PeabodySam

OOC: I got back earlier than I expected.Well, as I explained on Sniper's wiki page, I intended for that "something" that Spy brought into the room, carrying over his shoulder, to be Sniper's corpse, so that he could fling it upon the table a la "Meet the Spy". I'll have to make a few last-minute adjustments... Part 2 of 3!And yes. If you're curious, the Word Document that I saved these 3 ICs in is titled "Meet the Spy".IC: “Spy!” snapped Sergeant Ronald Army. “What do you think you’re doing here? This is my safe room, and you are not welcome in my safe room!”Spy smirked and gestured towards the splintered remains of the door scattered on the floor. “I see ze ‘safe room’ is far from safe now.”“He does have a point,” Rex nodded.“Yeah, thanks t’ knucklehead here!” Scout retorted, pointing at Heavy. Heavy responded with a dark glare that shut up the rookie agent.Rex ignored Scout’s comment. “I presume you’ve heard what’s been going on? In regards to agents Engineer and Medic?”“But of course, I heard about it,” Spy nodded, with a grim look in his eyes.Out of the corner of his eye, Rex saw Heavy’s dark glare fade away instantly, replaced by a mourning expression. “Dietrich…” Heavy sighed. “Medic vas more than just friend to me. He… vas like… brother…” At that point, Heavy became too choked up to speak.“I think he was a lot more than just a brother to ya,” smirked Scout. Everyone glared at Scout with disapproval for this remark.Spy pointed an accusing finger at Heavy, Soldier, and Scout. “Now, thanks to you incompetent cowards, we have no safe room! And worse… zey got Sniper as well. I found him in his sniping post, with a knife planted in his back.”“Poor fella must’ve been stabbed from behind while zoomed in,” Sergeant Army remarked.“Not quite,” Spy shook his head. “It looked like he would not go down without a fight; Sniper had a few minor cuts on his face as well, and I found a nearby machete which Sniper presumably used in conflict with his attacker. But he was dispatched so quickly and so silently, even if zere was a knife fight between Sniper and zis… infiltrator, nobody would know zat it happened until his body was discovered.”Surprisingly, a small chuckle escaped Spy’s lips, causing the others to stare at him. “I’m quite impressed, actually,” Spy admitted. “Whoever is behind zis is quite ze master at the art of infiltrating.”“What are you?” scoffed Scout. “His number one fanboy? Hah, I bet all ya no-good dime-a-dozen spies secretly love each other!”Spy shot Scout a dark glare. “Silence, boy!” he hissed. “Zat is no way to speak to your father!”Scout was visibly startled. His eyes were widened and his jaw was hanging open. He struggled to find his voice, but even before he could succeed at that, Spy pulled a photograph out of his suit pocket. Rex, Heavy, and Army looked over Scout’s shoulder and saw a wedding photo depicting a bride who resembled Scout’s mother, Mrs. Rutherford, holding hands with a groom wearing a familiar ninja-style cowl.Scout reached out for the photograph, but Spy quickly pocketed it. “But zat is of little importance at ze moment. What matters now is zat we find out who is ze skilled master of spies who has successfully killed Engineer, Medic, and Sniper.”“They were all members of Second Headquarters Squad,” remarked Rex. “Any of you three might be the next target! Where are Pyro and Demoman?”“Zat is ze pattern zat I thought zat I saw emerging,” Spy nodded grimly, “ze one I hesitated to tell you and Amanda about. It is becoming increasingly obvious zat we members of Second Headquarters Squad are ze targets of zis killer. Why, I am not yet certain, but I theorize zat our victory at Gold City and Fort Legoredo makes us too dangerous for our enemies to keep us alive. Additionally, taking down Engineer and Sniper could be seen as a strategy to take down our defenses, and as for Medic... he got too close to discovering his identity. Or perhaps, zere is a far more malicious intent behind zese murders, something I cannot fathom... something zat would be in ze style of, for example, Silencia Venomosa.”Rex tensed at those last two words. “From what I understand, Silencia Venomosa has been... inactive for quite some time now. I seriously doubt that she is behind this; while XERRD has hired mercenaries in the past, I have a strong feeling that she is not one of them.”Spy glared at Rex, his piercing eyes boring into Rex's consciousness, and for a moment, Rex thought that Spy could read his mind and discover Venomosa's true identity. “I would not be so quick as to discount anyone, Rex,” hissed Spy. “As a spy myself, I know zat ze killer could be any one of us. For all we know, it could be you, Rex. And for all you know, it could even be me! And-”There came the sound of thunder. Spy fell to the floor, his skull blown into thousands of tiny shards. He would never move again. Rex, Scout, and Heavy all stared wide-eyed at the corpse, then at Ronald E. Army. The military sergeant was smiling maliciously as he reloaded his shotgun.OOC: Bet you all saw that one coming. Again, please don't interact with anyone in the room until my next IC.

OOC: Oh, yes, Atton. If I were a particularly sadistic game master, I would say that this is your punishment for your characters knowing too much. You get to watch the Second Headquarters Squad die... and there's nothing you can do about it.And now, to begin a three-part IC that I've been waiting a long time to publish...IC: The next thing Rex knew, he was being pushed down the hallway at a rather uncomfortably fast speed. To his shock, it was Sergeant Ronald E. Army who was gripping the handlebars of his wheelchair.“What do you think you’re doing?” Rex gasped, holding onto the armrests for dear life, uncomfortable to be on a wheelchair moving at running speed.“Something’s amiss, troop, and we is likely next on the hit list!” Sergeant Army explained as he continued to push Rex down the hallway. “First, they got Medic, then they got Engineer… but I’ll see to it that they don’t get us! We is heading to the safe room!”Army finally came to a stop in a hallway. Also standing in the hallway was rookie agent Scout, who was desperately punching numbers into a hidden keypad in the hallway’s wall. Rex had not been in this hallway before in his time at Dino Attack Headquarters, though he suspected, based on information from General about a secret door, this was where the self-titled “Portal Operation Team” operated before being shut down by the idealists.“Report, son!” Sergeant Army demanded.“Can’t – get – this – door – open!” Scout reported, his voice clearly strained. “Gimme a little more time, and…”“Oh, you are all MAGGOTS!” Army yelled as he shoved Scout aside. “Scum-sucking maggots hatched from giant mutant maggot eggs served with ham and bacon and spam for breakfast! Let ME handle this! I’ve got the password!”With that, Army punched in numbers he recited aloud. “One… two… three… four… um, err…”“Five?” wagered Scout.“RUN AND HIDE, COWARDS!” roared a deep voice from the other end of the hall. Scout, Army, and Rex turned their heads to see Heavy charging at them, a large machine gun in his hands.“Get down!” shouted Rex. He launched himself out of his wheelchair, and Scout darted to the side. Sergeant Army, a little too slow, was slammed against the locked door by Heavy, and a second later the door splintered into pieces, sending Heavy and Soldier reeling into the ‘safe room’.Rex climbed back into his wheelchair and was pushed by Scout into the ‘safe room’. Surveying the damage, he sighed and shook his head. Heavy smiled sheepishly and shrugged, while Army, leaning on a desk for support, was clearly at wit’s end.“MAGGOTS!” Sergeant Ronald Army screamed. “I’M SURROUNDED BY MAGGOTS!”Rex heard someone clear his throat. He turned his head and saw Spy standing in the doorway, carrying something over his shoulder. “Sorry to pop in unannounced, gentlemen,” announced Spy. ***** Silencia Venomosa silently opened the door and stepped into the Chief Executive Officer's office. Instantly, she began noting everything about the room, including the portraits hanging on the wall; the framed awards, certificates, and cut-outs from The Daily Brick; the large and expensive wooden desk cluttered with writing utensils, paperwork, picture frames, and one paperweight that could possibly be used as a blunt weapon should the need arise, with one large comfortable chair on either side of the desk; and the window on the far side of the room, looking out over the skyline of LEGO Town.Facing the window, with his back turned towards Venomosa, was a middle-aged man in a gray suit. In case one missed the plaque on the door, there was another plaque on his desk that read his name: Edward Korrupte. He did not turn around for some time, and Venomosa realized that he must not have heard her come in. Thus, she walked around his desk and approached the window until she was standing next to Mr. Korrupte.It was out of his peripheral vision that he finally noticed her. With a start, he exclaimed: "Oh, it's you!" He quickly regained his composure, fixed his tie, and requested, "I do apologize, I did not hear you come in. Please, take a seat, and we'll discuss our business."Silencia Venomosa nodded, and so she walked back around the desk and took a seat in the chair opposite Mr. Korrupte.The CEO did not sit down right away, instead leaning on his chair and staring at Venomosa with disbelief. "So, at last, I have the pleasure of meeting you face-to-face," he murmured quietly. "But you are so... young. Given your... résumé, I imagined that you were considerably older. You're not even twenty years old, are you?"Venomosa frowned, raised an eyebrow, and tapped her fingers against his desk. It was not uncommon for her employers to be surprised by her young age, but for her, it could only happen so many times before she grew weary of it. She wanted to get past the formalities as quickly as possible so she could learn exactly what she was being hired for."I'm Edward Korrupte," he introduced himself, extending a hand towards Venomosa. "CEO of Dacta Corporation. It truly is a privilege to be working with you, Ms. Venomosa."Politely, Venomosa took Korrupte's hand and shook it."Now, then," Mr. Korrupte clasped his hands together, "I'm sure you have come with with many questions regarding your employment. Most importantly, 'what'. But, I hope you don't mind if I answer 'why' first, and give you a little exposition regarding the circumstances that have led me to hiring you."Edward Korrupte turned his back on Silencia Venomosa and strode back to the window. Watching him do so, Venomosa thought to herself that Korrupte was a foolish man to believe that he could turn his back on her; had someone else already bought her loyalties, that would have been the perfect moment to backstab him. Since she was not hired to kill him... yet... she let it go for now, but felt a little disappointed that her employers would not know better than to always keep their eyes on her at all times.Looking out the window, Mr. Korrupte sighed. "Ah, LEGO Town. Such a prosperous and ever-growing example of some of the best that LEGO has to offer. And, for years, my company, Dacta Corporation, helped shape this town and make it what it is today. Over the years, we have poured our resources into continuing to build upon what our founders have created. We've educated the world on the possibilities of Duplo and Technic. We've funded expeditions to Egypt, overseen the restoration of historic landmarks in Castle Cove, and greatly supported the vehicle industry. Ms. Venomosa, this company has been in my family for three generations. I would do anything to keep it from going under."Venomosa raised her eyebrows, interested."Now, recently, another company has stepped up to the plate. Mindstorms, Incorporated. While Dacta was once undoubtedly the number-one producer of modern technology, Mindstorms threatens to take that position away from us. Frankly, I'm rather certain, for all their high-tech gadgets, robots, and inventions, that they have been stealing our resources and ideas. Fame is a fickle friend, and already the world is starting to forget all that Dacta is done and is instead drooling over every new product put on the market by Mindstorms. I can't do a thing about this, but I'm not about to sit by and watch my company crash and burn after so many years of unchallenged success."Edward Korrupte turned around to face Silencia Venomosa once more. She nodded and made a gesture for him to continue."Supposedly, Mindstorms, Inc. has been working on a new product codenamed NXT, rumored to change the world forever. I need eyes and ears in Mindstorms so I can figure out what this NXT business is all about. Someone on the inside that I can trust. Someone who won't talk back or spill the beans. And that's where you come in, Ms. Venomosa. I need you to find out what Mindstorms, Inc. is planning in those dark and decrepit backrooms behind that polished silver exterior of their main office building. I can see that, in your silence, observation is one of your greatest skills, and therefore I have no doubt that you would be perfect for this job."Silencia Venomosa blinked and raised an eyebrow. An infiltration? It was no doubt something she was more than capable of performing above and beyond her client's expectations, but it seemed a little odd to her. Nearly every one of her clients wanted her to bring in someone with a huge price on his head or to assassinate a key figure. That was what she was most infamous for. It seemed odd that Edward Korrupte would try to hire her, a reputed killer, for a quiet infiltration mission. So, she crossed her arms, narrowed her eyes, and cocked her head ever-so-slightly, as if asking if that was all.Mr. Korrupte bit his lip. While he was not nearly as skilled at reading her expressions as her brother (and they had fallen out long ago, so she had not seen him in years), he could sense that she suspected that he was not saying everything. Clearing his throat, he declared, "That is all I wish for you to do at the moment. Should the moment arise where you must... take greater measures, I'll find some way to contact you. But for now, all that I ask of you is to infiltrate Mindstorms, Inc. and feed information back to me on what they are up to."He sighed and shook his head. "Even now, I bet, that windbag who is running Mindstorms has hired his own mercenary, most likely to infiltrate my own company, as I have done with you. I'd hate for this to end as a repeat of Reliable Excavation Deconstruction and Brick League United, but I fear I have no choice but to act first if he has not done so already."Venomosa nodded. She remembered the history of Reliable Excavation Deconstruction and Brick League United. One company was founded for the purpose of building; the other, for deconstruction. Any other time, it would not have been a major intercorporate conflict... but the problem was that they were founded by brothers who had a severe case of sibling rivalry. Their disputes and arguments culminated in the 1950s, when each company hired a team of mercenaries to infiltrate the other company. That... ended badly. Luckily, since then, the two brothers had passed away due to old age, and their successors managed to build far more peaceful relations between the two companies."Alright then," concluded Edward Korrupte, "if either of us has any questions or new information, we shall contact each other. It was a pleasure meeting you, Ms. Venomosa."Silencia Venomosa frowned and began tapping her fingers on his desk."Oh, right," Mr. Korrupte bit his lip and scratched head, a little sheepishly. He bent down and picked up a briefcase. Opening it, he showed off stacks and stacks of $100 bills. "Here is half your payment up front. When I feel that your mission is complete, I'll reward your services with the other half."Venomosa's eyes widened as she looked at all that money... and it was only half of her full payment. Nodding, she stood and took the briefcase from Mr. Korrupte. They shook hands one last time, and she started for the door."Oh, and one more thing."Venomosa paused and turned around.Edward Korrupte slowly sat down in his own chair, with a grim expression as he locked eyes with Venomosa. "This conversation never happened. We are the only ones who know that you and I were here together. Understand?"Of course. It was silly and paranoid to think otherwise. Silencia Venomosa nodded, then opened the door and slipped out back into the hallway.As she made her way back to the elevator, she passed the receptionist once again. "Had a good time, honey?" the receptionist gave a false smile, her nasally voice making her comment even more obnoxious.Venomosa paused for just a second. She turned back and glanced at the receptionist. Ursula Bennett was her name.Then, Silencia Venomosa turned away and resumed walking to the elevator. This time, she smiled to herself. It was a dark and sadistic smile, the smile flashed by a serpent as it cornered its doomed prey. Edward Korrupte had requested that only the two of them know about the meeting that was held in Dacta Corporation that day. Surely, Ursula Bennett, who had seen a silent young woman enter the CEO's office today, knew too much.I'll just make it look like an accident, thought Silencia Venomosa, with sadistic pleasure.OOC: Whoa, that flashback turned out a lot longer than I had anticipated.Just to remind you all that I will be away Saturday and Sunday. Rex, Soldier, Heavy, Scout, and Spy (and Sniper's corpse) are in the secret room formerly used by the disbanded Portal Operations Team (Chompy, General, Shock, and Libo). Please do not interact with any of them until my return. And if you interact with any of my characters outside the room, make sure that they're in-character (I don't want any more "Because PeabodySam wasn't there to write what she would normally do while Trigger pointed a gun at her and publicly revealed her darkest secret, Amanda just sat there going 'DUH...!'").

IC: When Rex and Amanda arrived in the lobby, they were surprised to find it empty, save Dino Attack's receptionist, Elizabeth Wilma, working at the desk. They traded glances, Rex shrugged, and Amanda pushed his wheelchair to the front desk. Wilma was busy, typing away at her computer. "Excuse me?" spoke Rex, trying to catch the receptionist's attention.Wilma looked up. "Oh, Elite Agent Rex. There you are.""Where's Gun?" inquired Rex.The receptionist glanced around the lobby and bit her lip. "Err, he was right there, sitting in that chair and waiting for you. I wonder if he got up to use the facility. He knew you were coming, but he might have also gotten a little impatient and gotten up to look for you himself; I'm not sure if he knows about your... um, condition." She gestured to Rex's wheelchair.Rex sighed. "Very well. Do you know what he wished to speak with me about?"Wilma shook her head. "I'm afraid not. All that he said was that it was important information, and that he requested that he speak with you as quickly as possible. Maybe you should stick around a bit; I hope he's coming right back.""Right," nodded Rex."I can go look for him, if you want," suggested Amanda. "Rex can stay here in case he comes back, but in case Gun is looking for him, I can find him and tell him that Rex is waiting here.""Good idea," agreed Rex. Amanda moved Rex's wheelchair near the chairs, then sprinted down the hall in search for Gun.Rex sat in his wheelchair, watching the clock as time passed, its constant tick, tock, tick, tock recalling the Darkitect's words. Just thinking about that caused his heart to start pounding again. Rex grimaced and clutched his chest. The pain subsided quickly, but Rex could not help but notice that it lasted a little longer than it did last time. ***** Brixton “Sniper” Hale looked out the window of his sniping post, looking for Mutant Dinos to pick off with his sniping rifle.Or rather, that’s what he appeared to be doing. In reality, Sniper kept his eyes on the machete, lying beside him and propped up against the wall. In the blade’s reflection, he had a good view of the space behind him. If anyone tried to sneak up on him, he would see his attacker in the reflection.Now, Sniper thought to himself, I just wait.The minutes ticked by, feeling like an eternity. Patience was a virtue that Sniper learned long ago. However, seemingly waiting for his death was the tensest moment he had ever faced. But with Engineer and Medic dead, he was not taking any chances.At last, after minutes of torturous waiting, he saw movement in the reflection of the machete. A dark Minifig, hidden in shadow, carrying something shiny in one hand.Steady, steady, Sniper thought to himself as the Minifig approached. The Minifig raised the shiny object into the air, and Sniper smiled grimly. Just as the Minifig was close enough to strike, Sniper tossed aside the sniper rifle, grabbed the machete, and swung around.“Take that!” Sniper bellowed. “Yeh bloody backstabbing wuss!”The attacker jumped back, diving back into the shadows where Sniper could not see him well. Sniper slashed again with his machete but missed his target. The attacker responded with a feigned swipe to the side, and as Sniper attempted to dodge, the attacker immediately followed up with a kick.Sniper slammed against the windowsill, dropping his machete in the process. He nearly lost his balance and almost fell out of the window. However, as the attacker prepared to strike again, Sniper launched himself at his attacker.“I’ve wrestled crocs tougher than yeh, mate!” hissed Sniper as his pinned the attacker to the floor.The attacker tried to shake Sniper off, but Sniper refused to move. Thus, the attacker slashed at Sniper’s face with his knife.Gasping in pain, Sniper jumped off his attacker, who quickly jumped to his feet. Another well-placed kick knocked Sniper back down on the floor. As his attacker drew closer, Sniper groped around for his machete.Closing his fingers around the weapon, Sniper lunged at the attacker, slashing with his machete. He laughed as the attacker recoiled back into the shadows.“Hah! Spy! You’re bloody useless!”He slashed again, but this time, the attacker dodged the blade and swiped with his knife. The knife blade skimmed against Sniper’s cheek, leaving a cut and knocking off his sunglasses. Sniper narrowed his eyes in anger, but with his shades removed, he could now more clearly see the figure in the shadows.“Crikey!” Sniper gasped. In his shock, he froze for three instants too long.One. The attacker jabbed at Sniper’s arm, knocking the machete out of his hand.Two. The attacker sliced across Sniper’s torso, and in pain, Sniper doubled over.Three. The attacker stabbed at Sniper’s exposed back, planting the knife in Sniper’s shoulder blades and instantly killing him.The mole had claimed his third victim’s life.

OOC: Whoa, Zachary. That's pretty insensitive towards poor Engineer! Too Soon! I call Too Soon!IC: Sergeant Ronald Army marched down the hallway of Dino Attack Headquarters, with Scout and Heavy following suit. Anyone who got in their way was shoved aside, including Ata, who tried to tell them, "Oh, hey guys! Specs wanted to see-""Out of the way, missy!" shouted Sergeant Army as he pushed aside the communications expert. Ata moved quickly to make sure that he was not trampled by Scout, who seemed to move as fast as a bullet, or Heavy, who was like a tank plowing through the hallway. He watched them go, wondering where they could possibly be going in such a hurry.They continued in their charge until they came to a three-way fork in the road. There was a hallway to the left, a hallway to the right, and a stairwell directly in front of them. Sergeant Army immediately took the left path, but Scout stopped and called, "Yo, what are ya doin'? The 'safe room' is clearly to the right!""No, it's not, you maggot!" declared Army. "As a general-""Sergeant," coughed Scout."-I have a very keen sense of direction, and the right way is the wrong way, and the left way is the right way!""Yeah, whatevah," shrugged Scout. "Ya headin' to the lobby if ya take the left hallway. Hey, Heavy, am I right or what?"Heavy was silent."Fine, then!" snapped Sergeant Army. "We'll split up! Divide and conquer! And I'll see you arrive at the safe room late because you took the right way while I took the right way! But don't be surprised if you get yourself killed by this mole along the way!""Same to ya," muttered Scout, a little darkly. With that, Sergeant Ronald Army took the left path, while Scout to the right path.Heavy stood there, grimly staring at the stairwell. Although Heavy was far from the brightest of Dino Attack agents, he could sense that something was very wrong. They split up, he thought to himself. They are alone. No one to watch them or see vat they do. One of them could be killer. Killer who killed Dietrich. I swear upon my motherland that I vill avenge Dietrich. I shall go to 'safe room', but I shall not come alone. I vill bring her. Yes. Time to bring out big guns, for now is coward killing time! With that, he ran up the stairwell to his room in search of his precious machine gun. ***** Silencia Venomosa listened as the men talked. She took mental notes of everything that she observed, from their posture, to their tone of voice, to the very fact that they smoked. That last bit disgusted her, and she felt nearly offended when Montoya offered her a cigarette. Already, she did not like these men. They would have to go, sooner or later.As they talked about their heist, Venomosa made sure to listen to every detail and remember it. This was what she was here for. It was her business to know Mindstorms, Inc.'s business. For now, her work was merely undercover observation... but Venomosa was too wise to think that was all that Dacta Corporation hired her for. She was a bounty hunter, an assassin, a killer. To hire her and not ask her to kill anyone would be like going to a steak restaurant and ordering fish; what you get might be satisfying, but it's not the best that they have to offer.Venomosa thought back to her trip into Dacta Corporation's main building...Silencia Venomosa pushed the revolving door and entered the main lobby. Taking a glance at her letter and then at the giant sign posted, she figured out which floor she needed to go, and was able to catch the elevator before its doors closed. The elevator was crowded, hot, and sticky, as men in business suits surrounded her.The elevator ascended, and she waited patiently until it stopped at the 13th floor. As soon as the elevator doors opened, she brushed her way past the other elevator occupants and walked out into the hallway. The hallway was lined with priceless inventions and machines invented by Dacta over the years, contained in glass cases and marked with plaques that identified each machine, its inventor, and date of creation. Instinctively, as Venomosa passed these inventions, she wondered how each one could be used, if needed, to kill someone or make an escape.At last, she stopped at a desk. There sat a fat receptionist with big rimmed glasses, too much lipstick, and a ridiculous hairstyle. Venomosa waited at the desk, but the receptionist was too busy chatting on the phone to notice her. Silently, she began tapping her fingers on the desk, waiting to be addressed. She took note of her surrounding area, making mental notes about possible escape routes. Finally, the receptionist noticed her, put down the phone, and asked in a nasally voice, "Oh, honey, why didn't ya say something?"Silencia Venomosa frowned."Now, do you have an appointment?"She nodded, holding up the envelope containing the letter that Bartholomew Enderson passed on to her. The receptionist reached for it, but Venomosa quickly put it away."Alright," muttered the receptionist as she checked the schedule, "what's ya name?"Silencia Venomosa did not reply, but rolled her eyes. She could not believe that she had to deal with this. Normally, she would have scaled the building's walls with her own custom-made gear and come in through the window to the coporate executive's office, but the letter specifically stated not to do so. She imagined that the last thing that the executive wanted was a heart attack from her sudden and silent entrance into his room through the window."Look, honey, what's ya name?"Venomosa glared at the receptionist, tapping her fingers on the desk.The receptionist, who had the audacity to give a disgusted sigh, picked up the phone, dialed a number, and waited. "Hi, sorry to bother ya, but I've got this lady here who says she's got an appointment with ya but she won't tell me her name or any..." She paused as the man on the other line spoke. Confusion appeared on her expression, much to Venomosa's pleasure. "Oh, um... okay. I'll tell her to go right in." She hung up the phone, but by the time she opened her mouth again, Venomosa was already gone.She strode around the desk and made for the door on the other side. She confirmed that it was her destination by quickly reading the plaque on the door, which read "EDWARD KORRUPTE: Dacta Chief Executive Officer".

OOC: Of course, Atton. You knew that would be the logical thing to do, but the Second Headquarters Squad (especially Soldier) can be so incompetent at times, so logic wouldn't do much good for them. Plus, Engineer (probably one of their sanest and most reasonable members) is dead and Spy (same for him) wasn't there... which, oddly enough, caused Pyro to seem like the Only Sane Man in my last post.IC: As soon as she returned to Rex's room, Amanda Claw escorted Rex through a hallway in Dino Attack Headquarters en route to the lobby. They were both surprised to see agent Spy approach them.As Spy got closer, Rex was even more surprised to see that Spy had lost his famed composure. He walked with poor posture, he breathed heavily, and his exposed skin glistened with sweat. Spy was grumbling under his breath, and Rex thought that he heard, “… briefcase. How many times must I tell zem to not touch my stuff? I bet Scout’s trying to play another stupid prank, or maybe Sniper is acting a little more paranoid zan usual and…”As he walked past them, Spy muttered a half-hearted, “Good evening.”Rex turned his head to look over his shoulder. “Is there something wrong, Spy?”Spy stopped and sighed. “I don’t suppose either of you have cigarettes on you?” Rex raised an eyebrow and Amanda grimaced, but then Spy shook his head and muttered, “Of course not. Agent Claw is trusted with an emergency lighter, and I doubt you smoke, Rex. Zat’s a shame, because I really need a smoke right now.”“Spy,” Rex spoke sternly, “you know that there is no smoking allowed in Dino Attack Headquarters.”“I know, I know,” Spy nodded. “I just need a smoke to calm my nerves… Yes, zere is something wrong, Rex. Ze spy, ze infiltrator, ze… traitor is amongst us. He has taken two lives within ze past few hours, and I am sure zat he intends to take another.”Rex bit his lip. He remembered hearing the rumors about XERRD planting a mole in Dino Attack Team, and felt angry with himself for sleeping through the deaths of two of his teammates. “Spy, as an infiltrator yourself, perhaps you can shed some light onto this situation. Can you figure out where the infiltrator is heading? Who his next target is?”Spy opened his mouth, as though to say something, but then he slowly shut it and frowned, thinking for a minute. “I’m afraid not. I have not yet acquired enough information. However, I do fear zat, even now, I see a pattern emerging. I do not wish to cause false alarm, so I shall withhold my hypothesis until I have more evidence. In ze meantime… I need to calm my nerves so I can think straight.”Spy glanced towards the ceiling and added quietly, “Perhaps Sniper has some cigarettes on him. I shall go check on him and ask if I can borrow any.”“Right,” nodded Rex. “Carry on, then.”Then, Spy departed, heading to the sniping posts in the upper floors.*****Brixton "Sniper" Hale checked his PDA once again. The words on the message disturbed him deeply: “Engineer and Medic are dead. Watch your back.”It was his worst fear realized. Anything in front of him could be taken down. But an enemy on the inside who could backstab him… he was defenseless.The message was unsigned and untraceable. This, combined with the warning, could only mean one thing: Spy. It would be in his style to send untraceable warnings about watching one’s back.Was the message a warning or a threat?Of all his teammates, Spy was the one that Sniper distrusted the most. Sniper’s paranoia combined with Spy’s preferred fighting style meant that Sniper never felt easy with Spy around. As Sniper considered the message, he contemplated the likelihood of a threat disguised as a warning. If Spy was the killer, then he would want his allies to trust him, and what better way to earn their trust than to pretend to care for their safety?Sniper put his PDA back into his pocket and took a look around his sniping post. There were several crates stacked up. Sniper considered moving the crates around his window to form a defensive barrier. He walked towards one crate and saw the label. Raising his eyebrows, he opened it up and looked inside.Spy will come here with a knife.Smiling maliciously, Sniper pulled a machete out of the crate.But this is a knife!OOC: Dino Attack RPG's first major video is now online. I recommend that you check out the front page of the Dino Attack RPG Wiki and watch it! Oh, and happy birthday to Andrewnuva199!

IC: "Alright, men!" declared Ronald Army, pacing back and forth in front of the rest of Second Headquarters Squad. "We'll use this time wisely! Let us practice marching up-and-down the square!" This generated groans from everyone assembled. "Silence, maggots! Now step forward and form a line! That's it! Let's see here... one, two, three, four... Hey, wait a second! We're missing five men! Where are those maggots?"Pyro murmured something incomprehensible, but gestured towards Heavy, who was sobbing quietly.Army stormed up to Heavy and got so close that they could smell each others' breath. "Quit that crying!" he shouted. "What are you, a baby? Man up, maggot!""I think," murmured Angel Eyes, "that he's still mourning the death of Medic. Remember: Medic and Engineer just died. That's why you're missing some men.""Oh, right," muttered Ronald Army. "So that's two of them. But where are the other four?""Three," coughed Scout."Wait, did you count yourself?" Maria raised an eyebrow."Shut up, lady!" snapped Army. She proceeded to kick him in the pants, causing him to double over in pain. A short scuffle later, after Angel Eyes and Pyro succeeded in tearing the two fighters apart, a badly-bruised Army tried once again to count his men. "Now let's see... that's one, two, three, four... plus two is seven... no wait, that's six... plus me, that would be seven... We're still missing two men! Now, where are those maggots?""Alright, calm down," sighed Angel Eyes. "Let's figure out who's not here. Heavy, Scout, Pyro, Demoman, Sold-""I AM NOT A SOLDIER!" screamed Sergeant Ronald Army."Huh," Angel Eyes murmured. "That leaves Spy and Sniper.""They weren't with us in the cafeteria," noted Scout."Has anyone seen where they went?" inquired Angel Eyes."This isn't right!" declared Ronald Army. "I'm not going to sit around in this mess hall while some maggot is killing my men! I'm going to find that safe room where the Portal Operating Team.. err, operated. That's where I'll deposit the rest of you while I hunt down this maggot! Who's with me?" With that, he charged out of the cafeteria, with Scout and Heavy following him. Pyro did not move right away, but instead glanced at Demoman, who appeared to be too drunk to figure out what was going on, and then shrugged to Angel Eyes and Maria."You've got to be kiddin' me," grumbled Maria. "Now we're going to have to hunt down those morons again." She and Angel Eyes pursued the three members of Second Headquarters Squad, leaving Pyro and Demoman alone in the mess hall.OOC: There, hopefully that will make things a little less safe. And I would politely request that neither Sniper nor Spy are found. Even though we already (think we) know where they are. Seeing that most suspects of the mole are in Second Headquarters Squad, grouping most of the squad in one place kind of reduces the "whodunnit?" situation at hand, which is the whole fun of the mole hunt at this point.And now, to begin my own part of Atton Rand's "flashback"...IC: Batholomew Enderson cleaned the glass. It was already sparkling clean, but it made him feel more comfortable whenever he was cleaning a glass. It did not help that business was unusually slow today, because chatting with customers also took his mind off of whatever it was that troubled him.Then, at last, she entered. Although she was silent as always, her very presence seemed to change the atmosphere of the room. She approached the bar and sat down on the stool.Bartholomew inquired, "Anything to drink, miss?" Usually, the answer was no, but he always asked, just to be polite. As he expected, she shook her head. She was not here for a drink. She was here for business. "Right then," he murmured in a low voice, handing over the envelope. "It's another assignment. I believe this one is from Dacta Corporation, if I'm not mistaken."Why am I doing this? Batholomew Enderson thought with a hint of self-loathing as she took the envelope. I always see the results in the news, and it horrifies me. And yet... I know that if I ever refuse to do this... she'll kill me. No. Even worse. She'll kill me and my family.She opened the envelope, took out the letter inside, and read it over, silently. When she was done, she nodded to Enderson, then stood and left without a single word. May Builder forgive me, thought Bartholomew Enderson as he watched her go. It is a cruel punishment for a humble bartender such as myself to be the secret-keeper of Silencia Venomosa herself.

OOC: *tries to flip laptop, but severely miscalculates the mass of said laptop, causing said laptop to not be flipped over entirely and instead fall back on my exposed fingers... ouch*If I have any major ideas regarding your flashback, Atton, I shoot them over to you via PM.IC: Rex stood in his room, watching the sun set outside his window. The skies were filled with a most beautiful array of colors, making the sight spectacular, although not quite as picturesque as the sunset on Adventurers' Island, since LEGO City was still in ruins thanks to the Dino Attack. Still, the sunset could not ease Rex's anxieties. He felt as though there was still something that needed to be-"Tick, tock, tick tock."Rex froze in shock. As soon as he recovered, he whirled around, but no one was there. Just his shadow, cast upon the wall by the light of the setting sun. Confused, Rex was ready to dismiss it as something he imagined... only to realize that what he first conceived as his shadow did not quite match his form. Whoever this shadow belonged to, he clearly wore a top hat, a cape, and carried a scepter...Rex blinked. "What are you doing here?" he demanded. "We banished you!"The shadow laughed. "I'd like to congratulate your team on that, by the way. Quite impressive indeed. I never thought you'd have the strength to do it, and yet here you are, having survived a direct encounter with the Darkitect himself. Of course, if I had the Maelstrom Crystal or was at the height of my power, you would never have survived. Still, I admire your efforts... but you are a fool to think that you have completely banished me from LEGO Planet."Rex looked down at his own legs. "I'm standing," he realized. "This must be a dream. You're not real, only a mere shadow from the back of my mind."The shadow shook his head. "True, but dreams reflect the subconscious... and that's where I shall never leave you, Rex. By closing the Maelstrom vortex on Adventurers' Island, you may think that you've shut my only window to the LEGO Planet. That is not true. As long as Dr. Rex lives, I still have power here. I've taken up residence in his subconscious for a long time, and the old fool is no match for the power of my mind. I influence his decisions and control his mind. The best part is... he brought it upon himself. As for you, Rex, I may not have domination over your mind, but your body is poisoned, and I intend to make your fate as terrible as possible."Rex remembered Frank Einstein's message. "Oh, right. I've got less than a month to live. Gee, thanks a lot, by the way. Really appreciate it. But, the thing is... I've won that battle already. I've made peace with my fate, and I'll accept the bell's toll when I hear it ringing. Nothing you can do will change that."The shadow chuckled softly, a most hideous sound. "Death? You think death is the worst part? Oh, no, Rex. You are terribly mistaken. Death is mercy, an escape. I intend to make your life as miserable and as full of suffering as is in my power. You will die, Rex, but first you will watch all that you know and love be destroyed by the Mutant Dinosaurs. You will suffer, Rex. And then, only once you have suffered the greatest of all pains and you are literally begging for death... only then shall I be merciful to give it to you."Rex scowled. He ran up to the shadow and tried to punch it with all his might, but his fist hit the wall instead. As his hand recoiled from the shock and Rex grimaced in pain, the shadow laughed once again. "Tick, tock, tick tock!"BEEP! BEEP!Rex awoke. He was still lying on his bed in his room. His forehead was covered with sweat, and his heart was pounding again. He glanced at the clock and cursed softly when he saw that several hours had passed since he fell asleep. Still, he felt a little refreshed, as Amanda hoped that he would, even if the dream was very unsettling.BEEP! BEEP!"Alright, alright," muttered Rex. He grabbed his PDA from the desk beside his bed and pressed it against his ear. "Elite Agent Rex."The voice he heard on the other line was the female receptionist of Dino Attack Headquarters. "Gun would like to speak with you in the lobby as soon as possible.""I'll be there immediately," nodded Rex. He hung up, then sat up on his bed. "Gun?" he mused to himself. "Really? These Dino Attack agents' codenames are becoming less and less creative every day." Then, he realized that he was alone in the room. Wondering where Amanda was, he picked his PDA up again and sent a quick text message to Amanda.A moment later, he received her reply. She had gone for a walk and would return as soon as she finished one last errand that she needed to run.***** Medic stood in his lab, located in the Dino Attack hospital wing. Before him, Engineer laid on an operating table. The equipment for the procedure had been set up, and now all that remained was extracting the memories from Engineer’s eyes and brain cells.Medic picked up his bone saw and looked it over, inspecting its sharpness and checking for rust. In its reflection, he saw his comrade, Heavy, sitting in an nearby chair and resting his head on his hand, with his eyes half-shut.Medic smiled gently, putting the bone saw back down. He turned and approached Heavy. “Ivan,” he murmured, “you are an exzellent comrade und a great vriend, but you are tired und veary. You don’t have to ztay iv you don’t vant to. Vy don’t you get zome rezt?”Heavy stirred slightly from his position. “I vant to be here, Dietrich,” he declared. “Engineer is dead. I do not vant to see you dead either.”Medic laid a hand on Heavy’s shoulder. “I underztand your conzernz. But, do not vorget zat I can devend myzelv should I be in danger. Remember zat one Hybrid in Gold Zity?”Heavy grinned. He stood from his chair and patted Medic on the back. “Perhaps late-night snack vill help me stay avake. I vill be back… vith sandvich.” With that, Heavy walked out of the lab, closing the door behind him.Medic chuckled softly as he watched Heavy leave. He turned his attention back to Engineer, and then picked up the bone saw once more. He heard the door open again, too soon to be Heavy with his sandwich. In his surprise, Medic bumped against the operating table, and then something fell out of Engineer’s gloved hand.Raising an eyebrow, Medic bent down and picked it up off the floor. It was a crinkled piece of paper. Unfolding it, Medic saw a message scrawled on the paper, consisting of only two words:You’re next.Medic took this death threat as a warning. He tightened his grip on his bone saw and then spun around, swinging the bone saw like a sword at the one who had entered the lab. It hit against a metallic object, and Medic saw a pistol flying out of his attacker’s hand. Medic prepared to swing again, this time to draw blood.Then, Medic caught a good look at the mysterious attacker. What he saw paralyzed his entire body, and he could only manage a choked: “Nein! It cannot be!”The attacker, on the other hand, recovered much more quickly and did not remain disarmed for long. He pulled out a knife from his pocket and slashed at Medic, catching the Barron doctor by the throat. Instantly, Medic collapsed and did not move. ***** “Anyvay, sandvich is great! So moist and del-”By the time Heavy returned to Medic’s lab with a sandwich, the killer was gone. However, Heavy instantly saw the blood on the floor and Medic’s still form.“Medic!” gasped Heavy. He dropped his half-eaten sandwich and dove towards Medic’s body. He lifted Medic’s head, felt the ice-cold skin, and saw the slit throat. “No!”Sobbing, Heavy cradled Medic’s body in his arms, feeling lost and alone in the world. “Help!” he cried, praying that someone would hear him. “Medic is dead!”

OOC: Of course, the lesson to be learned from all this is: "When a player says that he's going to be away for X amount of time, please wait before interacting with his characters."That being said, the founding members (as well as pretty much any official LEGO character) are public domain and, unless currently in use by another member, can be played by anyone. That being said being said, since Specs left to speak with the Second Headquarters Squad last we saw him, I would request that he does not appear until I'm ready to unveil the results of said discussion.IC: "I'll tell you what!" snapped Trigger, pointing an accusing finger at Amanda. "You hired a MegaBlokin' mole of XERRD!" Trigger was creating such a scene that Ata, who happened to be passing by, stopped to see what going on.Digger looked at Amanda with surprise. "Don't be silly," he shook his head. "Agent Claw is easily one of our most trustworthy-""She's Silencia Venomosa!" proclaimed Trigger. "For the love of Ole Kirk Christiansen, why are you all so MegaBloking blind? Digger, you and your blokes didn't hire some quiet girl who was a refugee from Antarctica; you hired a mercenary, a bounty hunter, a terrorist! Mindstorms, Dacta, the Brickfather... do I even need to remind you all of what she has done in the past?"Amanda watched Digger as he paled. She considered herself lucky that Dr. Cyborg barely remembered his past and that Wright apparently never heard about Silencia Venomosa. Digger, on the other hand, seemed to recall all those horrible headline-breaking stories about the mysterious silent woman who always evaded the authorities... and left death in her wake. "You can't be...?" the founding agent whispered. For a moment, Amanda remembered how Pterisa reacted when she was exposed in the Maelstrom Temple. The poor creature was horribly insecure of herself and all but completely shut down when she feared that others' trust in her was shaken. The fact that Pterisa was part Mutant Pterosaur seemed insignificant in comparison to Amanda's past as Silencia Venomosa. For starters, Pterisa was innocent, even if her race was not... but Amanda was entirely guilty of every horrible action committed by Venomosa. While Pterisa hid her identity with samurai armor, Amanda attempted to bury Silencia Venomosa and never look back.And now, after trying to repress her past for so long, Trigger had just blurted out her darkest secret like it meant nothing to her.Instinctively, Amanda drew her knife and approached Trigger. She moved slowly, but her silence and poise made her movements akin to that of a serpent about to strike. She stared down Trigger with tranquility that masked a burning inferno of hate and anger. She raised her knife, the same knife that had gutted the stomachs of Mutant Lizards, impaled the abdomen of a Dark Spiderling, and sliced through the flesh and bone of Stromlings, all in the last week. She wanted nothing more than to plunge that knife into Trigger's body.Then, Amanda tossed aside the knife. Ata watched with surprise as the knife clattered to the floor. All eyes were fixed on Amanda as she spoke, quietly, with fury so tranquil that it filled everyone with utmost dread. "My name is not Silencia Venomosa," she hissed. "I am Amanda Remous, the sister of Roger Remous, a brave geologist and paleontologist who died for Dino Attack Team's cause. I am here to keep his memory alive and avenge his death. That is something worth fighting for, something far greater than money, something you would never understand, Schiess. So never call me Silencia Venomosa again. You may only call me Claw. I said this once before, I'm saying it again now, and if I need to, I shall say it again and again until it is drilled so deep into your brain that not even the real Wallace Bishop could extract it. Do you understand?"Trigger responded by pointing his gun at Amanda. "Go to MegaBlokLand," he growled.Although she did not speak, Amanda smiled coolly, a provocative expression that practically screamed the words "After you!"The combination of her silence and her smile infuriated Trigger, who almost pulled the trigger in time before Digger, Wright, Dr. Cyborg, and a few others all stepped in and wrestled the weapon out of his hands. Amanda continued to smile, but then her attention was drawn to Solomon, whom she recognized from the battle in the Maelstrom Temple. She recalled hearing reports that five out of the sixteen surviving XERRD scientists from that battle had surrendered to the Dino Attack Team, and realized Solomon must have been one of them. With interest, she stared at the XERRD scientist, trying to discern what he was thinking.When Trigger's weapons were finally confiscated, the mercenary grumbled with disgust. "I think everyone needs to pull their heads out of their hip pieces. Anyone among us can be the mole, and you shouldn't discount anyone just because of how long they have been working with the team or how trustworthy you think they are." He shot a glare towards Amanda, who smiled sweetly in return, which somehow infuriated him even more.Dr. Cyborg cleared his throat. "Solomon, I don't suppose you remember anything about XERRD's mole in Dino Attack Team?"Amanda watched Solomon's expression as he shook his head. "I'm afraid not. We knew that we had someone planted in Dino Attack Team, but most of us were not told who it was. I suppose this was deliberately done by Dr. Rex, since if none of us knew anything useful, we could not give it up in an interrogation." He seemed to be genuine, Amanda thought."I suppose the only thing we can do now," murmured Hotwire, "is trust no one until we get down to the bottom of this.""Keep an eye out for anything suspicious," added Wright. "Good idea," nodded Ata. "I should probably get back to work..."Amanda bit her lip. "I suppose I'll need to return to Rex-""That reminds me," Digger raised an eyebrow. "Why aren't you with Rex?"Amanda sighed. "Rex has had a long, hard day. I figured that the best thing he needed was a little rest. He refused at first, but only moments after he laid down on his bed, he was unconscious. Me? I've got insomnia, and I felt like I needed a walk as much as Rex needed a rest.""Okay, just making sure," nodded Digger. "Poor guy. Keep an eye on him for me, okay?""And an eye out for the mole, as well," added Dr. Cyborg.Amanda nodded silently, then she turned and departed down the hall. The others watched her go, and Trigger made a silent mental vow, before all was said and done, to hunt down that worthless traitorous backstabbing double-crossing Silencia Venomosa and make her confess in front of the whole Dino Attack Team.Amanda's own thoughts drifted back to Trigger. She could not help but know that she would wait with almost-eager anticipation for such a final confrontation. It was a loose end that needed to be tied up for good. One by one, the crowd that had gathered dispersed. Ata was the last to leave, watching everyone go before deciding that he needed to return to his task. ***** This particular Dino Attack hallway had became a crime scene. Word had quickly gotten around about the death of Engineer, and investigators were brought in to analyze the area.There laid Engineer, lying against the floor, his mouth slightly open, and a bullet hole in his head. The once-beige floor of the hallway was now stained red.Dr. Alan Pierce, who had left the hospital wing when he heard the news, frowned as looked over the dead body. This was beyond his medicinal capabilities to rectify; Engineer was dead, and there was no changing that. He recalled stories about Zenna’s attempts to revive Kat after she was shot in the neck, but it was too late.“Out ov ze vay! Out ov ze vay!”Pierce looked up with disgust. He saw Dr. Dietrich Luzwheit, also known as “Medic”, approach the crime scene. Beside him was Heavy, who was pushing aside anyone in Medic’s path.Heavy looked down upon Engineer’s fallen form. “So it is true,” he grimaced. “Engineer is dead.”When Medic laid eyes upon Engineer’s corpse, all he said was, “Oh, dear, zat doezn’t look good. Very vell, zen, I’ll bring him back to ze lab.”“Wait, what?” blinked Pierce. “Just what do you think you are doing, Dr. Luzwheit?”“Ah, Dr. Pierze,” frowned Medic. “I zought you might be here. I am taking Engineer back to ze lab vor zome… autopzy teztz.”“It’s rather clear that he died from a bullet wound to the head,” Pierce gritted his teeth. “You don’t need to perform an autopsy to find that out.”“Ja,” Medic raised a finger, “but vat ve don’t know iz ze zircumztanzez behind hiz deaz. Vor example, vat he vaz doing ven he died, vat gun shot him, und, mozt importantly, ze identity ov hiz killer. I can vind all zis out viz a vew zimple teztz.”“What are going to do?” demanded Pierce. “Cut open his head with a rusty bonesaw, rip his brain apart to find a few specific cells, and poke needles into his eyes to broadcast his last sights onto a television screen?”Despite the tone of Pierce’s voice, Medic smiled and casually replied, “Ja, zat vaz ze idea.” He quickly gestured towards Heavy, who approached Engineer’s corpse. “Exzept zat I take ovvenze to ze ‘ruzty bonezaw’ comment,” he continued. “I vould never uze anyzing viz ruzt on it. I alvayz make zure zat my bonezaw iz completely clean bevore I dizzect people viz it.”“You can’t be serious!” gaped Dr. Pierce. “We’re not cutting up Engineer; we’re sending his body back to the Holdem family where it belongs!”“Vat vamily?” Medic raised an eyebrow. “Ze man vaz purely practical! He vaz not a believer in love or beauty! I doubt zat he ever got married. Zerevore, ve have nozing to loze. Ivan, take him avay.”As Heavy picked up Engineer’s corpse, Pierce rushed towards Medic and grabbed the doctor by the shoulder. “I shall not permit you to do this!” he seethed. “How dare you cut up a fellow teammate just to satisfy your sadistic pleasures!”Heavy glared at Pierce. “Shall I beat little man for you?” Medic did not reply.Medic and Pierce locked unyielding eyes. For a moment of silent stalemate, the tension in the air around them was so high, it was almost tangible.“I do vat I can because I muzt,” hissed Medic. “Engineer vaz my teammate, my comrade, my vriend. He vaz a brilliant man ov zcienze, und it painz me to zee him dead. I vill zee to it zat he iz avenged, zat he did not die in vain. I muzt vind out ze identity ov hiz killer. Zis iz not vor my benevit… zis iz vor Engineer, vor you, und vor everyone elze on zis team. Iv I can vind ze identity ov Engineer’z killer… I can ztop him bevore he takez anozer live. I have ze zkillz und ze technology to vind zis out, und I shall ztop at nozing to do vat muzt be done, regardlezz ov vezer or not you approve, Dr. Alan Pierze. Do you underztand?”Pierce bit his lip. He did not trust Medic for an instant, not since the incident with the World City mayor. Still, he had to admit that Medic’s argument was rather compelling. Grimly, he took his hand off of Medic’s shoulder and nodded.Wordlessly, Medic and Heavy took Engineer’s body and departed.OOC: The implied idea is that if we get around to having a final confrontation between Amanda and Trigger, it would be just the two of them, alone. While Trigger has no such qualms, Amanda still wants to appear innocent in front of her fellow Dino Attack agents... if they meet each other alone, it would give her an opportunity to take off her mask of sincerity... allowing for a fully-satisfying meeting with Silencia Venomosa herself.I just find it so interesting that, while Amanda has spent the entire Dino Attack trying to forget about Venomosa and making sure nobody ever learned about her, Trigger just tossed all her efforts out the window by calling her out on it in front of other Dino Attack agents. Interesting in a good way, not in a bad way. It allows for some clear tensions between the two characters and their opposing agendas and personalities.I might as well give you all a heads-up and let you know that I'll be away this coming weekend as well. Please don't pull anything on me again this time!

OOC: Okay, guys, I just got back. And let's see... Oh dear.Well, let me start off by saying this: I was intending that, by the time Engineer was killed, Rex and Amanda were already out of Specs's office. Specifically, I had planned that Rex would be asleep in his room while Amanda would be roaming Dino Attack Headquarters alone due to insomnia. From there, I toyed with the idea of her meeting up with Trigger along the way, and I would have likely gone through with this in my previous IC had Trigger not been already interacting with Stranger, forcing me to post the "Greybeard meets Mary Rose" bit first and leave the "Amanda confronts Trigger" idea for later.Now, you see, the major bit of Fridge Logic is that Rex and Amanda started embracing before Engineer even noticed that someone was disabling his sentries. So, let's say that it takes Engineer some few minutes to track down the mole and get killed. Since nearly everyone else (i.e. Trigger) was at the cafeteria when this happened, it probably took a minute or two before anyone (i.e. Trigger) found Engineer's corpse. Then, since Trigger and Snake apparently did a thorough search of Dino Attack Headquarters before landing at Specs's office, that could take quite some time, say a half-hour. And yet, when he opened the door, Rex and Amanda were still there, still embracing one another. No matter how much they love each other, I doubt that they would be locked in the same embrace for all that time.Which is why I intended that, after said embrace was finished, Rex would retire to his room while Amanda wandered the halls... while Engineer saw the mole and got himself killed.Now, up until one post ago, I had the idea of politely requesting that we retcon the bit where Trigger and Snake find Rex and Amanda in Specs's office to Trigger and Snake finding Amanda wandering alone through the headquarters, which could work since Rex was literally unmentioned from that point on... until Jacks's post right above mine, in which Rex finally speaks and is spoken to. Of course, the problem is that, given Rex's character, if he was anywhere near Trigger when he was threatening Amanda, Rex would likely not have controlled himself to speaking forcefully and instead would have either tried to shoot Trigger or launch himself out of his wheelchair in an (possibly vain) attempt to tackle Trigger; he's not one to sit around when Amanda has a gun to the face.And then, there are other little things. For example, Trigger just announced that Amanda Claw, one of Dino Attack Team's most trusted agents but also known for having a mysterious background and formerly holding a vow of silence, is Silencia Venomosa, a name that got super-stoic Michelle Glados herself to show fear. I'd think that there would be a greater response to his declaration; even if everyone tries to deny its validity after a moment of shock passes, such an accusation would draw far more than Dull Surprise or even no surprise at all (which sounds like what just happened).Now, I'm not saying that we should retcon everything like a vacuum cleaner, but I'm just a little disappointed, seeing as I wanted to handle the inevitable Amanda/Trigger confrontation with care.In about two hours, I'll post IC, but I thought that it was urgent that I get my OOC thoughts across as quickly as possible.

OOC: Jacks, while it may not have been so-surprising-that-it-flipped-anyone's-laptop, I still found it quite a satisfying twist. We've been wondering for a long time why Septimus was different from all the rest of Ogel's drones, and now we finally have some light shed on his mysterious background. Hope you have a great time, and see you when you get back (or have internet access)!IC: "So, remind me again," grumbled Greybeard, "why be we here? 'Cause I'd much rather be gettin' me sleeps right now rather than wanderin' th' ruins of LEGO City at night." The old pirate glanced around, taking in the sight of a typical residential street that had been wrecked by Mutant Dinos."If you notice," explained King Joseph Race, "these buildings have been wrecked much more recently compared to most of the city. You see, about mid-way through the year, Dino Attack Team had cleared some sections of the city of Mutant Dinos, making them safe to be repopulated. This residential area is one such area, and as soon as it was cleared, some construction crews came up here and rebuilt these homes, and a couple of families moved up here and took up residence. Now, the problem is... somehow, this area of LEGO City was not as clear as Dino Attack Team thought it was. A pack of Mutant Raptors came in and tore up the place.""Any survivors?" inquired Greybeard. "I doubt it, but...""That's what we're here for," shrugged King Race. "Besides, I thought the two of us could use a little bonding time... it's been years since we've last seen each other, and yet this is the first time we've truly interacted in the Dino Attack."Greybeard nodded in agreement. "So, eh, how be things with yer son, Samuel?"King Race smiled to himself. "He's definitely got some of his father in him. And he's not just a racer, either; he's also a pilot, which is why he's been spending a lot of time with Dino Attack Team piloting T-1 Typhoon, giving airlifts, transporting supplies and agents, and such. The one thing is... he's still used to having a casual life on Sandy Bay. I am old, Greybeard, and he is my only heir. I just hope sooner or later he comes to accept that, one day, my sun will set, and my son will rise.""Wait, what?" blinked Greybeard."Oh, come now," King Race frowned lightheartedly. "I was trying to be punny." As they approached a dumpster, the Space Knights king dared to ask: "Now, how about you, Greybeard? Do you have any family?"Greybeard paused as he opened the dumpster. "Well, ye see-"A shape jumped out of the dumpster and tackled Greybeard to the ground. The old pirate was too stunned to react, but King Joseph Race ignited his laser saber. The futuristic sword's illumination shed light on Greybeard's attacker, and they were both surprised to see that it was not a Mutant Lizard, but rather a little girl wielding a broken hammer.The girl, too, was surprised. She stared at Greybeard with shock, dropped the broken hammer, and whispered: "G-Grandpa?""Eh?" blinked Greybeard, too shocked to saw any words.Deciding that she was not a threat, King Joseph Race lowered his laser saber and laid a hand on the girl's shoulder. "My dear," he spoke gently, "what is your name?""Mary," murmured the girl, so quietly she was barely even heard. "Mary Rose.""Mary Rose," nodded King Race. "That's a beautiful name. What are you doing out here?"Mary Rose shuddered. She looked to be only five or six years old. "Mommy and Daddy... we went to the South Pole where there is no dinosaurs... but then they said no dinosaurs at home anymore... so me and Mommy and Daddy go back home, and we see dinosaurs... I can't find Mommy and Daddy!" She began crying.Ah, belay that! Yer parents be dead, and thar be no point in wastin' yer energy cryin'! Now, belay that an' grow up, ye little wench! That's what Greybeard wanted to say. In any other circumstance, that is what he would have said. Instead, for some reason, he could not muster these words. He stood up, patted her head with his one hand, and whispered, "Don't ye worry now. We'll find yer parents. I promise."He immediately regretted saying this obvious lie when Mary, naive and sweet, looked up at him with such irresistible eyes. "You'll keep me safe, right? Grandpa?" she asked.Greybeard hesitated, but then he nodded. "O' course, me granddaughter.""Come," gestured King Race. "We should get you back to headquarters. It's much safer there." As they walked back towards their vehicle, King Race bent in close to Greybeard and whispered in a barely-audible voice: "I didn't know you had a granddaughter.""I don't!" hissed Greybeard. "Thar be only one woman I ever slept wi', an' she danced a fine dance long before she could conceive a child. It be impossible. I be certain that I be completely unrelated to Mary Rose. I probably just look like her grandfather, like how I look like Blackjack Hawkins an' Colonel Colt Carson; that be all. But..." He laid his one good eye on the little girl who was hugging his leg. "Thar be somethin' about her that makes me feel protective o' her. As if, even though I don't have any granddaughters... if I did, she'd be like Mary Rose." ***** Engineer waited silently around the corner. He heard footsteps coming from down the adjacent hallway. Smiling grimly, he tightened his grip on his wrench. The footsteps grew louder. His target drew nearer. Engineer held his breath. The footsteps were now at their loudest. His target had arrived.Quick as a jackrabbit, Engineer darted out from his position and swung his wrench down with all of his might. It hit with a loud clang, and his target immediately crumpled to the floor. There, he laid on his stomach, unmoving.Engineer laughed in triumph. “Thought you could go ‘round my hallways and not get noticed?” sneered Engineer, beating one hand with his wrench. “Thought you could just disable my sentries and not face the consequences? Thought you could be a wily lil’ coyote and catch yourself a roadrunner? Well, I’ve got an answer for you, buddy.”With his head held high along with his hat, Engineer proudly proclaimed: “Nope.”Engineer looked over the still form of his fallen foe. He thought about the rumors of a mole, and thought with glee about when he could announce the news that the traitor had been caught. Then, he considered the fact that he had acted so quickly with his trusty wrench, he did not even know who the mole was. Curiosity and a thirst for knowledge overcame Engineer’s scientific mind. He gently kicked the mole’s side until he rolled over onto his back, revealing his face. It was a face Engineer recognized.That was Engineer’s first shock. He jumped back with horror, only managing to produce a feeble “Agh!”Then came Engineer’s second shock. The mole was very conscious and was waiting for Engineer to roll him over. Pressed against his torso was a pistol, hidden while he was lying on his stomach. Now that it was exposed, he fired at will.The gunshot rang through the hallways. Then, Engineer fell.OOC: Just to confirm by Word of God that Mary Rose is not Greybeard's granddaughter, or closely related to Greybeard in any way. As Lampshaded by Greybeard, what is most likely is that her grandfather also uses the Blackjack Hawkins/Colonel Colt Carson "gray beard face" which Greybeard uses.I'll be away for most of the weekend; however, my next IC should be either late Sunday night or early Monday morning. Just to let you know in advance, Atton, that's when I would like to use Pierce for that idea we discussed.

OOC: Aha! I knew it! Doesn't make this plot twist any less satisfying, though.IC: When Rex regained control over his own body, the only thing he could manage to do was weakly and feebly shake his head in disbelief. Amanda clutched Rex’s hand, and when their eyes met, Rex could see the grief and sorrow in her features.“What are we going to do?” she whispered.Rex tried to speak, but he was too choked up to do anything other than soundlessly move his lips. When Amanda’s eyes darted towards the door, Rex shook his head once more, this time with more vigor. “We mustn’t tell them,” he managed to speak in a hoarse voice.Amanda glanced back at Rex, her expression full of concern and uncertainty. "Specs?" she suggested. "Frozeen? Greybeard? General?" After a short pause, she added: "Chompy?"Rex bit his lip. “No one must know. Our team’s morale is higher now than it has been in a while… we succeeded in a mission, unlike the Goo Caverns, and without any betrayals, unlike LEGO Island, or devastating riots, unlike Antarctica. Tell any Rookie Agent that Dr. Rex is attacking tomorrow with his full forces, and he’ll gleefully tell you, ‘Bring it on!’ Because now… now, they see how our team has persevered through the hardships of previous missions and has successfully completed our most vital mission to date. The team is invincible, they think. Their morale is too great, too strong…”Rex sighed. “I saw how they looked at me after the Hybrids’ betrayal. As much as I don’t like to boast, I have noticed that I grew quite a reputation in Dino Attack Team… veterans have often looked upon me as a fire-forged friend, while rookies look at me as a war hero. The betrayal of the Hybrids hit our morale pretty hard, but I think that a major shock factor was the fact that a Hybrid managed to reduce me, Elite Agent Rex, to a cripple in a wheelchair. And if something as comparatively small as that could deal such a blow to our morale… imagine the devastation this news could cause. And if Dr. Rex attacks when our morale is low… then, as Greybeard always says, ‘Ye may not survive to pass this way again’.”Amanda lowered her eyes. “Rex… I…”Rex looked at his hand in hers, and proceeded to take her other hand as well. “We shall carry this burden alone. When the bell tolls, we shall accept its ringing. But until then, we shall live every day as a blessing, for every second we spend together… is like… an eternity of everything I could have ever wanted.”Amanda swallowed slowly, and once again lifted her eyes to meet Rex’s. “Till death do us part?” she whispered.At first, Rex was still, but then he nodded slowly and grimly. “Till death do us part,” he agreed, choking back tears.Then, the two lovers embraced as though they would never see each other again.***** Engineer sat back and relaxed in his chair. He watched his handheld device. Its screen displayed security footage from all around Dino Attack Headquarters… footage provided by Engineer’s own security turrets.Engineer was pleased with himself. After infiltrations by stealthy Mutant Lizards and betrayals by Quasifigus lacertilia, Dino Attack’s hallways were not always a safe place to be. Or at least, that used to be the case. Now, with Engineer’s improvements, no mutant could walk through the headquarters unnoticed.“Dino Attack Team,” smiled Engineer, “just another satisfied customer.”Engineer gave a contented sigh, resting in the chair. Lowering his helmet, he was about to doze off after a hard day’s work, but in his peripheral vision he caught sight of movement in one of the security videos. Peering a little closer, he saw a dark figure moving towards the security camera. Engineer could not make out the person’s features, since he kept mostly to the shadows.That was suspicious.Engineer frowned, glancing left and right before staring at the screen on his handheld device. He pressed that particular security video, and the footage expanded to cover the entire screen, giving him a clearer picture. He saw the dark figure reach into a briefcase, pull out some sort of unseen device, and suddenly the footage turned to static. The signal was lost.“Dang it!” growled Engineer. He jumped out of his chair and grabbed a wrench from a nearby toolbox. “Nobody knocks my security turrets offline!”He had no idea who this mysterious figure could be. However, he remembered a rumor he heard while working with the Dino Attack Team during the secret mission to Antarctica: a traitor was rumored to be amongst them. He was more than willing to gamble that, whoever this traitor was, he would target the security systems first.With that, Engineer stormed out of the room, heading towards the hallway where that particular turret was located. Glancing back down at his handheld device, he saw another camera go offline. Based upon the position of that camera, he could tell the route that this mysterious person was taking.OOC: ... And with that, I officially begin the hunt for XERRD's mole in Dino Attack Team.By the way, while I have made it known that my goal was to end Dino Attack: At War's End on July 1, I don't think that goal is realistic anymore. Between the Development Heck, the occasional real-life delays, the longer-than-anticipated end to the Adventurers' Island story arc, and of course that good-for-nothing hacker, it's taken us this long to get to the pre-final battle phase, and I don't want to rush either the pre-battle or the battle itself. Still, I would like to wrap up At War's End before the end of August; while I thought it would be nice to end the RPG on its seventh anniversary, I don't want to rush the climactic ending of this seven-year-old RPG and thus I would be willing to push back its end date a few more weeks if necessary.

OOC: In that case, Jacks and Andrewnuva, I have succeeded. While I wanted it to come as a shock, I didn't want it coming the heck out of nowhere either, which is why I included in my writings the occasional why-is-my-heart-suddenly-pounding moment. Also, Jacks, I'm about to post the rest of Einstein's message now, so you'll find out whether or not your theory is correct... but I hear that the Mutant Lizard behind your computer tends to look the other way when you go to the Wild Mass Guessing section of the wiki's TV Tropes page, in case you're interested.Either that, or you could always white-text it.Also, I'd have to say that I heavily agree with that guy from that show, regarding and analyzing the differences in reception between Dust and Trigger. Since it was nearly midnight when I posted last night, I was too tired to put it eloquently, but that guy put my (and, it appears, Jacks's) thoughts down on pixels quite accurately.IC: As soon as he stepped outside of his office to let Rex and Amanda listen to Einstein’s message in privacy, Specs was greeted by the sight of Ata.Specs raised an eyebrow. “This better be important, Ata. I don’t like you waiting outside my office without any news.”Ata smiled nervously, but the false expression quickly vanished and was replaced by a grimmer demeanor. “It’s not much… but I’m afraid that we do have a lead.”Ata handed over his PDA, and Specs looked at the screen. “This is a list of all communications made in the past month by Dino Attack,” explained Ata. “And, buried under a lot of extraneous messages… look here. This was when the Second Headquarters Squad took over a third of Gold City, just before the Hybrids retaliated.”Specs squinted to read the line of script that Ata pointed to. It was an untraceable call, but it was also very long-distance.“A few more were made over the course of the mission, but most notably here,” added Ata as he pointed to several lines below, “almost immediately after Second Headquarters Squad completed their mission.”Specs saw that the same was true for this message. Untraceable and long-distance.“Suspicious,” muttered Specs.“It’s just a hunch,” admitted Ata, “but the mole might have been at Gold City during the Second Headquarters Squad’s takeover mission and sending messages to Dinosaur Island.”“There were no other agents stationed there at the time,” grimaced Specs. “I will…” He thought for a moment, considering his options. With grim resolve, he decided, “I will speak to each member of the Second Headquarters Squad. I’ll get down to the bottom of this.”Instantly, Specs brushed aside Ata and stormed down the hallway, a grim man on a grim mission. ***** “The fact that you are viewing this hologram means that I have likely passed on and therefore unable to tell you myself in person. However, it is important that you know this information and the circumstances behind your fatal condition.”“Numerous years ago, when Vanda Darkflame and Dr. Albert Overbuild assigned me with the task of infiltrating XERRD and adopting the identity of Wallace Bishop, I had thought that Dr. Ronald ‘Rex’ Alexander was simply a young individual with a bounty of knowledge and high prospects for the future. Eventually, I learned the truth when I was designing stasis tubes with Dr. Rex… he was not a young man. He appeared young, but it was only a mask. In actually, he had been overdosing on this serum he had created which prevented him from physically aging. Only a small dosage was needed every few months, but he would inject himself every day. In its proper dosage, I can imagine that it could do wonders… in such needlessly large dosages, it became an addictive drug that gradually deteriorated his mind and shut off basic functions, which ultimately led to Dr. Rex’s mental unbalance.”“That is not all, unfortunately. Since you do not have Dr. Rex’s mind, you have not suffered from any mental effects. However, I fear that your body may soon enter a violent withdrawal from this horrible drug. I do not know the full effects, but considering Dr. Rex’s true age, it could mean a rapid deterioration of your body. I could be wrong about this, and I hope I am. However, there is another problem. You see… well, I already said that you do not have Dr. Rex’s mind. But you are suffering the consequences of that mind.”“Dr. Rex’s mental unbalance was actually quite minimal at first. It weakened his sense of judgment, however, and that plays into Dr. Rex’s fatal flaw… When XERRD was first formed and we started doing some serious experiments involving the Maelstrom, Dr. Rex spent far too much time working on these experiments. At one point, he even considered using trace amounts of Maelstrom energies in his serum. That… ended poorly. After that day’s dosage, Dr. Rex went as bald as an eighty-year-old man. That is why Dr. Rex has no hair despite his otherwise-young physical appearance. That, thank the First Builders, was the end of that experiment… but it got worse from there.”“Dr. Rex was mentally unbalanced with a poor sense of judgment and now had traces amount of Maelstrom in his body. Any other person would have the creativity and the willpower to cleanse themselves before it became too severe; after all, it would take a high concentration of Maelstrom energies at once to corrupt an individual and turn him into a Stromling. However, I believe that this ability was inhibited by the mental damage he brought upon himself. And that allowed the Maelstrom energies to take root in his body… and his mind. In the following months, Dr. Rex’s once-minimal mental instability became downright insanity. It was then that he decided to create the Dino Attack. But I doubt that this was his idea… Sometimes, he would tell me that he saw a dark figure wearing a top hat in the same room as him. Sometimes, he would make such a claim while I was in the same room and could plainly see that there was no such person. But whatever power this mysterious architect of darkness had over Dr. Rex spread to the rest of XERRD. By the time Dr. Rex suggested the Dino Attack, the rest of the scientists… Michelle Glados, Zed Provhezor, Paulie Gonepus… they all agreed without question. I could not object, or else I would give myself away.”“Meanwhile, as the Maelstrom polluted his mind, it continued to destroy his body. We started noticing that he was suffering from health problems. Headaches, fatigue, even a heart attack. Still, Dr. Rex refused to let me attempt to treat his condition. Before I could stop waiting for permission and just do it, you came along. You and Dr. Rex switched minds, switched Creative Sparks.”“At first, I thought this was good news. A new mind and a fresh Creative Spark, I believed, could possibly undo the damage done by the Maelstrom. I thought wrong. Well, at the very least, I was right at first. Your Creative Spark held the Maelstrom’s effects back only temporarily. But the damage Dr. Rex did to his body… to your body… was too great. I first became aware of this when I received reports that you were paralyzed by a Quasifigus lacertilia’s electro-spear. That is impossible, I thought, for the electro-spears were designed for stunning, not for permanent damage. But then, I realized that this was not the electro-spear’s doing alone… it was in conjunction with damage caused by the Maelstrom.”“Of course, there is always a possibility that I was right then and I am wrong now. Had I still been alive, I would likely have asked to do some experiments to test the Maelstrom levels in your body and prove my hypothesis. I probably should not have even given you this message without first confirming my findings… but I am certain that, should I give you this message, it is because I have seen something to strongly suggest my hypothesis holds true.”“Given the damage Dr. Rex caused to his own body through his Maelstrom experiments and mental instability, I cannot say for certain how much longer you have to live until the Maelstrom finally kills you. If my calculations are close to accurate, you probably have less than a month to live, I’m afraid. Make with this information whatever you feel is best. Again, I am sorry to be the bearer of bad news.”And then, the hologram vanished, and the bishop closed itself automatically, leaving Rex and Amanda alone in a shocked silence in a dark room.

OOC: I agree that Trigger has potential, but we just haven't exactly warmed up to him yet. His mysterious background makes him fun to play around with (as it allowed for moments such as when Amanda, despite trying to bury her background, is openly called out as Silencia Venomosa by Trigger because he recognizes her), but at the same time, he isn't quite the guy you like to work with, since he acts like a cynical grouch to everyone, and it's so late in the game that it's an unusual switch for those of us who remember Zenna.And now, I'm about to perform the greatest risk I've ever done with any of my RPG primary characters.IC: Amanda wheeled Rex into Specs’s office; Rex was, once again, in a wheelchair while Dino Attack Team’s greatest technicians worked to repair Zed Provhezor’s hover-chair to keep it from malfunctioning. Their team leader looked up from his desk and nodded. “Yes? What is it?” inquired Specs.“We just need a secure room to listen to a message,” explained Rex. When Specs raised an eyebrow, Rex reached into his pocket and pulled out the bishop chess piece from Dr. Frank Einstein. Immediately, Specs understood.“Ah, yes,” he nodded slowly. “Very well, then.” He stood from his desk and walked to the door, closed it, and locked it. Then, he dimmed the lights and shut the window curtains. Finally, he took the bishop from Rex’s hand and twisted a certain segment of the chess piece’s figure. The bishop opened slowly, and the hologram of Frank Einstein was projected from the opening.It was the famed scientist no doubt, even though he was still visibly disguised as Wallace Bishop. At the sight of the scientist again, Rex felt his heart skip a beat. However, even though the hologram was small enough to fit inside a chess piece, Rex could see that Einstein’s features betrayed concern and doubt.The hologram cleared his voice in an anxious manner before speaking. “Elite Agent Rex,” the hologram spoke in Einstein’s voice, “what I am about to say involves you on a very personal level. If you so choose, keep this message a secret and do not view it until you are alone. In fact, I highly recommend it. Even Specs must leave the room if you wish, but I’m thinking you’ll probably want Standard Agent Claw to hear this as well.”Specs frowned, but before Rex could say anything, he politely stepped out of his office and closed the door behind him.Einstein’s hologram was silent for a few moments, as though waiting for anyone else to leave the room. When he began speaking again, he prefaced it with a disturbingly saddened sigh.“Rex, I’m afraid you have less than a month to live.”

OOC: Atton Rand, right now I'm not interest in realism, I'm interested in time management. It's already June 5, and I don't want to spend too much time waiting around.And yes, I suck at writing Texas Drawl accents. And I knew that as I was writing her dialogue... but you could say that I Just Didn't Care.I also caught the reference in the Snake vs. Snake fight, but since you posted while I was writing my own post, I didn't read it until afterwards and never bothered to edit in my previous post. Although, and this is justified since you don't play the Metal Gear games (and, to be honest, neither do I), it came across as a rather Shallow Parody of Solid Snake. It was funny to read, but it also felt like a Shallow Parody.Also, if you don't mind, Atton, in a couple posts I would like to use Pierce's character in Dino Attack Headquarters for that idea we discussed a few months ago on Steam. Just thought I'd let you know in advance so that we don't cause any Continuity Snarls.(Wow, that's a somewhat troperiffic OOC, mentioning They Just Didn't Care, Shallow Parody, and Continuity Snarl...)And now, since we still have most of the players on Adventurers' Island, this IC takes place whenever we get back.Figures. The same day that I finally figure out what Andrewnuva199's avatar is supposed to be, he changes it.IC: At last, the familiar skyline of a wrecked LEGO City came into view. It was only a matter of minutes before the T-1 Typhoon landed at Dino Attack Headquarters. Amanda, Frozeen, Greybeard, and Hertz climbed out of the helicopter, while Rex activated his hover-chair and floated out. As they entered Dino Attack Headquarters, once again they were greeted by cheering Minifigs, although this time the crowd comprised of fellow Dino Attack agents, not TumTum tribesmen.Rex saw lots of familiar faces congratulating him and the others for the successful mission. After receiving a pat on the back by Ata, Rex was approached by King Joseph Race. The Space Knights' king smiled, the whiskers of his mustache curling upwards. They clasped hands, and Rex inquired, "When did you get back?""Just yesterday," replied King Race. "Let me tell you; Castle Cove was no easy victory. We thought it would be over once we secured the Dino Attack Outpost, but that was just the beginning. After that, we battled Maelstrom Dragons in their den, then proceeded to battle Willa the Witch atop the Night Lord's Castle. That old witch allied with XERRD, and the Maelstrom made her powerful, but Vladek and I pulled through together.""Willa the Witch?" mused Rex. "I imagine that the battle between Vladek's dark magic and Willa's Maelstrom magic would have been quite a fight to witness, but surely your technology could have overpowered her, right?"King Race shrugged. "If she were just flying around on a broomstick, it might have been an easy fight. Unfortunately, well, she wasn't using a broomstick. She hijacked a Power Miners Thunder Driller, and we battled her mining machine atop the tallest tower of the Night Lord's Castle.""Wait, what?" blinked Rex. "A Power Miners Thunder Driller?""I'll tell you all about it later," chuckled King Race. "Because at the moment, I've got an old friend I need to catch up with." He nodded respectfully to Rex, then walked past him and embraced, much to Rex's surprise, Greybeard. The old pirate and Space Knights king laughed and chatted together, relating stories about their separate missions. Rex did not listen to much of their conversation, but he heard King Race say "Sir Robert Batrick" at one point and saw their faces turn somber.Baron Typhonus's words, just before Greybeard's "Shut Up, Hannibal!" moment, echoed back to Rex. With a shudder, he wondered how much else the Darkitect had said that might be true. As he thought about the Darkitect, Rex's heart began pounding once again, and he clutched his chest in pain.Rex heard some extra shouting in triumph, and turned around to see the Second Headquarters Squad, led by General Ronald E. Army (he would later learn that Army was only a sergeant, not a general as he claimed), barge into Dino Attack Headquarters. They were back from their own mission, and were eager to celebrate and boast about their own success. While some of the more cynical deadpan snarkers of Dino Attack Team muttered about how brief the quiet moments were, it seemed that many of the more lighthearted Dino Attack agents were glad to have the Second Headquarters Squad back.Ronald Army, Demoman, Heavy, and most of the squad went to the mess hall to celebrate their victory. Spy slipped away to his quarters, Sniper returned to his post, and Engineer was inspired by their success to do some revamping of Dino Attack Team's security system and so went right off to work.At one point, Rex pulled out the bishop chess piece that Frank Einstein had given Kate. He looked it over with Amanda, and they both agreed that it was rather intricately designed. They were approached by Shadow, who stared at the bishop and asked, "Where did you get that?" Rex explained, and Shadow thought for a moment before telling them, "You need a quiet, secure place where you can open it. I would suggest Specs's office; that's where we used to see all his previous messages."OOC: I'll probably elaborate on the ending of the Castle Cove mission in a separate short story, like HTTYML (which I've got to finish sometime). Just in case I didn't, I wanted to briefly summarize the events in King Race's dialogue so that a certain Shout Out could be shouted out (a free Slimy Slug to whoever caught the reference). And, if you're curious, here's what Willa the Witch's Thunder Driller looked like.

OOC: I was debating whether or not to do this. Since we didn't have enough deaths this mission, I decided to go with it. This post takes place at a theoretical time after the Dino Attack Team leaves the Temple of Creation; let's just say that Rex and co. were airlifted by T-1 Typhoon and are taking a bit of a scenic route.Speaking of which, Pterisa would gladly accept your offer, Andrewnuva. Oh, would you look at that? Looks like Brikman posted while I was writing this, and Pterisa did gladly accept your offer.Regarding Gonepus's fate, I'm considering that he regrouped with the rest of XERRD after leading the Dino Attack Team to the Pharaoh's Forbidden Ruins. He might appear in the final battle... or I might not find the time/place to fit him in. I do intend, at some point, to delve into the reasons why he was accidentally captured by Mr. Cunningham... let's just say that it's no mere accident.IC: Rex breathed a sigh of relief as he looked out over the horizon from aboard a T-1 Typhoon in flight. It was over. The Maelstrom had been destroyed, Baron Typhonus had been banished, and it was, for once, a Dino Attack victory that came without huge costs.There were costs, though. Frank Einstein, a man who had manipulated the Dino Attack to work in Dino Attack Team's favor from behind the scenes in ways one could not have possibly imagined, had sacrificed his Creative Spark to save the day. Others, such as J.D., Mur, and Tracer, had also lost their lives in battle. Luckily, it seemed that none of them were unneeded sacrifices made in vain... there were no major betrayals, there were no horrible riots, and at the end of the day, Dino Attack Team had actually accomplished something.Rex turned his head and smiled at his comrades, Frozeen and Greybeard, who smiled and nodded back at him. The two of them had lived through a lot, and now they could add "defeating the Maelstrom on Adventurers' Island" to the list. Earlier, Frozeen was telling them about his own mission to Adventurers' Island back in 2004. It seemed amazing how much had changed since then.Then, Rex turned his head the other way and held out his hand. Amanda Claw smiled gently and took his hand in hers. They did not need to say anything; their feelings were silently summed up in their expressions.Rex looked back out at the horizon. The sun was setting, and Adventurers' Island looked beautiful at sunset, with its exotic jungle canopy and the shining sands of the desert to the east. With the Maelstrom gone, the island was returning to its state of a paradise waiting to be explored. It was truly a remarkable place to be, and the scenic view was perfect. Rex reached into his pocket and felt the ring which Greybeard had given him back in the Goo Caverns, which felt so long ago. He wondered if there would ever be a better moment to finally propose-"Look down there!" shouted Frozeen, pointing down to an old Adventurers outpost. "Looks like there's a gathering of native dinosaurs and the TumTum Tribe!"Curious, Rex called to the helicopter pilot to land them at the outpost, which luckily had a helicopter landing pad for the Adventurers' own helicopters. When they landed, Amanda, Frozeen, and Greybeard climbed out of the vehicle, while Rex activated his hover-chair and floated out.Almost immediately, they were greeted by the TumTum tribesmen, who shouted with pride and triumph. The islanders were clearly grateful for the Dino Attack Team's part in saving their home. The dinosaurs, for the most part, kept their distance, but Rex could tell that their roars carried no malice.Then, Rex and his company were approached by two familiar faces: Achu and Chompy. Frozeen, excited to see Chompy again, rushed up to the T-Rex and stroked his nuzzle. Achu, however, seemed much more grim as he approached Rex. "We fought alongside the Dino Attack Team at the Pharaoh's Forbidden Ruins," he explained. "It was too late to warn them that they had the wrong temple, though there was an army of demons waiting to ambush them. With our help, the demons were vanquished, allowing your team to quickly rush to the corrupted Temple of Creation.""Thank you for your assistance, Chief Achu," Rex nodded respectfully. "We will always be in your debt.""You saved our home, and so your debt is repaid," Achu shook his head. Then, his voice turned darker and serious. "Unfortunately... the demons were powerful, and so while we emerged victorious... we paid a great price as well." The tribal ruler held up a large necklace made from minifigure skulls, and a T-Rex skull adorned with bright feather plumes.Chompy sighed. "Our alpha had passed," he growled. "She was a great warrior, just as I remembered her... but the demons were far too powerful."Rex swallowed. "Our alpha? You mean the alpha female T-Rex? The one I met in the Tribe Ugalego ruins?"Chompy nodded slowly. Frozeen gasped and then tried to comfort the T-Rex, and Amanda caught enough of the conversation to understand what happened. Rex quickly explained everything to Greybeard, and even the old pirate knew that this was a great loss."The T-Rexes need a new alpha," continued Achu. "And that, Rex, is where things get a little complicated. From what Chompy had told me..."Chompy cut to the chase. "You're the new alpha.""What?" blinked Rex, shocked.Frozeen stared at Rex in surprise, then nodded slowly. "Of course," he murmured. "I should have known. When he recognized you back at the Dino Attack Headquarters hospital wing, Chompy explained to me in private that you were his eldest sibling. And that qualifies you as the alpha female's heir.""The alpha female was... our mother?" Rex's jaw dropped. He knew that there was something subconsciously familiar about her, but he would never have dreamed that he was one of her sons.Chompy nodded. "Remember our sibling rivalry?" he rumbled. "It was born because I was her second-oldest hatchling. While you were her heir, I believed you would make a poor alpha and thought that I was better qualified. That is why our relationship turned violent. But things are different now, Rex. I have seen you as a great leader. I have no doubt now that you would make a great alpha male."Rex bit his lip. He glanced at Achu, Frozeen, and Amanda. Although Achu held out the necklace and the T-Rex skull, Rex shook his head. "I do not mean this disrespectfully," he quickly explained, "but I do not believe that I should be the alpha now. Right now... I've already got a team that follows me. They need me to lead them, and they need me now, in the present. I cannot stay here and be the alpha. I'm afraid, Achu and Chompy, I must respectfully relinquish the position of alpha male.""Then what do you do?" inquired Achu. "They need an alpha.""I am more than willing," continued Rex, "to pass my title on to my younger brother Chompy. He is the second-oldest offspring of the previous alpha, and it should be fair that, since I have no mate and no children of my own, that he should be next in line. And, since I am technically no longer a T-Rex, that leaves me unfit to lead the pack. Chompy, do you accept?"Chompy blinked in surprise. He remembered his early years, how he so desired to be the alpha male. He had since given up on that hope and suppressed that dream when he became affiliated with Alpha Team. But now... Slowly, he nodded. "I accept.""Then let this be the day," proclaimed Achu, as he adorned Chompy with the skull necklace and placed the T-Rex skull over Chompy's head, "that the T-Rex pack remembers as the day that Chompy became their new alpha male."The other T-Rexes in the vicinity roared, and Rex could tell that they approved their new leader.Chompy looked down upon Rex and Frozeen, a little sadly. "You realize this means that I must stay on this island now," he explained. "I must lead my pack, and I cannot go with you to LEGO City, Rex, or join you on future Alpha Team missions, Frozeen. But I shall remember you two fondly, and as long as I am alpha, any friend of Rex and Frozeen shall be met with peace on this island.""I'll miss you, old friend," Frozeen spoke, and it sounded like he was choking back tears. "I'll come back and visit you whenever I can." He hugged Chompy's leg, while Rex met his brother's eyes and simply nodded silently.Then, after one last goodbye, Rex, Frozeen, Amanda, and Greybeard boarded the T-1 Typhoon and took to the air once again, leaving Adventurers' Island and heading back to LEGO City.OOC: Hope you don't mind, Atton, but I'm going to wrap up the Gold City mission now so that the Second Headquarters Squad can return to Dino Attack Headquarters ASAP. In fact, I'll go ahead and say that this next section is in the past so that, in my next IC post, the Squad will already be back at LEGO City.IC: Dietrich "Medic" Luzwheit, Ivan "Heavy" Tzenovich, and Jim "Spy" Covalent charged towards the turrets set up alongside the mine cart track. There were two of them, set up on either side of the track and manned by Hybrids. "Keep zem busy," whispered Spy. "I'll go disable zem.""YEAH!" boomed Heavy, who revved up his machine gun and started firing at the turrets.The Hybrids finally noticed the Dino Attack agents and began firing at them, but they were just out of range. The Hybrids' attacks landed in the sand just in front of Heavy and Medic, kicking up the tiny rock particles and allowing them to be carried by the wind. Heavy and Medic began to strafe around the Hybrids' defenses, and they continued to fire at them, kicking up even more sand. On a positive note, this hid Heavy and Medic from sight, shielding them from the Hybrids, and gave Spy the opportunity to slip away so that he could sneak around and disable their defenses from behind.On a negative note, the sandstorm blinded Medic as well. One moment, he was strafing beside Heavy. The next, Heavy was nowhere to be seen. "Err, Heavy?" he whispered, not daring to call out and possibly attract the Hybrids' attention.Nervous, Dr. Luzwheit crept around the area. Then, he noticed that he somehow ended up right behind one of the Hybrids' turrets. The Quasifigus lacertilia was apparently very unhappy, because some of Heavy's bullets had become lodged in the turret's workings and caused it to malfunction. Growling, it climbed off the turret and started repairing it.Medic glanced around, and saw that Spy was busy dealing with the other turret. Narrowing his eyes, he looked back at the Hybrid who was repairing the turret. He grinned as he realized it was completely defenseless. And so, Medic took out his bone saw, loomed over the distracted Hybrid, and hissed, "I can only promize you zat zis next prozedure... vill be excruciating!"The Hybrid froze. Before it could turn around, Medic proclaimed: "VOR ZCIENZE!" and proceeded to hack away at the Hybrid and its turret with his trusty saw. By the time Heavy and Spy arrived, they could only stare in a mixture of shock and awe at Dr. Luzwheit, standing victorious over a Hybrid corpse and a disabled sentry.With the Hybrid's defense out of the way, the bomb cart was free to drive itself along the track towards Fort Legoredo. Accompanying it was Sergeant Ronald "Soldier" Army, A.J. "Pyro" Orange, Erik "Demoman" Paulson, Bob "Scout" Rutherford, and Tex "Engineer" Holdem. The entire Second Headquarters Squad was shouting battle cries and taunts with vigor and enthusiasm, ready to plow down any Hybrid that dared to stand in their way.Surprisingly, the track was empty. No Hybrids were in sight. Then, a group of westerners came riding up to the Second Headquarters Squad, and Sergeant Army gritted his teeth and grumbled, "Oh, no, not these maggots again!" It was Clint Wayne, Angel Eyes, and their posse."Dudes, get outta the way!" shouted Scout. "We got a bomb comin' through!""Oh, no, you don't," Clint shook his head. "We've already gotten this far, and you're not blowing up Fort Legoredo.""Now, look here," grumbled Engineer. "That thing is a beautiful creation of mine, and I ain't seeing it going to waste!""Hold on," Spy held up one hand. "What do you mean, 'gotten zis far'?""We've taken care of all Hybrids up to this point," boasted Maria. "The only ones that remain are in that fort.""Impossible!" snapped Sergeant Army. "There's no way a little lady like you could have done such a thing! Why, in Sun Tzu's The Art of War, it specifically stated 'Thou shalt not let your men act like cowardly ladies on the battlefield, or Sun Tzu shall come down from the sky and KICK YOUR-'""You really want to talk about my qualifications?" Maria threateningly raised an eyebrow. "Just because I'm a woman don't mean that-""Come here, sweetheart!" scoffed Army. "I'd like to see you - hey, hey, stop that, that is an order! That's cheating! I'm calling a foul on this one! Someone throw a yellow flag! You know what a yellow flag is? It's a white flag! That's for surrendering! But it's yellow, because it represents your ladylike cowardice, and therefore it was STAINED BY - AGH, MY SPINE! You little-"As Sergeant Ronald Army and Maria exchanged blows, both physical and verbal, nobody seemed to notice that the bomb cart was still driving itself down the track. At least, not until Demoman enthusiastically shouted: "Ka-BOOM!"With that, Fort Legoredo exploded. Splinters of burning wood and flaming Hybrid corpses were sent flying into the air. Demoman laughed with glee at the sight, while the westerners looked on in horror."Ah, come on," shrugged Engineer. "Don't be that way. We can always build a new one.""Zere could have been documents," mused Spy, "of interest in zat fort. Perhaps, even, something dealing with XERRD's mole in ze Dino Attack Team...""Aye," Demoman chuckled darkly, "but there ain't nothing left - no documents anymore!" Clint Wayne, Angel Eyes, and Maria stared at Demoman after he made this comment."Boys!" proclaimed Sergeant Army. "I'd like to congratulate you all on a job well done! Each and every one of you deserves a medal! Now, let's head home as men! Hah! I'd like to see the looks on their faces! They won't be calling me 'Soldier' any time soon after they see what a fine job we did!"OOC: The whole Medic scene was inspired by actual Team Fortress 2 gameplay. I was a BLU Medic, it was on the Dustbowl map, and I was separated from my Heavy at Stage 2, Point B, at which point I ran into a RED Engineer about to build a sentry. Thinking quickly, I pulled out my Bone Saw and hacked away, smashing the halfway-built sentry and then killing the Engineer. FOR SCIENCE!Just to confirm by Word of God that the Hybrids were soundly defeated at Fort Legoredo; there's nothing left there.

OOC: Oh, dear. Err, maybe... Yeah, now that I'm thinking about it, I should have offered: Since there's this whole big gap going on with the Dino Attack agents fighting the Darkitect between "... and the world they were fighting for." and "Then, as one, they joined the others in their battle...", you're free to write about what happened during that time interval and confront the Darkitect if you wish.Problem is, Brikman is right: this has been a long story arc (and, while it isn't entirely my fault, stupid forum update, it did go much longer than I had anticipated), and I wanted to wrap it up as quickly as possible to avoid Arc Fatigue.And yes, I do realize this was a strangely optimistic ending for a Dino Attack RPG story arc. Well, after the Shaggy Dog Story of the Goo Caverns arc and the Diabolus Ex Machina of the LEGO Island arc, I felt that that we needed a true victory to boost our morale for the final battle. If it was too happy for you, well, there's always a certain alternate ending for the story arc which was titled December 21, 2010... And don't worry. This doesn't mean that Dino Attack RPG is going Lighter and Softer. Prepare for death and misery in the next few weeks.@Andrewnuva: Thanks! I did rip one line off an old Steam chat we had about Pterisa, and I tried my best to remain in-character for Andrew. In return, it seems that you, Brikman, and that guy have done an excellent job capturing Pterisa's character.@Brikman: Regarding Palomar's status, he is still officially employed by XERRD (the Walter Breen issue was a one-time-deal, basically). If he isn't taken prisoner by Dino Attack, he'll likely meet up with the remainder of the organization. Although... looking at TC01's original plans one more time, it seemed that Lord Sam Sinister would have finally gotten his revenge against Palomar and chase him away in classic Loony Toons fashion. Might be a little hard to pull off now, but I remember that I took a liking to this idea...

OOC: Use the Force Maelstrom Lightning, Zachary! Use the Force Maelstrom Lightning! Sorry, I couldn't resist, especially after reading Brikman McStudz (the character, not the BZPower member)'s original biography on the LEGO Island Wiki. In full seriousness, that was quite a satisfying death for Dr. Provencal.Also, I must say that I really enjoyed seeing where the "worst fears brought to life" idea has taken us. I saw it as an opportunity to get creative, and I'm glad to see that everyone else has taken full advantage of this opportunity.@Atton: I'm hoping to get a post in that wraps up the Gold City and Castle Cove missions. The former will be necessary, as I require the Second Headquarters Squad to return to Dino Attack Headquarters as soon as possible. Then... we can begin our little Spy Check...@Andrewnuva: Reading your IC reminded me of one of the reasons that I like Pterisa's character. She's neither Semick nor Kate Bishop... instead, she's both. One moment, she can go from being in complete control; the next, she can lose it all to her insecurities. That makes her, I feel, one of my more complex characters.IC: Rex saw Trigger and Snake charge at Baron Typhonus. He knew that their attack would ultimately amount to nothing. As the Darkitect, Typhonus was far too powerful. Even with the ceiling of the temple collapsing due to Semick's air support, the Darkitect seemed confident in his own victory. Debris rained down from above, and some of it was even sucked into the Maelstrom vortex.Rex had been disturbed to find out the identity of the samurai. For all intents and purposes, she appeared to be on Dino Attack Team's side... but, as Rex looked down at his lifeless legs, he remembered all too well that the Minifig/Mutant Lizard Hybrids also appeared to be on Dino Attack Team's side, even fighting against XERRD and Mutant Dinos, only to reveal it was all just a lie. As a result, Rex could not help but feel repulsed by the sight of the Minifig/Mutant Pterosaur Hybrid.Rex noticed that Greybeard, too, had broken out of his illusion. Rex did not know who was the hooded figure the pirate had been fighting, but Greybeard now was filled with grim determination as he marched towards the Maelstrom vortex. Raising his cutlass in the air, the old pirate proclaimed: "Let this be th' day that ye shall curse forever, Baron!""Oh, Grisbarba L. Pirata," smirked the Darkitect. "That reminds me. Do you remember your old friend, Sir Robert Bat-""Ah, shut up!" grumbled Greybeard. With that, he fired his flintlock pistol and joined Trigger and Snake in their charge.Rex gasped. "He won't stand a chance!" he whispered as Baron Typhonus prepared to swing his jeweled scepter once again. Thinking quickly, he pressed the controls on his hover-chair and piloted it towards the center of the chamber. In flight, he fired his Sonic Screamer into the Maelstrom vortex. As he expected, it had little effect upon the Darkitect, but it distracted him from Greybeard.As Trigger and Snake fired their own weapons into the Maelstrom, the Darkitect simply shrugged. With a wave of his scepter, he sent out a pulse of Maelstrom energy that knocked back Greybeard, Trigger, and Snake. Rex struggled to maintain control on his hover-chair's flight. With another wave of his scepter, the Darkitect rained fireballs upon those that were present.For someone who was only just getting used to flying this thing, Rex had difficulty controlling the flight of his hover-chair. Every now and then, it would glitch on him and go the opposite direction; this was likely attributed to the slight damage it had taken when struck by a bolt of Maelstrom lightning and the subsequent crash-landing that ejected Rex and Provhezor.A few more Dino Attack agents joined Rex, Trigger, Snake, and Greybeard in their effort. They knew that they had no chance of stopping the Darkitect, but they hoped to delay his actions long enough for something to happen. Additionally, in this moment, they pushed aside thoughts of self-preservation and instead thought of hopes, dreams, friends, family, and the world they were fighting for. ***** Frank Einstien wheezed and, suddenly, reached up and grabbed Holly Vinyaya by the arm. He locked eyes with her, and the Space Police officer could see that his eyes were clouded and distant. "Where's Kate?" he whispered, unable to speak any louder."I'm right here," answered the young Dino Attack agent, peering over Vinyaya's shoulder.His hand shaking, Einstein tried to reach for the injection saw that he dropped when struck by the Darkitect's power, but it was just out of his reach. Kate knelt down and picked it up, looking at Einstein with fear in her eyes. "Do what you must," whispered Einstein.Vinyaya blinked in surprise and stared at Kate, who trembled. "Why me?" murmured Kate."Because... you can," wheezed Einstein. "For.. the good of all.. of us.""But you'll be dead!" cried Kate."She's right," nodded Vinyaya. "We need you now more than ever, professor, and-"Weakly, Einstein shook his head. "My time... is up... but my destiny... my destiny is clearer than ever now. My time is... up, but yours... your time has come. Kate... it is no mistake... that you joined Dino... Attack Team." Smiling gently, he reached up and brushed her cheek with his hand. "You've... grown up... Uncle Wallace would have been... so... proud." ***** Andrew and Laxus approached the samurai, whom he now saw to be a Minifig/Mutant Pterosaur Hybrid. Andrew had to admit that she was quite an interesting character. She was the only one of her kind as far as he knew, a nice dressing style (he had to admit, the samurai armor was cool), but most of all, a mix of emotions that made him want to both back away and give her comfort.Yes, I pretty much ripped that from one of our old Steam chats, Drewsko.She saw them approach, which only caused her to wrap her wings even more closely around her form. "Don't look at me!" she whispered.Deep down, it troubled Andrew to see just how insecure the samurai really was. Still, he managed a half-smile and decided to say, "You know, after half the things I've seen in this war, your true identity only comes as a mild surprise to me. Heck, your voice was more eyebrow-raising than your appearance, to be honest."The samurai did not reply. Laxus noticed that she still held the Maelstrom Crystal, but this time she did nothing about a pair of Stromling Explorers lumbering over towards her. The Martian pointed this out to Andrew, who dispatched the Maelstrom minions before they got too close.Andrew knelt down beside her. "Listen. In this war, we've had plenty of situations in which we found trusted allies from unexpected sources. Did we ever think we'd be putting our trust in Evil Ogel's own general and brother? And if you look, you will see Dino Attack agents risking their lives by standing up to Baron Typhonus in an effort to save the world. Just a moment ago, you were doing the same thing. And if I can trust those Dino Attack agents like my own family, what makes you any different?""Because of what I am," muttered the Hybrid. "The Darkitect is right. It was foolish of me to believe that I could defy the reputation of my kind and earn a respected place in post-war society. I'm fooling myself. The world will never see me as anything but a monster."Andrew frowned. She really was messed up, perhaps even more so than he had thought. He could see that she feared rejection from Dino Attack Team, but he could not imagine what she could have endured by XERRD that left her in such an insecure state.He looked up to see Amanda Claw approaching. She also knelt beside the Hybrid and whispered, "What's your name?"The samurai blinked in surprise, as it was not a question that she had anticipated. Quietly, she murmured, "Pterisa.""Okay, Pterisa," nodded Amanda. "Neither of us could see or be affected by Baron Typhonus's illusions. He couldn't even see into your mind. I saw that I could trust you when I could not be seen or heard by Rex. Back then, you were just an unnamed samurai. Why is Pterisa the Hybrid any different?"Pterisa did not reply."Right now," continued Amanda, "Rex and others are fighting what might be the last battle of their lives. They risk their lives doing what you were just doing moments ago with confidence that even Specs would admire. You can still help them.""They don't want my help," muttered Pterisa. "You heard them all when my helmet was removed. They don't trust me. And, just to drive the point home, the Darkitect reminded them about the things that my kind has done."Amanda frowned. "Rex trusts you," she claimed."No, he doesn't," Pterisa shook her head."He does," disagreed Amanda."Then prove it!" snapped Pterisa. "I want to hear him say it! I want to hear Rex say that he trusts me as he looks me in the eyes and remembers that he is flying around in a glitching hover-chair because the Quasifigus lacertilia betrayed him!"Andrew and Laxus traded glances, but Amanda, silently and grimly, stood and walked away. Once again, Pterisa withdrew, and nothing Andrew or Laxus could say could comfort her.Then, Lord Sam Sinister von Barron approached them. Having apparently broken free of his own illusion, he crossed his arms and glared down upon the Minifig/Mutant Pterosaur Hybrid. "Hand over the Maelstrom Crystal now," he ordered."Now's not exactly the best time to talk to her like that," murmured Laxus."I don't care," Lord Sinister shook his head. "Hybrid, you must give me the crystal. Only I may hold the crystal and do with it what must be done. I shall take it out of this blasted temple and make sure Baron Typhonus never sees it again.""You're not planning on adding it to one of your private collections, are you?" Andrew raised an eyebrow. "Because I would not recommend it... based upon what I've heard, this crystal doesn't belong in anyone's collection."Rather than answer Andrew's question, Sam Sinister declared: "I need a T-1 Typhoon. Arrange one for me immediately. Since we have a nice hole in our ceiling, it would be easiest if one can just drop down a winch and cable and hoist me up."Before Andrew could reply, Amanda Claw returned, this time with Rex following. Pterisa looked up at the elite agent and saw that he was very reluctant to leave behind Greybeard and the others in the battle against Baron Typhonus. Rex looked down upon her, and she could already sense old feelings of contempt. Sadly, she looked away."Pterisa," spoke Rex. "There's something I need you to understand. We cannot change the past, and for the rest of my life, I am confined to a wheelchair... or a hover-chair... because of what the Minifig/Mutant Lizard Hybrids have done to me. As I am Minifig, it is only in my nature to hold onto bitter feelings and be very reluctant to forgive and forget.""That's what I was afraid you would say," whispered Pterisa, who continued to look away.Rex sighed. "But, my personal experience with Mutant Dinos has taught me that they are not Always Chaotic Evil. They can break free of the Maelstrom's influence, defy their masters, and prove to be some of the most honorable and trustworthy friends I have ever known. Just today, I witnessed a complete stranger Mutant Lizard come to my defense, and I was reminded of Trouble, the first Mutant Lizard I had ever tamed who had become one of my closest friends. And, while I was never under the influence of Maelstrom, I too know what it's like to have different morals from the rest of my species, proving that it would be hypocritical of me to judge someone by the actions of others."Pterisa blinked and turned her head, looking up at Rex once more. The expression of bitter contempt was gone, replaced by a gentler, soothing expression."I admit," continued Rex, "it takes a lot of effort to forgive and forget, so I cannot. I can, however, understand that you are different, unique, special. You may fear that we see you as a monster... but your wings are beautiful. They show that you live a harder life than we can possibly imagine, and yet you have the strength to ignore that and carry on. We all saw how, earlier today, you stood up to the Darkitect himself. I cannot imagine anyone else brave enough to do that. I trust you, Pterisa."With that, Rex leaned forward and reached out his hand. With some hesitation at first, but then with renewed confidence, Pterisa reached up with her own hand. They clasped hands, and they smiled together.Lord Sam Sinister cleared his throat. "Yes, yes. Very touching. Now, hand over the crystal and call down a T-1 Typhoon for me." Rex and the others stared at the Lord von Barron. Grudgingly, he added: "Please.""I don't know," Andrew scratched his head. "If we do that, surely the Darkitect will see you and blast you out of the air before..." He trailed off as an idea dawned upon him. "Or we could just get creative."Slowly, Pterisa handed the Maelstrom Crystal over to Lord Sam Sinister. Instantly, a pair of Stromling Explorers marching towards them froze and stared at Sam Sinister, as though awaiting orders. Andrew radioed the message up to Semick, and a T-1 Typhoon moved over the hole in the ceiling and lowered its winch and cable."Now, let's distract the Darkitect," declared Rex. Amanda, Pterisa, Andrew, and Laxus nodded. Then, as one, they joined the others in their battle.Rex continued to fire his Sonic Screamer at the Maelstrom vortex whenever he could. Pterisa resumed firing lightning bolts at the Darkitect, now with renewed confidence. While firing a Cosmotronic Ray, Andrew started shouting: "Two eight-stud LEGO bricks can be combined in 24 ways. Three eight-stud bricks can be combined in 1,060 ways. Six eight-stud bricks can be combined in 102,981,500 ways. Of course, these statistics only apply if all the bricks are the same color; if this does not hold true, then the numbers greatly multiply. And, with eight bricks, the possibilities are virtually endless."The Dino Attack Team's efforts started to frustrate Baron Typhonus, and Andrew's spewing of facts about building started to annoy the Darkitect. "I've had enough of this!" declared the Darkitect. "Who now holds my crystal, and where is that Lord von Barron?"Too late, the Darkitect realized that Sam Sinister had already been hoisted out of the Maelstrom Temple with his Maelstrom Crystal in hand.Furious, the Darkitect tried to use more Maelstrom energy to finally destroy these pesky Dino Attack agents who just would not give up. However, he could feel his powers weaken, now that the Maelstrom Crystal was no longer in such close proximity, and the Imagination orb was now growing brighter and larger than it had in months. A wave of Maelstrom energy that should have instantly deconstructed everyone in sight merely knocked them over for a brief moment.The Darkitect's attention was drawn back to the Imagination orb. "No..." he whispered. There stood Kate Bishop holding an injection saw, which glowed with a bright blue aura. He sent out a bolt of Maelstrom lightning, but it veered off from its course as it neared the Imagination statue. He tried to bring Kate's worst fears to life, but the illusions vanished instantly.Grim, Baron Typhonus lowered his jeweled scepter. "You can't do it, Kate," he growled. "You don't have it in you. You're just a pathetic little girl, so lost and alone in this world. You cannot defeat me, for my power is already far too great in this world. You, and all your so-called 'friends'... will die."Kate Bishop stared at the injection saw in her hands. The bright glow reflected off the tears streaming down her cheeks. She wanted nothing more than to run back home, run back into her mother's safe embrace...But she remembered Frank Einstein. He had sworn to protect her, promising to keep Wallace's family safe. He was a brave man and one of the most imaginative minds of the world. He believed that she could do this.I can do this, she told herself. She looked away from Baron Typhonus, the Maelstrom, and all the death and destruction in the temple. She centered her focus upon the Imagination orb. Then, ignoring the protests of Baron Typhonus, she raised the injection saw and plunged it into the Imagination.A great wave of energy pulsated from the Imagination orb as it grew much larger and much brighter. The energy washed over the interior of the Maelstrom Temple, cleansing it of its corruption and banishing the dark shadows and purple fog. As the wave of pure energy approached the Maelstrom vortex, Baron Typhonus attempted to hold his ground. But, the Maelstrom vortex behind him began to collapse in upon itself, and like a black hole, it began to suck in the Darkitect. He cried out in retaliation, but that did nothing to stop him as he plunged into the center of the vortex. Then, the Maelstrom blinked out of existence.Like the dawn of a new day, everyone rose to a very different Temple of Creation. The signs of battle were still there, as the floor was littered with debris and dead bodies. However, with the Maelstrom gone and the Imagination so powerful, there was something much brighter about the world now."Is he... gone?" someone dared to ask.Rex shook his head. "He's not dead, if that's what you mean. I don't think it's in our power to kill Baron Typhonus here and now. But... I believe, he is gone. He has been banished from the LEGO Planet for good."People rushed up to Kate Bishop and congratulated her, thanked her, patted her on the back. Rex and Amanda approached her, and Rex smiled confidently. "It's been an honor working with you, Bishop," Rex nodded. "You will surely be remembered by history as a remarkable young lady."Kate was silent the whole time. Then, Rex noticed the tears on her cheeks. Concerned, he inquired, "Professor Einstein... is he...?"Holly Vinyaya shook her head, gesturing towards the scientist's lifeless body lying on the floor a few meters from the Imagination statue. Kate reached into her pocket and pulled out a bishop chess piece, handing it over to Rex. "He said this was for you," she finally spoke.A moment of silence passed over the group in memory of Frank Einstein. ***** Lord Sam Sinister von Barron stood at the edge of a volcano crater. Down below him, he could see lava boiling and smoke rising. Above him, a T-1 Typhoon remained hovering in the air, waiting for him to grab onto the cable once again. In his hand, he held the Maelstrom Crystal.This was it. All he had to do was drop the Maelstrom Crystal into the volcano, and Baron Typhonus would never dare show his face on LEGO Planet ever again.Why was it so hard for him to let go? He held it over the lava below him, but he could not loosen his fingers from the crystal. He stared into its purple surface, which reflected his face back at him, distorted by the angled faces and vertices of the crystal.You don't have to do this, you know, a voice spoke in his mind. This isn't necessary. Just take it home to Barron and add it to your collection of fortunes. Surely, when others see this crystal in your hands, they will know that you truly are powerful.Lord Sinister hesitated. It was in his nature to be greedy, and with the Maelstrom Temple gone, surely there would be no danger to adding something of this much value to his collection.Johnny Thunder, Jake Raines, Rick Spherus, Hael Storm. They would have nothing on you. Who needs a Golden Dragon when you have a Maelstrom Crystal?Lord Sinister grimaced. No, this wasn't right. These thoughts were not his own. It was a trap.Don't do it!"No more traps!" Sam Sinister gritted his teeth. With that, he flung the Maelstrom Crystal down into the volcano below him. When it hit the lava, he had to shield his eyes from a bright flash. Then, a brief mushroom cloud of purple smoke rose from the volcano crater. At last, finally, the Maelstrom Crystal was destroyed.And that, thought Lord Sinister, is how history shall remember the great Lord Sam Sinister von Barron!OOC: And that is the conclusion to the Adventurers' Island story arc. Sorry if it got a little corny or a little cliche at times. It's been fun, guys. Now, let's go home and relax a bit.

OOC: Sorry for long IC... but so little time, so much to do!IC: The samurai paused for a moment, considering her options as she casually blasted away a few Stromling Explorers. "What I need," she finally decided, "is to break the Darkitect's concentration. I've got a few ideas that I'd like to try, but if you think you can help out in any way, I'd most definitely appreciate your support. All I need is the Darkitect's illusions to be broken... even if for a mere second, it would help the others realize that they are fighting illusions and, thus, help them break away."Andrew relayed the message to Semick, and nodded to the samurai. Knowing she could not wait for Semick's reply, the samurai turned away and marched towards the Maelstrom vortex, holding the crystal high above her head. ***** Rex stared at the markings in the dirt floor. It took him a second to realize that they vaguely resembled letters of the alphabet, but he could not quite make out what they were saying."Oh, come now," smirked Kotua. "Do you actually think that the dumb beast is trying to tell you something? What could it possibly want? Cake?"Stranger's Mutant Lizard snarled, but Rex ignored the Alpha Team agent's comment. Staring more closely, he thought he could recognize the characters, but it made no sense to him at all... what was "I TZAL YE" supposed to mean?"Of course," continued Kotua, "you should never give your Mutant Lizard cake. They prefer raw meat and flesh, and cake has nothing to offer of that category of the food pyramid. Cake is so delicious and moist, but not for Mutant Lizards."For some reason, the word cake really began to nag at Rex. It reminded him of something... something that someone said... but who said it? Where? When? Why? And what was that someone talking about? An old man... deep underground... just a few months ago... ***** The samurai instinctively froze as the Darkitect took notice of her. His bright red eyes sunken in his pitch-black skull seemed like they were trying to bore into her flesh, like the laser vision of a Mutant T-Rex. Still, she found the strength to maintain her composure. She lifted the Maelstrom Crystal even higher into the air, returning the Darkitect's stare with increased determination.The Darkitect chuckled. "I assume you're not going to just hand it over, are you?"The samurai responded, not with words, but by striking down a few more Stromling Explorers with her lightning."You're a brave one," mused the Darkitect. "But even the bravest have fears. Let me see... what you fear the most!"For a brief moment that somehow felt like an eternity, the Darkitect concentrated on the samurai. As the eyes of destruction itself stared at her, it took all of the samurai's willpower to remain calm and composed. The Darkitect's smile slowly faded away, twisting into a hideous scowl."Why can't I see you?" the Darkitect bellowed. Angered, he waved his jeweled scepter, and a bolt of Maelstrom energy struck the ground where the samurai stood. Only the samurai's quick reflexes and agile movements saved her. He tried again and again to hit the samurai, but each blast of his Maelstrom only hit the stone floor. Each time, the Darkitect grew more and more frustrated."My turn," whispered the samurai, with a hint of darkness in the tone of her voice. With the hand that was not holding the Maelstrom Crystal, she sent out one of her own bolts of lightning. The electricity arced through the air and struck the Darkitect square in the chest. ***** Just for an instant, the world changed around Rex.Perfect Chaos vanished, as though the water creature had never even existed. Kotua's form melted away, revealing a generic Stromling where the Alpha Team agent stood. The corpse of Amanda Claw dissolved into nothingness... and then appeared, still alive, standing next to the Mutant Lizard. Her eyes were wide with desperation as she shouted, "Rex! It's all an ill-"Then, the instant had passed, and everything was back to how it was, with Chaos looming over Rex, Kotua standing there, and Amanda lying dead on the floor. The only being that had not changed at all was the Mutant Lizard."I must say," murmured Kotua, "I am finding some strange form of amusement in all of this. But, this grows tiresome. Chaos, drown him.""You're not real," whispered Rex in realization.Kotua scowled. "I thought we've been through this already," he muttered. "It's time for you to join your girlfriend Claw and your little pet Trouble!"Before Rex could say anything more, Perfect Chaos grabbed him and hoisted him into the air. Once again, Chaos allowed Rex to be absorbed into his form in order to drown the Dino Attack agent. It all felt so real, as Rex could feel the cold water against his skin and flowing into his lungs.But it wasn't real. It all made sense now. The old man in the cave, he now remembered, had said, "That cake is a lie." Obviously, it had to be coincidence, but it allowed Rex to finally realize what the Mutant Lizard's message meant. "I TZAL YE" was "ITZ A LYE", which had to mean "IT'S A LIE". And Amanda was still alive, but although he could not see or hear her, she was trying to break him free of the illusion.It's not real, Rex thought to himself, closing his eyes. He repeated the thought over and over, with it growing stronger every time.But when he opened his eyes, he was still drowning. In a panic, he wondered once more if it was all real. Regaining his composure, he shut his eyes once again and thought as hard as he could. This time, he did not concentrate on whether or not Chaos and Kotua were real.This time, he thought of Trouble. He thought about all the great times he spent with what was once his only friend. He remembered the thrill of being the first Dino Attack agent to tame a Mutant Dino. He thought about the rest of his friends that he had met over the course of the Dino Attack... Frozeen and Greybeard, to name a few. He thought about his teammates in the Dino Attack Team... Databoard, Zero, Reptile, Hotwire, Andrew, and even Zachary, and what an honor it was to fight alongside them. He thought about the world that they were fighting for.Lastly, Rex thought of Amanda. He thought about all the happy memories that they shared. Through times of short-lived peace and times of intense battle, they shared a bond forged so closely that it could not be separated. Even if everything descended into fire, chaos, destruction, and ruin, Rex knew that he would have the strength to carry on... if Amanda was there beside him.When Rex opened his eyes again, Perfect Chaos was gone. He was lying on the floor, and as he looked around, he saw that Kotua was once more a mere Stromling, Amanda's corpse was gone, and the real Amanda stood beside the Mutant Lizard."What?" gasped the Stromling in a voice that sounded nothing like Kotua's. "Impossible! How could you-""Oh, shut up," Rex grumbled. Apparently agreeing, the Mutant Lizard pounced upon the stunned Stromling and quickly ended its life.Amanda raced over to Rex and knelt down by him. "Rex!" she whispered soothingly. "Can you hear me now?"Rex looked into her eyes. After the sight of seeing her lying dead on the floor, seeing Amanda alive again was the greatest thing he could have ever seen. His own eyes began to tear up as he smiled and murmured, "Loud and clear."Amanda smiled, too. Laughing quietly, they embraced each other on the stone floor. ***** "Eureka!" grinned Frank Einstein. "That's it!""What's it?" Kate Bishop raised an eyebrow, not sure that she was following along."Look, my dear!" Einstein pointed at Rex and Amanda, then pointed at the Imagination orb. Noticeably, the Imagination orb was now a little larger and glowed a little more brightly than before. "The way Rex broke free of Baron Typhonus's illusion," he explained, "it empowered the Imagination! We might have a chance yet of stopping the Darkitect!" ***** Their romantic moment was interrupted as Frozeen ran up to them, trembling and nearly as pale as ghost. "Rex! Amanda!" he cried. "You have to help me! There's... there's too many of them!"Rex and Amanda traded glances. Looking over Frozeen's shoulder, Rex could see that he was trailed by ghosts that flew all around the red-headed baron. Amanda couldn't see them, but she could tell that he was still fighting illusions. "YTP, Frozeen," suggested Rex. "YTP.""YTP?" repeated Frozeen. Slowly, the realization dawned upon him. "No, wait," he decided. "I have a better idea. But... once they're gone, please snap me out of it, okay?"Rex was confused by that last statement, but he still nodded.Frozeen turned around to face his worst fears once again. The baron smirked as he approached the Alpha Team agent. "Why don't you just give up?" scoffed the baron. "We both know that I am far stronger than you. After all, I am what you... we were destined to be. The Brickster failed when he created you, Frozeen. But when created me, Baron von Brickthief, I proved that I could be worthy of the title of the Brickster's brother!"Frozeen did not reply. Since Frozeen's back was turned to Rex and Amanda, Rex could not see Frozeen's features."Why are you smiling like that?" muttered Baron von Brickthief.Then, Frozeen spoke in a voice that was surprisingly high-pitched. "THE LEPRECHAUNS ARE TRYING TO STEAL MY GOLD!" Screaming wildly, Frozeen began to dance around Baron von Brickthief, shouting random things that became less and less comprehensible. The images of Baron von Brickthief and the ghosts began to shimmer and fade."What's he doing?" whispered Amanda, who appeared quite disturbed."YTP is a method for shielding one's mind," explained Rex. "I figured it was a good way to prevent the Darkitect from seeing into your mind and bringing your worst fears to life... but I think Frozeen likes taking it one step further than most of us." ***** Frank Einstein observed the Imagination orb grow a little larger and a little brighter. Unsure of what to think, he gave a half-smile as he glanced at what Frozeen was doing. "Well, it's certainly creative," he decided, "and anything creative can help the Imagination." ***** As soon as Baron von Brickthief and the ghosts were gone, Amanda cautiously approached Frozeen and laid a hand on his shoulder. Frozeen stared at her with a crooked smile and a wild look in his eyes. "They're gone," Amanda informed him.Slowly, the insane expression disappeared from Frozeen's face, which once again resumed his natural, serious-looking demeanor. He nodded to Amanda, cleared his throat, and muttered under his breath, "I can't believe I just did that. I thought I told myself I'd never, ever do that again."Amanda, Frozeen, and the Mutant Lizard helped Rex climb into appeared to be Zed Provhezor's hover-chair. Though it was slightly damaged, it appeared mostly functional. Once Rex was sitting in the operational hover-chair, he focused upon what was going on with Baron Typhonus and, to his surprise, the samurai. ***** Slowly, the Darkitect recovered from the shock of being hit with the samurai's lightning. The lightning was weak, and it had barely even hurt him, though it was enough to distract him. Rather, the real shock had come from the fact that he had actually been hit by it. No one had ever dared to strike the Darkitect before!But how?Cold realization washed over the Darkitect as he stared at the samurai holding his crystal. His shock turned to fury, and his hideous scowl turned into a downright terrifying expression. "No one," he shouted, "turns my power against me!"With that, the Darkitect waved his jeweled scepter once again. Chain lightning fired from the center of the Maelstrom vortex, raining upon the stone floor of the Maelstrom Temple. The samurai, quick and agile as always, dodged most of these attacks. Furious, the Darkitect swung his scepter once again, and a single bolt of lightning arced through the air and struck the samurai.The samurai's kabuto helmet went flying in the air. It landed near Andrew's group, hitting the stone floor with the loud sound of metal hitting rock ringing through the chamber.The samurai herself, at first, appeared unaffected by the Darkitect's attack. Her torn black cloak billowed around her, concealing her as she recovered from the impact. But when she got up again, ready to fight the Darkitect once more, her cloak instinctively spread out. The samurai froze as she heard a chorus of gasps from her Dino Attack Team allies.Rex was one of many who stared in shock. He now saw that the samurai did not have a torn black cloak as he initially perceived, but it was actually a pair of bat-like wings. And, with her helmet removed, Rex now clearly saw that the samurai's face was not entirely Minifig, but bore the features of a Mutant Pterosaur.As she realized that everyone stared at her, the samurai's battle stance fell away, and she recoiled into a defensive crouch, her wings wrapping around her in a vain attempt to conceal her form once more.The Darkitect laughed, the horrible sound echoing through the Maelstrom Temple. "Well, well. Isn't this a twist to our story? And speaking of stories, here's one of my all-time favorites. Once upon a time... there was a Dino Attack Team who put their faith and trust in a group of twisted experiments created by XERRD. And just when Dino Attack Team needed them the most... they deserted them, betrayed them, revealed their true allegiance to XERRD, and left one of Dino Attack's greatest elite agents as a cripple in a wheelchair.""No..." whispered the samurai in a feeble, barely-audible voice.The Darkitect chuckled. "History repeats itself. But not to worry, Dino Attack Team. Once this war is ended, no matter who emerges victorious, the victor will guarantee that her kind is hunted down and driven to extinction. XERRD would have no use for them anymore, and neither would I... and Dino Attack Team would know that you can never trust a Quasifigus Hybrid.""No!" shouted the samurai, but the damage was done. The Darkitect did not need to see into her mind to bring her worst fears to life.The Darkitect looked around in triumph, and only then did he notice Frank Einstein and Kate Bishop by the Imagination statue. Casually, he waved his jeweled scepter once more, and a wave of Maelstrom energy poured out of the vortex and struck the scientist, knocking him down to the floor once more. This time, Einstein did not have the strength to rise again.The temple shook once more, as Dino Attack's air support led by Semick continued to bombard the roof of the Maelstrom Temple. As Rex glanced around in his hover-chair, even though some of the illusions were already gone and Semick was providing air support, he could not imagine how they could possibly stop the Maelstrom now.OOC: With any luck, my next IC should be tomorrow or Friday, and will wrap up the battle in the Maelstrom Temple for good. That way, we can hurry back to Dino Attack Headquarters and relax a bit... before the final battle that will determine the end of the Dino Attack war.Baron von Brickthief is an unused idea that I had for Alpha Team RPG: Ogel's Last Stand. Had the RPG lived long enough (assuming the BZP forum update never happened), I would delved into the reasons why Frozeen went into hiding... and let's just say that Brickthief is one of them. You're free to do whatever Wild Mass Guessing you want about the relationship between Frozeen and Brickthief could be. As for Frozeen's personal take on the YTP method, it's a Call Back to the "Frozeen goes insane" mini-arc from the original Alpha Team: Mission Deep Freeze RPG.

OOC: Don't worry, Andrewnuva. While I do write some of my posts in advance (for example, nearly everything from Lord Sinister walking in with the crystal to Kotua saying "Let me reintroduce you..."), I do intentionally leave myself other times in situations where I must Write By The Seat Of My Pants. Since I left the Rex vs Kotua/Chaos situation in such a way, I was glad to have you send in "Stranger's friend", because it gave me some excellent material to work with.As for why Pterisa and Amanda cannot see the illusions... you know the answer. What do we know that is special about Pterisa? What makes Amanda different from Snake and Axel?IC: Amanda Claw continued to look utterly confused, struggling to ignore Andrew, Laxus, and Vinyaya as they stared in undisguised shock at her. Thinking quickly, she did the one thing that she knew would catch Trigger off-guard: she spoke. "I'm afraid you have me mistaken for someone else," she murmured quietly. "I've never seen you before in my life."As she expected, the sound of her voice had the proper effect upon Schiess. Up until this point, he appeared calm, composed, and stoic, even with a little arrogant confidence in everything he said and did. Now, just for an instant, his face betrayed genuine surprise and self-doubt. This allowed Andrew and Laxus to relax a little, though Vinyaya remained visibly tensed."Name's Amanda," Amanda introduced herself, "but you may call me Claw."Vinyaya cleared her throat. "Under normal circumstances," she declared, "I would have you instantly taken in, Schiess, and brought in for interrogation. We've been trying to catch Silencia Venomosa for years, and if you knew anything about her, we would take that information from your head as quickly as possible. Now, these are not normal circumstances, and we have more important matters at hand." She gestured to the Maelstrom vortex, with the Darkitect gloating in the center of the black hole."Right," Schiess nodded grimly. "Now, I may have learned a thing or two from my jobs against XERRD and even Paradox, but I don't need to be an expert on the Maelstrom to tell you that Imagination is key to destroying the Maelstrom." He gestured over towards the Imagination statue, where Einstein and Kate stood."Isn't that Frank Einstein?" blinked Andrew."I'll tell you all about it later," Amanda waved her hand.The samurai, almost casually, shot down a few more Stromling Explorers that were marching towards her with a blast of lightning. "I don't think the Darkitect is very happy about Dino Attack Team blasting a hole in his roof," she murmured. "But while I have what he wants, I might be able to distract him a little longer. Maybe if I break his concentration, it will help free the others from the illusions. Amanda, I think it will be best if you are with Rex while I do this. He might not hear you at the moment..."Andrew glanced over at Rex, who was distraught over the sight of Amanda's corpse. "But I think your voice is what he really needs to hear right now," finished Andrew."What does he see?" inquired Amanda."You," explained Laxus. "Dead."Amanda blinked in surprise. Quickly, she regained her composure and nodded grimly to the others. The samurai, Andrew, and Laxus returned her nod, but Vinyaya stared at Amanda with what appeared to be suspicion. They turned away, and Amanda began to run towards Rex, only to have her arm grabbed by Schiess."Cut the Znap," he growled in a voice so low that only she could hear. "You know who I am, and I know who you are. Even if you think that speaking for once in your life will disguise that. Nothing can change that, Venomosa."Silently, Amanda pulled away from Schiess and shot him a murderous glare. She saw that Vinyaya continued to stare suspiciously at her, and Amanda bitterly realized that, while Andrew and Laxus seemed to dismiss Schiess's accusation, Vinyaya suspected that some part of what he said might have been true. Amanda turned away from them and ran towards Rex, the Mutant Lizard, and the Stromling they were fighting.OOC: I must say, I'm enjoying seeing how Amanda Claw is affected psychologically by being a former bounty hunter/assassin/terrorist.@Atton's post right below mine: For the same reason why Pterisa is not named, I refer to Trigger as "Schiess" in this post because that's the only name Amanda knows him by at this point.

OOC: Heh, I see you finally managed to get your inquisition joke in, Andrewnuva. How long has it been since you first proposed that idea in a Steam chat? Only then, it was XERRD scientists wearing red...Also, I apologize if you already stated this, but I cannot recall: what breed is Stranger's Mutant Lizard? I don't want to make any inconsistencies by stating that he was spitting acid or breathing fire...Regarding Dr. Glados, while I would prefer that she is still alive when the Adventurers' Island story arc is over (let's just say that I have an idea for the final battle, and she seems like a good candidate for that idea rather than just some random cannon fodder that we could care less about), I would be willing to let you kill her now if you make her death a satisfying one. Knowing you, that shouldn't be too hard... but as I said, if possible, try to keep her alive.IC: Rex's jaw dropped in shock. He barely even noticed the fact that the temple was shaking and a great rumbling was coming from the chamber's ceiling. All his attention was focused upon the Mutant Lizard that stood before him, which growled and snarled at Kotua as it crouched defensively over Rex's fallen form.Kotua's own surprise disappeared quickly, replaced by an amused smirk. "Still being a Fluffy Tamer, I see?" he chuckled. "I see things never really do change."Kotua's comment invoked in Rex the memory of a brief moment back at the Dino Attack Outpost. He recognized this Mutant Lizard as that one lizard in the camp area that nobody fired at; he later learned that this Mutant Lizard was not one of his own after all, but rather taken in by Stranger. Now, Stranger's Mutant Lizard friend stood between him and Kotua."I don't have the time for this," muttered Kotua. "Drown them both."Perfect Chaos nodded with unconcealed zeal. It stretched out an appendage, like a giant tentacle made from water, and raised in the air above Rex and Stranger's Mutant Lizard. The Mutant Lizard jumped back, closing its jaws on the back of Rex's uniform as it did so, and dragged Rex out of the way just before the water limb slammed down upon the floor.The appendage dissolved into a wave of water, which rushed into Rex and the Mutant Lizard and sent them sprawling across the temple floor. The Mutant Lizard recovered quickly and nudged Rex, giving him the strength to do an upper-body push-up. Rex looked up at Perfect Chaos, who roared in anger."You know," smirked Kotua, "this reminds me. One of the greatest bonding experiences Chaos and I ever had together... Did you really think that it was a wise idea to cage up all your little pets in an abandoned prison on the coast?""What?" gasped Rex.Kotua laughed. "Oh, you should have been there. It was just so satisfying to listen to the cries and screeches of dozens of Mutant Dinos as they drowned in the very cells that you locked them up in. They had no escape as Chaos flooded the entire building with its own being. There were no survivors, especially not after a swarm of Mutant Vinscale Octomus took up residence in the area."The Mutant Lizard bared its teeth, but Rex paled. He remembered that the last time he visited the former prison, it was completely devoid of life. Surely, Kotua must have had the technology to track down such a large concentration of Mutant Dinos... and it was right on the coast. Rex thought the former prison was the perfect place for his tamed Mutant Dinos, since he could convert the cells into cages and pens where he could keep them safe... but could it be? Did he really leave them trapped and unable to escape as Kotua and Chaos killed them all? Self-doubt clouded Rex's mind."Do you remember your dear friend Trouble, Rex?" continued Kotua.Rex froze. He could not remember the last time he spared a thought towards what was once his closest friend in the whole world. To hear his name again now..."He was there, too, when it happened. He had a mate, too, and hatchlings, I believe. It's almost a shame that Chaos had to snuff out the whole family just like that. Since it's Trouble's fault that this whole team-splitting debate began, I would have liked to have made him suffer a little longer before he died."Rex's self-doubt turned to anger. He glanced beside him and saw a fallen XERRD scientist and his rocket launcher. Thinking quickly, he grabbed the rocket launcher and fired it at Kotua.Surprisingly, Kotua dodged the projectile with ease, maneuvering with incredible reflexes and even displaying a bit of acrobatics. "Oh, please. I'm an Alpha Team agent; we're specially trained to deal with this stuff on a daily basis. What do you think I am? Some Stromling disguised as Kotua?""Of course," nodded Rex. "You're not real. Chaos isn't real either. You're just an illusion.""Just an illusion, huh?" Kotua raised an eyebrow. "Could an illusion do this?"Before the Mutant Lizard could react, Perfect Chaos grabbed Rex with one of its tentacle-like appendages. Rex felt himself hoisted in the air and tossed around like a rag doll. Then, the tentacle tightened its grip and became less defined in form, until it seemed to become a formless blob large enough to absorb Rex into its mass. Rex felt the cold water surround him and fill his lungs, and in a moment of panic, he realized that he was about to drown on dry land."Could an illusion drown you?" proclaimed Kotua from down below, even though his voice was muffled by the water surrounding Rex. "Could an illusion-"The Alpha Team agent was interrupted by Stranger's Mutant Lizard, who pounced on Kotua and began viciously snapping its jaws at him. Only the Alpha Team agent's quick reflexes saved him, and he was only barely able to push the Mutant Lizard off of him. In the meantime, however, Perfect Chaos had become distracted as well and accidentally let Rex go. Rex coughed water out of his lungs and his head was spinning at first, but seeing Kotua fighting the Mutant Lizard seemed to immediately sober him up.Perfect Chaos bellowed and tried to grab Rex again, but Rex still held onto the rocket launcher and fired it into the water beast's mouth. It barely affected Chaos, but it bought Rex the second he needed. He unlimbered some rope and wrapped it around Kotua's leg while the Alpha Team agent was distracted by the Mutant Lizard. Kotua tripped and fell to the floor, and before he could get up again, Rex crawled atop Kotua's fallen form. The Mutant Lizard snarled at Kotua, letting him know that any attempt to throw Rex off would be greeted by its sharp teeth."Let's end this," Rex growled. "I've waited too long to give you what you deserve!""Why do you keep fighting?" hissed Kotua. "Why won't you just give up?""Because I've got something worth fighting-" began Rex, but then he faltered as Perfect Chaos slammed a limb down up the floor once again.It wasn't that Chaos tried to hit Rex, because if that were the case, then it would have completely missed its target. Instead, Rex could now see that Chaos had been holding onto another Minifig, one who had succumbed to drowning, and threw her lifeless body down upon the floor. The anger that fueled Rex was extinguished momentarily, as a feeling of hopelessness and despair overcame him.The drowned corpse that Chaos had flung down on the floor next to him belonged to Amanda Claw.*****While all around them, the battle raged, Frank Einstein and Kate Bishop tried to focus on only one thing: the Imagination statue.Frank Einstein was breathing heavily, and he clutched at one side with his arm. The Maelstrom lightning had taken a lot out of the old scientist, and he required Kate's support to walk. Still, he knew that he would not give up, so long as the Darkitect had the slightest bit of power on LEGO Planet."How do we stop him?" asked Kate urgently."I don't know," admitted Einstein. "All I know is that this Imagination is the only thing that is keeping him at bay. But it is frail at the moment. We must find some way to strengthen the Imagination before the Darkitect can get the Maelstrom Crystal, or else all hope is lost.""And how can we strengthen the Imagination?" wondered Kate."Creative ideas," murmured Einstein. "Hopes. Dreams. Anything that can vanquish destruction. And... in the absolute worst case, should that fail... I may have a back-up plan. Creative Sparks are pure Imagination... and I believe that Dr. Provencal might have dropped this during the battle." He held up a saw with an injection needle attached.While Kate had never been there, she had heard rumors back at the Dino Attack Outpost about how a medic on his deathbed had contained his Creative Spark in one of these so-called Injection Saws. It killed him in the process, but it was supposed to be a cure for a Stromling's infection. She saw the look in Einstein's eyes and remembered his words about the bishop must be sacrificed, with the term bishop regarding himself. "No..." she whispered.Einstein shook his head. "Should I not make it through... go to Napoleon XIV, and tell the administrator 'William's bell is ringing.' Remember that. 'William's bell is ringing.' And..." With some hesitation, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a bishop chess piece. "Give this to Rex. I fear the worst is yet to come."*****The samurai flung lightning bolt after lightning bolt at the few Stromling Explorers who were still trying to get the Maelstrom Crystal. With disgust, the samurai thought about how these Stromlings were mindless servants of the Maelstrom, and their inability to give up was not a show of impressive determination but rather a complete lack of will.All around the samurai, the warrior witnessed Dino Attack agents and allies as they screamed and fought and battled... nothing. With the exception of that one Dino Attack agent who was trying to fight two XERRD scientists at once. At first, the samurai could not be sure of what was happening. Then, it became all too clear to the samurai.The samurai was approached by a female Dino Attack agent, who was dragging along what appeared to be the slightly-damaged but still possibly functional hover-chair that once belonged to the XERRD scientist, Zed Provhezor. The Dino Attack agent looked at the samurai, and the look in her eyes told of desperation and confusion, but the samurai could see that it was a very different confusion from that expressed by the others."He can't hear me," the Dino Attack agent whispered. "None of them can."For the first time, the samurai spoke. "They're trapped," she explained. "The Darkitect has brought their worst fears to life, but only in their mind."The Dino Attack agent stared at the samurai with shock. It took the samurai a moment to realize that the Dino Attack agent had only just realized that the samurai was female. She would have felt amused if the situation were not so dire. Then, a realization dawned upon her."You can't see them either?" the samurai asked the Dino Attack agent, who shook her head. Then that must mean... she thought. "It's up to us," she declared. "We need to wake them from their own nightmares.""But how?" inquired the Dino Attack agent as she looked out at the Dino Attack agents, battling images that existed only in their minds.

OOC: That whole bit with Hendrik, Ariane, and Rainer Wolfgang Schattenberg was quite a fascinating read. Oh! And on a completely unrelated subject, Jacks, I've finally decided to pick up The Color of Magic (the first book of the Discworld series). Haven't had a lot of time to read it, but from what I've read so far, its amusing style is quite entertaining.IC: Although he lay still upon the floor, Rex’s head was spinning. Standing above him was his old nemesis Kotua. The last time they had seen each other, Kotua had gone mad and went on a campaign to exterminate all other Dino Attack agents with the help of a legendary monster known as Chaos. His number one target was Rex.“What are you doing here?” inquired Rex, his voice barely more than a whisper.Kotua chuckled as he once again began circling around Rex. “I’ve been following you for a long time,” he murmured. “Every time you fought a Mutant Dino and must make a decision whether to spare its life or kill it, I was there with you. Every time you watched as other Dino Attack agents bickered over useless things, I was there with you. Every time you saw how all it takes is a little push to shove someone into total darkness, I was there with you.”“And why do you come to me now?” groaned Rex.“Because now,” sneered Kotua, “you can see that I was right and you were completely, utterly, totally wrong.”“You’re wrong,” Rex gritted his teeth.Kotua responded with a kick. Rex cried out in pain and rolled over. “Stop deluding yourself,” declared Kotua. “You have seen it with your own eyes. The Mutant Dinosaurs are literally created and bred to be nothing but mindless monsters that obey only the destructive will of the Darkitect. You thought you could save them. But you can’t just adopt a Stromling, give it a cage, feed it every few hours, and think that it’s cured. A Stromling is still as vile, despicable, destructive, and evil as it ever will be.”“Mutant Dinosaurs are different from Stromlings,” muttered Rex. “They are intelligent beings, but enslaved and forced to destroy against their own will. They can be freed from their madness, and no one knows that better than me.”Kotua kicked Rex again. “Did you try to save me? Was I worth saving when I fell into madness? You spend so much time taming beasts that you ignore your own kind! What side of the war are you on, Rex?” After a pause, Kotua added: “Then again, the Dino Attack Team was never really all that ideal either. Too many of its members share your foolish ideals, and as thanks for my efforts in helping win the war, I am branded an insane villain by even one of my closest teammates, Databoard. But Dino Attack Team never really did get along, did it? Rotor’s trial here on this island; Greybeard’s actions down in the Goo Caverns; oh, and need I mention the entirely pointless idealist-realist debate that escalated into full violence? I seem to recall that it was Digger who declared war on the realists, not the other way around.”“Are you going somewhere with this?” grimaced Rex.“I’m just reminding you that your efforts are futile,” shrugged Kotua. “Just look around. See how well your team is doing against the Darkitect.”Straining his neck, Rex looked around. What he saw shocked him. Most of the Stromling Explorers had been dispatched, with the remaining few tailing after the mysterious samurai, who now held the Maelstrom Crystal in one hand and fired bolts of lightning at the Stromlings with the other hand. Most of XERRD had disappeared behind the Maelstrom vortex, led by Dr. Cyborg, although Michelle Glados and Carolyne Provencal were not among them.Everyone else, however, was engaged in combat, and fighting a losing battle. Greybeard tried to hold his ground against a giant figure dressed in a black hooded robe and wielding a wicked sword. Frozeen was locked in a struggle against a red-headed figure dressed like a baron, but trembled in fear as wispy ghosts flew all around him. Sam Sinister was trapped by spikes rising from the floor as chains lowered skeletons upon him. Katerina was confronted by a man in a brown suit and a woman in a blue dress. Garry paled as he was approached by a beaten girl and a Dino Attack agent with a bullet in his forehead. Everyone, even those that were fighting like Greybeard and Frozeen, looked absolutely horror-stricken, as though their worst fears had come to life.Except for the samurai, whose face was masked by a veil and did not seem particularly unnerved by the Stromlings that came closer and closer. If anything, it looked as though the samurai was looking for someone to toss the Maelstrom Crystal to, but seemed confused to see that everyone else was already occupied with their own conflicts. Also, when Rex finally recognized Glados and Provencal fighting a bearded Dino Attack agent, none of them expressed fear, but rather boredom, sick amusement, and anger, respectively. Amanda was nowhere to be seen.“As you can see,” declared Kotua, “Dino Attack Team is fighting a losing battle. I’m sure that, even now, your friends at the Pharaoh’s Forbidden Ruins are realizing that they chose poorly. Too bad, they will not come here on time. By then, it will be too late… the Darkitect will have his Maelstrom Crystal, and he will reign supreme over this world… before he abruptly ends it.”“Then what are you just standing there for?” snapped Rex. “Help us! You’re an elite Alpha Team agent; you’re supposed to save the world, not sit by and watch as it sits on the brink of destruction!”Kotua chuckled darkly as a shadow passed over his face. “I don’t know, Rex… I’ve always been a little partial to a little chaos in this universe.”There came a sound like a great tidal wave. From the shadows of the Maelstrom Temple emerged a massive being, vaguely reptilian in form, but its form was composed entirely of water that glowed purple with Maelstrom energy. It bellowed in fury as it laid cold, green eyes on its old enemy, Rex.“It… cannot be!” gasped Rex.“Let me reintroduce you,” smirked Kotua, “to your old friend, Perfect Chaos!”OOC: Anyone who listened to "In the Maelstrom Temple [DEMO]" and did not listen to my request about not looking any deeper into that last bit would have probably seen the ending of this post coming a mile away.The idea is that everyone in the Maelstrom Temple is now fighting their worst fears, brought to life by the power of Baron Typhonus. The only exceptions I can think of at the moment are Katerina (who has already killed the false parents), the samurai (for reasons you can probably figure out), and Provencal/Glados/Zach (because the Darkitect likely sees that they're already busy fighting each other).

OOC: In avmatoran's defense, the Stromling Explorers are one of the weakest breeds of Stromling that we have seen so far, essentially the Dino Attack RPG's equivalent to the standard Stromling of LEGO Universe. And regardless of how close they are to the Maelstrom, I've never really treated the Stromling Explorers as anything other than easily-killed.As for the LEGO Universe Wiki, it's something I've been contributing to. You can see my handiwork on the pages for Baron Typhonus, the Maelstrom, Hael Storm, and Stromling, to name a few examples. Still, there is much work that needs to be done, since too many pages are short and barely contain any information. Regardless, it is still currently the best resource on the internet for LEGO Universe information.Just to let you guys know, since it's already the end of May, I'll be moving this along rather quickly. I'm not so certain that I can make the deadline for finishing the Dino Attack RPG on its 7th anniversary (July 1), but I'll do my best to get this story arc wrapped up as quickly as possible so we can move on to the real final battle.IC: As soon as he regained his bearings, Rex saw that there were newcomers. He was surprised to see that one of them looked strikingly similar to Kat, but despite appearing the same age she seemed to be much more experienced and hardened in her facial features. Remembering that Kat was only a synthfig, Rex wondered if this was truly Katerina Schattenberg, the sister of Dr. Rex.“Over here!” shouted Rotor. The synthfig knew what the veteran pilot was thinking and tossed the Maelstrom Crystal to him. The Stromling Explorers now lumbered towards Rotor, who saw the mysterious samurai waving at him. After leading the Stromlings away from the samurai, Rotor threw the Maelstrom Crystal to the samurai. The samurai then tossed the crystal to Garry, who passed it to Adventure, who threw it to Dr. Cyborg.Rex caught on to what they were trying to do. “Pass the crystal over here!” shouted Rex, waving his arms. “Everyone, cover-“A low and hideous chuckle came from the Maelstrom vortex. The Maelstrom energy that blanketed Rex’s legs suddenly erupted into life, taking on the form of dark tentacle-like tendrils of shadows. Stripped of mobility and caught off-guard, Rex collapsed to the floor even as the tendrils began to constrict him. Intense pain ripped through his body like a hot iron, and it hurt to even breathe. His heart pounded like a blacksmith's hammer hitting an anvil. Amanda also skidded to a halt, seeing Rex in danger, and rushed back to help him.With Amanda helping Rex, Kate helping Einstein, and Frozeen helping Sinister, it seemed that the only players left were Greybeard, Rotor, Garry, Adventure, Katerina, the synthfigs, the mysterious samurai, the Dino Attack reinforcements, and the remainder of XERRD. Now Greybeard held the crystal, so the others provided cover for him as he ran from the Maelstrom vortex. However, for every Stromling they struck down, two more rose to take its place.“Go!” Rex shouted to them, even with the Maelstrom choking the life out of him. “Get out of here! Warn the others!”“Grisbarba!”Greybeard skidded to a halt, despite the Stromlings that drew closer and closer. Rex strained his neck to see what happened. To his shock, he saw an elderly yet beautiful woman in pirate garb approaching Greybeard.Amanda saw her too. “Greybeard!” she called. “Don’t-““Grisbarba,” spoke the woman in a frail voice, “is it really you?”“Beatrice,” whispered Greybeard. “How could this be?”“I’ve been searching for you for a long time!” explained the female pirate as she drew closer to Greybeard. “I returned home, only to find it swarming with imperial scum, and no sign of my dear Grisbarba. All these years, I’ve searched for you and I’ve nearly given up.”“Oh, Beatrice!” Greybeard choked back tears. “I… I be so sorry… can ye forgive me?”“Yes,” Beatrice spoke softly and sweetly, “and now, we can be united and together… forever…!” Greybeard and Beatrice rushed towards each other, about to lock each other in embrace.“Greybeard, no!” shouted Rotor. “It’s a trap! Don’t listen to her!”Greybeard faltered as Rotor’s words reached his ears. He instantly recalled his recent dreams and the memories they had invoked of his tragic past.“What’s wrong, dear?” inquired Beatrice, who appeared looked confused. But now, Greybeard realized that she was barely even looking at him; her gaze was focused on the Maelstrom Crystal in his hand.“Ye be not Beatrice,” Greybeard gritted his teeth. “Me lady died many years ago.”“Don’t be silly,” Beatrice shook her head, laughing. She drew closer to Greybeard, who now took a step back. “You just have been having bad dreams, that’s all.”“Belay that!” snapped Greybeard. “Beatrice danced a fine dance, and as much as I wish it be true, I know ye cannot be her. I know what ye really be!”Beatrice’s smile suddenly vanished, and her face twisted into a horrible scowl as she snarled like an animal. She leaped towards Greybeard, but the old pirate was faster. He fired his flintlock pistol, and she collapsed to the floor, inches from where he stood. Instantly, the illusion faded away, revealing the corpse of a Stromling with a horrible blade in place of its left hand. A few seconds later, the Stromling carcass disappeared in a puff of purple smoke.From the Maelstrom vortex, the Darkitect sighed pitifully. “I tried to be nice and civil,” he shook his head. “I really did. I wanted to give you a happy ending.”“I’ve lived all these years without a peg leg,” muttered Greybeard, “an’ I’d rather not lose a leg now, says I. An’ what sort o’ happy endin’ be that? I fall fer yer trap an’ lose a leg, ye get th’ Maelstrom Crystal, an’ th’ world ends on December 21, 2010.”“It’s a shame,” sighed the Darkitect. “I thought a pleasant illusion would make your demise easier for you to handle. Instead, I must resort to… less merciful methods.” He let out a long, evil laugh.At last, the Maelstrom tendrils wrapped around Rex loosened their grip. Rex breathed heavily, letting oxygen flow through his system again. His heart was still pounding, though. He tried to stand, but once again he was paralyzed from the waist down. “Amanda,” he whispered, “my wheelchair.”Amanda shook her head. “I’ve got a better idea,” she responded, “but I’ll be right back.” She got up and ran towards the far end of the chamber.Now that he was motionless and lying on the floor, Rex was once again in a position where he could barely see what was going on. He heard footsteps, but was too weak to twist himself to see where they were coming from. He expected it to be a Stromling ready to tear him apart, but the footsteps stopped just where he lay.“Get up.”Rex blinked in surprise. That voice… he heard it before… it was so horribly familiar…“I said, get up! Or are you just too weak?”Rex struggled to remember. Whose voice was it? Why did it send shivers down his spine?The footsteps began again as the speaker circled around Rex. “Of course you’re weak. All you idealists are. You don’t have the strength to do what must be done, instead fighting for a pitiful lost cause. Trying to save dinosaurs that must be exterminated? Almost sounds like you’re mind-controlled by Evil Ogel himself!”Rex saw a pair of black boots in front of him. Straining his neck, he looked up. With a mixture of absolute fury and cold fear, Rex’s jaw dropped. “K-K… Kotua?”The elite Alpha Team agent crossed his arms over his chest and glared down upon Rex’s fallen form. “Did you miss me?” sneered Kotua.OOC: Keep on keeping the Maelstrom Crystal out of Baron Typhonus's hands. However, since you guys have a lot on your plate already, with Stromlings and Mutant Dinos, while you might notice that Rex is talking to Kotua, you'd probably be too busy to interact with them, so please refrain from doing so.As for Beatrice, those of you who read the TV Tropes on the Dino Attack RPG Wiki would have noticed that I had the idea of using disguised Stromlings trying to mess psychologically with the Dino Attack Team in the Maelstrom Temple for a while. While I scrapped the idea of Bricassius and Roger Remous, I held onto the idea for Beatrice. Of course, the problem is that Atton Rand got a similar idea when I made "Kate Bishop" one of these illusions, and when he started using them to the extreme on Garry, I didn't want him to spoil your appetites for these disguised Stromlings before I had a chance to introduce "Beatrice".And we finally learn what trap Rotor had warned Greybeard about in December 21, 2010. In that alternate ending, Greybeard did not heed Rotor's warning and most likely embraced Beatrice. She revealed her true form, sliced off his leg, and brought the Maelstrom Crystal to Baron Typhonus, allowing him to become powerful enough to destroy the world.... and as I was touching up some of the details in this post, I realized that we still have a ton of XERRD scientists in the chamber. We should probably do something about that. Even if they are sided with us against the Maelstrom, that's a loose end we probably want to tie up.

OOC: Apologies for leaving with such short notice, but this past week I had a little... business trip up to Niagara Falls. Now that I'm back, let's see what......Oh dear.Okay, so maybe I should have made this a little clearer. That's my fault, because I was deliberately trying to avoid the issue. But, when I wrote about the Maelstrom basically telling Palmer to stop acting so over-powered... that was intended as commentary on the fact that Atton Rand is really playing up how powerful Palmer seems to be. Yes, Palmer is in the same chamber as a Maelstrom vortex, but how could a mere Stromling summon an army of thousands of invincible Stromlings? I basically wanted to call off the attack, but I realize now that I did not make that clear enough. The explanation as to why even the Maelstrom cannot summon an army of invincible Stromlings at this point will be made clear in this IC.As for the Maelstrom Temple's location, I imagined it a distance away from the mainland so that it could not be so easily accessed by boat (i.e. the boat would dissolve in the Maelstrom sea long before it could reach the island), and the island in question is only large enough to host the temple itself; nothing else.The Maelstrom Temple's interior, I had never confirmed to be an alternate dimension. I consider it part of the main dimension; we don't need another Torn World in here. That being said, it's not impossible for the Maelstrom to reshape its interior to confuse and disorient travelers, but not to such a great extent (think of the Dark Hunters fortress in BIONICLE: Legacy of Evil, in which the tunnels and passageways can change to trap intruders, but you can still eventually find your way). The arrival of Adventure and other Dino Attack agents, such as the one killed by Provencal, shows that it's not impossible to find your way through into the temple.One last thing... I'm going to add Trigger to the Dino Attack database, but seeing as he's a mercenary who was hired by Dino Attack Team, it seems unlikely that he would have achieved Elite Agent status. Do you just want to Handwave it and say that he's an Elite Agent (basically, carry over your elite membership from Zenna, as TC01 did with Reptile)? Or would you prefer something else?Also, a bit of Fridge Logic: why would Trigger, who seems like the kind of mercenary who is hired to go in, shoot and kill, and get it over with as quickly as possible, have been hired against Paradox? While Paradox is not exactly 100% trusted by its fellow Nexus Force factions, it is still a heroic organization whose sole enemy is the Maelstrom itself, and I don't see the Maelstrom hiring Trigger... Essentially, while Paradox is a "dark is not evil" organization, XERRD is the rogue group that dares to cross the "even evil has standards" standards of Paradox. And since he's not currently hired by XERRD, I don't think it would have been XERRD that hired Trigger to do jobs against Paradox...And now, for the first part of a post I've been waiting a while to post...IC: The battle continued to rage in the Maelstrom Temple chamber as the Dino Attack Team reinforcements arrived. The sounds of guns and lasers firing, rockets exploding, magic whizzing by, and the occasional corny one-liner that did not sound as awesome as Rick "Adventure" Spherus had hoped filled the chamber.Rex watched from his wheelchair as Frank Einstein confronted Michelle Glados. With the latter teleporting all over the chamber in flashes of orange and blue light, they fired rockets at each other whenever they could. Rex could see that Einstein actually was not interested in killing Glados; he was just buying time so that he could figure out how to use the temple's Imagination to destroy the Maelstrom for once and for all."You are weak, Einstein," taunted Glados in a monotone voice. "You always have been. Your emotions and inexplicable attachment to the girl make you a weak fool.""Take off your petty facade," mused Einstein. "You may try acting all emotionless, but I know who you really are. You believe that you are invincible, but that's just a designation that you have placed upon yourself. Deep down, you harbor the bitter, anger, and sad feelings of a poor little girl who was lonely.""Oh," retorted Glados in a way that would have sounded sarcastic if it were not so monotone. "The only thing you've managed to break so far is my heart. Maybe you could settle for that and call it a day? I guess we both know that isn't going to happen.""Come now," continued Einstein. "Emotions are what make us Minifig, what makes us who we are. You could have had friends if you wanted to. But you chose to become bitter and unlikeable, justifying it through your misconception that emotions make you weak. It's all one big mistake, Chell.""Shut up," snapped Glados, who teleported right next to Einstein. Her face appeared as bored as ever, except for that slight twitch that suggested that she was holding back a scowl. "Your life is a mistake. A mathematical error I am about to-"Rex saw Dr. Einstein’s eyes widen. “No!” the scientist cried out. “Get out of here!”Rex strained his neck to look over his shoulder. He was surprised to see Lord Sam Sinister von Barron stumble into the chamber, followed by Greybeard and Frozeen. In Sinister’s hand was what appeared to be a Brickonium Energy Crystal, but it glowed with a purple aura. The Lord von Barron opened his mouth to speak, but then the crystal glowed even brighter than before.Suddenly, the miniature Maelstrom vortex in the chamber seemed to increase tenfold in size. A wave of dark purple energy knocked everyone back like a howling wind, so powerful it nearly tore them apart. Bolts of lightning shot out from the Maelstrom vortex as a form began to take shape in the center of the black hole.At first, there was only a pair of eyes, glowing bright violet in the darkness. Then, the rest of the figure appeared, taking on the form of a Minifig in a top hat. He wore a long, black suit jacket and carried a jeweled scepter in one hand. The Minifig’s face bore sideburns, a goatee, and crow’s feet, and for a moment Rex thought it was Dr. Rex. But when Rex studied his features, he saw that the Minifig was much older, with a look of chaos and madness in his eyes that made Dr. Rex look like a sane man in comparison.“In sleep,” the figure in the Maelstrom spoke in a hypnotic sing-song tone, “I spoke to you. In dreams, I came. That voice which calls to you and speaks your name.”“And do I dream again?” froze Lord Sam Sinister. “For now I find… the Darkitect is here, not in my mind.”The figure in the Maelstrom smiled and laughed coldly. “Yes. The Darkitect. That is what they call me now.”“I… I recognize you now!” shouted Dr. Einstein. “You’re Baron Typhonus! You’re one of the four explorers who discovered Planet Crux – you’re the one who created the Spider Boss – the Maelstrom!”“Indeed,” nodded Baron Typhonus. “You always knew I was there, although you were always too afraid to admit it. You clung your beliefs to the old legends, that I had perished that fateful day on Crux. Yes, my… pet did not see me as its master, but when it dragged me into the Imagination Nexus, I became far more powerful than I could have ever possibly imagine! I control the limitless potential of chaos, and even now I show the universe just how much greater Imagination is when it exists free of rules.”“Though destruction?” spat Frank Einstein.A bolt of lightning flew out of the Maelstrom vortex, striking Dr. Einstein. The scientist flew across the chamber, hit the far wall, and crumpled to the floor.“You Assembly builders think you’re so elitist,” chuckled Baron Typhonus. “You think you know everything there is to know about imagination in its purest form. But you cling onto the pathetic code of honor established by the First Builders, and so you have no idea of its true potential.”“That’s…” wheezed Einstein, “where you’re wrong…!”“Oh, yes, I am forgetting something,” smirked Baron Typhonus. “You’re Paradox too. Tapping into the Maelstrom in a futile effort to understand it. But you are simply an observer… it’s one thing to study the Maelstrom, it’s another to be the Maelstrom!”Kate Bishop rushed to Dr. Einstein, helping him to his feet. “And you, Kate Bishop,” continued Baron Typhonus, “such an innocent and pretty little thing. Lied to and deceived by everyone you know… your mother Sarah, who never told you what happened to your uncle Wallace; this man Einstein, who stole your uncle’s identity and has proven himself to be a traitor that no one can trust… and you, deceiving yourself this entire time, thinking that you’ll survive your mistake of joining the Dino Attack Team, a rash error made on poor judgment and an inability to realize the true horrors of war. Of course, things always are significantly worse when your commanding officer spends his free time abusing children.”Rotor flinched at that last comment.“And you, Peter Abody,” Baron Typhonus turned his attention to Frozeen. “How does it feel knowing that your past is so heavily linked to the Brickster? Did your time as The Phantom teach you that you cannot hide from your past? Are you still trying to forget about what you did to your old friend, Rebel Drone?”Frozeen’s face paled. “That wasn’t me!” he insisted. "I wasn't-"Baron Typhonus laughed. "I see you are still trying to blame it on the so-called 'Baron von Brickthief'. I guess your time as The Phantom taught you nothing after all."“What do you want?” snapped Rex.The Baron turned his attention towards Rex. “Ah, if it isn’t Elite Agent Rex. Once, you had power and respect. And now, what are you? A cripple. And worse. Tick, tock, tick, tock. Time really is a MegaBlok, isn’t it?”Rex was confused, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw Dr. Einstein’s eyes widen. “Oh?” mused the Baron. “You haven’t told him? And here, I thought that friendship was based upon honesty. But then again, Einstein, your reputation for honesty is far from clean, isn’t it? No matter, I can show him… myself!”Behind him, Rex heard Amanda Claw gasp and jump back. Rex looked down and was startled by what he saw: purple tendrils of Maelstrom energy wrapping around his legs. They moved like tentacles, but brushed against his body like a gentle breeze. Before he could do anything, his lower half was completely enveloped in Maelstrom energy.“Now, rise,” commanded Baron Typhonus.A surge of energy rushed through Rex’s legs. Instantly, Rex felt life in his once-lifeless limbs. Slowly and hesitantly, he wiggled his left foot. Gripping his handlebars for support, Rex slowly rose from his wheelchair and felt the temple floor meet his feet. Looking down upon himself, Rex realized he was standing. Standing! A thrill of joy, life, and energy rushed through his entire being. “How did you…?” murmured Rex, amazed.“Rex, no,” whispered Amanda. “It’s a trick, don’t trust him.”Rex turned back to face Amanda, and he saw that her expression was full of concern. This snapped him back to LEGO Planet. He knew he could trust her; they had learned during the LEGO Island mission the importance of complete honesty. Baron Typhonus, this shady being who created the Maelstrom, could not be trusted. Slowly, Rex turned to face the Baron once more. “You still haven’t answered my question,” he muttered grimly. “What do you want?”“To speak,” replied Baron Typhonus, turning his attention back towards Lord Sam Sinister, “with you, as one former baron to another. You remind me much of myself when I was your age… ambitious, proud, unafraid to do what must be done. So full of potential for greatness. In fact, this is a most rare occasion… I see you have brought me the Maelstrom Crystal, just as I asked of you.”Lord Sam Sinister nodded grimly, glancing down at the purple crystal in his hand.“No,” whispered Dr. Einstein.“Do you know what is so special about this crystal?” explained Baron Typhonus. “It was created by XERRD, while they still worked for Paradox, from crystallized samples of Maelstrom discovered at the ruins of the Mythran Temple on Crux Prime… the site where I had created both the Spider Boss and the Maelstrom so many years ago, now the one place in the whole universe where the Maelstrom is at its absolute full power. Since it was created from these immensely powerful energies, the Maelstrom Crystal contains an incredibly high concentration of Maelstrom. All the Maelstrom you see here, in this temple, is a mere fraction of the power contained in this crystal. It was created so that XERRD could have an ample amount of Maelstrom to study while on LEGO Planet, where my influence is not so great. However, it proved far too powerful and volatile, and when XERRD foolishly brought it to this Temple of Creation so that they may study its power, it reacted violently with the Imagination and corrupted this temple. To keep the corruption from spreading too quickly, XERRD locked away the Maelstrom Crystal in a pyramid on the other side of the island, but then, by no coincidence, it fell into your hands, Lord von Barron.”“You have told me that you wanted this crystal,” frowned Sam Sinister, “but why?”“Don’t you see?” grimaced Baron Typhonus. “My powers, even here, are far too weak. Although the Maelstrom Crystal corrupted most of the Imagination in this temple, just enough remains trapped in that orb, just enough to keep me at bay, just enough to contain my powers. If I am to extend my influence beyond this temple, I must overcome this barrier. Of course, since I grow more powerful with every passing day, I could wait it out until my presence here is strong enough to overcome this obstacle myself, but that would take far too long. The Maelstrom Crystal… it still contains such a high concentration of Maelstrom from Crux Prime that it can easily blotch out the Imagination and let me have my way. Of course, my energies would grow so powerful it could destroy everyone in this temple, but I’d hate to see such potential in you wasted. So, I shall spare you, Lord von Barron, but only if you pass this loyalty test. Give me the Maelstrom Crystal, and your destiny shall be sealed. You shall become my ally, and I shall grant you more power than you could ever possibly imagine. We were both once merely barons… and you, like me, can become something so much greater. Give me the Maelstrom Crystal.”“Don’t listen to him!” cried Dr. Einstein.“Silence, you old fool!” snapped Baron Typhonus. A bolt of lightning shot out of the Maelstrom vortex and struck the scientist once again.Rex opened his mouth to speak, but Baron Typhonus glared at him. “This is Lord Sinister’s test,” the Baron hissed. “None of you may interfere, or share the doctor’s fate.”Lord Sam Sinister stared down at the purple crystal, glowing in his hand. For several terrible minutes, he was silent in thought. At last, he raised his head and locked eyes with Baron Typhonus with such grim determination that no one had ever before seen on the face of the Lord von Barron.“For many years,” declared Lord Sinister, “I have hunted treasure across the globe in my quest to become rich and wealthy, driven by my greed. For years, my rivals have always managed to be one step ahead of me, and for the brief intervals in which I was ahead, I would fall behind… or rather, fall into a trap. What would I give to have the unlimited power that I so desire?”Baron Typhonus smiled darkly, and Rex paled. Maelstrom energy poured out of the vortex, inching towards Lord Sinister like two, smoky claws. Rex tried to take a step towards Sinister to warn him, but his legs would not comply. The Baron opened his mouth to speak, but Lord Sinister abruptly cut him off.“But now, after all these years, I see. I see as I have never before. In the past, I’ve always been blind, and that is how my rivals have always bested me. I’d blindly miss a crucial detail that would lead to my downfall. I’d blindly believe that I would win in the end. I’d blindly stumble into a… trap. And I am tired of being blind. I am tired of losing. I am tired of traps. And, for all my years of experience with traps, only now do I see clearly. This is a trap. Your promises of power and greatness, they are worth no more to me than that random yellow gem in the Temple of Mount Everest, or the treasure chest guarded by the scorpion’s claws in the Scorpion Palace. I am not a fool, Baron Typhonus! You are right about one thing, that I have a potential for greatness… but history shall not remember Lord Sam Sinister von Barron as the coward who always falls into traps. History shall remember me as the world’s greatest man who resisted your temptations and saved the world from destruction, and I do not even need Cleoptatra’s lousy time machine to accomplish this! Baron Typhonus, as the Lord von Barron, I reject your trap! I… SHALL NOT… FALL INTO ANY… MORE… TRAPS!”Everyone stared at the Lord von Barron with shock and awe. With that, Lord Sinister flung the Maelstrom Crystal onto the cold, stone floor and raised his foot, as though he intended to crush it under his boot.Baron Typhonus’s face contained barely-controlled fury. “Then you have sealed your doom,” he hissed. With that, his face underwent a most horrid transformation. His skin melted away, unveiling a skull blacker than night. His empty eye sockets were illuminated by bright red orbs that burned like fire. His suit turned pitch-black and featureless, and his cape became torn and frayed at the edges. Baron Typhonus, or rather the Darkitect, laughed, the horrible sound echoing through the chamber and resonating through the temple’s hallways.Frozeen was the first to act. He dived towards Lord Sinster and knocked out of the way before the claw-like tendrils of Maelstrom slammed into the spot where he stood moments before. The Maelstrom Crystal could not be picked up, but instead rolled away. In response, a pair of Stromling Explorers rose from the ground and lumbered towards the crystal.“Don’t let them get it!” shouted Rex, running alongside Amanda towards the Maelstrom Crystal. Greybeard fired at one Stromling Explorer with his flintlock pistol while Rotor gunned the other down with his weapon. As soon as the Stromlings were down, though, two more rose to take their place. Rotor continued to fire upon the Stromlings, while Greybeard was close enough to pick up the Maelstrom Crystal. With some hesitation, the pirate did so, knowing that it would alert every Maelstrom being in the area to his presence.Stromling Explorers rose by the dozen. Ignoring everyone else in the temple, they now limped towards Greybeard. A screech from high above gave away revealed that Mutant Pterosaurs now circled around the temple. Lord Sinister, the only one who could hold the crystal without attracting their attention, was still trying to recover, but Greybeard was already running. OOC: And now, the grand chessmaster of the Maelstrom and the Dino Attack is revealed: Baron Typhonus, also known as "The Darkitect". Our goal now? Keep the Maelstrom Crystal away from the Maelstrom until we can figure out how to stop it! And if you aren't already in the Maelstrom Temple, sounds like you've got some Mutant Pterosaurs (as well as other Mutant Dinos, presumably) to deal with...By the way, everything that I was writing for Lord Sam Sinister von Barron during this story arc has been building up to that moment. I hope it payed off well.

OOC: OOC: Just out of curiosity, when exactly does that place my last post, when Palmer tried to mess up Garry's mind by showing him Clark? It's just that he was in the exact same room less then a few feet away from Rex.Well, I was directly referring to Brikman's post, which came right before yours. In Brikman's post, it is shown that more Dino Attack agents are entering the temple and the remaining XERRD scientists, regrouping now under the command of Michelle Glados and Carolyne Provencal, have been ordered to attack Rex's group (Garry included). So, I'm not altogether sure how your post fits in this...OOC: The idea was for it to take place just after Frank Einstein revealed himself (Garry's outburst was the result of being annoyed that they were getting distracted from the task at hand). I get that there's a lot going on but it does seem odd that Rex is taking it so lightly that a projection just attacked Garry while accusing him of cold-blooded murder.As I said, I intended for my post to come before/during Brikman's post, so when Einstein was explaining everything to Rex, the illusion of Clark had yet to appear. That's why Rex would take it so lightly: because it had not happened yet. I'm thinking that Garry's outburst probably came just before Einstein could address the samurai; notice that he trailed off.IC: Rex grimaced as he saw the remaining XERRD scientists, who had since regrouped under the command of Michelle Glados and that female sorcerer whose name, Einstein had revealed to the Dino Attack agents in an aside, turned out to be Carolyne Provencal. Once again, they had missiles and black magic coming their way. "They just don't give up, do they?" Rex gritted his teeth."I can take them," boasted Rotor. "Problem is, looks like our friend here is having hallucinations.""It's Palmer!" insisted Garry. "He's the one that creating these illusions!"Frank Einstein frowned. "Most improbable. Palmer is merely a Stromling. While I have seen that some Stromlings here can disguise themselves, to create such illusions that directly play on the fears of the target... that is far too powerful for a Stromling. A much darker force here is at play. My allies in Paradox, such as Wisp Lee and Echs Ray, may know something about this, but unfortunately I had to leave with XERRD before I could hear the results of their findings.""So," inquired Rex as he fired at a XERRD scientist with his Cosmotronic Ray, "how do you intend to stop the Maelstrom?""Our key may be that statue," remarked Einstein as he pointed to the Imagination statue. "Since we don't have four hundred and twenty Maelstrom Vacuums with us, it's the only thing that can keep the Maelstrom's power in check, but it's not nearly powerful enough to actually close the vortex. I have a few ideas, but-""There he is!" suddenly screamed Garry. "Palmer!"Everyone whipped around and fired at where Garry pointed. Indeed, Rex caught a glimpse of the Stromling as it dodged the incoming fire. Luckily, it seemed that XERRD still had enough sense to shoot Stromlings, since a couple missiles and even a blast of dark magic came Palmer's way. However, Palmer disappeared into the Maelstrom fog and laughed. "Fools! I am the great Stromling Palmer! Not even Ahua or Virchaus was as powerful as me! I am the most powerful entity in this temple, and none of you can stop me... master of illusion and fear!""Where did he go?" Rex gritted his teeth, looking around for the Stromling. Then, Rex heard a most glorious sound... a series of corny one-liners marking the entrance of Rick "Adventure" Spherus. The rest of the Dino Attack Team, it seemed, was beginning to arrive. Glados and Provencal were forced to turn their attention to the newcomers, and although Glados continued her old teleportation trick while Provencal easily dispatched a Dino Attack agent in a single blast of her staff's dark magic, Rex was relieved that it was no longer just a small group of Dino Attack agents.Then, Rex heard a less comforting sound that seemed to send shivers down his spine. He turned and looked, and there he saw Palmer, kneeling before the Maelstrom vortex, with his hands pressed against his forehead and a most chilling scream emitting from his mouth.*****Just what do you think you are doing, Palmer?I am doing everything in my power to stop the Dino Attack agents and Xenon Elite Researchers Regarding Dinosaurs, just as you wish, my lord!Everything in your power?Yes!Wrong, Palmer. Wrong.But... but... my lord - Did you actually think that this is your power? That I would grant you, a mere Stromling, the ability to cast illusions playing off your opponents' fears, or the ability to telepathically summon all the Stromlings in the area? No. This is not your power. This is my power. I am the one who is creating these illusions, not you. Never again should you dare to make the mistake of proclaiming yourself on the same level as me. You're a pawn.But I have always been so loyal to you. Virchaus and Ahua, they were - Virchaus was weak-willed, but I allowed him to have greater powers than most Stromlings... it was in his nature. As for Ahua... his usefulness had run out. If you know what is good for you, you will not let me think the same of you. I hate underlings who try to take credit for their superiors.Then what do you wish me to do, my lord?Keep them busy, but know that I am the one in control. Your insight into Garry has proved useful, but I already know what the others fear. Keep them busy for now... I will soon have the power I desire, to do more than cast mere shadows. Even shadows have their uses... but if I were you, I would not spoil their appetites. The best is yet to come, and your... time... will come as well, Palmer.As you wish, my master.

OOC: OOC: Just out of curiosity, when exactly does that place my last post, when Palmer tried to mess up Garry's mind by showing him Clark? It's just that he was in the exact same room less then a few feet away from Rex.Well, I was directly referring to Brikman's post, which came right before yours. In Brikman's post, it is shown that more Dino Attack agents are entering the temple and the remaining XERRD scientists, regrouping now under the command of Michelle Glados and Carolyne Provencal, have been ordered to attack Rex's group (Garry included). So, I'm not altogether sure how your post fits in this...