Author's Note: the roles of Zack, Det

Author's Note: We had a couple of questions in our feedback.

Where did we come up with Manticorny? Well, this is the 2nd RPG. The first one quickly got out of control, as every player insisted on being an X5, and being in the middle of major action at all times. When we closed it and started the new RPG, we were satirizing the first. Therefore, we needed something that made every normal average person think they were a battling X5.

Why did Max and Tinga turn on Zack so quickly? We don't really know. Zack somehow escaped from Manticore. Max and Tinga instinctively saw him as "bad," without knowing why. They went with that gut reaction and took him down.

We still need writers to play Det. Sung, Sketchy, Normal, and any kind of bad guy you like. Please visit the RPG folder at www.delphi.com/darkangelfans/messages for information, or contact me at jennem@bigfoot.com.

Point of View: NORMAL *******************************

"I remember why I don't take sick days. If this is the kind of mess created with my short absence then I may never get a vacation." I thought to myself as I continued sorting through all the packages and fielding all the calls. Somehow all the priority stuff got thrown in the back. I had a good guess that it had something to do with Sketchy and his horse play again.

"Hey where the fire truck is Max?" I asked one of the riders. All I got was a shrug. Sometimes I've gotta wonder if she works here or just passing through. If she wasn't the fastest rider I have I would've canned her by now.

A elegant looking woman came up to my counter as I was still sifting through a few messages. She looked at me strangely.

"Excuse me. You needed something?" I asked the lady.

"Well after you left I remembered that we hadn't exchanged numbers. I wanted to thank you again for helping me." said the woman holding her a small chow-chow.

"Aaah...umm...I helped you? today?...I guess we can exchange numbers. My name is Normal by the way." I said extending my hand and looking for a piece of paper to write on. She shook my hand and smiled. It lifted my heart with the day I was having.

"Oh! here's a piece of paper...here's my number" I said to her as I handed her over the note. She in turn wrote don her number in my still out stretched hand and gave me a wink and walked out the door. As I
broke out of my momentary daze at having a beautiful woman signing my hand she turned back and said to call her Patricia.

"Patricia...I'll..call you!" I said out loud as the riders stopped and peered up at me from their lockers.

"Do that!" she said back and continued on her way out.

I wonder what I did to warrant her attention as a call interrupted my thoughts. "Hello! Jam Pony...We serve Greater Seattle...Okay..got..it...yes we can have it delivered in time...sure no problem.." I answered the caller typing in the data.

"You get over here! take this to the corner of Market and 24th avenue. A man will give you some instructions when you get there. Follow them carefully...got it?...Hello! got it?" I yelled and then all the lights flicker off and the ground seemed to tremble.

"Oh! God! it's the big one!" I screamed ducking beneath the counter.
"Everyone get under something. Now!" I ordered holding my knees close to my chest.

Point of View: SKETCHY *******************************

(max,max,max,objctives.....sister,manticore,x5,lydeker,what the hell?......Max my sister? I don't think so I've only got an older brother, Lydeker my brother? Max............sh*t, I don't feel to good I gotta sit down...)Oo

"Cindy ,hold up I don't feel so good!!"I yelled.

(oh no not this feeling again.........there go the lights,damn)Oo
CRASH!!!!!!!!

I came off my bike pretty hard but the excruciating pain in my head cancelled what the body registered.
Flashbacks from the' Seattle Psychiatric Institute Summer of Love ' came flooding back harder and faster than ever before, the pain I knew all to well, a little reminder of the months being used as a human test subject for mulitstimulants and Cycloxaphen a Morphine derivative drug now used to control the moods of "Psychoactive High Risk Patients" which I didn't mind at the time cos I was making some serious" cha ching"for doing the experiments.

The pain in my head was slowly subsiding but the impact of the fall was now setting in.

It felt like an eternity had passed by the time I got to my feet but it had only been a matter of minutes.
Cindy helped me to my feet asking "are you alright,what happened??"
"boy I wish I knew?" as I stood there trying to recollect what the hell had happened.

My accident had drawn a crowd, Cindy was yelling at people to' back off!!!' ya got to love that girl she can be so protective sometimes.
People were still 'freaking'out like their on bad acid, my brain was throbbing still but the body hurt more.
Felling kinda disorientated and blank I asked where we were, Cindy told me that we on our way to meet max at the crash again and that she's got more information that she didn't have the last time we met.
She's found out from Logan what's causing the madness that's madness that's taken over the city.

Cindy was hassel'n me telling me my fall had something to do with ' gummies', I told Cindy she was crazy and just passed it off as a Caffeine O.D ,I had acquired some whole beans form a friend of a friend that came from Africa, Cindy was looking pretty worried.
I told her that" I might of had one beans to many this morning. "and not to worry coz" Sketchy's got it sorted"

"It might have something to do with the 'gummies' that everyone's been eating?" Cindy said with a concerned look on he face.

"what?" I said ,looking puzzled.

"Ya know ,the gummies you were eating back at jampony"Cindy reached in to her bag and pulled out a small bag of colorful sweets "These one's" she said.

"hey they look nice, can I have one"

"Yeah right, I don't thing so sweetness"

"you were eating these at jampony when we left ,remember"

''Nope , I don't remember eating any of those" Cindy looked at me blankly rolled her eyes and said" arhhhh......never mind lets get going we might miss boo if we don't hurry and get to the Crash..."

Point of View: MAX *******************************

The ground is shaking beneath us, forcing me to forget about the consequences of getting Zack to the hospital or not. An earthquake? It's almost impossible. I don't believe there are any fault lines under us.

As the shaking continues, Tinga is thrown into Bling's arms and they both tumble to the ground. Glass shatters as things crash to the floor. Logan's wheelchair tips, and as I reach out to stop it, I'm thrown into his lap.

That's when the shaking stops.

"Hey," he says softly, looking right at me with that look that stops my breath.

But then Tinga screams. We turn to look and see that a large shard of glass has lodged itself in Zack's leg and he's bleeding profusely.

Point of View: NORMAL *******************************

"Hello?...yes...no..call back later!" I said yelling into the phone as the ground trembled again. "I knew it was a bad sign when a woman comes and asks me out but this is insane! Oh...that woman she may still be out there..." I pondered. I got up from underneath the counter and looked around to see small cracks in the walls but nothing serious yet. Most of the riders were huddled together underneath the tables and benches.

"You! your in charge until I get back!" I said pointing to the nearest one. A small moan escaped from the riders lips. "Close enough." I said as I walked carefully around the counter. I nearly lost my balance as another tremor rolled past.

"Gosh darn! this is Seattle not California what's going on?" I raged as I took in the sight of pedestrians running around looking for shelter.

"Get down man it's finally happening the aliens...they're attacking! If your smart you'll get out of Seattle man!" screamed a dark haired male lunatic in a grey raincoat.

"Get away from me!" I said pushing the man off as he tried to grasp my shoulder.

The woman was no where in sight I had to hope she was alright I thought as I looked left and right of the block.

"Woof...woof...woof.." came a barking sound from underneath a nearby car. I leaned down to see what was making the noise and spotted the dog that the woman had in her arm when she left but there were no signs of her. I tried to grab the dog but it bit me. "Why you little..." I mumbled at the dog. "I'm just trying to get you back to your owner." I said trying to reason with the animal. Why not? after all I spend most days trying to reason with Sketchy.

The dog made a break for a nearby alley as I tired to grab for it again.

"Just isn't my day." I thought running after it.

Point of View: LOGAN *******************************

Tinga is screaming and Bling sits, stunned, for a second, holding on to her. Then both scramble up and swing into action. Max watches for another instant and then jumps up to help.

Maybe someday I'll get her on my lap and keep her there for more than ten seconds, but the middle of a tremor probably isn't the right time. I find myself wondering if Bling's thinking the same thing about Tinga.

The three are putting their training in field medicine to good use. Bling tears up his T-shirt for a tourniquet, and then the rest as a bandage once the glass is removed. The bleeding slows, but from the looks of the floor he lost a hell of a lot.

Bling looks at me. "Between the coma and the bleeding, we're going to have to take a chance on getting him into a hospital. They should be packed, maybe no one will notice the...discrepancies...in his physiology. And once we get hold of some blood and IV fluids, we'll get him back out."

Max and Tinga look at each other, judging whether or not to protest. I decide for them.

"Bling, Tinga, you get Zack into the car. I'm going with you, let's see who I can talk into seeing him quickly. And who I can pay off to let him out with a few pieces of extra equipment. Max, you stay here. You have the passwords, get online and see if you can find out what the hell caused these tremors."

Max doesn't look happy. "Logan, I told Cindy I'd go back to Crash and meet her."

I've had enough for one day. "Max, I don't give a damn. Do whatever you want here but don't leave this apartment and that's final."

Max looks stunned. I feel terrified. I can't believe I just gave a super-soldier an ultimatum. She may let me live, but I'm not hopeful.

Max narrows her eyes. "I'll see what I can do."

I don't dare argue any further. I head down to the car to meet Tinga and Bling.

Point of View: MAX *******************************

I'm being punished. Logan is punishing me by putting me out of action because he's mad at me for what Tinga and I did to Zack. Zack deserved what he got, and in a way, I deserve this, too.

This fact does little to assuage my anger. Does Logan think that because I'm part of Eyes Only that he can order me around? I wish I knew what went on with that man. Does he see me as a weapon or as a woman?

I'm also majorly afraid for Zack. Tinga and I were fed up with his antics, but if he dies because of that stupid piece of glass . . . well, he's still my brother, and right now I'm feeling major guilt.

Logan, Bling, and Tinga have left with Zack, and I'm curled up in Logan's desk chair. It's not as comfortable as his lap, but . . . .

My pager beeps. It's Cindy. I dial the number and can picture her snatching the phone off the hook as it rings.

"Max? Where are you?" she demands.

"Logan's. He's got me under house arrest."

"Sorry Boo. Look, Sketchy's a little disoriented, so I'm taking him home. Want me to come by after?"

"Sure." Good, a visitor.

"Aiight, be there soon." She hangs up.

Logan wants me to find the cause of the tremors. Ok, fine. It'll give me something to do until Cindy arrives. There's not much. Everyone is as surprised as we were.

Then something pops up. An explosion . . . . apparently, Manticorny gummies are highly unstable in the formation process.

Point of View: LYDECKER *******************************

I watch quietly from the shadows and frown, this wasn't supposed to happen. I mean sure! they're trained to kill! but not each other. I would of thought Tinga would be better, I guess she proved me wrong.

Crouching in a dark corner, I watch Max spin around in circles on a swivel chair. Mr. Cale has her trained like a pet dog, I sneer. My feet are stiff from crouching for to long and I wobble. Max catches the movement and looks into the shadows, straight into my eyes, she blinks and I'm gone.

The look of fear on her face makes me smile. I c0ck my gun as I walk out of the building, my long coat flying behind me. I tip my hat at a cute blonde that walks by. I hope into a black Durango and leave.

Point of View: MAX *******************************

Lydecker.

He's here.

And he knows where to find me.

At Logan's.

Damn.

I'm going to have to leave the city, go far away. But I can't leave Logan unprotected. Chances are Lydecker knows Tinga's here too. I have to warn her.

Scribbling a note for Cindy, I leave and head for the hospital. The streets are full of Manticorny addicts, but out there one of them is the real thing.

A part of my brain wonders if Zack had anything to do with it. There's been something not quite right with him.

How am I going to tell Tinga that she has to leave, now that she's gotten comfortable here? How can I tell Logan?

It's now or never, I tell myself, because I've reached the hospital.