"I still want to explore that cave," grumbled Sonarion.

"Look," said Cheezey firmly, but with a distinct edge, "after trying to either outrun or turn away an entire forest full of gigantic insects, we are NOT taking anymore chances. Who knows what could have been in there?" She rubbed her temples in slow circles. "Shit...I think my brain's going to explode. I am *never* trying to project my will on that many creatures at once ever again..."

"But I swear there was no sound coming out of the cave!" protested Sonarion. "It was completely quiet!"

"An ever better reason to stay away," sighed Cheezey. "Don't you want to get to Darkside at all?"

"Well, yeah," snorted Sonarion in a don't-be-stupid tone of voice. "But I want some adventure too."

"Believe me...there will be plenty of adventure in Darkside. After all, it's mostly unexplored. You can get into all the trouble you want...just as long as there are no big bugs and I'm behind the walls of Skytomb."

"True. Think we'll be there soon?"

Cheezey shrugged. "I don't know...and to tell you the truth, I'm not up to squinting at a computer map right now."

"I'll do it! Computer, show map!" commanded Sonarion. The young Lunatak mused over the patchwork of colours and signs as the screen floated along beside him. "Wow! Did we ever go a long way today! I'm surprised we still have daylight!"

Cheezey was somewhat surprised by this and mulled it over as she walked. "I wonder why? It could be summer here, I suppose; longer days. Or this could be normal...we could have all arrived here very late in the day yesterday - game-wise."

"Travel time might be faster here than in real life," suggested Sonarion. "Well, they do it in other games," he added defensively when Cheezey gave him an odd look.

"You know," mused Cheezey, "that might not be far from the truth."

"I know these things," Sonarion assured her.

"Ri-ight. So, Mr. Know-it-all...how far are we from Darkside?"

"Um...no idea. But it's closer than the riverbank and over there," he said, pointing.

"Hmmm...hills ahead. Think we'll be able to see the edge of the Firerock mountains from the top?"

"Um...probably," replied Sonarion, tracing part of the map with his finger. "I don't know just how far away they'll be, but we should be able to see them on the horizon at least. Maybe even the forest of mists."

"Great!" said Cheezey brightly, the good news helping her headache considerably. "Think you're up to a bit of a forced march? I'd like to at least get in sight of Darkside tonight..."

"Up to it? I'll lead!" declared Sonarion, bounding ahead.

*********************

Fuzzball slowed his gait from a run to a mere trot to take in his postion. After the narrow escape from the giants, he was avoiding any large expanses of any kind that appeared on the map, be it plain, forest, or hills. The strategy had served him well; he'd made good time and could see the river in the distance.

Pausing momentarily to check his map once again, the Snarf noted that both Castle Plundarr and Mumm-ra's pyramid lay in the direction he was heading. The former was a little closer, but he wasn't sure he was ready to deal with Mutants. Then again, he wasn't sure he wanted to deal with Mumm-ra either. What he wanted was to find someone...preferably someone not too stupid...who could build him an air vehicle so that he could put his aviation skills to good use.

That and get him from place to place much more swiftly. He hadn't taken into account the fact that his shorter legs made for a much longer travel time.

Still, none of that mattered now...he was almost at the Bridge of Slime which would take him across the river and bring him that much closer to those most likely to help him. As he approached he thought he could see a pair of figures on the other side beginning to make their careful way across the slick stone.

Ian and GB Jazzman made their way over the spindly bridge that spanned the churning water...although water was a questionable term for the dark, soupy sludge that made up the river below. The mad indicated that they were hear the mouth of the River of Despair, but it didn't looks as though the river could empty out into any body of water other than a sewer. Noxious fumes rose from the poisonous liquid below and it was difficult to keep one's balance.

"Damn...is that a tentacle?" gaped Ian as the writhing thing surfaced and then submerged once again.

"Do *not* even suggest that," said Jazzman, concentrating on keeping his balance. Even his boots, designed specifically for rough terrain, were having trouble keeping their grip.

"Watch it, there's a really slimy part coming up." the soldier turned to warn the musician before one foot skidded sideways. With a scrambling quick-step, he regained his balance as Jazzman laughed.

"Yeah, I noticed," he grinned.

Things went well for a while as careful steps managed to bring them near the middle of the arch, but a thin layer of moss was soon to change things. With no choice but to make their way over the shifting, sliding stuff, Ian was loathe to take his attention off the place where his feet were stepping. Still, he had to see where he was headed.

Looking up, he thought he saw a figure on the opposite bank and in his moment of surprise, his foot slipped sideways, throwing him off-balance. He felt Jazzman grab his backpack and shift its weight which allowed him to regain his footing, but in doing so, the musician himself was unbalanced and with no one behind to steady *him*, he toppled over the bridge with a shout of alarm.

Whether it was chance or circumstance, GB Jazzman *did* manage to grab his hunting knife in those few seconds. He grabbed at the bridge surface as he slid down and, knowing he wouldn't be able to grip at the slimy surface for long, jammed the blade into a chink in the stone which gave him a little more stability. By the time the dirt and grit beneath the blade gave way, Ian had managed to drop to a sitting position and get turned around, straddling the narrow arch as best he coule with his legs and leaning forward to grab Jazzman's arm.

"SHIT!" gasped Jazzman, fighting panic as he reached up to cling to Ian's jacket. "Drop me and I'll haunt you...I fucking swear it!"

"That's...not too...mellow...Jazzman," gasped Ian, trying to pull his companion back up onto the relative safety of the bridge.

"You be mellow hanging over this shit!"

Ian declined to comment further, saving his breath for the job at hand. Grunting with exertion, he managed to pull the musician up to the point where he could wrap one arm around the bridge and then sling one leg over the arch so that he and Ian lay facing each other.

"See if I ever try to save your ass again," panted GB Jazzman.

"Well, we're even now," grinned Ian in reply.

The pair managed to carefully get to their feet, most of the slime scraped away by their mad scramble, and cross the rest of the bridge with only a few minor scares. Once across they came face to face - or rather knee to face - with a smirking Snarf who applauded their efforts almost sarcastically.

"Great floor show...does it come with a meal?"

"Let me guess," said GB Jazzman, covered in slime, "Fuzzball, right?"

"The one and only...but what are *you*, Swamp Thing?" the Snarf prodded him.

Both looked down to find themselves coated in the sludge which had covered the bridge. "Trying to stay alive tends to distract you from things like laundry," said Ian sardonically, brushing ineffectively at his uniform. "I don't suppose there's a laudromat around here anywhere..."

"You could use a creek," suggested Fuzzball. "But you'd better do it quick before the new regime implements a tax."

"New regime?" asked Jazzman.

"I'm going to rule this two-bit virtual world," declared Fuzzball. "Your bitmaps will be mine! Although I'd much prefer a Warrior Maiden's bitmap..."

"Speaking of bitmaps, I'm not sitting next to an unfamiliar stream in my underwear because of a little slime," said Ian. "Besides, the faster I get to Cat's Lair, the faster I can track down Laura."

"If they'll let you in, looking like that," snorted Fuzzball.

"Anyone else hear screaming?" asked GB Jazzman.

"It's an echo from the future...a good omen for me," grinned the mad Snarf.

"Come to think of it, I do," replied Ian. "I'm going to check it out...it might be another group of players...or any other potential ally."

"I'll go with you," said the musician. "I'm looking for a few players myself. Coming, Fuzz?"

Fuzzball was about to decline the offer, but curiosity got the better of him and he chased after the two humans. Besides, if there was going to be madness and chaos here, he was going to be a part of it!

*********************

Kith froze as the wall of insects poured down upon them, but once the original shock had dissipated, he threw his scry-ball into the air and called a wind to carry it up over the swarm before turning to run from the buzzing mass of insects. He soon caught up to Thunderwolf. "I sent the camera up to see if there's a way out of this mess," he said. "Maybe there's a clear area to run to."

"It's not running away," growled the lion. "It's a strategic withdrawl of forces."

"Right," said Kith.

"BAST! DEMON!" hollered Thunderwolf, ignoring the elf's sarcasm. "SPLIT UP! Kith, break," he ordered at the elf, falling back and bolting right even as Bast veered left up ahead. Seeing Demonprist dodge toward the river, Kith swerved vaguely back toward the edge of the swamp and suddenly doubled back as he heard the body of pests rise in a wave behind him. His sudden manoeuvre worked and the quivering horde fell in a column at the centre of the four points created by the travellers.

"Fuck this shit!" snapped Demonprist, turning and pointing her staff at the regrouping swarm. The eyes of the golden serpent glowed a hellish red and the smooth ruby gem in its mouth belched an arc of flame at the insects. Thousands of tiny, scorched bodies fell to the ground, but the swarm as a whole was unharmed, rising into the air and descending upon the Avatar as she blasted frantically with her fire staff.

"Demon, stop!" shouted Kith in realization, running forward again to join Thunderwolf as Bast turned and headed back toward them. "Fire's just a beacon! They're attracted to the light!"

Unheading or uncaring, Demonprist continued to blast at the tiny creatures even as they beelined for her, but no matter how many charred bodies fell to the earth, the monstrous swarm seemed no smaller.

"What the hell *are* those creatures?" growled Thunderwolf.

"Don't look at me!" protested Kith. "Ask the game function!"

"Good idea," snarled the lion, eyes narrowing as he turned to Bast. "What's going on here?" he demanded. "And how do we make it stop?"

He was somewhat surprised when Bast came to an abrupt stop and blinked once. He could almost imagine the audible click of a recorded message being switched on as the feline Avatar cocked her head at him and said: "This is the midge monster. It is composed of millions of tiny insects called midges. Alone their bites are little more than irritating, but together they can ravage mid- to small-sized animals. As a single masse they have the power and strength of a solid creature, but because it is made up of so many tiny units it is invulnerable to conventional attacks. Fire will destroy the midge monster, but a fire strong enough to do so would also ravage many square miles of forest."

"Great," snorted Thunderwolf, drawing his mace and turning away from the cat woman and running to assist Demonprist. "That's the best you can come up with?"

"There is one other option," admitted Bast, keeping in step.

"Not that I see," said Kith, coming into stride with the others. He was consulting his newly caught sphere. "They blanket the area when they swarm up into the air."

"Actually I was thinking more along the lines of this!" laughed Bast, hopping slightly to reach Thunderwolf's shoulders and using her weight to slow him down.

"HEY!" protested the lion - forced to bend backward slightly - with a hostile edge. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Rant and roar, TW," grinned Bast nastily as she dug the claws of her right hand into the Thunderian's lower back.

Thunderwolf *did* roar; more in surprise than pain though the jab was accompanied by a surge of almost electrical power that made his fur stand on end. Only Kith could see the lion's eyes flash a brilliant yellow and the look of absolute shock on his face as a sharp inhalation of surprise actually drew the swarming midges back toward them.

"That's it...inhale," hissed the cat-woman, jumping onto the lion's back to reach over his shoulder and send a second jolt of energy into his chest. Breathing in far more deeply than mortally possibly, Thunderwolf drew the midge monster back and into himself, not so much swallowing as simply absorbing the insects.

"That was...really disgusting," said Kith in wonder as Thunderwolf closed his mouth over the last of the insects.

"I don't care! I don't care!" ranted Demonprist, brushing frantically at her hair and armour. "I hate bugs...I HATE THEM!"

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!?!" roared Thunderwolf, reaching behind to grab the slight Avatar and yank her over his back. Bast made a mewling "gleep" sound as the lion gripped her by her arms and dangled her off the ground. "WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING? DON'T *EVER* FUCK WITH MY CHARACTER WITHOUT MY PERMISSION!"

"You *asked* for a way to get rid of the midges," sniffed Bast with derision. "The power's gone now...although I *could* show you how to bring them back," she added slyly. "It's not like you swallowed them...they just warped out of existence. For now."

"Just...just...put her down, Thunderwolf," snapped Demonprist, rubbing at the tiny bite marks that speckled her cheeks. "Just put her down so *I* can kill her. You knew they were there, you bitch!"

"I knew they were *around*," admitted Bast. "But I didn't know exactly where. Look...it's over with now so how about putting me down so that we can go to the Pyramid. That's where you want to go, isn't it?" the cat grinned.

"Guys, shut-up and look at this," said Kith, looking in his scry-ball. "We're about to have visitors coming from the direction of the bridge."

"Can't greet visitors in this position," grinned Bast at Thunderwolf. "A cat isn't a very good welcoming gift."

Thunderwolf gritted his teeth and put the Avatar down on her feet. "Don't EVER do that again," he growled at her, "or I will personally mash you into a pulp."

"Oh, don't do that," gasped Bast, feigning shock. "You wouldn't like me when I'm dead."

"Come on! One of them looks like a Snarf," prodded Kith, gazing into his scry-ball.

"Alright," grumbled Demonprist. "Let's go see these players...but only because they're on the way to the Pyramid. Assuming nothing *else* is lying in wait for us along the way."

"That's what games *do*!" said the feline Avatar sagely before skipping ahead to join Kith's less abrasive company and give the others a chance to cool down.

"I still hate bugs," Demonprist hissed to herself as she readjusted her pack and followed along behind the others.

*********************