[Flash_Guardian] The hilltop appears as before, and odd rock formation amidst the stone, sheer drop off to one side. Out of nowhere, a swirling yellow portal appears, just as before, waiting for Flash and his companions to emerge from it.

Bida stands beside Flash, watching Aiza for anything. . . strange. Her right hand is resting on her sword hilt, the carving in her hand feels kind of tingly

Devaine_Hawk brings up the rear , his semi automatic shot gun at the ready and gym bag slung over his shoulder , covering the others as they make their way along

Devaine_Hawk motions to Flash with a jerk of his head , calling him off to the side , “we need to talk “

Flash_Guardian holds up his conjured ball of light, as before, as the group proceeds back into the structure, giving a worried glance or two back at Bida and Aiza as they make their way down the metallic, rune-lined corridor heading for the garage. He catches sight of Devaine's head nod, and comes up to him quickly. "What's up?"

Aiza walks as far from everyone as she can, but still in between everyone. Looking at her palms, she appeared in deep thought.

Bida stops in the hallway, looking at the etchings and comparing them to the one on her hand.

Devaine_Hawk motions to Flash with a jerk of his head ,“Like I was talking to Glyniss last night I the pub , whoever stoped the old man and girl from finishing this place might not be too happy about us being out here poking around either , we need to be careful . I gave her and Kade the code to get past my building security system, if they need someplace to hole up “ he holds out a card , “the codes on the back “ calling him off to the side , “we need to talk “

Aiza almost runs into Bida, then stops and looks behind her for the men.

Flash_Guardian slips the card into his pouch quickly. "Sure thing, Dev. Thanks." He gives a sidelong glance to the two sisters up ahead momentarily, but waits for Devaine to continue.

Flash_Guardian quickly catches himself, giving Dev a bewildered glance. "Wait a minute ... old man and girl?"

Devaine_Hawk lowers his head for a second , “So I an the only one who’ seen them then , the old man looks like an elf , the girl has cybernetics “ he brings his eyes up to Flash and the blue white sparks are racing in them

Bida 's head snaps towards Devaine, "old elf man?"

Flash_Guardian is just as confused as before. "Wha ... seen them where? How? Here? I've been in here with every group so far, and I haven't seen anyone else. Unless you're ..." Flash points up at his temple. "Seeing things again?"

Aiza says, "THey're here, but they're not." She looks at Flash, "He's not insane."

Devaine_Hawk seems to stare of into space , maybe looking at something not there or only he sees , as he goes on “when I saw then in the scale room , they where arguing about how important finishing this place was. The old man told her their very essence ,or existence depended on it ..and the place needed to be here for the worthy to find when they need to “

Bida looks back at the wall. 'oh,' she thinks, 'different old elf man.'

Flash_Guardian nods, a realization coming to him. "I think it's time for all of us to play a little game called 'what do we know?'" He looks between Devaine, Bida, and Aiza. "We all need to have the same picture of this place, don't you think?"

Devaine_Hawk shrugs his shoulders , and chuckles “the only reason I didn’t tell you sooner was because I didn’t want you all looking at me like your looking at me , “

Bida says, "I odn't think you're nuts. I've seen someone here, when they weren't"

Flash_Guardian mumbles something that sounds rather jealous under his breath, looking away. "How come ... only one not ... visions ..."

Aiza 's footing wavers for a moment as she takes a step backwards. She stops ans shakes her head hard. Looking at Bida, she makes a face, then looks back at the men, her face blank again.

Aiza says, "You want visions? I can give you visions. I can make you see stars. Or I can send some nameless over th" She claps her hands over her mouth and looks away.

Bida glares at Aiza, then walks to stand beside Flash.

Devaine_Hawk laughs “hell Flash, ask Glyniss I was wondering why I’m the one they picked to talk to , and yes I’ve heard them to , not like my other psychic flashes it was like I was there with them or they where here with me “

Flash_Guardian sends a nervous glare in Aiza's direction, tensing up slightly. "Why don't we go find a seat somewhere in the next room and all of us can talk about what we've seen, eh?"

Aiza 's hand srop to her sides and keeps her head down. She would follow behind the others, whereever they went to.

Devaine_Hawk readies the shot gun and follows them into the other room , taking a place on the wall to lean and lights a smoke , “who wants to go first ?”

Bida takes Flash's hand in her own and squeezes it reassuringly. (with permission, of course)

Flash_Guardian eagerly takes Bida's hand, seeking comfort in her closeness. He smiles, walking with Bida into the large garage/hangar room to find a seat on the floor near Devaine.

[Flash_Guardian] "You guys first, I suppose ... sounds like I haven't had as much in the way of visions as the rest of you."

[Flash_Guardian] The room is large, appearing almost as a place to store and maintain vehicles, or some sort of laboratory. Odd bits of smooth, metallic machinery extend up out of the floor in places. The walls are lined with metal shelves that hold numerous wooden boxes. There is a table in the center of the room with various electronic oddities and instruments, all very futuristic. Another door, similar to the one that just opened, is in the wall on the opposite side of the room. The wall to the left contains a massive hangar door, stretching from one wall to the other, and running almost to the ceiling.

Devaine_Hawk takes a long pull off the smoke and waits for someone else to speak , as he tries to form his own thoughts the flashes speed up in his eyes

Flash_Guardian shrugs and nods to Bida. "Why don't you go first, love?" he prods encouragingly.

Bida takes a deep breath, "Well, my first true visit here, when I touched the three shapes on the front door, I saw three buildings, all identical. Then two faded into nothingness. They were never finished, then the remains of the others were raided."

Aiza interrupts her sister, "The buildings were meant for three deities, or guardians, or something"

Devaine_Hawk taps a tip of /he taps one chrome tipped boot against the floor , as he thinks “ I still cant figure out why they seem to be so interested in me , you al have more mind and magic mojo than me , “ he hesitates “Glyniss thinks it has something to do with me being more martial minded or the way I can’t leave a mystery alone , one chrome tipped boot against the floor , “Glyniss thinks it’s because of my martial mindedness , and the way I won’t leave a mystery alone , maybe I’m just making more out of it than there is .

Bida wraps her arms around her, "This whole building is just. . .I don't know. It seems empty, but it's crawling with. . . beings, Spirits, I suppose."

Flash_Guardian seems rather quiet, just taking in what everyone has to say.

Devaine_Hawk narrows his eyes and the flashes in them grow stronger “great now I see dead people , I think they want ..no need our help , maybe to finish this place or the other places , that’s why I think we need to be careful, whoever or what ever stopped them might try and stop us “

Aiza 's eyes widen, and she takes off out the door, muttering excitedly, "now, yes, now, it'll be over!"

Flash_Guardian looks over at Devaine, nodding. "We all see things a bit differently, I suppose. You've got a sort of ESP thing going on, Devaine. Bida and Aiza, being an angel and demon, have certain things they can sense too, I'd imagine ... spirits, magic, religious forces at work. Me?" Flash shrugs meagerly. "I sense destiny, and inconsistencies in the flow of time, and all that really allows me to know is what I may have already told you. This structure actually comes from 250 or so years in the future."

Devaine_Hawk watches the woman run out “something I said bother her ?” he asks

Bida starts to stand to chase after her sister, then stops and watches her run.

Flash_Guardian lets out a small noise of concern, his head turning to follow Aiza's rapid departure. After a moment, he turns and looks back between Devaine and Bida. "Is she going to be alright?"

Flash_Guardian sighs and shakes his head. "Wish I could do something for her ... but she'll just have to fight what's possessing on her own for now, I guess." He shrugs, giving Bida a sad-eyed look before turning back to the discussion. "So this place comes from the future ... those who constructed it did so as some form of self-preservation. And there are spirits here ... they must not be too bad, or we would have been troubled by them earlier, right?"

Devaine_Hawk starts toward the door in the far wall , and waits for Flash to insert the crystal , “well I came this far , and just like Glyniss said , I can’t let go of a mystery or leave a job unfinished ,”

Bida stands still, watching the door, "I think it's over. She'll be back soon, and she'll be different."

Devaine_Hawk pump cocks the shot gun with his right hand and frowns , “its not the spirits that bother me as much as what ever or whoever made them spirits , that I’m looking out for ,”

Flash_Guardian also stands, helping Bida rise to her feet. "Me neither," he agrees to Devaine. Looking back at Bida, he tilts his head at her curiously, not fully understanding the situation or why it was unfolding in the way it was, but choosing not to argue. He quickly fishes for the crystal key in his pouch, pulling it out and sliding it into the panel beside the far door. As before, there is a soft glow behind the door and the forcefield behind it subtlely snaps. "Let's move on then, shall we?"

Flash_Guardian quickly looks between the others. "Hey. Can we agree on something before we go on?"

Bida looks at Flash, "yes?"

Devaine_Hawk stops outside the library door , listening through the wooden door before turning the knob with his free hand , “what is it Flash ?” he asks

[Flash_Guardian] "If any of us notices something from here on out ... can you share it with the rest of us who may not have noticed? We'll get to the bottom of this mystery a lot faster if we all know what's going on."

Aiza walks back into the hallway, slowly and deliberately. Stopping behind Flash, she said, "agreed."

Bida turns to look at the sound of her sisters voice. She stops dead, her eyes wider than saucers. "Aiza?" she can barely whisper, "You're. . . you. . ."

Devaine_Hawk nods his head and eases the door open , making his way over to the moon rune , “fine we keep each other in the know “

[Flash_Guardian] Corridor - This passage is in the same style as the first, but marble floors and patchwork stone walls give it a much more rustic appearance. Metal brackets with torches also line the walls, their torches dark and unlit. The door at the hallway's end is wooden with a knob, but bears the same strange marking as before.

[Flash_Guardian] Library - The door swings open to reveal a large room, looking very much like the typical wizard's laboratory, right down to the dusty shelves and cobwebbed corners. There are rows upon rows of well stocked bookshelves, tables covered with scrolls, ink and pen, small crystal spheres, bottles filled with strange liquids or hairs or eyes or scales from various creatures, open books, measuring devices, and other various arcane instruments. In the exact center of the room, a large, ornate circular rune has been traced in black ink on the floor. Candelabras are held out from the wall all around the room, each of them holding three unlit candles that are mostly used up. There is no other exit to this room.

Bida nods dumbly. Shaking her head she took half a step closer to Flash

Flash_Guardian just blinks at Aiza in surprise. "Ummm ... something's different about you, Aiza!" he exclaims, the understatement of the year. "Are you alright?"

Aiza smiles, "I'm better than ever, Flash. I can explain everything later, for now, lets finish this." Her armor clinks as she takes another step forwards.

Devaine_Hawk narrow his eyes at Aiza as he tries to get a reading on her , and doesn’t trust what his psychic senses tell him . He flips the safety off his shotgun.

Flash_Guardian just stares in wonderment. "Wha ... how? I ... you're right, never mind," he says, shaking his head. "You can explain it on the way, Devaine's probably waiting for us in the library." He walks to the end of the corridor and enters the library.

Aiza looks at Devain, her smile fading. She barely trusted him, but she would work with him as she needed to.

Devaine_Hawk watches the woman’s every move , blue white flashes in his eyes racing now , “I’m not as trusting as Flash or your sister , people don’t change just like that , “

Aiza says plainly, "Bida does not trust me either, for now. But she will."

Bida narrows her eyes at Aiza, "I do not trust what has happened to you, with no warning? It screams, "Trap! Fucking Trap!!""

Flash_Guardian just nods. "I have seen much in my years ... I'm willing to believe that anything's possible, but its going to take time." He quickly makes his way over the the large rune on the floor at the library's center, standing on the sun rune. Only the 'stars' rune is open now. "What was that word again?" he asks Devaine quickly.

[Flash_Guardian] The rune is ten feet across, traced in thick black circles on its outer edge, with finer, more detailed lines crossing the middle in elaborate patterns. It looks strongly of magical design.

Aiza shrugs. Looking at the runes she looked at her hands, the marks now burned there, rather than cut.

[Flash_Guardian] Three smaller circles form a triangle along the circle's outer edge ... each circle contains a rune depicting either the sun, moon, or stars.

Bida shivers, and asks Flash if he knew whether or not many people died here, in this room.

Flash_Guardian just shrugs at Bida. "Beats me."

Devaine_Hawk stands on the moon rune and glares at the woman as he tries to remember “Penelope ?’ he jokes before looking around the room , “never picked up any negative vibes for death or the like in here , where’s the scroll, Flash ?”

Bida wraps her arms around her again, as though to ward off the cold, "There is a feeling of loss. The loss of life on here. It is strong, but fading slightly. Mass death, many years ago, in mortal time."

[Flash_Guardian] "Oh yeah." Flash starts digging through his pouch, eventually pulling out a paper copy of an old scroll, with translations written on it in pencil. Surprisingly, the scroll is larger than the belt pouch from which it is pulled. He quickly unrolls it, skims his eyes over it and says. "Penyoei. That's right."

Devaine_Hawk shakes his head , “could mean there will be death hear to , look alive and stay sharp people , be ready”

Aiza takes a step forwards, past Flash, "So many lives lost, but to what reason? I cannot see it." She reaches a hand tentatively towards the nearest wall, then withdraws it and holds it, closed, to her chest.

Flash_Guardian looks over at Bida and Aiza. "Lingering deaths ..." He ponders for a moment, then looks back to his love. "Umm ... Bida, can you give us a hand for a second?"

Bida nods, and says, "What do you need?"

Flash_Guardian looks over at the empty 'stars' rune on the circle that Flash and Devaine are both waiting on. "Come and stand on that rune, there, please? Then all three of us need to say 'Penyoei' to get the portal to open."

Aiza says, "something doesn't feel right. This was not a murder. I do not think danger is nearby. I could be wrong though. Whomever died here, is still here." She looked over to the other three, and stopped moving and talking.

Devaine_Hawk tries to pick up on what the others sense , still new to being psychic , he might have missed it . As he focuses his mind’s eye the flashes in his solid onyx orbs get brighter and more intense

Bida nods and walks to the rune. She awaits Flash's signal

[Flash_Guardian whispers to Devaine_Hawk] Dev sees the briefest of images flash through his mind ... the same researchers that he may have seen before in this room, all their various kinds ... but this time they are all in a state of panic as the room around them is shaking violently, throwing them all to one side. The vision only lasts a fraction of a second.

Flash_Guardian looks between Bida and Devaine to see if they are ready, his eyes coming to rest on the flashes hidden in his eyes. "All ready?"

Bida takes a deep breath and nods. She anticipated what would happen.

Devaine_Hawk comes back to the here and now , “either what they where working on went wrong , or they where attacked , the building is …was shaking “ he looks over to Flash and nods as he readies the shot gun.

Flash_Guardian contemplates this new information, then nods. "Repeat after me. Penyoei."

Bida says "Penyoei"

[Devaine_Hawk] "Penyoei" from the moon rune

[Flash_Guardian] As soon as the words are spoken, the rune underneath them lights up, sending a surge of crackling energy around them in a circle, slowly swirling inward along the rune's elaborately intertwining lines until gathering at the center. A beam of light shoots upward from the rune, reacting with the air at the circle's center, energizing it with a reddish glow and causing it to swirl slowly in a counterclockwise fashion. Not the most powerful of portals, by the look of it ...

Flash_Guardian grins at the others. "Okay. Two down, three to go." Without waiting, he leaps through the portal to whatever lies beyond.

Devaine_Hawk already knows where it leads and steps through , when the others reach the other side he is already digging in the pile of tokens for the one with “serenity “on it

Aiza tenses up at the appearance of the new portal. She had never seen anything like it before, and worried about where it may lead. 'stop that!' she admonished herself silently, 'you're an angel again, and still 1/2 demon. you can kick ass!' She stood up straight, and looked straight at the portal.

Bida follows behind, after a quick glance at her sister.

Aiza leaps in after Bida.

[Flash_Guardian] The new room you appear in next, in contrast to the others, seems to be lit brightly with a light that just seems to drift down from a ceiling of pure white light. A massive set of golden scales, large enough to hold two average humans, dominates the room at its center. The floor is tiled in marble, the walls carved in alabaster, its many motifs depicting epic battles, miracles, the cycle of life, growth, birth, destruction and ressurection, joy and treachery, the sun, moon, and stars. Surrounding the base of the scale is a large pile of wooden tokens, each of which has a particular symbol branded on both sides. There are no obvious exits. The wall to the south has a glowing yellow rune at its center in the shape of a book. There appears to be some sort of writing carved along the entire length of the scale's fulcrum. Bida and Aiza have no trouble reading it, as it is written in the language of angels.

Bida reads out loud, "Where one sits, another stands. Where one weeps, another smiles. Where one dies. . ."

Flash_Guardian is seen next to Devaine, digging through the pile of wooden tokens at the base of the scales. Eventually he pulls out a wooden token bearing the mark of chaos in black upon its surface. "Got mine," he says, looking at the others. "We'll need to help you find yours."

Aiza finishes what her sister began to read, "Another is born, They that seek balance in all things shall find the way."

[Flash_Guardian whispers to Devaine_Hawk] Something isn't right here. There was a presence watching everything in this room before. That presence isn't felt now.

Bida looks at the pile of tokens and walks over to them, and begins to sift through.

Flash_Guardian nods to Bida. "You need to find the token that represents the opposite of what you stand for or represent. Sit in one side of the scales, and put the token in the other, and you'll move on to the next room. Got it?" There is a token for just about any concept you can think of in the pile ... life, death, age, youth, beauty, time, love, rage, nature, magic, technology ...

Devaine_Hawk picks out the token and rolls it over his knuckles and between his fingers before flipping it up and catching it , “that should prove interesting , “ he mutters under his breath glancing at Aiza . He looks around and his eyes blaze with blue white flashes of energy, “where ‘d you go , old man if it was you , why ain’t you watching ?” he thinks.

Aiza 's eyes begin to glow red, just a little, but she shakes her head and chases it away, looking slightly afraid.

Flash_Guardian stands there curiously while Bida fishes for her token. "My balancing token is Chaos, because I serve a deity of supreme order." He gestures to Devaine. "Devaine's is serenity, because he feels his life is in turmoil right now."

Bida frowns. What could possible be her opposite? She sits on the scale, and places one token at a time on the other side.

Aiza walks to the pile and begins to put her hand over it. Stopping she asks Flash, "Where are we? Where is this structure located?"

Bida balences out with HATE. slightly surprised, she stands, and takes the token in her hand and looks at Flash, "Where is this place?"

Devaine_Hawk looks over to Flash , “he’s not here , the old man neither is the girl like before , I just asked and noone answered “

[Aiza] that's ok.

Flash_Guardian looks back to Aiza and her sister. "If my friend Blank was right, we're still inside the structure. The portal we came through wasn't very powerful, so it couldn't have sent us far. As far as I know, all these rooms are contained inside the structure." He then turns to look at Devaine. "You can't sense them anymore?"

Bida looks around, "this place is so empty."

Aiza holds her left hand over the pile, and several tokens jump, but only one flies into her hand. LIFE. She frowns and clenches it in her hand, showing no one which token chose her.

Devaine_Hawk shakes his head , still his eyes are closed , “nothing , they’re gone, I got a bad feeling about this , “ he mumbles , adjusting the gun in his grip , and the bag over his shoulder .

Flash_Guardian looks around at everyone. "Seems like everyone's got their tokens. Why don't I go last just to make sure everyone gets through?" He looks back at Devaine. "You always say that. Come on, Devaine, you're starting to sound like a bad action movie," he jokes, grinning.

Aiza shudders, "Why can't I feel anything here? it's just us."

Flash_Guardian furrows his brow, pondering. "That is weird ... there was a ... a presence here last time, wasn't there?" he says, looking at Devaine. "The old man and girl? And now they aren't here ... maybe they don't need to watch us now, or something?"

Devaine_Hawk climbs on the scale and tosses the token in the other cup , “I ‘ll remind you of that when it all comes down on us “ he calls

[Flash_Guardian] As Devaine's token lands in the opposite side of the scales, the scales slowly come to balance. The token and Devaine both flash a subtle white before disappearing. Moments later, the token reappears on top of the pile at the bottom of the scales.

Bida follows after Devaine, doing exactly what he did.

[Flash_Guardian] As Bida climbs in and throws the 'hate' token in the other side, the same occurs ... both her and the token flash and disappear, the token reappearing at the base of the scales.

Flash_Guardian looks over at Aiza. "After you?" he offers, indicating the scales with a sweeping sort of bow, a flat sort of expression on his face.

Aiza takes a deep breath, then follows her sister. before tossing the token in she looks at Flash, her eyes glowing purple. She turns back, and tosses the token

Devaine_Hawk climbs on the scale and tosses the token in the other cup , “I ‘ll remind you of that when it all comes down on us “ he calls

[Flash_Guardian whispers to Aiza] You find yourself floating weightlessly in an immense, empty space. Far away in all directions, strange formations and swirls of color shift and waver constantly. The only real landmark here appears to be a glowing yellow rune floating in space. It is shaped like a set of merchant's scales.

Bida tries to focus on strange. . . marking? object? something, floating ahead.

Devaine_Hawk wills his way toward the scales , waiting for the presence to show it self , and focuses his mind on the door from before when he and Flash where here.

Flash_Guardian appears floating in the empty space shortly after everyone else arrives. "Okay ... to get through this room, all you have to do is close your eyes, cover your ears and concentrate. The goal is to focus on nothingness for a short time. When you do, you will be made aware of a door in your mind. That door is what will lead you on to the next room."

Aiza shakes her head, clearing the purple glow. Her eyes lock onto what looks like another set of scales, glowing yellow.

Bida follows Flash's advice, clearing her mind, until only the rune of the yellow scale remains. Pushing that out of her head, she tries to "see" a door, in the back of her mind. It is difficult for her to concentrate, and she feels her mind slipping to where she was, rather than to the blank slate she wants it to be.

Flash_Guardian suddenly perks up, looking up and away with a distant look on his face. "What the ..."

Devaine_Hawk finds the door in his mind easier this time , and starts toward it , something is different , Flash said that out loud this time , not in my head , “ he thinks as he reaches it , stopping before going through. He looks around to see if whatever he is feeling is manifesting itself here ,”we’re not lone anymore , Flash but I think this is something other than the girl or old man , it’s all around us feels like “

Aiza tries hard to clear her mind, her eyes beginning to cloud over. Pushing down the nameless as they tried to fight their way up, she suddenly gasped and spun, "Who's there?" she asked

Flash_Guardian whirls and looks at Devaine. "What's going on, guys? Can you sense anything?"

Bida begins to shake, a feeling of fear slowly gnawing on her. She opens her eyes, they are now wide with the same fear. "What happened in here?"

Aiza covers her face with her hands, only to realize that the mark on her right hand is gone. Her palm is as pale white as the rest of her skin. Her left palm is still burned with the rune, but now it is much more clear.

Aiza looks for her sister, thinking, 'what the hell have I gotten myself into?' she called out, "Bida?"

[Flash_Guardian] It is difficult for you all to get a sense of 'where' this room truly is. Since the place seems to strecth onward in all directions into infinity, you are inclined to believe this place is simply an extradimensional space or manifestation.

Devaine_Hawk spins around his eyes on fire with blue white sparks now , they almost explode from his sockets they’re so strong “there’s something around us ,it’s restless , “

Bida hears Aiza's worried thoughts in her own head, almost as though Aiza were right there next to her. "I'm here, but I'm not the only one. Flash, Devaine? Can you feel it?"

Flash_Guardian 's ring on his right hand begins to glow a subtle blue. He catches sight of it and his eyes go wide. "Something's changing ..."

Devaine_Hawk watches the others as he feels the atmosphere of the plane start to change , “here we go , who sounds like a bad movie now ?” he asks

Bida 's eyes widen as her necklace, not the amethyst pandant, is suddenly gone. She feels for it, but cannot seem to find it. "Flash, What the hell is happening? Is this normal?"

Aiza says, "Someone tell me this is supposed to happen."

Flash_Guardian takes a deep breath. "I'm going on ahead." He abruptly goes silent, covering his ears and shutting his eyes. A relaxed look comes slowly over his face as he concentrates. After a few seconds, Flash winks out of existence.

Devaine_Hawk focuses on the door , and follows Flash through shortly after .

[Flash_Guardian] Devaine winks out of existence.

Aiza closes her eyes tightly and concentrates, going through the door as soon as it appeared.

Bida takes a deep breath. She closes her eyes, and clears ehr mind again. As the door appeared, she went through it.

[Flash_Guardian] Aiza winks out of existence.

[Flash_Guardian] Bida winks out of existence.

[Flash_Guardian] Seeing this room is like stepping back in time, into a great and elaborate workshop. Tables are decorated orderly with tools of all kinds: hammers, saws, screwdrivers, wrenches, pliers, and other assorted gadgetry. Longer tools hang from hooks on the walls: ladders, brooms, shears, crowbars of varying lengths, axes, mauls, and more. Wooden shelves with numerous bins rest against the walls in places. A far corner of the room seems entirely devoted to storing all types of materials, from raw lumber to unrefined metallic ore, black coal to soft clay. In addition, there seems to be all the necessary workstations to work with and process these materials: a forge for the metal, a potter's wheel for the clay, sawhorses and stands for the wood, etc. In short, anything you would need to make anything by hand is here, ready and waiting.

[Flash_Guardian] For those of a more magical or psionic bent, you sense something odd about this room ... possibly some sort of slight resistance to arcane or mental forces.

[Flash_Guardian] The large metallic vault style door is standing wide open. The key is nowhere to be found.

Devaine_Hawk makes his way over to the door with the triad symbol on it that Blank was supposed to make a key for , and cautiously peers through, shotgun at the ready.

[Flash_Guardian] Beyond the metallic vault door is another passage, very much like the first, but shorter ... only 15 feet long. The walls, floor and ceiling all appear to be plated, with visible seams, as well as the occasional duct, vent, or conduit. Thick cables seem to writhe along the ceiling overhead, disappearing into the walls again some distance along. The walls are dressed at shoulder level with a long string of various tiny runes, symbols, pictographs, and characters, each of which is sketched in fine detail by a skilled hand. Some of the characters you recognize, most you don't, and what you do recognize is rather meaningless. The metallic hallway seems to come to an end at another sort of door, this one with a visible push-lever on its middle.

Aiza looks around the room, slightly perplexed at half of the instruments in it.

Flash_Guardian stands and watches Devaine peer into the corridor beyond watchfully, then looks back to Bida and Aiza who have appeared. "Everyone okay?" he asks the pair.

[Flash_Guardian] The same presence you all felt earlier is felt here, too.

Devaine_Hawk makes his way down the passage , running his free left hand over every thing he can to get impressions , the glyphs , writing , and the wiring where he can . He calls out to Flash in the work shop , “someone else came through here , stuff has moved , and some of the things on the floor are new . “

Bida looks around and says darkly, "depends on what you mean by okay." She is not trying to be harsh, but her necklace was the last link she had to her mother, now destroyed.

Flash_Guardian looks around the floor of the workshop, and sure enough, there are tools and instruments laying on the floor that weren't there last time. "Someone else ...? That's not possible, nobody else came through here since you, Blank, and I! Besides, how would they get in?" Flash seems rather worried now.

Devaine_Hawk stops in front of the far door , “and whatever has been around is back , the presence “

[Flash_Guardian whispers to Devaine_Hawk] The impressions in this room are more recent. Someone or something definitely came this way only a short time ago, but before Devaine can get a clear image, all he sees is a pair of glowing red eyes and a shadowy outline glaring at him menacingly. Suddenly Devaine's mental probing snaps and is broken, bringing him back to reality.

Aiza points to something small and gold-colored on the ground, "Flash, what is that?"

Devaine_Hawk reels and goes down to one knee as the flashes blaze in his eyes brighter than ever , rubbing his head as he tries to stand , “ that’s not good , I’d say , sure as hell not nice “

Flash_Guardian is now on full alert. He pulls out the rod strapped to his thigh, grasping it in both hands. Two beams of solid yellow light emerge from either side as his light quarterstaff activates. Flash begins to sweep the workshop, looking for anything out of the ordinary.

Bida looks at Devaine, and asks, "Are you ok?"

Flash_Guardian hears Devaine in the hallway, and catches sight of something laying on the ground. It appears to be some sort of golden necklace. He scoops it up, walking over to Bida. "Look familiar?" he says, offering her necklace back to her and glancing down into the hallway at Devaine. "What's not good?"

Devaine_Hawk cocks the shotgun , and levels it at the door “well it looked right at me so it knows I’m here at least ,maybe I should nock and say hello, “ he growls reaching for the push lever with his free left hand , but not touching it quite yet , .

Bida 's face lights up at the sight of the necklace. She takes it and gives Flash a quick kiss. "The clasp is broken, and it must have fallen off of me, but how it got here, I'll never know!"

Flash_Guardian beams back at Bida, happy that he found her necklace ... but his concern for Devaine takes some precedence. He quickly strides down the hallway, brandishing his quarterstaff and preparing to back him up if necessary.

Devaine_Hawk cocks the shotgun , and levels it at the door “well it looked right at me so it knows I’m here at least ,maybe I should nock and say hello, “ he growls reaching for the push lever with his free left hand , but not touching it quite yet , .

Devaine_Hawk pushes on the lever , and when the door opens he combat rolls through , coming to his feet and sweeping from left to right with the gun , finger already on the trigger .

[Flash_Guardian] This room is very strange indeed, as its walls seem to be lined from tiled floor to metallic ceiling with nothing but frames and frames of glass rimmed in metal in a repetitive sort of square pattern. A low sort of droning humm can be heard coming from all around. Upon the glass, images are shown clearly of you and your companion's standing in this room and looking around, showing ghostly duplicates of the group. As each of you move about the room, so too do your reflections move about in the glass, and in exactly the same manner. Those with more futuristic experience recognize these glass oddities as TV monitors that are currently showing images of the group. In the center of the room, a massive pillar of wires, cables, and assorted electronic boxes is surrounded by six comfortable chairs, each of which has a small metal arm coming out of the headrest, the end of the arm bent at an angle and ending in a metallic loop that looks like it just might fit around a person's head.

[Flash_Guardian] Above each of the six chairs, six monitors are connected to the tangle of wires near the ceiling. These do not show any images, currently dark and dormant.

Flash_Guardian keeps his back to Devaine, looking around the room and still clutching his quarterstaff ... though he seems a bit distracted by the sights. "Whoa ... get a load of that," he mutters quietly to himself.

Devaine_Hawk gives the room a good look over to make sure nothing is here , and looks to Flash “looks like it’s set up just for us , mighty convenient , if you ask me “ he whispers looking to the chairs and arm apparatus .

Devaine_Hawk reaches out with his left hand to run it over a chair and apparatus , as the flashes spring up in his eyes again , “let me see what they tell me “

Flash_Guardian also looks the chairs over curiously. "Convenient, yeah," he agrees. He looks back down the corridor behind him. "Hey, I don't know about you but ... I'd feel a bit more comfortable with a third person. What do you think?"

[Flash_Guardian] "Maybe a fourth or fifth, even," he adds.

Devaine_Hawk nods ,silent as he concentrates on his senses , and finally speaks , “maybe you should go back and try to find Glyniss and or Kade, I’ll wait her and make sure no one sits up an ambush.” He pats the chair , “think it interacts with mind s or something

Flash_Guardian nods. "Sounds like a plan. Just don't move ahead until I get back, alright?" With that, he thrusts his hands into the air, causing a burst of light, out of which he pulls open his swirling yellow portal, quickly leaping through it and disappearing. The portal lingers this time instead of dissipating.

* * *

Devaine_Hawk sits in one of the chairs , eyes wide open and flaring brightly with blue white flashes in them , a metal harness attached to his head from the mechanical arm beside it , as the others enter.

Flash_Guardian stumbles through the portal and into the computer room to find Devaine sitting in one of the chairs, the metal loop around his head. Looking up, he could see an image on the monitor resting above Devaine ... it was Devaine, floating amidst a sort of virtual reality ... colored lines shot off in all directions, connecting with other lines and boxes to create something that rather resembled a multicolored circuit board of light. Occasionally a pulse of light would shoot down one of the lines, travelling rapidly. "Devaine?" Flash called to the man, but he was jacked in and totally oblivious to the outside world, not hearing Flash.

Devaine_Hawk continues to stare off , the flashes in his eyes in time with the pulses that race down the cables connected to him.

[Flash_Guardian] Everywhere Devaine looks in his virtual reality is brightly colored lines against a black background, and he finds himself suspended amidst it all.

Devaine_Hawk mentally follows one of the colored lines , a red one of into the virtual world , if this is some kind of program like he thinks , it might lead to a database or file

[Flash_Guardian] Devaine suddenly seems to move at blinding speed along the red line's path, banking and turning this way and that as he shoots along, eventually coming to rest at a much larger sort of box that appears to be a central gathering place for the signal-carrying lines ... a central processing unit, perhaps. Stats start becoming known to Devaine: "main power is offline, secondary power is offline, last resort power levels are negligible at .002 Critical systems and maintenance only."

[Flash_Guardian] More output from the computer: "Foreign host detected ... attempting mind-scan ... error, scanners offline. Proceeding to security alert alpha ... error, security systems offline."

Devaine_Hawk ponders this information , and what to do with it , if he could unjack himself maybe him and Flash could find a way to re power the other systems and then he could log back in , not much to see until then here . He sees the computer trying to purge him like a virus and tries to break the link before it can lock him in or trace back to his body in the chair.

[Flash_Guardian] Something goes click in Devaine's mind as the virtual world before him fades. There is a brief moment of discontinuity ... then he finds himself aware once more, sitting in the chair next to Flash who seems to be staring at Devaine's monitor curiously. Flash sees him come around and looks down at him, curious. "Back in the real world now, are we?"

Devaine_Hawk rubs his temples , “yeah , but now I know what the deal with this place is , it’s running on bare minimum power levels , needs major energy to boot it back on line , I might be able to find out more if all the systems where on line , Might be risky though , it tried to turn on some sort of security measure when it detected me in it’s mainframe just now .”

Flash_Guardian nods, looking back at the monitor above Devaine which was now blank once more. "So it was a computer system ... some kind of virtual reality interface," he reasons. "But how do we power up the systems, exactly?" He thinks for a time.

[Devaine_Hawk] “we need electricity at least , in mass quantity , could you cast some sort of lightning bolt spell, maybe repeatedly into it’s main power core to try and reboot the system ?”

Flash_Guardian 's eyes go wide at Devaine's suggestion. "That could work, in theory," he said. "If I knew where the main power core was. And if I don't send too much juice through and fry the whole dang sytem." He looks behind Devaine at the mass of jumbled wires, trying to determine which of them would classify as a power cable.

Devaine_Hawk looks around at the exposed conduits and power lines , “into those should work , I’lstand guard while you try , incase the defenses kick in , just make sure to ground your self so you don’t become one part of a continual circuit and it just might work.”

Flash_Guardian lets out a nervous sigh, at last choosing one of the larger cables as his target. "Okay, stand back," he says, taking a couple steps back and marshalling his magical energies.

Devaine_Hawk steps off to one side and covers Flash while he casts his spell.

Flash_Guardian puts his fists together at the side of his hip. Crackling yellow energy begins arcing in jagged orbits about his wrists. The intensity of the charge builds slowly, until his hands are enveloped by the electric yellow force. "Lightning Bolt!" With a violent forward thrust, Flash sends his fists out in a powerful dragon punch, all at once discharging the energy in the form of a powerful stroke of lightning aimed at the cable. The energy seems to crackle and run up the entire length of the assembly viciously, though most of it seems to get directed along the long length of cable, up and through the ceiling before disappearing. The last few sparks dissipate with a couple of pops, and a few of the monitors that line the walls flicker with static for a few seconds as the lights in the room dim suddenly. After a few seconds, the flickering stops and the lights in the room return to normal. Flash just blinks at Devaine. "Did it work?"

[Devaine_Hawk] “it tried to , can you do that again , one or two more might do the trick”

Flash_Guardian leans forward to inspect the whole assembly once more, looking up and down the length of the pillar of wires at the center of the chairs. "Maybe I should up the voltage just a little," he says, stepping back and concentrating a bit harder.

Devaine_Hawk watches the room , especially the door while Flash casts again , , he can feel the static charge in the air as the hair on his neck stands up , and still smell ozone from the last bolt.

Flash_Guardian narrows his eyes, setting both his fists at either side. All at once, energy seems to gather out of the air around him, crackling around his fists in powerful arcs, gathering and growing in intensity until with a pair of light flares his fists become difficult to look at. He slowly raises the fists to either side, then slams them together at his front. "Chain Lightning!" A more powerful, forked version of lightning streaks forth, electrifying the whole assembly once more, though almost all of the energy seems to be directed up through the ceiling this time, following the wires to a much greater degree. The lights and monitors all begin to flicker dangerously, until at last Flash's spell dissipates and the entire room goes dark.

[Flash_Guardian] "Oops."

Devaine_Hawk locates Flash by his familiar aura in the dark , depending on other senses when he can’t see , he shuts his eyes and listens as well as reaching out with his mind to sense anything new .

[Flash_Guardian] A few moments later, the lights come back on a bit stronger, the monitors all flicker back to their original images of Flash and Devaine standing in the room, and the whirring noise returns at a higher, faster pitch. Flash breathes a sigh of relief. "Oh, good! I'd hate to think I broke it!"

[Flash_Guardian whispers to Devaine_Hawk] The same restless presence is there ... other than that, Devaine's mind doesn't sense much.

Devaine_Hawk looks around at the monitors and listens to the noise , before rolling his eyes and grinning ,”yeah , heaven forbid you do that , well let me log back in and see what I can find out “

Flash_Guardian nods. "I'll wait outside."

Devaine_Hawk returns to the chair and places the harness back on his head , going back into the program ,

[Flash_Guardian] There is another brief discontinuity, and a muffled pop ... and suddenly Devaine finds himself back among the massive network of the computer system. Things seem to be just as they were before, except for a particular bright light somewhere in the distance at the far end of a bright yellow line.

Devaine_Hawk wils himself down the bright yellow line to the light figureing it would be the most likely spotfor the main frame and important information memory to be saved.

[Flash_Guardian] As before, Devaine rockets along the yellow line, winding his way to something unusual ... the bright yellow light is coming from a yellowish outlined box that sits above an outlined version of the room with six chairs and six monitors. More thoughts are reported to Devaine: "... energy conversion process complete. Energy loss estimated at 73.2 Last resort power levels now at .047 Power is sufficient for single operation, but must be used locally before dissipating. Prompt: "

[Flash_Guardian] Devaine also begins to notice a wide variety of controls nearby, all of which reflect the operations of the room that he and Flash are in ... controls for the chairs, monitors, door, lighting, floor hatch, life support, and computer systems.

Devaine_Hawk thinks for a second , and takes a chance , Prompt , download all memory to new file : Devaine Hawk, ignore codes and security measures , including classified documents . If it works , and his mind can handle that much information, the computer should dump it’s entire memory and all it’s programs into Dev’s mind where his photographic memory can record all of it before the power is lost.

[Flash_Guardian] "Command recieved. Processing ... current power levels and security protocols allow only local memory dump from public access systems. Accessing file, stand by for transfer ..." Something rigid and powerful suddenly forcibly attempts to tap into Devaine's mind!

Devaine_Hawk convulses in the chair and the flashes in his eyes go berserk like before , exploding from the sockets and flaring around them . HE grits his teeth ”don’t pull the pug yet Flash this is a one shot deal , and I might get the knowledge we need on this place.”

[Flash_Guardian] The data begins streaming its way into Devaine's consciousness, much to fast for him to take in all at once. A few seconds later, the process is complete, leaving Devaine with an entirely new set of memories ... but as he looks over everything, most of the information seems garbled. It seems to be, as best as Devaine can tell, some sort of backup log of system events. The computer finally responds: "Data transfer complete. Warning ... data detected to be 89.7orrupted or damaged beyond repair. Cause unknown. Last resort power levels now at .036 Prompt: "

[Devaine_Hawk] Prompt: run dialysis and recovery program on data , un fragment files , reroute all systems but life support to mainframe , access hard drive download contents to file Devaine

[Devaine_Hawk] Prompt: includepasswords, firwall protected files, and encrypted files or incrption programs

[Flash_Guardian] A brief pause ... then finally: "Rerouting power to mainframe ... done. Last resort power levels now at .12 Executing data recovery program ... accessing Virtual Reality Chamber databanks ... hard disk error! Physical databanks have been damaged. Possible to recover: control panels, system log. Recovering data, please stand by ..."

Devaine_Hawk mentally segments his own mind to make room in his sub conscious for the incoming information , hoping it might be enough to take it all in and somehow he might be able to access it later

[Flash_Guardian] "Files recovered. Accessing files, stand by for transfer ..." Again the computer accesses Devaine's mind, this time overwriting the corrupt systems log with the repaired version, and also writing the control panel to Devaine's mind. "Access to encrypted files and systems requires admin authority. Access denied. Would you like to execute 'control panel' program now?"

Devaine_Hawk Prompts : execute

[Flash_Guardian] There is a subtle mental ping in Devaine's mind, and suddenly he becomes aware of every system operating in the room. There are controls for operating all the monitors, opening and closing the door, switching the light level up or down, life support, and so forth. Curiously, there is also a command for something labelled 'floor hatch' that Devaine does not recognize.