Gadget Boy: Accepting and Escaping Tomorrow

by systemcat

Set months after the events in B-Side Tracks, for everyone things are changing. RAGE is in fear of doomsday and it's leaders want to escape that. JOY showing signs of what is to come. Jake and Heather are preparing to not only move forward in their lives, but also deal with RAGE's latest plot.

Gadget Boy: Accepting and Escaping Tomorrow Written by: Erin Weinstock

Chapter 1:

Los Angeles in October. Something Sybil Hunter couldn't think to try and appreciate last year when still settling into the town. At that time she and her husband were busy and that busyness had them not in the best of places. A rotten looking motel followed by the meat can home as Kein had called it. The meat can was their way to keep close tabs on the construction of RAGE's new headquarters. Both of them wanted more workspace. Only she had wanted the tight control over the workers. Only her husband Kein had wanted the meat can. One of their early fights. She felt like she had won it only when they both discovered the lodging he'd purchased was no where near as comfortable as he had been hoping it would be.

Now that they had their new base of operations for Radical Aggression to Genuine Elysium, she felt more at ease with her environment. No large machinery moving about. No shouting workers, or at least ones she couldn't control. Not a real care to bother her except when Kein didn't comply with her wishes. Her personal servants. Her guiding spirits. Faulty wiring on floors one and two of the complex. Plus of course the interference which kept visiting in from the east coast. Here on the seventh floor far from the work offices on it's opposite side and downwards, was her new home.

Smiling she opened the window positioned behind her favorite chair. Closing her eyes at the feel of the new air entering her personal space, she sharply inhaled it. A moment later she coughed it out and closed the window. Maybe she thought there was some small point to staying in a mountain town in the middle of nothing but she'd never admit that to anyone.

Walking over to the door of the allocated apartment space of the headquarters, she snatched up the mail which had been failed to be picked up the evening before. One of her servants she wasn't sure which of the imps, given they looked virtually identical to each other. One had been charged with the task of getting the mail and delivering it to her home & setting it down on the kitchen table. Instead she noted the scaly little disease carrying thickhead, had only slipped it just inside the place, moving the welcoming mat a little in the process.

Sitting down to read the latest issued magazine of 3 Stones Fate, more time to try and relax, soaking in the morning in ease, failed. A matter she'd felt nervous and fearful about for years was yet again having public attention drawn to it. The coming end of the world at the end of the century at just a few years away.

Awake but not feeling the need to just yet take on the day. Not feeling the need to walk to the bathroom or make toast or even change out of his clothes from the previous day. Kein laid on what most of the time acted as his bed, the living room sofa. Wanting to check on the outside world minus reports which could be delivered from employees under him or checking for if he'd failed to notice, the newspaper at the door when he'd come in the night before, using that. He instead grabbed for the TV remote, turning on the set and flipping it's set channel to seven, for it's morning news show.

Shortly into watching the on the scene reporter from the show, wave to a crash behind him on the Alondra Boulevard Bridge, his TV got cut short. A tall from his vantage point, presents was now standing in front of it looking down at him clearly upset. Knowing the presents couldn't be reasoned with to move out away from blocking his view of the news program, he offered Sybil the remote.

When she took it from him, she promptly shut off the television. Looking down at him, looking panicked and too energized for shortly after eight thirty am, she stated. "We have to defeat dying at the end of the world, I don't want to be here when it happens!"

Closing his eyes and slumping down onto the cushion he'd been using as a pillow, Doctor Hunter replied. "We could just try living in one of the other realms, theewait. I hear they're comfy."

After shaking her head no and taking on a look perplexed at the man, she replied. "Did you hear a word of what was said at the board meeting last Wednesday? They can move between worlds. They can move objects back and forth. We, us normal mortals can't!"

Resisting the urge to roll his eyes about failing to take in the fine details of the meeting spoken of. The meeting he'd been somewhat distracted during because of hearing of a Jorogumo getting into the building and clashing violently with one of the new Draugrs hired from a summoning done a few weeks before. Kein instead turned and went on to his side, facing away from his wife towards the couch.

"I'm sure we can nip this problem before the next millennium comes. We have nearly ten years to devise a way to do it."

Annoyed, a feeling tinged also with fear, tinged also with impatience, Sybil stated. "We'll find a way now!"

Knowing that sound in her voice, not even looking to his wife but view fixed at the finely woven fabric of the back bracing cushion nearest his head of the sofa. Kein flinched in readiness to be smacked by either a kick or womp with the remote in Sybil's hand if he failed to say the next thing right. "We will find a way! I swear I'll get our guys right on it. We'll get the lizards Mulch & Humus in the lead, they know a bit about traveling between realms!"

"They aren't lizards. You know they aren't lizards, second it's nice to know for once you agree with me on something. Get up, we have an end of time bomb shelter to figure out!" She stated, and much to his surprise and relief her next action wasn't hitting him, it was simply walking away from him. Sighing and rolling on to his back, Kein looked up at the ceiling and wondered how to the many hells he knew of could do what she wanted to be pulled off.

Chapter 2:

Poking at one of the near invisible buttons integrated into his left arm, Jake admittedly pushed out of his mind words he'd been told last November.

. Do not fiddle with your augmentations.

. Always consult professionals working in the field of Bio-Technology before doing anything other then basic operations.

. Do not let common doctors make changes.

To Jake's thoughts on those words he felt they shouldn't be staple to his life. People knowledgeable in the field of Bio-Technology were scarce. To his knowledge he only knew of Myron Fricker, a couple underlings in his employ, and people whom he'd never met before but had published papers on the work. If Myron disappeared from his life or anyone connected to him did, he'd be up a creek.

"Having a problem?" Just the last person on Jake's mind he wanted to notice of him taking action, asked.

"Teach me," Jake Anatech replied to the bio-technician.

Placing down a newly shipped to him box filled with lab equipment on the top of a supply cabinet, the specialist replied. "You worry too much. I highly doubt what you think is happening is."

"Dabble, I came into JOY back in '83 and only back then did I notice high activity. I'm told this place was more active back in the late 50's when it started. It's winding down more and more." Knowing this was a touche subject, Jake paused taking a breath before continuing to say his next words. "You need to teach me how I can work on myself before you leave."

Taking on a look of concern but not wanting to admit maybe just maybe the kid had a point. Myron found a different subject to focus on between the two of them in his work space. Jake's dog G9 made for a perfect distraction from talking of what might be. As per normal the animal fitted with a high tech micro-computer brain wasn't acting like an average canine. He was nosing at the boxes that had not been picked up yet after having been delivered, unlike the one that had just been placed on the cabinet. G9 had an odd quirk to him. Normal dogs yes did chew on things which weren't meant to be eaten. Normally they had the commonsense not to eat the things they chewed on like this. This dog however didn't have that commonsense. G9 ate things no animal should. Wires, wood, cardboard, circuit boards, boxes of unsharpened pencils. The worse thing the cyborg dog had ever eaten was an ink cartage. Not only was that a matter for it's health it was also a matter for the beige carpeted office he was laying on while eating it. Myron was sure one day the dog would die die and need then a new body, not just a new brain. He blamed unknown fault in programming for the animal's behavior. Whether done by him or one of his colleagues, he didn't want to stress thought on.

Grabbing the collar of the cyborg dog gently to lift him away from his next potential meal of lord knew what. Myron ushered G9, still with a grip on his collar to out of the room, all the while saying lightly, "out out out. Find something else. Find kibble. Find meat. Find what dogs should eat!"

At the door, breaking his grip of the collar, letting the dog go into the hallway, Myron was sure his attention would have quickly left the dog anyway. Standing before him, acting like she wanted to move into the room he now stood in it's entrance to, Heather Tabin looked down at him. Bent over from having to escort her friend's pet, Myron sprung backwards and up to full height in recognition of her presence. He hoped she didn't notice him blushing which he had done more than once in her presence, coming to him at unexpected times.

"What brings you here Ms. Tabin I mean Heather, um agent, officer." The specialist shot out uncoordinated at her.

To his surprise she was the one who, was she faltering too? Was it not as unrequited as he thought it was?! Years of admiring, months of getting to know her through her partner of them being together. Was she verging on finally asking him out?

"I need your help Dabble." She asked him a little sheepishly.

Falling in the door frame, smiling he replied, "with what?"

Taking in a sharp breath in preparation to admit she couldn't do something, a rare moment and she knew confronting Fricker about such a matter, awkward. Heather answered him, "I need help with installing Windows 3.0, I don't know how to make software permanent in a computer."

Dropping his expression of pure delight to a more subtle one that conveyed different exhilaration. Myron pulled away from blocking the room to still holding it's frame with one hand and with the other motioned for her to enter his lab. "We can use my computer for that. Come in, come in!"

Grinning from ear to ear, he watched her find her way to his computer desk. Knowing how smart she was, a little question now tugged at his mind he had to voice as she started to sit down. "That software came out last May. I'm shocked by this. Why don't you know how?" He trailed off in the question, unsure how to continue without making her feel embarrassed about the subject of her computing skills.

Sighing as she flipped the power button behind the tower, she answered him and then proceeded to press the power button for the monitor. "I don't use computers much. I only currently know how to type reports and insert & run floppies."

Grabbing a chair from a desk belonging to a co-worker, Myron pulled it up to beside her. Bubbling with energy he pulled out it's top most drawer to him and removed an SRW Mircodex holder, the thing had been tightly stuffed inside. Rummaging to it's back he grabbed out disk packets he knew hadn't seen use yet from it. "Not an operating system, the most vital piece of software a computer needs. I'll show you how to install something different. Not simply have it committed to memory. Pick a packet."

As Myron held the plastic wrapped bundles of discs before her, she couldn't help but take his words in a different manner than he meant them. She had to question him now. "Not commit to memory? Like not how Jake takes in scanned digitized information?"

Jake having heard the comment, something he couldn't help but do as with the fact he'd been watching with bemused interest the twos interaction since it had started, Jake chuckled. This when noticed by this partner, earned him a lite scowl. When also noted by Myron from him a twitch of a smile before he explained to her what she had made a mistake about. Two very different forms of memory. "Memory as in RAM."

Heather looking baffled and not knowing what to say next. The term RAM also needed much explanation to her. A term Myron knew, Jake knew, and most anyone else used to being in the lab knew. Grabbing a book off a shelf but sill fixed on watching them, Jake now laughed. The specialist not wanting to have his teaching lesson interrupted chose then to take one second away from that for a different matter. "Jake, could you please study or scan in that book else where?"

"Sure thing," Jake replied trying to contain further laughing from happening as he swung the book lightly, carrying it with him out of the room.

Scanning in or actually taking the time to manually read the book on "The Nervous System Upon Introduction of alpha-HL Internal Input", would have to wait a moment longer. At almost the instant Jake entered the hallway he could hear shouting off at some distance. The source couldn't be seen yet but he knew the voice, it belonged to Chief Aquino. He was angry and fearful at the same time, anger out weighing fear. The source of both emotions present in the man's voice were easy to guess at what prompted them. With the sound of sliding claws to padded feet running, four of them, the human cyborg knew it was the K9 one, his boss was shouting at.

Rounding a corner G9 ran into the young JOY agent's view. Seeing the dog now he knew what the chief was so upset about. The animal had a paper trail in his mouth. More accurately he had a large streamer of fan-fold paper starting in his clinched jaws and running to several yards behind him. The dog smiled as he ran towards Jake's direction, not breaking his grip on his prize.

Not wanting to let his pet bypass him in the hallway, a 65/35 chance of that happening. Jake couldn't help but grin at the animal's naughty deed as he placed himself in front of the beast. Knowing he'd been intercepted by his master, one of the few humans who rarely would shout at him, G9 stopped to then stand in place, pawing his feet about, wagging his tail, paper still in mouth as Jake put his book down on the floor. Despite being proud and seemingly eager to please his owner. Jake had a hard time trying to open the jaws of the mutt boxer, fixed on what he knew by glimpsing at it, some sort of report, likely important to Aquino.

"G9 whatever that is in your mouth, I need you to let it go." Jake told the pet sternly.

In reply, not the one wanted by the JOY agent on two legs, G9 lowered his head before sitting down, mouth still clinching the burst paper. Noting that the tail was still wagging, Jake figured the abnormal dog must be taking all current actions surrounding him as a game. That wasn't new but at the moment it was something to be frowned upon. Particularly since Chief Aquino was now lightly out of breath almost at where both owner and disobedient canine were.

"Get Dynomutt to give up those papers now!" Aquino snapped pointing at Jake and then to G9, as he stood a couple feet away from them.

Taking a hold of the paper gripped in the mutt's mouth, tugging on it lightly & steadily, Jake started trying to verbally coax the dog to let go of them. "Buddy? Hey buddy could you let go of those papers?"

Inpatient and fuming, his main superior already had his share of trying to be reasonable towards the dog. Animals unless service designated ones, weren't allowed in JOY's primary building or even secondary one. G9 had by default been except from being shown normal treatment by staff at the Baden-Powell and the Gordon Low buildings simply because he was a medical breakthrough that had been the result of incorporated lab effort. Currently and not for the first time, the senior administrator wondered if the K9 named G9 had an off switch somewhere on him that could be clicked.

"Mutt of Frankenstein please stop. This isn't a game," Jake further pleaded to his pet.

Hearing the word game invoked the wanted response. Dropping the pin feed paper to the floor, G9 mouth wide open moved to standing on his back legs and draping his forelegs over Jake's shoulders. Jake's guess to this none verbal reply from the smiling expectant dog he thought could be this. Old game over - new game start?

Aquino picked up the papers as the younger JOY agent dealt with the 70 pounds weighing on him trying to nuzzle in towards his head. Curious about what prize had just been released and then snatched up, Jake questioned his Chief. "I think I'm right in guessing that's some form of report. Care to enlighten me?"

Displeased about the mess that he'd just been through, Chief Aquino started trying to shake off that feeling as he started to read over what he'd been so urgent to get a hold of the moment he'd been apprised of it's existence. Coming out of murmuring to himself about saying he'd rather have individual faxed pages than long printed streams of them, he answered. "Only if and yes, I think it might be of interest to you. This appears to be surveillance & movement reports from The United Network of Eager Assembled Sly Yarners. Your favorite pals appear to be up to something."

Lowering himself with the dog and finally getting the cyborg animal's forelegs off his shoulders, Jake stated. "UNEASY I feel neutral about. I'm guessing you mean who they were spying on. Those pals."

Motioning with a finger, Jake's superior indicated the teen should join him in looking at the report. Standing up straight and ignoring pawing being done to his right leg for attention, Jake moved over to eye the first page of the documents in Aquino's hands. With a sigh after having read the beginning paragraph, he commented. "Yeah, those pals.

"Welcome to Rocky's Guide to Mathematics!" Bellowed a best described cheerful, artificial voice from the computer's speakers.

Heather at once in hearing the newly installed program to the Macintosh IIci, felt pride in her work. Ok assisted work, since she had not done the job alone. Plus also she felt embarrassed about what had just been done. The software was aimed at children and from the look of it the youngest age JOY accepted new agents at being, ten years old.

"Myron I know I picked the discs, sorry disc set for the program, but why did you ever have such a thing in your lab's inventory?" Heather questioned the man a few years older then her.

Picking up the packets the lady had decided would not be used for the computing lesson, Dabble fumbled with them in his hands, looking them over with scrutiny. Then opening back up the Mircodex, he stuffed the packets back into it and answered her. "I tend not to get a choice in what our higher ups hand me computer-wise. I can make requests but they mostly go unanswered. Too specialized a field. Also I think they like to send me what our classrooms have since my lab is one of the few places computers are in JOY. They figure I guess everyone one is working on the same exact things."

Wanting to get out of the funk she had just slipped him into, he was sure unintentional. He thought of something which would give him a little more time with her. Another lesson he could branch off what he had just taught her. "How about I teach you how to install this to the rest of the computers into the building's LAN?"

Backing away from the computer desk but still staying in the rolling chair she was seated. Ms. Tabin knew his ploy, but why add in teaching her what felt like redundant facts? Wide eyed at the puzzle, she asked him on only what she'd say outright about what was taking place. "I don't understand. How would me placing this learning software on the building's other computers be different? What is a LAN?"

Bait taken! Also more explanation needed, how grand. Answering her and taking hold of the rim of the back of the chair she was in to push it back towards the desk, Dabble answered. "Local area network, LAN would have it the program's information is shared between the building's computers."

Placing her feet in a stance that would prevent the chair's motion forward. This attempt given by putting toes down, facing in towards the seat. She withheld a grown and hoped her face didn't reflect the feelings she had the new lesson wasn't totally needed.

"I don't think I need to learn LANing. The computer I plan to deal with is in my apartment. I think I'm the only geek who owns one there," Heather replied.

Feeling crestfallen about the new offer to teach having fallen to an apparent dead end. The bio-technician let go his grip on the chair. Not looking towards his colleague and sought-after girlfriend, he simply focused his attention on the lightly animated pixelized raccoon of rocky, eagerly pointing at numbers as they flashed off & on the screen. The happy green and black procyon lotor in a mood he wished he now shared with it.

Annoyance to one, lite depression to another, both emotions got broken out of place with an interruption happening to their bearers. Entering back into the room, Jake asked his common work partner a question regarding more meaningful work. At least more meaningful to her. She wanted out from her as she saw it "diving dabble fishing time." Jake knew well of the specialist's affections to her. This pursuit of her nothing new to him, but that wasn't what was on his mind right now.

"Hey Heather, feel like dealing with dark Voodoo creepy-crawlies in California?"

With a single moment to consider the perception of her action, she responded by leaving the swivel chair she'd been sitting in, not too slow but at the same time not too fast. Jake: virtually her brother due to the nature of their built respectful friendship & relationship over the years. To Jake one point. Myron: a man who'd shared what she guessed was most of his life story starting from a little boy in Vidsel, Sweden to Washington DC, a few years before they'd ever first met. This over a dinner at Bertucci's a short while into her being forced because of Jake's relationship to Myron, to feel the need to understand her friend's new life giver, better understanding. A guy she'd quickly figured out had a crush on her, a fact she'd failed to notice before that point. A romantic interest what he saw in her. A person she couldn't well relate to. To Myron zero points, effort noted although.

"What is RAGE up to now?" She asked calmly, looking at Jake, all the while aware she had a forlorn caller looking towards her, she was trying to ignore.

Papers in hand, the report he'd had not intentionally played with his dog to get. Also it had to be persuaded from his main superior's hands to his. Jake folding up a few dangling pages of the print out, told her. "It looks to be some form of expansion."

Walking over to her friend, looking thoughtful and twisting her mouth a little, Heather replied to him. "Yeah, RAGE should stay a small time operation. That and we should make sure they don't do any criminal acts while they try to get what they want."

As the cyborg offered the now folded up pin feed paper to his partner, the member of their team. Active yes, but not in the field although if some form of excuse could be found he'd take it. Myron watching this couldn't help but note something missing from Jake and he felt the need to ask on it. "Where is my book?"

"In the hallway, by the door. G9, um well stuff was going on and I had to loose it," Jake answered.

After making a sour face about the information he'd just been told, Dabble then posed a follow up question he hoped would be met with the answering of no. His field of work being one so few had experience in. Information regarding it being on the rare side with some exception. Part of this exception being books printed in low volume and sold at high cost. He sure hoped for that no. "Doggie drool?"

"I don't think so," Jake answered shaking his head at the same time.

"No Myron, that's on these papers." Heather commented as she wiped some of the animal spittle off her hand and on to her pant leg.

"I'll fly to the nearest airport to Owensboro, Kentucky, unless you feel like joining me the rest of the way to California?" Jake asked Heather, while else where in the room unheard to them. As the JOY agent who ran around doing good deeds outside Baden-Powell talked and in that asked about Heather Tabin accompanying him. The JOY agent stuck inside Baden-Powell, to do good deeds, whimpered at the words.

"I'm not joining you in the PDL for your personal take on doing a real life cannonball run. Once is enough. I'm flying the full way out to Los Angeles." Heather retorted, almost ready to snap the report from UNEASY against the hand not holding it, till she remembered what it was coated in.

Feeling disappointed in the decline of this offer. To be fair on the offer it was one he felt only 50/50 no 25/75 she'd take. Remembering her full reaction to the last time he had taken her on a ride with him through the PDL system swaying around his thoughts on the matter. He shrugged off her words smiling about it, not letting on this fact of rejection bothered him a little.

It had been a fun ride, nothing wrong about it. Although while he had gotten them to the destination safely and well ahead of when they'd been expected to arrive there, he while driving, failed to observe one thing. She had to tell him about how she had hidden her eyes and had tried to move down into her seat. In the afterwards to the journey not only did she tell him she had done those acts she also shouted at him about even with the PDL's lack of speed limits and true road correction tunnel signs, he should still be mindful of others passing through the tunnels with them at the same time.

No, true traffic laws existed in the Prairie Dog Lines, she knew that. The tunnels had monitoring cameras setup at some intersections, she knew of that too. The tunnels had very few drivers in them, no accidents to date, had she forgotten those facts? He'd have to remind her of those last two facts when after their separate trips out to Los Angeles, they met up again.

Chapter 3:

Death Valley had never felt so cold. It was strange but expected. Sybil and Kein Hunter knew before entering the artificial pocket realm created by magic, the place might not be to their liking. In a place that's heat averaged over 100 degrees most of the year, the pair were prone to not believe what the imps had been telling them. Be prepared for any weather. Be prepared for any landscape. This spell was not intended to be used in combination to modern organized scat magic practice.

Sybil with her unneeded sunglasses, on looked to the sky as they awaited their exit to appear. The imps told them they didn't want to be in the place when it disappeared. Realms made by magic, by creature or man never lasted long. Only realms which had come into being at the dawn of the universe could ever stay stable and remind strong. The purple scaled hench beasts had promised them they'd provide an exit portal to leave. She just wasn't sure when it would come.

The witch knew it couldn't be up in the sky where she was looking but she couldn't help but fixate on it. To what she guessed could be the realm's idea of a sun. It shown through the smoky looking sky. Clouds that seemingly coated the air not far from the ground looked more out of place than being on a planet that otherwise would be earth to where they were. She'd seen clouds like them before but not at a height raised just a few yards high from were she was standing. These were what inside the sky, they should be like. The fog of condensed air you only see when traveling through the sky in airplane or jet. These abnormal clouds looked to be holding back a storm. She could see as they moved in streams across her vision, beyond them something she didn't truly want a part of in was there. Only times of sunrise and sunset should red show it's self in the void. Red with added violet should not fix it's gaze upon the land to eternity, to show it's self unbreaking not giving away to blue or star filled black. This crimson bruised yonder from what she could see of it through the clouds had teeth. Lightning that looked alive and wanted to strike at those who had helped summon it's being, if only it could break through the clouds to her.

Plus him, Sybil was sure the ragged flittering lightning in the mars sky wanted her husband too. Kein sat in the deepening snow that had been collecting around him for the past few hours he'd been in the spot. In the 12 hours since both him and Sybil had entered the realm, he hadn't felt the need to really explore it. It looked uninviting, depressing, hostile, and with the only sounds he could hear in it being just his wife and self, too erie. No life was expected. But even wind should howl and this place didn't even have that. Entering the place both of them at rapid fire speed donned winter clothes. Sybil walked with him shaking her head in disapproval and showing the discontent for cold weather he'd noticed with her back when they had lived in Grand Valley. He kept up the walk around of evaluating the landscape till he felt he had seen enough of it. Sit number one lasted he guessed two hours. Changing places and sitting in his current spot. He felt he had a better handle on this place then RAGE's co-owner as she paced near by making disgruntled noises to herself.

"How can you be calm about this?! This is a disaster!" She finally turning away her visual focus of trying to find an exit and looking to at him.

"If you stay still, you won't feel as cold." Kein replied, brushing off her disappointment about the trouble shooting experiment they were now encased in.

"Just what are you implying by that?!" Sybil shot back at Kein. Logic had at that moment semi-abandoned her reasoning. She in fact knew what her husband had been telling her in advice but wanted to in her anger turn it into something it was not. Words that had been used as fodder in verbal fights, they'd now been having off & on for sometime.

Knowing where she wanted his reply to go. Even a distraction from the unwelcoming land. He didn't feel like engaging in the her wanted verbal battle. Instead he tucked his arms into a tighter hug around his mid-section and continued to try and delusion himself into believing he was in a more familiar & inviting environment.

With a series of explosive booming sounds a short distance from both representatives of RAGE present, the dead world showed movement just brushing it's ground. The twin appearing, red eyed, fanged grunts had pulled through on their promise. The portal may have been a noisy aurora of wild contrasting light but it was a welcome sight. With speed both Sybil and Kein ran into it for stable earth.

At the very instant they returned to normal Earth, Death Valley as it was always meant to be, they felt it's lack of conscience action upon them. Sybil would be first to argue to anyone who asked if land had feelings and acted on them to those who treaded on it. She believed it did. The 114 degree heat now starting to bake her and Kein was not striking at them for their disturbance of it's territory. Nature could deal with them minus any form of cognitive thought. To that if nature did think to deal them a specialized blow for their infraction of it's body, it would have taken delight in their all too brief suffering.

At the same speed both Hunters had put on their cold weather clothes, they ripped them off. Their imp company looked on at them from behind machinery surface to elaborately laid out oil soaked herbs and crystals. Seeing two humans, one in sando & boxers, and one in tank top & hot pants, they wondered how any of them would ever make it back to LA safely.

looking in the direction of Humus, Kein coughed out. "Why Mulch?! Explain to us why again the temperature difference, the reverse?! You warned what we found might not be to our liking! Be prepared for anything you said!"

Ready to answer and make a correction, Humus got interrupted before he could speak. Fortunately this new anger wasn't being projected to him with mistaken name. His priestess seemed to be venting to no one in particular. That didn't mean she didn't want to be listened to though. "We should have never doubted it! Damn," she choked and then added, "Where is my Lacroix?!"

Ignoring the commenting from his priestess for her dress which she'd forgotten was packed in their car for safe keeping, Humus spoke. "Wrong I Humus. You know on this Earth we can make patch sheds but human comfort is another thing. Sadly the best stable ones go opposite of what exists outside the artificial realm."

With difficulty making it over to minion, Sybil questioning him snapped, "I looked at my watch not long before you let us leave. 12 hours pea-brain! You said you'd get us out just before it dissolved! It was cold! I hate cold! Fix these things!"

Not wanting her wrath, the real Mulch showed what shamed Humus to have a brother. The silent imp ran behind him and then proceeded to start digging down into sand & rock for felt needed cover. Shaking his head in disgust and Sybil's requests, Humus answered her. "That might not be possible unless you weren't human then there wouldn't be a problem!"

Kicking the sandy soil aimlessly and then thinking better on that note, to the direction of Humus, Sybil shot a second kick of it towards him. She then shouted at the remaining seen imp her thoughts about his problem solver. "I have no intent on turning myself into some form of a freak to guarantee I live into the next millennium unharmed!"

"Then then let Mulch and I I find better no cold way, human friendly way to make this work." The mystic reptile suggested as under his bare feet he could feel and to a small degree hear his brother's reply. Mulch covered in dirt didn't see cowardness in burrowing into what was pretty much his namesake. It was Humus knew basically his too, but even he knew it didn't do much good here, doing an act instinctual to their kind, going subterranean when the going got tough. Shaking vibrations from all over his sibling's body and whimpering of predictions. Humus rolled his eyes about the acts, he also knew they were futile against their priestess when she was upset at them.

"I wonder if not perched on me how an imp shall might look?" Sybil commented coldly looking at Humus, seeing opportunity to dig terror into her subordinate servant's heart.

Not wanting to play mirror to Mulch, Humus cracked out a croak of instinct from his throat before shouting while running, "I'll fix it! Fix it! Hunter doctor help!"

Surprise and pain struck Kein before he could act on the source. Humus climbing up him, on to his back with claws fully extended. The doctor's first reaction was to swat at the beast before it dawned half a second later what had happened. Yes, he'd heard the complete exchange the imp had been having with his wife. Then to have another prominent fact click, Humus had reason to seek protection with him, even if the purple lizard knew it wasn't a well taken action, raptor-like talons digging into the boss.

"Sybil you heard Humus, he said this can be remedied," Kein retorted.

Back turned to Kein, one who was peering out from Kein's back, and one wondering the digging distance to China, Sybil walked away from them. Debatable needed air conditioning was near by. She wanted in their car and away from the site of the failed experiment of magical creation to a bomb shelter. Next try to do this, she'd make sure the environment wasn't so barren or life threatening. Although before entering the car to slam the passenger door shut, she needed to at least say her last two cents before the long drive back to 3601 West Olive Street.

"He better or I'll wear his scaly hide minus him in it."

Chapter 4:

The Para so Palms Hotel, JOY's place to standardly send it's operatives when out in California's southwest. Ranking to travel agencies somewhere in the range of two to three stars depending on time of year. Jake had by now grown so used to being placed in it, even knowing it's guest elevator was out for servicing didn't give him the urge to complain. The place was starting to feel like a home away from home. He knew the place, the staff knew him. It's location exactly while not the best at least didn't bother him all that much. Sound proofed walls helped it in that sense but once in a while he did get the urge to do one thing. Bring a tape or two of his favorite music and see how the locals took to it interrupting them. Unfamiliar he guessed meeting unfamiliar.

"You should work for us amigo, with how often you show up here. Or at least you should invest in our hotel." A local and becoming more & more familiar friend asked Jake.

Replying to the bellhop Jake commented, "I've lightly entertained living here, Alonso."

"Oh," Alonso said not sure how to take the cyborg's statement.

Feeling the need to clarify his thoughts better, Jake continued adding, "maybe Oakland, I like it there."

Seeing Alonso droop his head and look down, Jake sensed it wasn't what he was saying making a difference in mood to his buddy. Taking a guess given history of knowing the man, he spoke what he thought was going on. "Your boss still hasn't given you that raise yet has he?"

Non-enthusiastically the bellhop replied "si," just as both men reached the landing starting the fourth floor from the stairwell.

The man didn't have much going for him. Alonso Villegas when Jake had first met him late last year, he had been holding two jobs. One here and another for a car wash. Second time visiting the hotel, when asked how his life was going, Alonso told Jake the car wash had been shut down. Third time visiting Jake learned of the man's family life and how he needed to find a second job again to help support them better. More visits revealed new details every time about his west coast friend. Most times these details weren't making the man's life seem any sunnier.

Reaching where his and his partner Heather's room was, Jake paused at the door. Alonso had not needed to come with him to his room. The luggage was already taken care of. Personally Jake needed nothing. He knew of nothing Heather needed either. The man had only come into the JOY agent's presence for one reason. A good ear.

Reaching into one of his jacket pockets for his wallet, Jake decided the man needed something more than just his ear at that moment. Handing Alonso some cash, Jake told him, "here's an extra tip."

Stunned at the folded greens in his hand, the bellhop smiled and hugged Jake. Alonso thanked him as best he knew he could thank Jake. He too had grown to know the new east coast raised acquaintance well over the months he'd been visiting the hotel. "I'll get you some extra mints! You and your candy!"

Laughing in gratitude and patting the man on the back before ending their hug, Jake replied. "you know me too well!"

Leaving Jake to unlock his shared room, Alonso still beaming stated. "Tell Agent Heather The China Bull just reopened last week. They still offer take out!"

As Jake opened the door, grinning he shouted back to the other man now halfway to floor three. "I'll tell her that!"

Sitting in one of the dinning chairs, looking out the back window to the hotel room, Heather mentally chewed on thoughts she couldn't shake. A little commenting Jake had told her while he drove her from the airport to where her rental car was. Eight years of knowing him. Was that all going to be nothing but history soon? She needed a distraction from thinking about that. Sadly nothing outside the room was very interest catching to her. A side street with cars and people moving on it. Low lying rooftops, some revealing businesses she'd visited in the past she had no interest in now.

Suddenly hearing him talking outside the door and with she was sure his staff friend, forced her to focus on his words to her. When he opened the door to let himself in, she had to ask him about what he'd mentioned to her on the drive to get her car. That and she felt she also needed to ask him about what the heck she apparently needed to know too he'd just been informed of.

"Tell me what?" She questioned him.

Taking a seat on the couch a few steps from the entrance, Jake answered. "Your favorite restaurant here, it's been repaired. Take out?"

Leaning back in her chair, she wasn't sure if she could keep eye contact with him while answering his short phrased question. "We're welcome still then, huh?"

Getting more comfortable on the sofa, he eyed her to figure out what the disconnect was he was sensing with her. Answering her longer worded question that he knew was weighted, he said. "Alonso mentioned nothing about the goblin problem. I'm sure they've recovered and everyone is welcome to order from them. I don't think we're excluded from that equation."

Not being able to contain the thoughts she'd been exploring in worry for some where just over an hour, she then cut off what they'd been speaking of for a new topic. "Were you being serious about moving here?"

Resting arm on lean, and fingers to the side of his head, Jake replied. "Completely," then after taking a deep breath in through his nose he continued, "it just makes sense. We're out here so often."

The words weren't coming to him as easy to speak as they felt in his mind. Pressing himself more he got out the rest of his reasoning. "I enjoy my time out here when we aren't trying to keep RAGE from doing misguided evil acts."

Not wanting to believe her partner, Heather quickly and lightly shook her head "no" to what he'd just told her. Then she verbally told him, "I don't believe that. You're joking right?"

For a moment the male JOY agent looked at the couch he was sitting in, wondering if to be closer to his long time friend right now, he could just scooch it closer to her. For a moment he wondered if self taught he could mod himself to have some form of super machine strength added to his body. At the end of the third moment he got up and placed himself in the second dinning chair in the room, the seat closest to her.

"I mean it. You know I'm not big on lying," he finally replied to her, taking one of her hands in his.

Hesitating before comment and for a second Jake noted she was doing the gasping fish impression her face did as she was trying to say something hard for her, she asked. "Are your parents ok with this?"

Smoothing the skin on the back of her hand with his thumb he replied. "They have to accept I'm growing up, I'm a man. I don't have to be monitored like I did years back. Things have changed."

Removing her hand from his light grasp she put it and her other hand under the table, resting them both clasped together in her lap. After the pause of a few seconds she commented further on the iceberg they were conversing about. "JOY won't be the same without you."

"I'm not leaving it. Besides I haven't taken one step yet to actually look into places to live here. No worries ok." He stated to her smiling, hoping he'd broken the virtual distance she seemed to be placing between them in worry.

Trying to help reconnect with her to he hoped warming feelings, he added. "How'd your ATF test go?"

"It hasn't happened yet Jake," Heather answered him.

Failing at the attempt to put her mind at ease about his want to change his life by asking her about her big change. A job she wanted, he knew she needed to pass a test for. All he could say in response was, "oops."

Having the realization hit her how she'd been acting about the subject of what if to his life and not hers, she too tried for new topic. To conclude the one giving her a degree of heartache, she told him. "I know you've had a lot on your mind, it's fine."

Taking on an air of professional pose she then went for more in the present, more serious & forefront of what they were facing. "We can't just walk up to the front door you know. They'll try and kill us."

Leaning towards her and raising his eye brows, Jake stated his thoughts about the mission at hand, why they were back in LA. "Then we spy. We keep our eyes on them and find out better details to this than what The United Network of Eager Assembled Sly Yarners found out. Then take action if need be."

"Ooh, spying on RAGE makes me feel "uneasy"," She replied with a show of playful sarcasm to him.

Never wanting to let her simply get away with a fun poke even one where he wasn't the one getting the receiving end of it. Jake took it in good jest before saying something he just wanted to see her reaction to. Sure she'd find out sooner or later the nugget he was about to impart to her, but he wanted to make sure he was witness to her reaction. First to her poke of the government agency she'd just jabbed at, "cute, just cute Heather."

The first smile he'd really noted her give since he'd entered the room, he noticed from that part of his commenting. But for what knowledge he wanted to share with her. "That computer you were working with in Dabble's lab. You know it was an Apple right?"

Confused by the change of subject, Heather blinked and after pausing to collect her thoughts said. "What is there something wrong with it? It seemed ok. The lesson went relatively smoothly."

"Your computer in your apartment is a PC, Personal Computer. They're both machines but different animals if you get what I mean. Myron is going to have to teach you all over again how to do the same task you did on the Apple but next time the lesson will actually work for you." Jake felt all smiles about giving her this news and wasn't sure how much in expression if at all he should be holding that back on his face.

Looking frustrated and for a moment making movements of unsure gestures with her hands on top of the table. Heather didn't know how to respond to what she'd just been enlightened to. Myron's crush on her was something amusing to him. Jake had just given her that information about the computers because it would benefit her to know for later and to rile her up.

Rising up and moving to her suitcase on the floor by the sofa, leaving the agitation out of her voice, she stated while unzipping her bag. "Unpack, we really need to talk about dealing with the hocus pocus group before even venturing crosstown to them."

Chapter 5:

Opposite to the dark sky with stars faintly shining in, trying to be seen through the thick pollution barring their presents to the world below. Opposite side of the seventh floor to the Hunters' living arrangements, in a large office meant for the planning of projects equal in size. Mulch and Humus in the well lit room stood upon a drafting table they had laid books, notes, and articles of reference bound only by staples.

Seated as a warm paperweight to the imp's reckoning, Humus with all his strength lifted his specially blended herbal tea in soup style cup for a quick drink of it before commenting his thoughts to his brother. "I'm not sure about this. Sybil is powerful, I don't doubt her ability to practice, but this is ancient stuff."

Still holding a fist of papers in one clawed hand, Mulch replied to the statement before trying after the over-sized cup of tea himself. "But we have new stuff modern equipment & technology. We can alter the surrounding environment in ways never conceived possible over a thousand years ago. We can make a patch shed realm with the two combined. Current method with this type of casting." The attempted slurp of tea couldn't be reached. To free hand of papers for cup or keep to work dedication. Mulch wasn't sure which to do as he glared at what he couldn't lift one handed.

Unnoticed by either of them. Their attention focused on either the project they had to work out. The instant coffee brewer which rarely was used for said purpose. Or product of instant coffee brewer in cup. The imps didn't see one of their sworn enemies just outside the building.

Jake had only taken one moment to glance at his position to try and ensure it was correct. After that he had turned his view away from seeing the office the imps were in, to then with great care position himself out of sight to them. Head and body out of sight. His hand with activated audio recorders in fingers now pressed against the glass of the window. He hoped they failed to notice that as it and the attached arm held the the window, twisted in mild pain backwards for the job.

Grimacing as he held his position, Jake was grateful RAGE's headquarters had been built as sturdy as it was. Sure on any given day he wished the building didn't exist at all but now it's design meant the world to him. That with his activated electromagnets in his feet and one hand not helping a tape recording in progress. The building's metal lining it had in decorative design to each of the windows it had with most of it's highest stories. That was all between him and involuntarily him decorating the ground far below him.

From inside the spacious office being monitored, Humus spoke up after a time of mulling over his twin's last words to him. "I don't think we're going to get Hunters in it this time. My hide, I don't want to lose it."

Coming to best seen answer, Mulch voiced in reply. "Then we need new testers."

"Interns," Humus took a stab at saying who he thought could be easily persuaded into the work.

Hearing the door to the room open and then shut, both imps turned to face their lower status boss. Eagerness to please conflicting with professionalism, they skirted and bobbed about on the drafting table. Ready to leap off it to go up to Kein and gab their thoughts of plans. Only knowing he didn't like that form of posturing unlike their higher status boss kept them from going through with the act.

Holding up a hand to them, motioning for the reptiles to stop fidgeting on the table top, Dr. Hunter spoke up. "How goes what you teased at? Ready to tell me details or is this simply not doable?"

Both tiny goons froze looking up at him for a few seconds before turning to look at each other. When they turned back their focus on him, they took turns quickly saying their thoughts. Remembering in shame his show of cowardness back in Death Valley, Mulch pushed himself to speak first. "Possible, could be done. Would you like to see my write up and visualization guide?"

"Do we have any interns expendable?" Humus then shot in just as his twin finished speaking.

Ever so lightly surprised by the question posed, raising his eye brows Kein asked, "expendable?"

In same order as prior the bothers replied. "No danger, shouldn't be. We just know Sybil and you don't like doing testing yourselves."

"I want my skin."

Scratching his head before grabbing a roller chair to bring to the drafting table, Kein commented. "Going into artificially created realms, I'm not keen on. But other testing, that depends."

Getting comfortable in his chair to then rest an arm against the drafting table, the noirette haired man continued his conversation with the scaled magic practitioners. "Tell me how this would work beyond what's written down."

Listening to what the RAGE employees were saying wasn't hard for Jake. He could hear them faintly through the glass wall which kept them apart from him. He could also hear them as what he called zippy memories in his head. Voices fresh newly buried into permanent recollections of his knowledge. To him zippy memories had two ways of stapling their impressions into him. The document scanner in his left arm and the in progress tape machine in his chest. Zippy memories were useful. They helped on the job for JOY like for what he was doing now, spying. If some how his exportable tape got damaged, he could always word per word tell others what he knew. They the zippy memories also made the idea of college moot.

Up until he'd been altered and in that had a medical condition which kept his parents up at night in worry. They had not been eager to let him pursue a normal education beyond high school. After high school he'd been given a tutor and books. Now thanks to learning zippy style he could go into a library, decide what he wanted to know. Find books on picked subject. Scan in the books or if available play cassette tapes. Zippy memory didn't give any point to testing. He could just from digitally stored information in his head plagiarize the whole library of congress if he ever chose to, but he didn't want to.

Part of him still oddly longed for being able to process and recall information like a normal person. Thanks to zippy memory he now knew everything people could want him to know and more. It was the more which made him not fond of this ability. Memories he didn't want to have. Although that in it's self did have a minor plus side to it. While some of those unwanted memories concerned RAGE, some of that was information which made him smile in thought. The heads of the organization weren't getting along too well with each other. He'd noticed their personal rage building for months. If the Hunters ever split, he might be a happy camper. RAGE might be no more if that happened.

What was hard for Jake was keeping his eyes open. The time of night had nothing to do with it. He just wasn't thrilled about where he was. Either he had them open looking straight out from himself or closed tightly. That's all he could do to deal with his acrophobia. Weird when he thought about it the phobia never clawed it's way into his thoughts while in planes or helicopters. It's nature he knew.

"Jake, are they in there? Are you getting anything?" Heather asked him the question through his pen cap sized walkie talkie fixed over the edge of a shirt collar.

Grateful for the distraction but not enough of one, the best the cyborg could answer her with was, "uh-huh."

Not acknowledging his discomfort about the height issue she knew about but had forgotten. Agent Heather questioned him about the short answer he'd given because she felt he should be just a little more informative about what she needed to know. "Is something wrong?"

After attempting to look down and discovering he couldn't, Jake replied. "I'm seven stories up."

It hitting his lady friend what was going on gave her pause before continuing to talk mission with him. "Well that is where Dr. Hunter's development office is."

"I don't want to be here." Jake whined to Heather over her walkie talkie nested against her head by use of her right ear.

Feeling sorry for forgetting his problem that she had always considered just the tiniest bit funny. This stemming from having been with the man on commercial & private planes, seeing him with ease take in watching the land thousands of feet below them. She asked him then, "have you been spotted?"

"Seven stories up from outside the building. Heather, you know how I feel about heights in certain cases." Jake snipped at her as he looked upwards to the sky focusing on it's tainted lights & smog essence, trying to find beauty in it.

Answering him as he kept his head craned towards the heavens, she told him. "I think there isn't a soul in that place that doesn't know about us and doesn't want us not dead. We can't just walk or sneak into RAGE. They'd notice that."

As she had spoken the words, having also an ear to his end by way of their walkie talkies being two way transmitting in ability. She had heard a noise on his end but she couldn't identify it. Puzzling briefly over it, having not figured out what she'd heard as a light artificial sounding click. Heather then asked him, "what was that click?"

Resisting the urge to give a panicked giggle about the question, Jake scrunched his face pained by what had happened. Answering his friend's question he slowly let out his words trying to keep his cool while doing so. "It's oh shit I have to change tapes to continue recording what they're saying inside."

Not understanding what was wrong, Heather questioned him further. "How is that oh shit? Don't you have extra cassette tapes with you up there?"

When she heard him growl at her in an animal impression, she waited a few seconds before asking him her next question. "Do you feel you have enough information already recorded?"

After he weakly answered her with simply, "uh-huh" again, she concluded her conversation with him. Words she knew he dearly wanted to hear ending it. "Then just get yourself back down here."

"No prob," Jake commented to then remember he shouldn't try the next thought on his mind. Switching off his walkie talkie. He felt like a wuss for the inaction but he'd be a bigger wimp if he couldn't make his way down & off the building. Getting up had not been too hard for him. The climb just had him remembering what he knew of the building's layout was for offices and him for the most part keeping his eyes skyward. Now however he could not keep his attention on what didn't frighten him.

Looking below himself he tried to pick out something which didn't give him a sense of vertigo seeing it. Sadly nothing helped this. The lower rooftop did that. The street beyond the building, the cityscape beyond that. He wondered if the trees planted a short time after the building was built, if they were taller, would they help? An answer he couldn't of course have right then, nor did he wish to be in this position later to find out.

After having thoughts of his own pride and dignity chided on, the young cyborg tried to suck up his fear and inching started making his way down the building. His hands and feet cementing themselves to the metal window lining, breaking with force with every sliding gesture he made or when he dared, full lift. When wind brushed pass his face he had to come to a stop.

Wind had never bothered him. at least the kind one normally encountered. He knew he by far wasn't alone on feelings of when mother nature did her worst with hurricanes and tornadoes. This was different. It broke his forced delusion that he wasn't doing what he was, an external push on him that told his mind a thought he didn't like.

If it the thought, the wind could speak it would be telling him. "Hi there? You know me? I'm wind and you are as high up as a kite right now! Isn't that great?! Now remember what happens to kites eventually, Jakey? They fly fly and then go down! Wanna try that second thing?!"

When he heard knocking on the glass behind him, Jake quickly switched mental tracks about what he was dealing with. Something wanted to deal with him, as he noticed hearing a couple more rappings on the glass. Not daring to turn around and face the person or knowing RAGE, something not a person. Jake asked, "yes?"

"Rrrauhh Grrhuff puhff," came by way of reply of the unknown who'd been knocking against the glass.

After taking an exasperated sigh through his nose, the JOY agent commented to the unknown. "Sorry, I don't speak monster nor can I turn around to face you."

The response the unknown gave wasn't polite to his comment, but then again what could the cyborg expect from anyone working for RAGE? Sure saying he didn't speak monster likely didn't help make for a welcome responding action, but then again he'd given up on the idea of niceties with RAGE long ago.

Growling and breaking through the glass, the unknown grabbed for the young man which fortunately for him caused his electromagnets to malfunction. Cause to that? Jake strangely felt lucky about the broken metal framing that had occurred when the window got broken. Not lucky however about this malfunction, it causing him to fall from where he'd been clinging to the building.

Only the instinct to survive saved him from the fear he'd been having for the last few minutes of becoming pavement art. It was not normal for anyone when reaching out in free fall to strike gold and get a hand hold on something to stop themselves from falling. He was not a normal person. While a normal hand would have simply brushed against the metal lining briefly before moving on, he did not. His loss of magnetic grip had been caused by the surface he had been holding on to becoming corrupted. This section of metal framing was smooth and unbroken.

Dangling by one hand to the side of the building, staring up from where he'd fallen from, Jake saw who'd been after him. It had not been a person. He had been correct in thinking who had been talking to him to be a monster. Although he knew in some areas of the world he'd be likely scolded for calling it such. The unknown was a Rakshasa. Large eyes, fangs, and with a head that kept shifting to look like more than one but in flickering like water caught in light. It kept returning to always looking like a single head. The first time Jake had caught sight of one, he asked back at the Baden-Powell building if anyone could give him an eye exam.

Smiling about having missed a fatal date with the ground below him, Jake shouted to the creature. "Nice try Rakshasy but you didn't quite succeed!"

The being with it's oddly defined head let out a cry of distorted sounding laughter in reply. Jake's response to that was paying it attention for a moment longer to wonder if it would take further actions towards him. When it didn't he dared to look at what awaited him beneath his free hanging feet. A nice surprise that he voiced on in relief. "I'm now closer to the first roof. Think I could jump after that."

Nervously he lightly swung his feet towards the metal lining in hopes of contact. After three tries he got his wish and then got his free hand gripping the framework as well. Gripping he knew wasn't actually needed. His magnets were he was told, centered in the middle of his palms. Fingers weren't needed to help them in their job but animal instinct made him do otherwise. Over a million years removed from the trees, he found it funny how deep down primate reactions still could overtake someone in the 20th century.

Feeling better about his length from the ground, now that he knew it was much nearer, he inched on the metal lining faster to it. When he could reach out with one foot to the lower roof, he quickly broke away the other still magnetized against the building to set it too on to the lower roof. He considered kissing the gravel coating the surface till wondering about what might be done on it when he wasn't on it. No pretty pictures emerged in his head when trying to ponder the idea.

In a mild run he came to the edge of the roof before jumping off it. The shock absorbers that buffered tissue and machine in his feet, taking the brunt of the impact. He almost landed with the grace of a cat if said animal was mildly wobbly from ingesting feline wacky weed.

Shouting at him now, not remembering the fact both she and he were trying not to bring attention to themselves. Heather was panicked by what she'd witnessed of her friend when she'd been unable to help him. Having watched the Rakshasa break a window to claw for him and see him nearly fall to his doom as the result. Shouting in distress came as her first reaction to the event's afterwards. "Jake are you alright!?"

Stretching like he'd just been working out in a gym, Jake replied. "Shock absorbers Heather, otherwise you know that would have hurt."

Shaking her head vigorously "no", she approached him and cleared up the question she'd just given him. "The creature, the rac-kas-sire right? Did it hurt you?!"

Making a face at her showing he was tiffed off, plus toning his voice in mocking sarcasm that was hard to hide, he retorted to her. "Likely no one will be looking out the window for you, you assured me."

Not wanting to have a harping word war with the cyborg over what they'd talked about on route to the building stationed at West Olive & Hollywood Way. The senior of the two JOY agents tried to brush pass her mistake. In attempted avoidance she told him, "only one apparently. At least it wasn't one of the Hunters."

The attempted switch of subject worked. Although Jake's response to her comment made a knot in her stomach of mild fear. She while being able to hear him speak to her by walkie talkie when he'd been on the building, she still couldn't hear everything he could. At least she couldn't hear what his implanted ease dropping recorder could hear. What he'd picked up on when listening to the RAGE agents discussing their plans.

"Heather they are planning to misplace reality. We have to stop that. It seems they're messing now with magic they aren't even sure they can do proper."

Making sure her unease was far from visible in her appearance and voice, Heather stated her thoughts about what he'd just told her. "So if they aren't sure then what is wrong with that? That means likely they'll fail."

When RAGE wasn't sure what it was doing that knot of fear she had was a shared experience. Jake had the same feeling as Heather about it. Magic something neither had an urge to mess around with. It was something neither had even known was real beyond fantasy fiction a year back. They knew when RAGE got it wrong messing with spirits and stranger oddities that defied any verbal description, bad things resulted from that.

Through his morals and sense of duly to others, again a shared trait the two had in common, Jake told Heather, "but what if they don't? What if they succeed and we lose a building or a city block to something unearthly replacing it? An area acting as a gateway into who knows?"

"When is this going down and where?" Heather asked him, ready to prevent the knot in her stomach from becoming justified.

Chapter 6:

Sitting here at this place, Wolf Rock Park late at night. Sybil dances and I watch. Sybil for all her faults I want to forgive them now. The ritual is complex and almost forgotten. Thank the gods and goddesses for our staff with knowledge of human history we've forgotten. The opening spell, that wasn't hard to figure out, but beyond that? The consecration? The finalizing incantation that opens the doorway, and then allows for creation? Mixing in the idea of aurochs, I hope we've figured that out right. Even the staff that were around eons ago when similar casting was once done don't remember how that went. But then again we aren't truly trying to make a path into the realm of the Sidhe. Altering that practice of long ago, we're trying to forge a new realm from this mostly unspoiled land to live outside the doom that's coming. Kein thought to himself as he glanced back & forth from his job, and the wheeling woman a distance from him.

"Come here Tamulany, come here," Sybil motioned with a finger to her partner. The partner, the only one brave enough to come forward when asked back in the headquarters to RAGE, if they'd work the job. Replacing the high priestess in the middle of a job. A virtual guinea pig meant to test the waters as it were. To step in and preform a ceremony dating back to the bronze age and finish with one newly invented with many blessings cast upon it.

As both ladies chanted they stayed fixed on their goal. Continue on with their visualized intent and successful replacement of one another. Sybil's chanting grew louder as she removed the wired fixings on her body, feeding wires, their connections leading to machines only a short distance from them. Their purpose to heighten her mental magnetic field, to capture her movements and through sonic discharge then recreate them, also to ionizing the air. Creating more anions than should any normal device be allowed. The wires once removed going to Tamulany's hands for her to place on herself.

A temp, but one with promises of rich reward for her services this night if successful. Tamulany chanted equally as loud as Sybil Hunter as she placed the wired fixings on to her body.

In the deeper darkness of the night engulfing Wolf Rock. Hidden beneath a stone outcropping surrounding just a small fraction of the outskirts of the park. Jake and Heather watched too the scene taking place before them.

"Do you think we're too late?" Heather asked Jake, turning to face him after watching the two RAGE agents exchange places with each other.

After observing the unknown woman at a distance proceed to motion to the black sky pigmented by city lights, Jake replied. "A side from seeing same as you, them I assume casting a spell for it and seeing nothing happen as of yet. I don't think we're too late and that means we have to move now."

Equipment in clear view of Doctor Hunter, with it sitting before him in case he need make adjustments to it. That made for a problem but not one which could phase the JOY agents greatly. He was a problem, but he didn't practice magic like his wife did. Sybil was the witch. She could paralyze you, burn you, throw you without touching you, or sick monsters on you. Kein could only practice magic on a rudimentary level or sick monsters on you. Or if he had it with him, pull out a gun he sometimes kept on hand. Kein could be fought easier than Sybil could, if luck was on their side.

"Stop what you're doing right now. This is city property and you know that." Jake stated, as he pressed his left pointer finger into the back of the base to Dr. Hunter's neck.

"Did you think your presents at RAGE went unnoticed earlier tonight Anatech? I heard the glass break. I was told by Ranj Murugan you were there and I figured because of that you might show up here. Go ahead Tandy-Boy, shoot." Kein replied, with nothing but a slight glance to see if he could somehow spot Jake behind himself.

"What have you done Hunter?" Jake growled in questioning him back.

"Protection for myself," Dr. Hunter retorted.

"Elaborate," Jake requested while with hesitation backing away his weaponized finger from the older man.

Kein broadly smiled not answering the cyborg fuming behind him. Jake's demanding not being it's cause. No, this change of mood had nothing to do with the JOY agent. It was Sybil catching sight of the annoyance he could only listen to currently.

"It all seems to be going well isn't it hon?" The minor threat asked the major one.

"He's too close to you. The girl is too. I'd brandish my power on them right now if it wasn't for how sensitive this work is!" Sybil's statement in irritation wasn't what the pair of JOY agents were used to hearing from her. Controlled and not shouting, she for the first time since they'd gotten on to her bad side, wasn't acting in a frenzied fit of the organization she worked for, it's namesake.

"If I disconnected the wires from the machine, how would that effect what is going on?" Heather questioned the brunette.

"What makes you think I'd tell you the answer, friend of the metal plated menace?" Sybil answered colder than she had already been in speaking before, her face if possible figuratively becoming even dark with that too. The time of night not helping much in determining how truthful visually that was.

"Sssss!" Humus shot at Jake, from between clinched teeth and flickering forked tongue, before tugging at his master's skirt for her attention.

"I think one of your magic dirt lizards wants your attention witch." Jake commenting to RAGE's supposed second in command, as he returned to the imp, the glare he was giving him.

"Humus, what is it? Is it important?!" She asked the reptile-like creature, acting like she was ready to scold him for the interruption in conversation he presented between herself and enemy.

"I can feel it, something isn't right!"

Pointing at the JOY agent, Sybil let loose with what she knew was not right. "He's here and his backup! Thank the gods & goddesses, not his dog at least!"

Stepping towards Jake some more and putting a hand on one of his shoulders, Heather commented. "I'm not his backup, I'm his equal."

Humus after twitching the spines on his back, flattened them and proceeding to lunge at Heather towards what he could reach at his full height, her upper legs. The attack was quickly thwarted by actions which happened in what felt like half seconds from each other. A kick to the beast into the air by the lady JOY agent, and a laser shot by the gentleman one, to the side of the head as it flew through the air before hitting the ground.

"As I said, I'm equal with my partner Jake," Heather reprized her earlier words with variation.

Hissing once at Heather before turning his attention on to the cyborg. Humus spat out, "I have thick skulled, you didn't harm me!"

"Oh, I know you have a thick skull, that isn't news to me." Jake replied, shrugging his shoulders as he said the words. The urge to laugh or smile about the too obvious a matter, he kept controlled from emerging.

Focusing his attention on the purple laden witch and then to the younger lady now encased in an aura of wild unearthly light, Jake left himself open to attack. The imp who had not been vocal to him and had come up on him unseen. Mulch bit him in his leg seeing opportunity.

Wincing in pain and sharply taking in the cool night air, Jake grabbed for the little beast without success. It did remove it's teeth quickly after having taken the bite but choose not to move too far from the man. Mulch wanted to challenge him. Jake had seen the lizard-like creature do this before. It - he was glaring up at him, moving around the spines on his back to prevent being picked up easily.

"I will not let you interfere in this!" The imp hissed at Jake.

"Do you plan on biting me again?" Jake questioned Mulch.

"That depends," Mulch replied, stopping the waving of his spines.

"Something isn't right. Your twin said as much. Heather and I knew this wasn't right even before showing up here. We do intend to stop you and right now I want to see if I can talk you out of I assume sacrifice, what she's doing before some god of yours claims her." Jake exclaimed, while hovering one foot over the minion.

Crossing her arms and putting on her normal expression when not angry of superiority, Sybil chimed in. "She is in a trance, she induced on herself. You can not break her of it."

"We'll see about that, " Jake replied to Sybil as he lowered down his leg. Before Mulch could take another shot at biting him however, Jake got in the first action noticing the advance this time of the creature. After knocking aside Mulch, he headed off to greet the lady bathed in magical light.

The lady standing, chanting, eyes fixed to the sky, took no notice of Jake approaching her. She was there in body but the cyborg wasn't sure if she was there in mind. Noticing tears formed on the sides of her eyes, he tried to speak to her. "You need to stop what you're doing. It can't be safe for you."

Confirmation to her mental state seemed clear when she didn't acknowledge him. Not a verbal reply or even a physical twitch. But something did seem to be taking her even if it wasn't something she seemed to notice or maybe did? Her tears now starting to stream down her face. The light was not only moving up around her, it was also moving in water-like trails into her. Noticing the magical intrusion into her, Jake tried to remove the woman from her spotlight confines.

It hurt him. The feel of the light was like that of insect bites and needles and rock. Solid, he couldn't push through the light all the way to reach her. It felt like a wall of stone that he was cutting through when trying to reach in. Slate in thin layers but invisible to what it was, it's representation a cascading display of see through magical energy.

"Something isn't right Hunters! I don't think you're creating displacing space! It's something else!" Jake shouted back towards the RAGE agents and his partner.

After months of dealing with the intervention of not only Jake but also his partners present and not. Heather, his oddly behaving dog, followed by men rarely on the scene of their escapades with RAGE. Sybil didn't want to hear a word of what her opposition was saying and as she opened her mouth ready to shout at him about her warning.

"Failed, we should leave! The JOY agent is right!" Humus shouted to his master, breaking her off from her intended slighting of the man, with her project in progress.

Looking down to the imp in concern, Sybil replied questioning, "how soon?"

Jake yelped loudly in pain and drew away from Tamulany just in time to in a sense act as an answer to that question. Turning her attention back to him at this and smiling noticing him shakily distance himself more from the lady. The purple laden witch took enjoyment at his discontent before taking in stock of why the cyborg was acting that way.

It wasn't just him reacting to the distortion, the intern was as well. She was screaming in silence, broken from her trance, making movements like she was trapped some how and some how the entrapment was getting worse for her. The light surrounding her now shifting into darker shades mixed with it's formerly dominant heavenly tones. The light was also expanding out from her.

"No stones here! No containment!" Mulch snapped, as he too started to make more distance for himself from the magical light. His attention flicking back and fourth between that, the Hunters, and the forest behind them.

Seeing Tamulany freeze up into the light forming into solid shape, Jake ran from her and her imprisonment now. It wasn't just the cruel fate he couldn't save her from causing this but fear for his own life as well. Her death sentence could well be his too if he stayed. The death sentence, the magical light which was a show of energies meant to displace to create a suitable artificial realm from normal reality. It was reaching out further and further beyond it's captured victim.

"Kein, we've failed the stones were needed. I think it's trying to create them," Sybil commented, as she too started to inch away.

"Damn, another lost investment. Lost whole future maybe." Kein replied, while coming to standing up, holding part of the equipment he'd helped bring to the park. Watching Jake heading in his direction in fleeing from that loss, he dropped down what he up till then had deemed important, letting it smash against the ground.

"Sybil, mirco-bits-soft brain has a point, we shouldn't stick around for this!" Doctor Hunter stated calmly before running off towards the woods.

As the distortion grew to filling the whole of Wolf Rock Park, it's only visitors fled from where it once was. JOY agents and RAGE agents alike, the deadly rivers in snaking light it produced, reaching for the sky, it would kill them if it got the chance to. Once they reached the verge of former recreational place where it met North Eastern Ave. When the light felt well behind them all, Heather broke the silence as she huffed to catch her breath. "What stones?! What were you talking about back there!?"

"Standing stones woman!" Sybil growled, less out of breath than the other woman.

"Those European stone circles?! What the druids gathered round in worship?!" Jake exclaimed, after returning to his full height after being bent over from panting.

"In ancient times they acted as protection against what we were trying to preform here. A barrier keeping established gateways in check, gateways opened by the druids when needed to contact other realms. They anchored this world into place while the others infringed," Kein replied, glaring at the JOY agent who'd questioned them.

Looking saddened in thought, Heather looked into what remained of the woods surrounding Wolf Rock, into the dying deadly light fading away. Where the light retreated nothing but rounded spiked up rock was all that could be seen. Except in the distance far in she could see something else, something which she couldn't quite identify.

"The woman," she questioned, still looking into the destroyed park.

"Dead," Jake replied bluntly.

Turning to Jake, biting the inside of her mouth before speaking, Heather asked him. "How can you be sure?"

Head hung down, he answered in a soft voice to her, a calm voice he only used in dire situations. "I saw close up what the magic was starting to do to her before I was forced to give up on her. It was eating into her, changing her."

"It made her an anchor as my husband would state it. Shes a rock now," Sybil replied.

Balling her fists, acting like she was ready to strike, Heather shouted, "you're a monster!"

As lights from police cars started be seen flashing near by. Officers coming to the place to investigate what they'd heard reported. Something unknown, a disturbance of some kind effecting city property on a large scale, waking up people who happened to be in nearby apartment complexes and temporarily blinding some people driving. The witch smirked and told the younger woman, "I'm a business lady, a medium, a sorceress, and as Kein thinks of me a jeweled thwaitesia. Monster no."

"We need to leave here Sybil and I'm stronger thinking about how they see you now, a chilean recluse." Doctor Hunter commented as he started to walk away from where the police seemed to be coming from, off towards darker city street.

"Chilean recluse? I'm going to have to look that up." Jake spoke to himself watching the couple and their minion imps go away.

"We're reporting them aren't we?" Heather questioned, as one of the cop cars pulled up to within a few feet of them.

"Agent Heather there's not a single hell that wouldn't condemn what those guys have done. Of course we're reporting it," Jake answered her.

Epilogue:

Approaching the eighth San Francisco entrance slash exit of the national, Heather hoped one day multinational PDL tunnel. She shook her head looking at Jake in his government rented car. Laying in it, convertible roof slid & folded back, he wasn't as relaxed as she knew he might look to anyone else who happened to observe him. He was likely grinding over in his mind recent events and couldn't decide what to do next.

Noticing in this that his head was turned to the sky, and she guessed eyes closed with the noon day sun shining over him, she commented. "I'd put the roof back on that car if I were you. This is California, you know what strangeness lurks here. The birds here might poop toxic bullets. Do you really want JOY to charge you for the upholstery cleaning?"

"We're no where near RAGE. I don't think I have to worry about mystic animals here." Jake replied, turning a little towards the direction he could hear his friend in, still not opening his eyes.

Moving to leaning on the side of the car and positioning her self to face him, Heather added. "That comment didn't really have much to anything to do with RAGE. It was more a comment on native wild life."

In response sinking down into his seat by a couple inches, Jake gave mock griping noises to answer her on the subject while making a disgusted face. That indicated to her further she was right about his frame of mind beyond him adding in RAGE to their conversation when it didn't have a real place in it. He was in a funk and needed snapping out of it.

"Two things before I really say why I'm here Agent Anatech. First off there's nothing we could have directly done about pursuing them. The best thing which could be done we've already taken care of. Attempting to tell local law enforcement what happened and contacting JOY and then faxing them our report from the hotel." Heather stated, as she moved from the side of the car to running a hand along the edge of it's hood as she went to it's front.

As she waited for a reply, Jake didn't answer her. He only continued to give a disgusted look directed at no one unless he somehow wanted to state to the sky his feelings. Seeing the words warranted no reply as far as he was concerned, a notion which lightly annoyed her, Heather continued. "You are seriously considering moving out here?"

That got him to talk, "again yes and not here, I'm considering Oakland remember?"

"Then I was right to have a chat with your friend at the Para so Palms Hotel. You not only need a cheering up you need," She paused to find the right wording.

Now feeling intrigued by whatever it was his long time friend was leading to in her speech, Jake eyes open, watched her with a look of eagerness. Noticing he was finally giving her better attention after a moment of smiling, Heather found the words fitting to what was on her mind, "a welcoming party."

"Party?" As much as he knew also he could use a mood booster, that felt out of place at the moment to Jake as he questioned the word to Heather.

Getting away from the car by a few feet without breaking eye contact, Heather answered. "Alonso's idea. I support it. Your father has felt this coming. Your mom," again the female JOY agent broke off in mid-speech unsure what to say next. Jake however knew without her continuing.

"I know how my mom feels about anything new to me which might have risk in it." Jake stated, straightening himself in the car seat he was in.

"Parties like this don't have harmful risk unless you count the poor pink, green, blue, and gold donkey we've picked out for it. Kidding, yes this is particularly over how serious you sound about moving out here." Heather answered, as she started walking in the direction of her rental car, grabbing out the keys in her pocket for it.

"What a rainbow donkey? Heather what in the world?! Or worlds?! If RAGE is involved somehow?!" Jake asked her panicked, getting out of the car to confront her, but feeling unsure what to make of the odd description. Given she didn't sound concerned, he didn't pursue her once out on the cement laden ground. He stood and hoped she'd answer him before he knew he'd mentally invent explanation to the strangely colored draught animal."

Turning to face him one last time before exiting the inclined man-made grounding that provided the eighth tunnel's port. Heather near to her car, with a look of playfulness spread across her face and in her smile, answered him. "I don't think this pinata is from another plane of existence Jake. Come on, lets root out and destroy the evil that is coke and nachos!"

Getting back in his rental car, Jake grinned before turning the key in the ignition. Looking to see if he could still make out where Heather's car was which he noticed gratefully had not started moving yet. He roared his MX-5 Miata Mazda to life and indicated to her he was ready for the good times to come.

The End