The cold had been uncomfortable to begin with...now it was quickly becoming a hindrance.

Grak's thick fur kept him fairly warm under normal circumstances, but the
circumstances had bypassed normal quite some time ago. The biting wind would have been enough to chill him, but the wet snow was aggravating the
situation which progressed from bad to worse as he could actually feel his
limbs begining to numb. He did not entirely discourage this; he knew that
the less blood he needed to warm his extremities, the more he would have
available to preserve his internal organs. Still, it would never do to let
them freeze entirely.

Grak cursed his misfortune with VR2L's random placement system but did not
dwell on the matter. Had he been better equipped, he would have been able
to bear the cold without difficulty - had he not hunted many an ice dragon
and renegade Ice Lunatak in the past he had devised for his character? But
he was not prepared...had not even known what to expect from this game...and now he was in trouble.

At least he still had his survival knowlege skill...that counted for something. For instance, it had prevented him from desperately trying to
dig a shelter out of the shifting, granular snow. He knew that it would only shift and bury him and though he could walk for quite a long time in
the cold, he wouldn't get far without air.

But he *would* need a shelter, and soon. At the very least he would need a
rock face or firmer ground with which to build one. It did not help that
the blowing snow obscured his vision so that he could barely see one paw in
front of his face and though he stopped periodically to check the condition
of the snow beneath the firm crust upon which he walked, he found nothing
but the shifting, granular ice pellets.

Grak's situation was getting more desperate and he was seriously contemplating the possibility of "accidently" becoming unplugged from his
computer in an effort to restart under more favourable conditions when he
thought he spotted a flickering light from the corner of his eye. He turned
quickly to the left and peered into the darkness and blowing snow, certain
that what he'd seen had been little more than an optical illusion, but the
flickering repeated itself, glinting off the swirling snowflakes.

With renewed hope, Grak forced his aching legs to move him toward this sign
of civilization.

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

"Allies-s, yes-s-s?" mused Slythe as he looked over the two newcomers. Capresono slumped lazily in his chair with a self-assured smile, commanding
the space around him. Don Karnage, despite his vocabulary quirks, projected
a much greater air of authority.
"Yes indeedy...the prisoner-types are for your keeping," grinned Karnage,
"but we are needing favours. Food, beds, and transporation of a vehicular
nature for my marvelousest self."

"I can fit in almost anywhere...infiltrate almost any group," interrupted
Capressono.

"Aye! And I have many things in my knowledge. Makings of planes and other
weapons of attack!" continued Don Karnage.

"Are you s-some s-sort of weapons-s genius-s?" said Slythe sceptically as
he eyed the canine outlaw.

"Not only am I a genius, but I am very smart too!" declared Karnage, pounding one fist on the table in front of him for emphasis. "I can bring
your Mutants to the highest heights of lowness! There will be much loot and
plunder for all!"

"I know he sounds crazy," said Capresono conspiratorily to the Reptilian
leader, "but he *is* the one who came up with the plan to capture the prisoners we brought with us."
"ACK! Did you say I am crazy?" gasped Don Karnage defensively. "Never call
me that word! It is almost worse than 'Donny'...a name for which you will
be shooted!" he informed the Mutant guards at the door to keep them from
getting ideas.
Slythe was considering the wisdom of letting the pair stay in Castle Plun-darr when the mini counsel was interrupted by a knock at the door. "What is-s it?" he snarled irritably. Simply dealing with these buffoons
who claimed to be allies was grating on his nerves. And yet, they *had* brought in an inordinate amount of prisoners...he could not simply dismiss
them.

The Reptilian guard who entered bowed as low as his hunched body would allow. "S-s-slythe," he said respectfully, "Vultureman is-s picking up s-strange readings-s from the s-s-small island just off Plun-darr's coas-s-st."

Slythe looked his warrior over suspiciously. The Reptilian shifted uncomfortably under the gaze and it was obvious that he was hiding something. "Yes-s-s?" he prompted. "Was there s-something els-s-se you'd
like to share?"

The lesser Reptilian hemmed and hawed before blurting out: "The s-s-scouting party has-s been decimated. Only three of them remain and S-s-sazir is-s not in the best of conditions-s...but his captors will not
give him over to us-s until they are permitted to s-speak with you."

"S-s-so?" snorted Slythe. "Tell the others-s to kill the S-s-sazir and any
others who are liabilities-s. Then they may kill the intruders-s. Weak s-soldiers are useless-s to me, yes-s?"

The other Reptilian hesitated then swallowed and forged ahead. "Well...it's
jus-st that...they are quite s-strong. One in particular is-s very large
and...well...he has-s-s a lot of teeth."

"Teeth?" snarled Slythe nearing the limit of his patience.

"Many...many...sharp...teeth," emphasised the other Reptilian nervously.

"Ah, the genius that is me is thinking that these are player-type persons of evil intent," whispered Don Karnage to Capresono.

"I'd bet money that anything having to do with sharp teeth is Shark," replied the other under his breath. "Now be quiet before they figure out
that we know something."

But Slythe paid them only the most rudementary of attention as he seemed to
be trying to gather his strength to keep from strangling the envoy. "Fine,"
he hissed slowly and deliberately. "Bring them here...we will s-see what
use they might be to me."

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

"Ish that all?" snorted Shark with contempt.

"Hey, don't knock a good thing!" exclaimed Casca. "So all we have to do is
find out what's causing the weird readings on your sensors?"

"How demeanating! I am a feared pirate, not a dog!" declared Don Karnage
before remembering his canine appearance. "That is to say that I am a feared fox-wolf pirate...not a fetching dog with the little yaps!"

"A folf!" declared Casca.

"Are you mockering me?" said Karnage, eying the jaguar suspiciously. "I do
not trust you cat-type persons..."

"No, a folf...part fox and part wolf. 'F'...'olf'. Folf. Get it?" grinned Casca.

"Shnot funny."

"Of course it is not funny! The dread pirate Don Karnage is nothing to laugh in the face about!" said the canine, slamming his fist into his hand.
"But it is indeed accurate."

"Enough of this! Let's just get the job over and done with and then we can
get back to Castle Plun-darr and go out working our experience and power
levels right off the game charts!" interrupted Capresono.

"Mob-boy is right!" said Casca before turning to Capresono. "Sorry man, but
you really make me think of a made for TV mafia flick. No offense."

"None taken...yet."

"So how do we go about this?"

"I'll go," volunteered Shark. "I can shwim fashter than any of you."

"What if you meet up with some kind of trouble?" asked Capresono. Shark grinned at him, showing as many teeth as possible. "Well, I guess you have
that well in hand...but I think Slythe wants whatever's there back alive."

"If I can't get it alive, I'll shwim for back-up."

"Wait...what if he CAN handle it alone!" protested Casca. "Then only he will look like a big tough Mutant and the rest of us will get kicked out."

"Nonononono...Don Karnage must find a place here at Castle Plun-dar," insisted the canine pirate. "Only here will they be building my beautiful
plane!"

"Hey...we can always tell them that a big part of handling a situation has
to do with delegating chores," explained Capresono. "If we all go, we'll
look like a three stooges routine. Or worse...like Monkian and Jackalman.
This way we get the job done quickly. Shark's the obvious choice to investigate...if he can bring the suspected intruder back with him...bonus.
If not, well at least he has the skills to check things out *before* we make ourselves look like idiots."

"Okay, Shark goes out and we wait. But don't go eating anyone unless absolutely necessary, okay?"

"Not even a nibble?" sulked Shark.

"NO!"

"Okay! Okay! Trusht me...no nibblsh," called Shark as he slipped into the
water, morphing his legs into a tail and heading toward the small island.

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

Lepris looked out across the water from his hiding place in the nooks and
crannies of the rocky island. He had started to believe that the stretch of
shore that was his closest link to the mainland was unpatroled despite its
proximity to Castle Plun-darr, but this studden activity on the beach was
causing him to change his mind.

Hunkering down to avoid notice, Lepris could hear the distinct rise and fall of voices engaged in an argument. Though the sound travelled well across the water, the words themselves were indistinct. He did feel, however, that all the speakers were male.

*What a way to start a game,* he sighed to himself. He supposed he could
sign off and try again, but he really wanted to play Lepris and he wasn't
sure he would be able to resart with the same characters. He might be locked in this situation until he found a way out.

The figures on the beach were moving again. One of them seemed to be wading
into the water and heading for his island. This cheered Lepris up a little.
He didn't think any of the Mutants were the swimming types so the approaching creature might be friendly. It might even be another player!

The young leopard was so excited by this thought that he nearly ran right
out to meet the approaching figure. He only just held himself back when he
noticed how quickly it was swimming. The water heaved in its wake, forming
a delicate 'v' pattern. Whatever it was, it was swimming too fast to be a human.
*A mer-human?* Lepris wondered furtively as he pulled his head back into
his hiding place and tried to decide what the approaching creature might
be. The only merpeople he could recall from Thundercats was a vampire mermaid which had tried to enthrall Tygra. That was *one* creature he could
do without meeting. He hoped that was not the thing that was approaching.

Evidently it was faster than he had first thought...he could hear it climbing up onto the shore of the island. And no doubt it was at least partly human as Lepris could hear it mutter to itself, "Shtupid weeds...shtupid, shtupid weeds..."

Steeling himself for battle, Lepris drew out his throwing disks and leapt
from his hiding place as he heard the creature draw near. "Stay back!" he
demanded, one arm pulled back to throw.

The shark-like creature jumped back, blinking in surprise. "A kitty?" he
seemed to ask no one in particular. "A Thunderian kitty? You're a player!"

Lepris couldn't help shrinking back guiltily. The statement almost felt like an accusation. "Uh...yeah," he replied, mentally kicking himself for
sounding so stupid.

"Can't eat a player," sulked the shark. "Not yet anyway."

"Say...you're Shark, aren't you?" said Lepris, relaxing somewhat and lowering his weapon. He recognized the name from the fanfic list and coupled with the appearance, the creature's identity was obvious.

"Er...yeah. I'm Shark. And you?"

"Lepris."

"'Thundercat Trainee'?" prompted Shark. When the Thunderian nodded shyly,
Shark grinned. "Pleashed to meet you, Leprish!" he grinned holding out a
hand. "Why are you on an island?"

"I got stuck here when I stepped into the game," laughed Lepris with relief
as he took the Shark's hand. You don't know how glad I am to see a friendly
face! So to speak. I was sure you'd be a Mutant or something."

"Could've been," admitted Shark. "Castle Plun-darr ish near here." He leaned close to Lepris. "Jusht between you an' me...you might shoon wish
you'd stayed hidden on the island."

"Oh," frowned Lepris in concern, "are there Mutants out looking for me?"

"You could shay that," replied Shark, grabbing the young Thunderian around
the neck. Though his body was streamlined for swimming, it was powerful and
Lepris' vision began to fade before he could even raise one of his bladed
disks. Right before the world went black he could hear Shark's voice as he
continued to speak. "Nothing pershonal," the man-shark said, "but Shlythe'sh deshided that you will be his newesht prishoner."

Then Lepris slumped forward and knew no more.

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

Grak's hand touched a door. Though he couldn't see an inch in front of his
own snout, Grak was quite certain that this was a door. It was rough and
weathered and quite solid...a welcome change from the blowing snow and howling winds.

Without hesitation, he pounded on the portal but despite the strength of
his knocking, he recieved no answer. Though he was loath to commit any form
of breaking and entering, he did not think he could survive much longer under these conditions. He might be strong, but he was not invulnerable.
Besides, in this weather he had no idea how large a structure the door was
attached too. For all he knew he could be pounding against the outer door
of an abandoned storage room...or storage shed for that matter. The people
who lived here could be too far away to hear him or indeed there might be
no one living here at all!

Deciding to chance capture and punishment, Grak felt along the door until

he could find the handle and the latch. He was gratified to find that it
was barred from the inside...a situation easily remedied with his knife. He
slid the long blade carefully between the door and the wall and manoeuvred
it under the narrow beam that he found there. It was heavy enough and difficult to move, but Grak was still strong, despite his ordeal, and the
game knife showed no sign of snapping. With some very gentle levering, the
canine bounty hunter managed to lift the bar out of it's cradle and he signed in thanks as he heard it crash to the floor on the other side. Lifting the latch, he stepped through the door, shutting and barring it once again before even taking in his surroundings. Once the door was secured he could look around at his leisure.
He had been right in assuming that the door had led to a store room. Around
him were piled old pieces of furniture and other things that would not be
harmed by cold storage. Indeed, though the room was an improvement over the
storm outside, it was still quite chilly and obviously unheated.

He supposed he could wait out the storm undetected, but Grak detested evil
and would not violate another's home. He was certainly strong enough to protect himself from commoners and they deserved to know that he was sharing their home. And if the inhabitants should prove to be unfriendly...well, he was due for a fight.

But he did not think it would come to that.

Thus decided, Grak moved across the storeroom and out into the hall beyond.
He had barely gone the length of the corridor when a sharp feline growl stopped him in his tracks. He barely had time to turn around before the humongous snowcat leapt at him, knocking him to the ground. Its breath was
hot and smelled of sour meat as it alternatively bared its teeth at him and
snuffled his face and hair, tasting his scent. Grak did not move. He was
not particularly afraid, but he wasn't stupid either. Besides, he truly meant no harm and had no need to make any sudden moves.

Once satisfied, the cat backed off of him, but still snarled when he moved
too quickly in his efforts to get up. Grak eased himself into a sitting position and couldn't help feeling relief wash over him as a familiar voice
rang out.

"Snowmeow! Stand down!" said Snowman firmly as he arrived on scene. "What
have you caught for me today...a little thief?"

"No...no thief. Really," replied Grak, supprised by the weakness of his voice and the hoarseness of his throat. He supposed that it was due to inhaling the harsh winds. "I...I was lost in the storm. I ran into the storeroom door and broke in to escape the cold. I wouldn't have, but...but
no one answer..."

Grak's speech dissolved into a fit of dry coughs as his throat refused to
allow any more words past it's parched walls.

Snowman looked at him suspiciously for a moment and then held out his hand.
A large and powerful man, it was no trouble for him to pull Grak to his feet. "Come with me and we well get you a hot drink. When your throat is
well, you will tell your story. But remember that Snowmeow is watching you..."

Grak nodded his understanding and followed the warrior down the hall.

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