Pautiric flopped on the ground at the base of a tall tree, panting and puffing. Starfish and Fiona Rohana followed suit. It took several minutes before they got their breath back.
"That was some climb," Starfish said finally. The other two nodded.
"How did WE get stuck at this post?" Pautiric grumbled, looking around for the first time since they arrived. Darkness surrounded them, but they knew that during the day they would've had the most breath-taking view this side of the equator.
Fiona sighed.
"Dunno. Must be your fault though," she added with a grin. Pautiric turned and stared at her.
"How is it MY fault?" she demanded incredulously. Fiona laughed.
"I was just teasing you," she replied, a smile lingering on her face. Pautiric could hear Starfish snickering behind her. She scowled, but then laughed too. They rarely had much to laugh at these days - why waste an opportunity just because it was at her expense?
Now that they were no longer climbing, the three started to notice the cold. The sweat on their bodies only made the low temperature more noticeable.
Fiona shivered and went over to huddle next to Pautiric. Starfish joined them soon after. They knew they had to stay warm - and they were in for a long wait.

Nicole, groovy and Toady jogged quietly through the tunnels. Not a word was spoken. They had a long way to go, and little time to get there.
Finally groovy couldn't stand the silence anymore and, even though she was out of breath, tried to start a conversation (author's note: face it groovy - you WOULD! no matter what the situation, you'd get everyone talking�*g*)
"Sooo�anyone else freaked out by answering machines?" she asked. The other two stared at her, their thoughts on her sanity clearly evident on their faces, even as they kept jogging.
"Are we freaked out by what?" Nicole asked, not sure if she heard right the first time.
"Answering machines," groovy repeated, as though it was the most normal thing in the world. "Don't you think they're creepy?"
"Umm�groovy, answering machines haven't existed for nearly 40 years�" Toady said, glancing at Nicole. Had they been grouped with a psycho?
Groovy frowned.
"I know that. But that doesn't mean I can't be freaked out by them," she stated, shrugging. "And no, I'm not insane - despite evidence to the contrary."
The other two couldn't help but giggle. Groovy smiled. That had lightened the mood somewhat. Now they would be wondering if she really was crazy, instead of brooding about the battle ahead. It's funny how making yourself look bad always makes others feel better, she thought bemused.
They jogged on.

Wild Thang crept along silently, stopping once she reached the tunnel entrance. As they had suspected, there were two guards standing watch. A sneer of disdain appeared on her face. The guards weren't even paying attention - in fact, as she looked closer, she saw one of them was asleep!
Slipping from the shadows, Wild Thang didn't even bother to try and smother her footfalls, walking right up to the two guards. Before they had time to react, she grabbed the sleeping soldier's head and promptly snapped his neck. The other guard had only just registered the fact that she was there when she pulled his own sword from its scabbard and plunged it into his gut. He gasped, doubling over onto the blade. Wild Thang watched coolly, then twisted the sword, increasing both the damage and the pain threefold. She slid the blade back out, letting the body fall to the ground. She inspected the sword closely before chucking it on the ground next to the deceased enemy. It was a dodgy brand.
Wild Thang stuck her head back in the tunnel.
"Come on, you can come out now," she called quietly.
Sammy and Cherub stepped out from the tunnel and surveyed the two bodies on the ground.
"You could've waited," Cherub grumbled, stomping over to where one of them lay. She rolled him over with her foot and stared into his face. She couldn't help it - every time she saw a dead body, especially if it was someone she didn't know, she found herself thinking about that person's life. They had been born, and they had grown up. They'd had friends, and their death would be mourned. Their life was like a line drawn on a sheet of paper, undisturbed, until it met another line that was hers. And just like that, they were in her life. Their line would end, but hers would go on, until one day when her line would run out too.
"Sorry," Wild Thang's voice broke through Cherub's thoughts. "But they weren't even watching the tunnel. I couldn't resist." She shrugged.
Cherub tore her eyes away from the dead soldier, and smiled ruefully at Wild Thang.
"I just wish you'd save one for me next time," she said with a laugh. Sammy walked over to join Cherub next to the body. Together they hoisted it up and dragged it away to be hidden.

Kwasi stopped pushing for a moment and slumped against the huge cannon in front of her. Xavier and daasmonkeygirl followed suit.
"Fuck, this thing is heavy!" Xavier gasped. The other two nodded wearily.
"C'mon, the longer we rest the longer this'll take us," Kwasi said finally, once she had a bit of her breath back. Groaning, they started pushing the cannon up the hill again. The huge war cannon was at least as big as each of them, and twice as heavy. The giant wheels attached to its side helped move it, but it still took a great deal of effort. Especially uphill.
After what seemed like a lifetime, they reached the top of the hill. DMG and Xavier collapsed on the ground, exhausted. Kwasi, although just as tired, decided to sit on the cannon instead, just in case any unwanted company showed up.
"Well that was fun," DMG muttered dryly. Xavier grunted in agreement, not able to talk yet. Kwasi leaned over slightly to inspect the weapon upon which she was sitting.
"I've never seen one of these before," she said casually. "Except in movies, and war photos and stuff." She slipped from her seat and circled the cannon, to get a better look. The other two watched silently.
"I saw one once," Xavier said suddenly. "When I was little."
Kwasi hopped back up on the cannon, and looked at Xavier.
"Really?" she asked curiously. Xavier nodded slowly.
"Yeah. My mum took me to a museum or something. There was all this war stuff - guns and armor. I remember seeing one of those�" her voice trailed off and her expression grew sad.
"Did you lose your mum in the war?" DMG asked quietly.
"No," Xavier's smile was bitter. "I lost her long before that. She just died in the war, that's all." Kwasi hesitated.
"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked. Xavier sighed.
"My father died when I was 8 years old. My mother never got over him. Every time she looked at me, or my brothers, all she saw was an image of him. She dumped us with a friend of hers, and we never saw her again." She shrugged.
"I'm sorry," DMG said, resting her hand on Xavier's arm.
"Don't be," Xavier muttered. "I'm not. If she abandoned us when we needed her most, she wouldn't have been that great a mum anyway." She scowled, then changed the topic.
"Did either of you lose anyone special in the war?"
Both Kwasi's and DMG's expressions darkened with sorrow.
"I think everyone did," Kwasi said quietly. "A lot of people died." DMG just nodded.
"War sucks," Xavier announced. The other two chuckled.
"Yeah. They stuff up everything," DMG agreed. "The prices of food goes up, you have to march a lot, and say goodbye to hot showers�"
Kwasi sighed wistfully. "God I miss hot showers," she said dreamily. The other two laughed.
"I pity this generation," DMG said. "They missed out on everything! Hot showers, movies, 5-star hotels, junk food, television�."
"CD's, the Internet, concerts, hot chocolate," Xavier went on.
"Coffee, magazines, videos, radio," Kwasi added.
"Cars, photos, heaters."
"Candy, makeup, clicky pens."
"I liked the fluffy pens myself."
"Really? I thought they were cute to start off with, but then when absolutely everyone had fluffy stuff I thought I'd go insane!"
Kwasi giggled.
"Do you remember that Winnie the Pooh stage everyone went though?" she asked. Xavior groaned.
"Do I remember? How could I forget!"
DMG blushed. "I have to admit I was one of those people," she said with a grin. "I had Pooh everything! I thought he was really cute!"
Xavier giggled. "I had Pooh everything too, but that doesn't mean I want to remember!"
The other two laughed.
"And to think we used to laugh at our parents for their bad fashion," Kwasi said, shaking her head. "We were just as bad, if not worse!"
"I guess everything changes," DMG said sadly. The other two grew quiet.
"What do you think will happen to us?" DMG asked suddenly. "Do you think we'll ever stop fighting? That things will ever be the same?"
"I don't think things will ever be the same as they were," Kwasi said slowly. "But this war will end, for better or worse. Whether we make it or not, I have no idea."
"Do you believe in God?" Xavier asked suddenly.
"No," Kwasi replied. "I never did, and I never will. I refuse to believe someone created a world with such suffering, without at least trying to make it better."
"I never believed the Christian, or the Jewish view of God - you know, the Bible and all that stuff - but I do believe that we were created by a higher being than ourselves," DMG admitted. "What about you? Are you a Christian?"
Xavier laughed. "Are you kidding? Christians freak me out big time! They killed more people for being non-believers than both the first two world wars combined! But I never did make up my mind if I believed in God or not. I would be convinced that he didn't exist, but then I'd see something so beautiful I'd have trouble believing that someone didn't create it. How can such beauty be created randomly?"
They all fell silent, looking at the ground, lost in their own thoughts.
"Do you guys always get so philosophical before impending doom?" Kwasi asked suddenly, breaking the silence. The other two laughed.
"Only with you Kwasi," DMG replied. "Only with you."

"We should get there soon," Nigel panted, her breath rasping in and out of her throat. Rove simply nodded - he was too tired to speak coherently. Wil followed, slightly behind the other two, keeping an eye out behind them.
Finally they reached the end of the tunnels. Nigel, who was out in front, slowed down and cautiously approached the opening, struggling to silence her heavy breathing. It turned out she needn't have worried. There was no guard, and no patrol. Beckoning to the others, Nigel led the way to the small thicket nearby. From here they had the perfect ambush position for the channel 7 sleeping quarters.
Rove collapsed against a tree, panting and puffing. He wasn't used to all this running and being fit business. Wil was slightly winded too, but tried not to show it.
Nigel fidgeted with the hem of her shirt nervously. Now that they no longer had the distraction of running to keep them occupied, she would have to face her feelings about Wil.
She coughed uneasily, avoiding Wil's gaze. He simply smiled slightly, waiting for her to look at him. Finally she locked eyes with his own, and reality disappeared for the both of them. Nothing existed but the two of them, standing in opposite ends of a thicket.
"So how do we know when to move?" Rove's voice snapped them out of their love-struck spell. Nigel cast a guilty glance at Rove. She had totally forgotten about him. But his blank expression quickly told her that he hadn't noticed the tension between herself and Wil.
"Quie's gonna give us a signal," she mumbled, turning and busying herself with sharpening her sword. Wil watched her for a second, then turned to prepare his weapons also. Rove frowned slightly, sensing the tension between the two, but not knowing what to make of it.
"So�what's the signal?" he asked, deciding not to question the unease surrounding him. A small smile tugged at the corner of Nigel's mouth.
"You'll know," was all she said.

Spoofy paced the glade restlessly, her impatience showing on her face. Unfrufru watched her silently, feeling the same thing, but showing it in a different way.
"What's taking so long?" Spoofy demanded, glaring at unfru, even though it wasn't her fault. Unfru just shrugged, ignoring Spoofy's sour expression.
"Why isn't she here yet?" Spoofy growled, more to herself than to unfru. She resumed pacing. Suddenly she stopped. Throwing a glance at unfru, she saw that she'd heard it too. Silently they pulled out their weapons, preparing themselves for a battle if necessary.
Quie burst through the bushes, muttering and swearing.
"Who was the fuckwit who invented scrub anyway?" she grumbled, brushing twigs and leaves off her shirt and pulling them out of her hair. She noticed Spoofy and unfru's stance, their weapons ready.
"Don't tell me you've decided to rebel?" she said, an eyebrow raised. "Taken up treason?"
She laughed at their guilty expressions.
"Good to know you're alert at least," she grinned.
"Is everything ready?" Spoofy asked, feeling a bit foolish.
"Don't know," Quie shrugged. "Haven't checked." Spoofy sighed in exasperation.
"Could you?" she asked pointedly, indicating a nearby rock. Quie just grinned at her, then sat down on the large stone. Crossing her legs, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Instantly her mind was bombarded by the thoughts of the Fictioners (author's note: remember? Quie's an impath! She can read minds and stuff. Bet you forgot, didn't you?). She gasped quietly - she had forgotten the intensity that came from opening her mind. She focused, bringing the endless array of thoughts under control. Concentrating, she was able to find out who was in position, and who wasn't. Finally she opened her eyes again.
"We should be ready in about 20 minutes," she said, climbing to her feet and brushing herself off.
"20 minutes can be a long time," a voice said. The three whirled around, not having heard anyone creep up on them. There, standing before them, was Kateous. On either side of her stood two soldiers, who looked to be very well trained.
"So Quiescence," Kateous said, a smirk on her lips. "We meet again."

"Kateous," Quie snarled, the memories of their last meeting flooding back into her mind. Kateous laughed cruelly.
"What's the matter Quie?" she asked with a grin. "Not pleased to see me?"
"The only time I'll be pleased to see you is when I see your grave," Quie spat. "And even then the sight of you will make me sick."
"Tsk tsk," Kateous said, shaking her head. "Such rage. You should get therapy for that you know."
"I'll keep that in mind," Quie retorted, sizing up the soldiers on either side of her mortal enemy. One was quite big, about 6 foot and heavily built. He had a low jutting brow, and didn't look too bright. The large axe being held in his hands however, suggested that intelligence wasn't needed.
The other was smaller, about 5'4, but was solidly built, the muscles that rippled on her arms told Quie that she could probably hold her own in a fight. She looked to be about their age, but with the longer life expectancy these days, it was very hard to tell. She clutched a broad sword in her hands, and the way she held it suggested she was a master. Her long copper brown hair was tied loosely in a ponytail, flowing over her shoulder, and her deep blue eyes were hostile as she watched them. She looked vaguely familiar, but for the life of her, Quie couldn't think from where.
"So are you here to stop us?" Quie asked, a sneer on her face.
"Me?" Kateous asked, surprised. "Pfft. Get real. Why would I do that?"
Quie was a bit taken aback.
"Um�cos you're our enemy?" she suggested.
Kateous tried to put on a sad expression.
"Now Quie - I'm hurt that�" she didn't finish the sentence, bursting out laughing instead. "Who am I kidding?" she giggled. "Okay, yes. Normally I would do whatever I could do stuff you up and make you miserable, but not this time," she shrugged. "Our objectives mesh at this current point in time, that's all."
Quie glared at her.
"I get it. You want us to do your dirty work?"
Kateous beamed. "How quickly you catch on!" She turned to the girl beside her, who still held her sword at the ready. "See Kirri? Maybe she isn't as stupid as people say."
Quie narrowed her eyes dangerously. "I think you'd better go," she growled, her voice ominously low.
Kateous ignored her, inspecting her royal purple cape instead.
"Isn't this cape so cool?" she asked, swishing it around her. "All I had to do was add a couple of sequins." She pointed to where a small number of sequins had been messily stitched into the fabric.
Quie starred at her. She was dealing with a lunatic!
"You're insane," she announced.
Kateous glanced up at her. "Yeah I know," she grinned. "And it's a blast." She turned with a dramatic swoosh from her cape, and disappeared back into the bushes.

Michetti hummed softly to herself as she finished brushing off Quie's tired mount. Suddenly her breath caught in her throat. Satan's Reindeer, who was busy grooming By Paul's horse, noticed and glanced over to see what was wrong. Michetti stared at her with wild eyes.
"Quie forgot to sort out the prisoners we captured when we took over the studio!" she cried. SR covered her mouth with her hand.
"Oops," she whispered.
They both dropped the horse brushes in their hands and raced towards the steep spiral of stairs on the far side of the courtyard that led down to the prison below the castle, being careful to avoid the armory.
They raced down the stairs, unbolted the heavy oak door at the bottom, and followed the maze of tunnels that led to the prison. All staff had been debriefed on the complex maze of tunnels under the studios, so in case the fort was captured, they could hide.
Finally they reached the tiny section that was the prison. Michetti glanced nervously at SR, then slipped the key into the lock. Bracing themselves, they opened the large, heavy door. Instantly they were bombarded with screams and wails from tortured prisoners.
Ciris, the guard on watch, turned to face them.
SR gulped. Ciris made her very nervous - he made everyone nervous. He was large in build, about 6 feet tall and seemed to be made of muscle. He had dark, unfriendly eyes and hardly ever smiled. He wasn't a DAAS fan, and had joined the army because he had been a good friend of Lainy's. Now, with her gone, he rarely spoke to anyone. Quie, not knowing what else to do with him - although he was a brilliant fighter, she didn't trust him in battle - had made him the prison guard.
Michetti cleared her throat nervously.
"We came to see the prisoners captured in the take over of the studios," she said, trying to keep her voice even. Ciris glared at her for a moment before beckoning her to follow him. Pulling a ring of keys from his belt, he led them down a corridor.
The two girls fixed their eyes in Ciris' back, not wanting to look into any of the cells they passed. Finally, near the end of the corridor, he stopped in front of another oak door. Selecting a key from the ring he had in his hand, he slipped it into the lock and opened the door.
Michetti and SR glanced at each other, then stepped inside.

Funk You paced the small clearing they were in, growing increasingly bored. Sparky was polishing her bow from a low limb in a tree, and By Paul was trying to apply an ointment to the cut she had given herself earlier.
"Need a hand?" Funk You asked her, more to relieve her boredom then out of the good will of her heart. By Paul blushed and nodded. She couldn't even get the lid off the damn thing with one hand, let alone rub in the ointment.
Funk You crossed the thicket to where By Paul was sitting on a pile of rocks. Gently taking the tube of cream from her hands, she unscrewed the nozzle and squeezed out some ointment onto her palm.
By Paul was grateful for the darkness that hid her increasingly darkening blush. She knew that Funk You was only bored, but it still meant something to her that she wanted to help.
Carefully, Funk You unwound the piece of cloth from By Paul's hand and very gently began to apply the cream. By Paul hissed at the contact, but tried to keep quiet as Funk You continued to rub the ointment in. In a way, she was grateful for the pain. It helped distract her from the fact that Funk You was once again within kissing distance.
Sparky watched the two of them with interest. It was very obvious, to her at least, what was going on. Maybe she should give them some time alone.
"I'm going to go scout around," she declared abruptly, grabbing her bow and slipping to the ground. "See if there are any patrols nearby." Trying to hide her smile, she left.
By Paul watched her go, a scowl on her face. She knew very well what Sparky was doing.
"Don't look like that," Funk You said with a grin, not looking up from what she was doing. "You'll get to kill soldiers soon enough."
It took a moment for By Paul to work out what she was talking about. She thinks I was scowling because I'm missing out on killing people, she realised. By Paul sighed. If only it was that simple.
"I know, but I still wish I could go with her," she answered, going along with the suggestion. "She might get outnumbered or something."
"You wish," Funk You said with a grin, glancing up, her face only centimetres away. "You just want to slaughter something."
By Paul blinked. She was surprised the Funk You knew her so well - they hadn't spent that much time together, and they had barely talked since their last mission.
"Yeah, well�" she mumbled, looking for a comeback. "You don't mind getting in on the action either."
Funk You laughed.
"Depends what sort of action it is," she replied, a mischievous gleam in her eye. This time the darkness couldn't hide By Paul's blush. Is she flirting with me? She thought, astounded. She quickly dismissed the notion as being ridiculous, but she couldn't but wonder.
"All done," Funk You's voice snapped By Paul from her thoughts. Rewrapping the bandage around By Paul's hand, she made to move away.
Not wanting her to go, By Paul reached out and grabbed her hand before she knew what she was doing.
"Uh�thanks," she said lamely, quickly letting go with a blush. Funk You chuckled and settled down next to her.
"No problem," she said casually. "Anytime."
By Paul was relieved that she hadn't moved away, but now she couldn't think of anything to say.
"How long do you think Sparky will be?" she asked finally, unable to thin of anything else. Funk You shrugged.
"She might be quite a while if she finds something more interesting than us," she replied with a grin.

The topic of their conversation had indeed found something more interesting. Watching the patrol as they neared, Sparky slipped an arrow into her bow. From her position up the tree, she figured that she could take them all down before they spotted her.
As soon as the patrol was in range, Sparky began to fire. She wasn't as quick and deadly a shot as Iluv, but she could hold her own in archery. Three soldiers fell to the ground before the rest even registered that there was a problem. Two more quickly followed.
It was only through incredibly bad luck that another passing patrol heard their shouts. Weapons drawn they rushed to investigate. After several moments, it was inevitable that Sparky was spotted. A soldier gave a shout, and Sparky suddenly became aware of the second patrol.
Swearing profusely, she shot at them too. She took down more than half of them before an archer shot back at her. Sparky cried out as the arrow lodged itself in her shoulder. She wavered, nearly losing her balance. Gritting her teeth, she fitted another arrow in her bow and killed the archer. But by now the remaining soldiers had surrounded the base of the tree, and she was trapped. With her wounded shoulder, she was no longer able to climb out from the tree to another, and while there were no remaining archers in the patrol, it was only a matter of time before they chopped down the tree.
"Uh oh."

Flame sighed. She was bored. They had arrived at their designated position over an hour ago, and now they had nothing to do. Dead Elvis was keeping herself amused by drawing in the dirt with a stick, and Julia was softly humming War Song.
Grumbling, Flame climbed to her feet and began to pace. She hated not doing anything. She wanted to fight goddammit! The other two shared her mood. This was boring.
"I spy with my little eye, something beginning with�s," Julia said suddenly. A grin lit up Dead Elvis' face.
"Sword? Stars?"
Julia shook her head. Dead Elvis frowned, and scanned her surroundings.
"Scrub?"
"Nope."
"Stick?"
"Nope."
"Sky?"
"Nope."
"Silver?"
"Nope."
"Soldier?"
"Nope."
Dead Elvis scratched her head. She couldn't think of anything else. Flame gave an exasperated sigh.
"The spider on Dead Elvis' leg?"
"Yes!"
Julia laughed as Dead Elvis squealed and brushed off the spider.
"Your turn Flame."
Flame scrambled back up into her tree to get a better view of the clearing.
"I spy with my little eye, something beginning with�hmmm�t."
"Tree?"
"Nope."
"Turf?"
"Nope."
"Tension?"
Flame rolled her eyes. "You can't see tension Julia."
"Oh yeah. Tent?"
"Nope."
The other two scanned the clearing, their eyes falling on anything that started with a t.
"Trapdoor spider?"
"Ugh! Yuck! Where?"
"Over there, by your backpack."
"Argh!"
"Nope."
"Thumb?"
"Nope."
Dead Elvis sighed. This was a hard one. Her eyes dropped back to the drawing she had doodled in the ground earlier.
"I've got it! Tim!" she cried.
"Yep!"
"Where?" Julia asked, confused. Dead Elvis pointed to the picture she had done of the DAAS boys. "Oh."
"My turn. Hmmm." She looked around for inspiration.
"Alright. I spy with my little eye, something beginning with�d"
"D?"
Dead Elvis nodded.
"You?"
"Nope."
"Ditch?"
"Nope."
"Dork?"
"Don't be so hard on yourself."
"Nope."
Julia ducked as Flame threw a stick at her.
"Is it dumb, annoying prat?" Flame asked, glaring at Julia. Dead Elvis laughed.
"Nope."
Julia stuck out her tongue.
"Dormouse?"
"Where?"
"I don't know. I just thought you might have seen one."
"What does a dormouse look like anyway? Just like a normal mouse?"
"I spose so. 'Cept with a doorknob."
"Nope."
"DAAS?" Flame asked, remembering the drawing.
"Nope."
"Drawing?"
"Nope."
"I give up."
Julia sighed. "Me too."
"Darkness."
"You can't see darkness!"
"Can too!"
"Well�I spose - but it's not an object!"
"I never said it was!"
Flame and Dead Elvis began a heated argument. Julia went back to her humming.

Iluv fiddled with her bow restlessly. She hated waiting. It left way too much time to think, and she hated to think. (*author ducks and runs for cover before iluv can hit her*)The Fictioners were people of action, not patience. She scrambled down out of her tree, just for something to do.
Gadfly floated down to meet her on the ground. PW had fallen asleep, despite the tree's discomfort.
"Just how powerful are you anyway?" Iluv asked, taking a seat on the soft moss that covered the ground. Gadfly chuckled.
"Powerful enough."
"Can you blow up stuff?"
"Yep."
"Set things on fire?"
"Yep."
"Heal?"
"To a certain point."
"Move things with your mind?"
"Yep. As long as they're not too heavy."
"Shape-shift?"
"Yep."
"Control the weather?"
"No. Not easily anyway."
"Read people's thoughts?"
"No."
"See the future?"
"No."
"Fly?"
"Yep."
"How does someone become a Shaman?"
Gadfly took a while to answer.
"It depends. It doesn't take much to become a normal Shaman - but it takes everything to become a great one."
"Like what?"
Gadfly closed her eyes and sighed. "Everything. Your time. Your life. Your happiness. Your sorrow." She shrugged. "Everything."
"Doesn't sound like much fun," Iluv replied, leaning back against the tree.
"It isn't. That's why most Shamans are piss weak."
"Are you a great shaman?"
Gadfly smiled slightly and nodded modestly.
"Is it worth it?"
Gadfly sat down next to Iluv, and plucked a blade of grass.
"Sometimes it's the best thing in the world. I mean, I can change into animals! You have no idea what it's like to be able to leave the body you've had since you've been born, and to just *change*. And to be able to fly!" She shook her head in amazement. "It's the best feeling in the world."
"But at other times?" Iluv asked.
Gadfly sighed.
"At other times, I look back at what I lost. What I'm losing." She glanced up into the tree where PW was snoring lightly. "And suddenly the whole world sucks."
Iluv chuckled lightly.
"If the world didn't suck, we'd all fall off."
For some reason, they both found this deliriously funny, and dissolved into a fit of giggles. PW awoke with a snort and listened to them cacking themselves over apparently nothing.
"Great," he muttered to himself. "They've both gone insane." He shuffled around a bit, trying to get comfortable, then promptly went back to sleep.

Jo, Verona and wallflower surveyed the small scene of carnage before them. The patrol hadn't put up much of a fight, to the disappointment of the Fictioners, but there had been quite a few of them, so that was something at least.
Verona bent down and wiped her bloody blade on the grass. When that didn't work, she used one of the tunics from the fallen bodies. Wallflower began to collect her arrows out of the soldiers.
"Bury 'em, hide 'em or leave 'em?" Jo asked, settling down at the base of a tree. Verona stared thoughtfully at the body in front of her.
"I really can't be fucked burying them, or hiding them," she replied.
"Well, I don't particularly feel like sharing a clearing with ten dead bodies until the signal," wallflower pointed out.
Verona shrugged.
"Doesn't bother me."
Wallflower opened her mouth to retort, but Jo cut her off.
"How bout we shift to another clearing?" she asked. Wallflower looked dubious.
"We're meant to stay here until the signal," she said, her voice edged with doubt.
"We won't go far," Verona answered, rolling her eyes. Wallflower scowled, but said nothing as she followed the other two, pulling two last arrows out of a body on the way.
Jo led the way, and wallflower brought up the rear. Suddenly Jo stopped, causing Verona to crash into her, and wallflower into Verona.
"What's wrong?" Verona demanded irritably, looking over Jo's shoulder.
"Um�it's usually a bad thing when a bump of dirt has wires coming out of it, isn't it?"
Verona and wallflower followed Jo's gaze to the ground. Sure enough there was a small mound of dirt with several wires leading out of it and into the scrub. As they scanned the ground they saw quite a few more mounds, some with wires and some without.
"Uh�guys? I think we're in the middle of a mine field."

Pautiric shivered. It was so cold up here. She huddled closer to Fiona and Starfish, trying to get warmer.
"I hope Quie doesn't take forever," Fiona muttered, drawing her cloak around herself more tightly.
"I wish armor was warmer," Starfish commented.
"And had a built-in electric blanket."
"With a fridge."
"And a tv would be good."
"With a microwave."
"A tv with a microwave?"
Pautiric nodded. "That would be cool." The other two chuckled and nodded.
"Remember those reclining chairs that had everything? Do you remember when they first came out? I couldn't believe it! I was ecstatic."
Starfish laughed.
"Me too! When I first got mine, I didn't move at all unless I had to go to the bathroom. I ate in it, I slept in it, I worked in it�"
Pautiric grinned.
"I was doing my Uni course when they came out, so I did all my online classes in my recliner."
Fiona nodded.
"Apparently a lot of people did that."
"Can you remember all the features? My mum was obsessed with the fact that she was the only person on the block that could remember them all."
"Oh! Oh oh!" Pautiric cried. "Don't tell me - don't tell me." She squinted her eyes shut and placed her hand against her temple, as though that would help her think. Those who grew up in the 20th century often used this action. Apparently it had something to do with an ancient concept they termed loosely as 'Soap Operas.'
"It had a modem, a computer, a tv, built-in hifi system with compatible CD rack�an medium sized esky�bar fridge�massage action�" She frowned, trying to remember the last feature.
"And�and�a playstation!" she cried triumphantly.
The other two laughed.
"Buggered if I know!" Fiona said with a grin.
"Promise?"
Fiona frowned, then realised what she had said. She laughed. All three of them chorused together, "Nah Rich - nothing hurts like buggery!" and dissolved in a fit of giggles.

Nicole muttered grumpily to herself. Why did they have to get stuck with the post that was furthest away?
"Who was the dickhead that invented distances anyway?" she grumbled to Toady, who just smiled wearily cos she was too tired to reply.
Groovy flopped on the ground at their feet.
"That was NOT fun," she muttered. Nicole hid a smile.
"Wars are funny that way," she replied, not able to hide the amusement in her voice. Groovy scowled at her sister, but didn't say anything.
Toady flopped on the ground beside groovy, ignoring the two sisters' squabbling. It was just harmless banter, but it got on her nerves if she listened to it, so her solution was simple. She didn't listen.
Groovy pulled her quiver off her back, and began to sort through the arrows, checking them for sharpness and accuracy. They had nothing to do now but wait.
"What d'ya reckon everyone else is doing?" Nicole asked, slumping down beside the two already on the ground.
"Dunno," Toady replied with a shrug, unsheathing her broad sword. Pulling a wet stone from her pocket she began to sharpen the already razor-edged blade. "I spose most people would be in position by now."
"Y'reckon?" groovy asked dubiously. "Then why hasn't Quie given the signal?"
Toady frowned slightly as she sharpened her sword. Nicole glanced at her GNW Paul imitation watch (you know, the chunky one he wears that always comes loose?).
"It's nearly 3:92 TF fiction time," she pointed out. Toady quickly did the math. When the small army was just starting out, they had invented a different time system for rendezvous, so anyone who happened to overhear their plans would go at the wrong time. Fiction time had 13 hours in a day - because Paul was born on the 13th of May - and each hour had 100 minutes (cos that's just logical). And instead of am and pm, they used TF and RF - Rich and Tim's initials.
That would mean it was roughly 2 o'clock in the morning.
"Hmm�Quie said the signal would be about half an hour from now," Toady replied thoughtfully, still absently sharpening her sword. "There shouldn't be anything to worry about yet." Despite these words, all three of them had a distinct sense of unease.
"It'll be fine," groovy said firmly, though it was more to reassure herself than the other two.

Wild Thang wiped the blood off her hands as she sat down on a large rock just near the entrance of the tunnels. Sammy sat down beside her on the ground, and Cherub took up a seat on a dead log on the other side of the entrance.
Shifting one of the many daggers concealed beneath her clothing to make herself comfortable, Wild Thang sighed and slid slowly off her rock, til she was sitting on the ground and using it as a back support. She glanced at her comrades.
Sammy was inspecting a fuzzy caterpillar that was crawling across her leg, and Cherub had her head tilted back and was staring at the stars. Wild Thang followed her gaze.
"Just think," she said after a while, "When we were growing up, the human race had never been outside the galaxy. We'd barely gotten to Pluto!"
Cherub smiled slightly. "I remember when they launched the Universe Explorer. I was in my forties when it left the galaxy."
"Imagine how far we would've gotten if there hadn't been the war," Sammy said quietly. The other two nodded in silent agreement.
"We might've even found another planet to inhabit," Cherub pointed out.
"I don't think I'd like to ever leave Earth," Wild Thang replied. "I mean, we tidied it up pretty well after all the crap we did to it - and if the war hadn't have happened, the world would be in exactly the same condition it was millions of years ago."
"I guess education did really pay off in the end," Cherub said with a grin. "Do you remember getting drilled non-stop about saving the environment in school?"
The other two groaned.
"Tell me about it," Wild Thang said dryly. "We had one of the KESAB vans come to our school every year! Whenever we did a project it had to be environmentally related."
"Well, that's what happens when hippies become teachers," Cherub pointed out. The other two laughed. Suddenly their laughter stopped. They all felt it at the same time. They glanced at each other with worried expressions - something was wrong.
Wild Thang climbed slowly to her feet, listening intently.
"There's no one in the nearby vicinity," she said finally. "It must be something else."
"But what?" Cherub asked, not sure if she wanted to know the answer.