Martian : I want this entire city searched. Leave nothing to chance. We don't know what might be considered important and whatever you do, stay together.

(White, Green, Red, Brown, Purple, and Black search the city in groups of no less than two prepared for anything. Blue (or the Martian) personally stays with Lisa and the jewel to make sure nothing happens to her.)

Lisa : (nervously) This is where my parents found the jewel and first encountered...It.

Martian : Do you know if any more of those guardians are out there?

Lisa : No.

Martian : That wasn't what I wanted to hear. Do you have any idea where your parents found the jewel?

Lisa : No, I was staying in the inn when they came to this place. All their expeditions were kept secret from me and I never bothered to pry too much.

(Martian and Lisa look over the documents again. Martian points to a nearby two story building.)

Martian : Looks like that was where they found It, and the jewel.

Lisa : It doesn't look safe. The building looks like it will collapse at any moment.

Martian : With our advanced Martian technology we should be safe. (calls to the others) Over here!

(In the distance the mysterious entity continues to watch them.)

Mysterious Entity : Come on, separate! Separate!

(The Mysterious Entity sees the others arrive and It disappears.)

Martian : I want three of you to go into that building. We think that was where the jewel was found. Don't touch anything, not even the floor. When you're done tell me what you've found. Any volunteers?

Purple : I'll go.

(long pause)

Brown : Me too.

(even longer pause)

Green : Well if no one else is going to go I might as well join Purple and Brown. What exactly are we looking for?

Lisa : Anything out of the ordinary. Especially something out of the ordinary that is related to the jewel or It, or both.

Red : I wish you well on your journey.

Purple : (dryly) Thanks.

(Purple, Brown, and Green cautiously enter the building not knowing what to expect or what they would find.)

1

(Purple, Brown, and Green explore the inside of the building. Eventually they encounter trouble. White tries to contact them but there is no response. The other four sabers enter the building to find out what happened to them.)

White : Is anybody watching Lisa?

Other sabers : Uh, oh!

(The ceiling suddenly collapses on the sabers covering them in rubble. Lisa wants to help them out but figures she might do more harm than good. She backs up a few steps and watches for any signs of movement.)

Lisa : Can you hear me? Are you able to move anything at all?

(Taking advantage of the situation It suddenly appears behind Lisa. Being a shape-shifter, It quickly uses those powers to transform into the non-exsistant Orange saber.)

Orange : I can hear you. Fortunately I wasn't in the building when it collapsed. They are going to need our help. Do you have the jewel?

Lisa : (suspiciously) How did you get here? I don't remember an Orange saber.

Orange : (confidently) You must have the jewel. Hand it over.

Lisa : (screams at the top of her lungs)

(Orange's hand changes into some type of sword and moves in for the kill.)

Lisa : (screams) HELP!!!! It is a shape-shifter and It's after me!

(Lisa backs away but It is faster than she is. She throws a rock. Although not hurt by the rock, It is so surprised by the attack that It gives Lisa a change to hide behind one of the old houses.)

Orange : Come on out, Lisa. It will make things easier for both of us.

(Only the sound of birds in the distance can be heard.)

RL Note : Besides being a shape-shifter, It is also a coward. If confronted by more than one person or a reasonably powerful individual, It will change back to natural for and teleport away. It can only teleport when in natural form.

2

Jay: (shouting through a simple megaphone) FASTER! Left, right, left, right...

[Jay is jogging through the streets of Nerima with a small troupe of former NDF Faceless Minions behind him. The entire group is clad in sweatpants and T-shirts with "NDF" emblazoned on the front and a flaming crescent moon on the back. Jay himself is jogging backwards, keeping an eye on his troupe.]

Jay: ... left, right, left, right... you're gonna get LEFT behind if you don't speed up RIGHT now! C'mon!

[Jay increases his pace, and the panting troupe struggles to keep up]

Yoshi: ... and I thought we'd (huff) ... get a day (puff)... off from training... with the gym being wrecked...

Roshi: ... you really thought... (wheeze) that twerp would ever... go easy on us?

Jay: <"twerp?"> What was that, Private Roshi?

Roshi: AH! Er... uhm...

Jay: Roshi! Twenty leaps! ONE! TWO! THREE!... Higher!... FIVE! SIX!...

[Roshi begins doing full-squat leaps in between every jogging step. Despite his fatigue, he is getting rather good airtime.]

[The group eventually reaches the outskirts of Nerima, and is running alongside a bullet train track.]

Jay: Okay guys! We'll be taking a break soon...

[Cheer rises up from troupe]

Jay: (pointing behind the group) ... on top of that bullet train!

[Almost immediately a bullet train roars past, and Jay quickly leaps on top of it using the typical martial artist superjump. His troupe eventually recovers from their surprise, and attempts the jump with varying levels of success. Eventually all of them end up on the train's roof one way or another...]

Oshii: (hanging onto the edge and pulling himself up) Urgh... and here I thought being a normal Faceless Minion was a death wish...

[Fast-forward to about a half-hour later. Still on the bullet train, Jay is standing upright in a fighting stance, keeping his position against the strong onrushing wind. The rest of the troupe is following suit, with varying degrees of success...]

[Off in the distance Jay spots the ruins]

Jay: <An abandoned city? Might be a good place to practice urban combat coordination... why not?>

[Jay motions to his troupe and leaps off the train, hitting the ground jogging towards the ruins. Again they follow suit, and again with varying degrees of success.]

In article <855762839.17466@dejanews.com>, sntlucky@worldnet.att.net says... > > (Purple, Brown, and Green explore the inside of the building. >Eventually they encounter trouble. White tries to contact them but there >is no response. The other four sabers enter the building to find out what >happened to them.) > >White : Is anybody watching Lisa? > >Other sabers : Uh, oh!

Jay: (still too far away to see any people, but close enough to see the building collapse) What the hfil? Better check it out... PSYCHO DANCE!!!

[Jay begins moving at full speed a la "The Flash" and leaves the rest of his troupe behind.]

> (The ceiling suddenly collapses on the sabers covering them in rubble. >Lisa wants to help them out but figures she might do more harm than good. > She backs up a few steps and watches for any signs of movement.) > >Lisa : Can you hear me? Are you able to move anything at all? > > (Taking advantage of the situation It suddenly appears behind Lisa. >Being a shape-shifter, It quickly uses those powers to transform into the >non-exsistant Orange saber.) > >Orange : I can hear you. Fortunately I wasn't in the building when it >collapsed. They are going to need our help. Do you have the jewel? > >Lisa : (suspiciously) How did you get here? I don't remember an Orange >saber. > >Orange : (confidently) You must have the jewel. Hand it over. > >Lisa : (screams at the top of her lungs) > > (Orange's hand changes into some type of sword and moves in for the >kill.) > >Lisa : (screams) HELP!!!! It is a shape-shifter and It's after me! > > (Lisa backs away but It is faster than she is. She throws a rock. >Although not hurt by the rock, It is so surprised by the attack that It >gives Lisa a change to hide behind one of the old houses.) > >Orange : Come on out, Lisa. It will make things easier for both of us. > > (Only the sound of birds in the distance can be heard.)

[Jay ends up running through a flock of birds standing in a field.]

Jay: Argh! Hey, outta my way!

[Temporarily blinded by a flurry of feathers, Jay can't see where he is going and ends up running full-speed into Orange]

Jay & Orange: Ooof!

[They tumble a bit before the whole mess rolls to a stop. Jay gets up groggily.]

Jay: Urhg... sorry 'bout that. (helps Orange up, notices the hardsuit armor) Hey, what's with that getup?

Okay, I've written Jay in. I know it's rather contrived, but at least I've done it without getting him to do the cliched "come in at last second and rescue the girl" routine. Jay doesn't know anything about the sabers, doesn't know that Lisa is here, and doesn't know Orange is actually It. If Orange is clever, it's more than possible he might be able to trick Jay into helping him...

3

RL Lisa : For those of you who missed the previous messages on this thread, Martian and the other Sabers are underneath what is left of a collapsed two story building. It, now known to be a shape-shifter, is currently disguised as the non-existant Orange saber. Lisa wasn't fooled and was able to hide from It by using an ordinary rock. Jay has somehow managed to arrive on the scene and has just crashed into It disguised as Orange. His NDF troops are not too far away. Unknown to any of them, Gaeld is watching all this and has sent the batthing to take the Chaos Jewel and distract It. Have you got all that? If not, don't worry about it, it will only get more confusing.

(It recognized Jay from back at the school and knows Jay can be tricked.)

Orange : Jay, good to see you.

Jay : How did you know my name?

Orange : Lisa has told me a great deal about you.

Jay : You know Lisa?

Orange : Yes, in fact you could help me out. Lisa is missing and I'm not sure where to find her.

(Lisa, currently behind one of the houses want to warn Jay but she doesn't know how to warn him without revealing her hidding place.)

Jay : That shouldn't be a problem. I'll bring my NDF troops over.

Orange : (hesitates) I don't think that will be necessary. The sound of the troops might scare her away.

(Jay looks at orange like there is something wrong with him.)

RL Lisa : It would have been better if you had used Jay as a hostage.

Lisa : Don't give It any ideas.

(Before Jay can respond to the latest complication, another one occurs. The batthing arrives and goes straight to Lisa's hiding place.)

Lisa : (quietly) Shoe! Go away!

(As the batthing approaches Lisa, It figures out some of what is going on and heads for the same spot hoping to find Lisa. Jay, not knowing what else to do, follows It (Orange). Martian and the other Sabers are still under the pile of rubble and are for the moments ignored and the NDF troops are within yelling distance but are still not aware that anything out of the ordinary is taking place. All of this is being watched by Gaeld.)

RL Lisa : I told you things would only get more confusing.

4

> (It recognized Jay from back at the school and knows Jay can be >tricked.) > >Orange : Jay, good to see you. > >Jay : How did you know my name? > >Orange : Lisa has told me a great deal about you. > >Jay : You know Lisa? > >Orange : Yes, in fact you could help me out. Lisa is missing and I'm not >sure where to find her. > > (Lisa, currently behind one of the houses want to warn Jay but she >doesn't know how to warn him without revealing her hidding place.) > >Jay : That shouldn't be a problem. I'll bring my NDF troops over. > >Orange : (hesitates) I don't think that will be necessary. The sound of >the troops might scare her away. > > (Jay looks at orange like there is something wrong with him.) > >RL Lisa : It would have been better if you had used Jay as a hostage. > >Lisa : Don't give It any ideas. > > (Before Jay can respond to the latest complication, another one occurs. >The batthing arrives and goes straight to Lisa's hiding place.) > >Lisa : (quietly) Shoe! Go away!

A suede shoe scampers off from his hiding spot behind a bush, frightened by Lisa's shout.

(sorry, couldn't resist...^_^)

> (As the batthing approaches Lisa, It figures out some of what is going >on and heads for the same spot hoping to find Lisa. Jay, not knowing >what else to do, follows It (Orange). Martian and the other Sabers are >still under the pile of rubble and are for the moments ignored and the >NDF troops are within yelling distance but are still not aware that >anything out of the ordinary is taking place. All of this is being >watched by Gaeld.)

The bat-thing hovers in front of Lisa; from his single red eye, an image of Gaeld proyects in front of her.

Gaeld: (the voice sounds like a narrator in a bad flashback sequence) >>>Hurry, child! Give the jewel to the bat! It'll lure the Guardian away!!!<<<

>RL Lisa : I told you things would only get more confusing.

I've seen worse... ^_-

5

> > (It recognized Jay from back at the school and knows Jay can be > >tricked.) > > > >Orange : Jay, good to see you. > > > >Jay : How did you know my name? > > > >Orange : Lisa has told me a great deal about you. > > > >Jay : You know Lisa? > > > >Orange : Yes, in fact you could help me out. Lisa is missing and I'm not > >sure where to find her. > > > > (Lisa, currently behind one of the houses want to warn Jay but she > >doesn't know how to warn him without revealing her hidding place.) > > > >Jay : That shouldn't be a problem. I'll bring my NDF troops over. > > > >Orange : (hesitates) I don't think that will be necessary. The sound of > >the troops might scare her away. > > > > (Jay looks at orange like there is something wrong with him.) > > > >RL Lisa : It would have been better if you had used Jay as a hostage. > > > >Lisa : Don't give It any ideas. > > > > (Before Jay can respond to the latest complication, another one occurs. > >The batthing arrives and goes straight to Lisa's hiding place.) > > > >Lisa : (quietly) Shoe! Go away! > > A suede shoe scampers off from his hiding spot behind a bush, frightened by > Lisa's shout. > > (sorry, couldn't resist...^_^) > > > (As the batthing approaches Lisa, It figures out some of what is going > >on and heads for the same spot hoping to find Lisa. Jay, not knowing > >what else to do, follows It (Orange). Martian and the other Sabers are > >still under the pile of rubble and are for the moments ignored and the > >NDF troops are within yelling distance but are still not aware that > >anything out of the ordinary is taking place. All of this is being > >watched by Gaeld.) > > The bat-thing hovers in front of Lisa; from his single red eye, an image of > Gaeld proyects in front of her. > > Gaeld: (the voice sounds like a narrator in a bad flashback sequence) >>>>Hurry, child! Give the jewel to the bat! It'll lure the Guardian away!!!<<<

(Lisa shows surprising defiance to a much more powerful opponent.)

Lisa : I promised my parents, who are now dead, that I would protect this jewel reguardless of the costs! It is a promise that I instend to keep!

(Lisa takes a swat at the batthing but misses. The batthing goes up into the air well out of Lisa's reach and appears to be getting ready for an attack. Jay and Orange suddenly arrive on the scene. Orange realizes It is outmatched, changes back to natural form, and teleports out of the area.)

Jay : (somewhat confused) Lisa? What is going on?

Lisa : (pointing to the batthing) I'll explain later! Look out!

Jay : ENEMY SPOTTED!! ATTACK!!!

(Yoshi, Roshi, Oshii, and the rest of the NDF troops suddenly appear appearantly out of nowhere to attack the batthing. The batthing, obviously outmatched for the moment awaits futher instructions for Gaeld.)

Lisa : (to Jay) If could spare a few soldiers my friends, the Sabers, are trapped under that pile of rubble.

Jay : I'll get right on it. Yoshi! Roshi! Over here!

(Jay, Yoshi, and Roshi start to free the Sabers, the dwarves nearby hear the sounds of combat as they get ready for their attack, Gaeld is safely observing all the chaos and confusion, and Lisa who still has the Chaos Jewel simply stays out of the way and hopes that It does not return.)

Lisa : (to herself) Corrie where are you? I could sure use the TARDIS right now!

(The birds that are crazy enough to remain can no longer be heard over the sounds of combat.)

6