:I'm back!.....Rogue, hahahahahahahaha!!!! "I've got real problems," Flipper said to Steiner. Steiner stared off into space, oblivious to Flipper. Flipper waved a fin in front of him, and seeing no response, sighed and sat down at his desk. A breeze from the broken window blew vines into his face, and he pushed them away. He sat there for some time, debating. He barely noticed Steiner leave the office. He reflected on the events that had led up to this point in his life. Suddenly, he laughed aloud. "Watch out what you wish for," he laughed, "you just might get it!" He laughed some more, but it was an empty laugh. There was no mirth in it, and it didn't last very long. Flipper sighed, picked up the phone, and began to dial. * * * Flipper stood on the beach early the next morning, watching the reddish sun sluggishly climb into a hazy sky. Carolina stood back a few feet. Flipper had been quiet towards everyone since the incident, and she wasn't sure just what to do. A large truck backed up to the water's edge, using a boat loading ramp to lower it's rear end into the water. Several men got out and opened the back, as Flipper slowly turned to watch. The three men began carrying dolphins, in protective travelling boxes. They reached the water with the first box, and lowered it gently. The dolphin inside wriggled slightly, and the men lowered the sides of the box, freeing the animal into the ocean. One at a time the men repeated this procedure, calming the animals until they were swimming freely. Finally there was a small pod swimming excitedly in the shallow water. Flipper listened to their chatter, and felt a warm glow inside as he heard their joy. They remembered the sea. He felt he had finally done the right thing, for once. To:CAN A DREAM DIE? From:FLIPPER Date:I'm back!.....Rogue, hahahahahahahaha!!!! Suddenly a message of fear intermixed with the excited chatter. The dolphins were quiet as Flipper watched the men trying to calm a young dolphin. The young animal was crying in fear, and it's mother spoke soothingly to it. It had never seen the ocean, being born at the Oceanarium. Flipper entered the water to speak with him. The young dolphin looked up, and recognized Flipper. "[What's wrong?]" asked Flipper. "[I'm scared,]" replied the young dolphin. "[I don't like this place. I want to go home!]" "[But,]" stuttered Flipper, confused, "[the ocean IS your home! You must live here now, where you can be free!]" "[I want to go back with you!]" wailed the dolphin. Carolina came up and led Flipper out of the water. "He must learn on his own," she said, "his mother will show him. We have to get back." Flipper took a longing look at the now free pod, swimming away from the shore. Then he followed Carolina off the beach. To:NEW BEGINNINGS, NEW FRIENDS, OLD STUPIDITY. From:PHANTOM Date:I logged in on time to change the date. (Oh! 6th of March. Riiight!) Flipper started trudging off the beach, quickly at first, but soon slowing with every step until he had stopped completely. He slowly turned around and looked out at the ocean, watching the last of the dolphins swimming away, reveling in their freedom, which at the same time had cost Flipper his dream. Carolina came up behind and asked him if he was okay. Flipper turned slightly with a warpish smile, "I'll be fine. I just want to be alone for a while." He turned back to watch the ocean again, submerging his thoughts in the serenity of it's depths, while the water slowly turned red as the sun sunk into it's watery darkness. In the back of his mind he took account of Carolina's movements receding off in the distance, until eventually he was left in silence. For hours he stood there, listening to nothing but the chirping of crickets and peaceful lapping of waves on the shoreline, once in a while disturbed by the passing of a car... an awful reminder of the cruel world he had chosen to live in. A soft purring sound alerted Flipper that another car was coming down the road, not that he cared. Unlike the others though, it seemed to slow down upon reaching the beach, turning ever so slightly, until Flipper was bathed in the soft golden glow of the headlights. Sighing heavily, thinking that if he could not even be left alone in the ocean of all places, Flipper turned around, squinting his eyes against the harsh glare. To:BIG BAD AND GROOVY. From:PHANTOM Date:I logged in on time to change the date. (Oh! 6th of March. Riiight!) In front of Flipper was a beautiful, white stretch limo, covered in gleaming chrome, complete with bull horns on the front. The car simply sat there, outlining Flipper in the light until he began to feel nervous about the safety of this situation. Just as Flipper was tiring of standing there and was about to issue a challenge, the two rear doors swung open, and two figures got out. Seeing as Flipper was being blinded by the headlights, Flipper could not make out many details of these two individuals, but both seemed to have massive hair-do's, and one of the figures (He thought the one on the right) seemed to be gasping or wheezing... Or something. The person on the right advanced slowly, and voice carried out of the darkness. "Flipper? Is that you?" Flipper paused, not sure how to answer to this mystery person, but decided he was no longer caring about his own safety. "Yeah, it's me. What can I do for you?" The figure on the left breathed a sigh of relief, and stepped forward into the light, revealing good ol' Mr. Pinrut... kind of. The difference lay in a leather jacket he was wearing complete with studs and chains, (along with several spikes), and the strangest looking wig he had ever seen. Rising two feet above his head, it was a myriad of colours, seeming to rival those of a rainbow. Mr. Pinrut extended a hand to Flipper (who extended his Flipper somewhat reluctantly), and shook his Flipper exuberantly. "Oh, Mr. Flipper, I'm so glad to have found you. I heard about the Oceanarium and I'm really very sorry for what has happened to you." Flipper, touched by Mr. Pinrut's apparent concern began to feel even more uncomfortable. "Gee, thanks Pinrut, but it's not that bad." "Not that bad? Sheesh. From what I heard the whole thing was destroyed and you lost everything!!! How can that be not that bad? You must be devestated!! I can hardly imagine the pain you must be going through. All your dreams shot to hell in the blink of an eye. If it was me I'd be ripping my hair out right now... Mind you neither of us have any." Flipper blinked, and began to feel a rage boiling inside of him. "What do you want Pinrut?" To:BIG BAD AND GROOVY 2. From:PHANTOM Date:I logged in on time to change the date. (Oh! 6th of March. Riiight!) Mr. Pinrut, noticing a strange reddish tinge flowing into Flipper's features which he had never seen before decided to cut to the chase. "Look Mr. Flipper, you see this?" At which point Mr. Pinrut reached down and began twanging a rifle that he had not noticed sticking out of Mr. Pinrut's chest. "Uhh, yes. That's very nice. Don't you think you should have it looked at though?" Mr. Pinrut laughed, but kept talking. "No, this is great! This rifle is my ticket to fame, and since you were so good to me, I'm offering you a chance to get in on it. You see, with this rifle, I can perform any nmber of tunes that anyone can really dig!!" With a grin and a little gig, Mr. Pinrut began twanging away, strumming out a tune that Flipper had to admit was actually kind of catchy. "You see? I new I had a gift when this happened, so I exploited it, and I became part of this great new group. Do you wanna join too?" Flipper stood silently, slightly taken aback by the offer. Him? A rock star? Dunno..... Noting Flipper's strange expression, Mr. Pinrut continued, "Look, you can be anything you want. We've got a tuba player, a drummer, and look, here's our other member, Bill." At this point, 'Bill', the person on the left of the limo emerged into the light, revealing what looked remarkably like a cross between a cat and a hair ball, complete with a wig identical to the one Mr. Pinrut wore. 'Bill' looked Flipper up and down, coughed rather loudly, sending a smattering of something flying over Flipper's shoulder, and then slowly opened his mouth, letting the longest tongue Flipper had ever seen slowly roll out, drooling spittle as it did. Finally, as the tongue reached Bill's navel, Bill grabbed it with one hand and stretched it to it's maximum length, and then began strumming it with the other hand. After a few moments, Mr. Pinrut began strumming on his rifle too, and the two started to produce a symphony of both sight and sound. After several minutes of furious playing, leaving Flipper, Bill, Mr. Pinrut, and anyone else within a five mile radius drenched with Bill's saliva they stopped, panting for breath. "We call ourselves Deathtongue. Wanna join?" =================================================== harmlesslion.com - Not for Commercial Use