Author's Note: You're in for a special treat today, kiddies! This chapter
is our Super-Deluxe-length Humungo Boss Fight! Yay! This chapter's Humungo
Boss is none other than everyone's favorite seven-winged bringer of
destruction, the Divine Dragon! Enjoy, and don't forget to review!
Oh, and Regrem Erutaerc, don't worry about it. I have some futher plans laid out for my little pawns... *insert diabolical chuckle here*
Another question for you, esteemed readers. What the heck is a muse, and how can it go off and get drunk? I've only been a ff.net author for two months, I still don't know all the abbreviations and stuff like that.
Chapter 36
"Before we go, I need to speak with my father," Rayen told the group.
The new Sea Dragoon stomped her foot impatiently. "What for? So that the Dragon can go destroy another city?"
Rayen shook his head. "The Dragon is satisfied with the carnage he has already evoked, at least for now. He will not return until his thirst for blood is aroused once again."
The rest of the group reluctantly consented, and they were outside Rayen's home in seconds, courtesy of Kyra's Wingly magic. Rayen entered the house, calling out for his father.
"He's not here. But I am."
Sean slid down the stair banister, his ranseur in hands, looking as if it had been freshly sharpened.
Rayen sighed in exasperation. "Do you know where he is?"
Sean shrugged. "I didn't bother to ask. Listen, I want to come with you."
Rayen's response was so automatic he didn't even have to consciously think about it. "Forget it."
Sean clenched his fist in anger. He had suspected Rayen would have this attitude. "Why not?"
"Because you're not a Dragoon anymore."
"That doesn't matter now! When you use the Dragon Block Staff, your Dragoon Spirits will be useless! You'll have to fight in human form, so I can help! I've been practicing with this," Sean indicated his weapon.
Rayen was surprised at the former Dragoon's resolution. "How did you know about that?"
"Your dad told me."
Rayen sighed. "Figures." He considered the situation, searching for a plausible reason not to allow Sean to join them. He found none, so he threw up his hands in defeat. "Fine."
The effect was instantaneous. Sean rushed out the door with an exclamation of triumph. Rayen followed, wondering if he would regret his decision later. With a hurried explanation, he motioned to the group, and they disappeared, off to a battle that may decide the fate of Endiness.
************************************************************************
The seven Dragoons and Sean stood on a large shelf of rock overlooking the Mountain of the Mortal Dragon, its superheated depths bubbling in anticipation of fresh blood in their midst. The eight companions drew their weapons, and Rayen clutched the ancient staff of the Winglies in his hand, drawing confidence from the magical strength that throbbed through the metal. He looked up at the sky, clouded with the smoke from the volcano, and he felt the Red-Eye Dragon's presence in his own mind. Words flooded his brain, and he shouted them aloud, an ancient challenge of power from the language of Dragons.
The Dragon, in his arrogance, would not refuse an open defiance of his might. With a gigantic spout of molten rock, the colossus emerged, landing on the shelf, his presence filled with menace. Rayen acted immediately, hurling the staff into the air. Again an incantation flowed into his mind, and he spoke it, without knowing what they truly meant. The Dragon Block Staff shattered, fulfilling its purpose in creation by the Wingly society over 12 millennia ago, spreading its powerful enchantment over the area. The Dragon roared in pure frustration and anger as he felt his power drain from his body, sucked away by a spell he remembered well, a spell that had caused his ancestor's destruction over a thousand years ago.
Rayen brought his left hand to join his right on the hilt of his sword, which he gripped tightly, until his knuckles turned white. This was it, he realized. There would be no turning back now. They would either defeat this reptilian tyrant or die in the process, for the Dragon would allow no retreat. Rayen didn't want to go back there, and he wouldn't give up without being a serious pain in the Dragon's scaly ass.
The eight warriors divided and hurled themselves at the Lord of Dragons, and the struggle for the future of Endiness commenced.
Sean brought one of the five prongs of his weapon across the Dragon's flank, drawing forth a thin line of crimson. He dodged the Dragon's sweeping tail, and he felt the adrenaline surge through his body, and he elated in the thrill that rushed through him. This was what he was meant to do, and what he wanted to do. If he did nothing else in his life, he would not have any regrets. If he could by any means convince Rayen and the others to allow him to follow any longer, by Soa and the Divine Tree, he would.
The girl from Furni brought her hammer against the scaly shell of the Dragon, making up what she lacked in technique with pure energy and rage, taking her revenge on the beast that destroyed her way of life, catapulting her into this mess. She had always thought her old life was boring, and would have done anything to go and see the world, but now that the weight of Endiness was on her shoulders, she wished she could have just gone back to the way things were. The spirits of the normally cheerful Sea Dragoon were dimmed this day, like the smoke that hovered above them, choking the sun and overcasting its life-bringing luminescence.
Oraeus brought his heavy axe smashing down on Dragon, mustering all the strength that his Giganto heritage had granted him. He had vowed upon being outcast from society to bring justice in any way he could, and the Golden Dragoon could find nothing more justified than sending this horrendous beast back to the void where he belonged. He saw the huge claw threatening to slice him in two, and, not having the agility to dodge, he heaved up the heavy oak handle of his axe, blocking the stroke. He took this opportunity to swing his blade at the Dragon's front leg, hoping to cripple the monster. Although the Dragon reared his massive head in pain, the vicious stroke that knocked Oraeus off his feet signaled that the half-Giganto had not accomplished his task.
Kyra flew over and around the Divine Dragon's head, slashing at his head and neck with the steel claws that were attached to her hands. She had contributed to bringing this fiend back to Endiness, and now she would contribute to sending it back. She swooped and weaved through the air, maneuvering around the Dragon's snapping jaws, proving that she was an irritant to be reckoned with.
Shade snapped both his blades back and forth in a deadly rhythm along the Dragon's left flank. Every so often he jumped over or rolled beneath the sweeping tail, but for the most part he was left alone, for the Dragon was preoccupied with other targets, mostly Kyra, for she was obviously aggravating the creature to no end, like a fly the Dragon longed to swat. Shade never tired, even after scoring the Dragon's hide countless times, for he finally felt like he was accomplishing something worthwhile. For ten years he had walked the darkest, most sinister paths in the world, because he had nowhere else to go. Now, he had a choice, and he would be further damned if he was going to let it slip away again.
Phil was attacking the Dragon head-on, and therefore getting the brunt of the reptile's counterassault. He jumped over a sweep of the behemoth's claw, an attempt to knock both he and Rayen, who was fighting on his right, off their feet. The normally light-hearted Jade Dragoon was now very serious, for even he understood the weight of this battle against the future of... well, everything. He stabbed the point of his spear into the Dragon's front left leg, causing the drake to hiss in irritation. The Dragon swung his massive head at the Wind Dragon Knight, meaning to knock him off, but Phil dodged again and jammed the tip of his weapon into the titan's neck. This time, however, the Dragon's claw made contact, dislodging his spear and sending him hurtling into a nearby boulder. The Jade Dragoon fell to the ground, momentarily stunned.
Rayen, furious at the Dragon's brutality, drove his blade into the giant's massive chest. He withdrew his sword quickly, and rolled beneath the claw that once again endeavored to beat him into submission. Again he struck, and this time the leg came crashing down from over his head, meaning to squash him flat. He jumped to the side, then leapt on top of the claws, scoring a hit on the knee. Wasting no time, he jumped once more, bringing his sword up to deal a blow to the Dragon's central eye.
This was exactly what the Dragon wanted. Too late Rayen noticed the telltale azure gleam in the Dragon's eyes. The Dragon had fooled him, with the cold calculating intelligence built up over centuries of experience, which the shrewd beast had masked with his open sense of ruthlessness. He was given those opportunities to attack, for the Dragon meant to take one of these annoying insects out once and for all. Now that he was airborne, he had no hope of dodging the magical onslaught that would follow. This... is going to hurt, Rayen thought to himself.
The blue-white beam sliced through the air, colliding with the Red-Eye Dragoon in midair. Unbelievable pain exploded in his skull, and his body began to convulse even before his back was slammed into a sheet of rock. He crashed to the platform of rock on which the battle was waged, dazed from the blow. Even with the Dragon Block Staff channeling most of the power out of the Dragon, the power contained within that beam was tremendous. Rayen managed to pull out one of the healing potions Dawn had taken the precaution of making before the brawl, and downed it in one gulp. Rayen felt his bones knit, the gigantic ache in his head reduced to a dull throb. He got to his feet and charged back towards the skirmish, sword in hand.
The Dragon had foreseen this as well, and he reared back his serpentine neck, meaning to snap his head forward and devour this pestering Human whole. The Dragoons could not keep tormenting him for long. They would wear out long before he did, and then he would pick them off slowly, one by one. Sean recognized the Dragon's movements, having watched the way a snake moved in for the kill. He wracked his brain for something he could do, anything. His mind wandered, and he recalled the dream. That was it! He pulled out the Dragon skull the woman in the dream had given him.
"Rayen, catch!" Sean's voice rang out as he lobbed the object towards the sprinting Dragoon.
Rayen recognized the skull even as it soared through the air. He had seen countless sketches of the thing in History class. Sean, with no formal education, would probably not have known. Rayen wondered how Sean had managed to get his hands on such a thing, but that could come later. He plucked the artifact out of the air with his left hand, and slid his right hand through the space where the lower jaw of the skull would have occupied, and grasped the handle that appeared. Running all the while, he thrust his hand straight into the Dragon's central eye as the head of the massive creature snapped forward.
The pale yellow blade of the Dragon Buster slid through the eye with remarkably little resistance, and Rayen felt Wingly magic surge into the Dragon's head, accomplishing the deadly work for which it was created. The Divine Dragon convulsed, but it soon wore out. The Lord of Dragons gave one final shudder, than ceased to move.
Thus, by channeling their fear, hatred, and anger, the Dragoons had defeated the monster that epitomized all of these emotions.
The Divine Dragon lay dead, on a shelf of rock at the summit of his ancestral home.
Rayen drew a circle in the center of the main eye with the blade of the Dragon Buster. With a brilliant flash of light, a Dragon Spirit was born, hanging suspended in the air. Rayen was about to take it, when unimaginable pain, far worse than anything the dragon had caused, exploded in his head. He fell to his knees once more, and a dark figure swooped down and snatched the Spirit out of the air. Rayen looked up at the shape.
It was formed in cruel mockery of a Human, right down to imperfect facial features, but anyone could tell it was nothing of the sort. It was black as midnight, and its eyes had crimson irises, like a Wingly, that no Human could ever possess, and those eyes radiated a staggering malevolence, an evil surpassing anything the Dragoons had seen before. In his right hand, he clutched the Divine Dragon Spirit, and in his left, he held a small bottle of red liquid. Rayen recognized that bottle. It was the blood from the graveyard! A part of himself he had willingly given to another; it all made sense! Pure, unadulterated rage bubbled up from within him.
"YOU BASTARD!"
The villain just laughed, a gloating laugh that sounded like an echoing death knoll, and the crimson blood turned black, and Rayen clutched his skull in agony once more. Fortunately, his companions were not idle. Sean lunged at the wretch, shattering the vial and spilling the accursed fluid to the rock below. Rayen felt the pain recede, and stood up, shaking with fury.
The demon merely shrugged. "It had served its purpose. I was sent to make sure none of you get your hands on this," he said as he indicated the Divine Dragon Spirit. "Now that I have it, I'll kill you all now!"
The unholy creature coaxed the Spirit, and it, sensing power, responded. The devil was clad in the armor of the Divine Dragoon.
"Divine Dragon Cannon!"
The beam shot forth once again, speeding straight for Rayen.
Phil shouted to the Red-Eye. "Get out of the way!"
But Rayen merely stood there, staring upwards at the spell, with an almost resigned look on his face.
Then the light of Divine Dragon Cannon engulfed him.
Author's Note: OK, chapter over! This one was longer than it usually is, which is not very long for the people who have 10,000-word chapters, but I also update every few days, so give me some credit here.
I have left you people with an interesting little cliffhanger, with some good and bad news attached. The good news is that the Divine Dragon is finally dead, Rayen is finally rid of the evil head demons (now if he could only do something about mine), and the Dragoons also have the Dragon Buster. On the flip side, the guy who was invading his mind has gotten the Divine Dragoon Spirit, and he's trying to kill Rayen! Poor Rayen, he always seems to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, doesn't he?
What have the BOA guys been cooking up during this time? Whatever happened to the man who orchestrated the return of the Dragons? Who is this mysterious newcomer, and is he connected with the other two in any way? What will the Dragoons do about Sean?
I love all of those unanswered questions, they give my story some semblance of a plot. *is slightly pessimistic when it comes to writing ability, in case you haven't already noticed* OK kiddies, that's it for now! Poke the pretty link and review! Don't forget to eat your vegetables!
Oh, and Regrem Erutaerc, don't worry about it. I have some futher plans laid out for my little pawns... *insert diabolical chuckle here*
Another question for you, esteemed readers. What the heck is a muse, and how can it go off and get drunk? I've only been a ff.net author for two months, I still don't know all the abbreviations and stuff like that.
Chapter 36
"Before we go, I need to speak with my father," Rayen told the group.
The new Sea Dragoon stomped her foot impatiently. "What for? So that the Dragon can go destroy another city?"
Rayen shook his head. "The Dragon is satisfied with the carnage he has already evoked, at least for now. He will not return until his thirst for blood is aroused once again."
The rest of the group reluctantly consented, and they were outside Rayen's home in seconds, courtesy of Kyra's Wingly magic. Rayen entered the house, calling out for his father.
"He's not here. But I am."
Sean slid down the stair banister, his ranseur in hands, looking as if it had been freshly sharpened.
Rayen sighed in exasperation. "Do you know where he is?"
Sean shrugged. "I didn't bother to ask. Listen, I want to come with you."
Rayen's response was so automatic he didn't even have to consciously think about it. "Forget it."
Sean clenched his fist in anger. He had suspected Rayen would have this attitude. "Why not?"
"Because you're not a Dragoon anymore."
"That doesn't matter now! When you use the Dragon Block Staff, your Dragoon Spirits will be useless! You'll have to fight in human form, so I can help! I've been practicing with this," Sean indicated his weapon.
Rayen was surprised at the former Dragoon's resolution. "How did you know about that?"
"Your dad told me."
Rayen sighed. "Figures." He considered the situation, searching for a plausible reason not to allow Sean to join them. He found none, so he threw up his hands in defeat. "Fine."
The effect was instantaneous. Sean rushed out the door with an exclamation of triumph. Rayen followed, wondering if he would regret his decision later. With a hurried explanation, he motioned to the group, and they disappeared, off to a battle that may decide the fate of Endiness.
************************************************************************
The seven Dragoons and Sean stood on a large shelf of rock overlooking the Mountain of the Mortal Dragon, its superheated depths bubbling in anticipation of fresh blood in their midst. The eight companions drew their weapons, and Rayen clutched the ancient staff of the Winglies in his hand, drawing confidence from the magical strength that throbbed through the metal. He looked up at the sky, clouded with the smoke from the volcano, and he felt the Red-Eye Dragon's presence in his own mind. Words flooded his brain, and he shouted them aloud, an ancient challenge of power from the language of Dragons.
The Dragon, in his arrogance, would not refuse an open defiance of his might. With a gigantic spout of molten rock, the colossus emerged, landing on the shelf, his presence filled with menace. Rayen acted immediately, hurling the staff into the air. Again an incantation flowed into his mind, and he spoke it, without knowing what they truly meant. The Dragon Block Staff shattered, fulfilling its purpose in creation by the Wingly society over 12 millennia ago, spreading its powerful enchantment over the area. The Dragon roared in pure frustration and anger as he felt his power drain from his body, sucked away by a spell he remembered well, a spell that had caused his ancestor's destruction over a thousand years ago.
Rayen brought his left hand to join his right on the hilt of his sword, which he gripped tightly, until his knuckles turned white. This was it, he realized. There would be no turning back now. They would either defeat this reptilian tyrant or die in the process, for the Dragon would allow no retreat. Rayen didn't want to go back there, and he wouldn't give up without being a serious pain in the Dragon's scaly ass.
The eight warriors divided and hurled themselves at the Lord of Dragons, and the struggle for the future of Endiness commenced.
Sean brought one of the five prongs of his weapon across the Dragon's flank, drawing forth a thin line of crimson. He dodged the Dragon's sweeping tail, and he felt the adrenaline surge through his body, and he elated in the thrill that rushed through him. This was what he was meant to do, and what he wanted to do. If he did nothing else in his life, he would not have any regrets. If he could by any means convince Rayen and the others to allow him to follow any longer, by Soa and the Divine Tree, he would.
The girl from Furni brought her hammer against the scaly shell of the Dragon, making up what she lacked in technique with pure energy and rage, taking her revenge on the beast that destroyed her way of life, catapulting her into this mess. She had always thought her old life was boring, and would have done anything to go and see the world, but now that the weight of Endiness was on her shoulders, she wished she could have just gone back to the way things were. The spirits of the normally cheerful Sea Dragoon were dimmed this day, like the smoke that hovered above them, choking the sun and overcasting its life-bringing luminescence.
Oraeus brought his heavy axe smashing down on Dragon, mustering all the strength that his Giganto heritage had granted him. He had vowed upon being outcast from society to bring justice in any way he could, and the Golden Dragoon could find nothing more justified than sending this horrendous beast back to the void where he belonged. He saw the huge claw threatening to slice him in two, and, not having the agility to dodge, he heaved up the heavy oak handle of his axe, blocking the stroke. He took this opportunity to swing his blade at the Dragon's front leg, hoping to cripple the monster. Although the Dragon reared his massive head in pain, the vicious stroke that knocked Oraeus off his feet signaled that the half-Giganto had not accomplished his task.
Kyra flew over and around the Divine Dragon's head, slashing at his head and neck with the steel claws that were attached to her hands. She had contributed to bringing this fiend back to Endiness, and now she would contribute to sending it back. She swooped and weaved through the air, maneuvering around the Dragon's snapping jaws, proving that she was an irritant to be reckoned with.
Shade snapped both his blades back and forth in a deadly rhythm along the Dragon's left flank. Every so often he jumped over or rolled beneath the sweeping tail, but for the most part he was left alone, for the Dragon was preoccupied with other targets, mostly Kyra, for she was obviously aggravating the creature to no end, like a fly the Dragon longed to swat. Shade never tired, even after scoring the Dragon's hide countless times, for he finally felt like he was accomplishing something worthwhile. For ten years he had walked the darkest, most sinister paths in the world, because he had nowhere else to go. Now, he had a choice, and he would be further damned if he was going to let it slip away again.
Phil was attacking the Dragon head-on, and therefore getting the brunt of the reptile's counterassault. He jumped over a sweep of the behemoth's claw, an attempt to knock both he and Rayen, who was fighting on his right, off their feet. The normally light-hearted Jade Dragoon was now very serious, for even he understood the weight of this battle against the future of... well, everything. He stabbed the point of his spear into the Dragon's front left leg, causing the drake to hiss in irritation. The Dragon swung his massive head at the Wind Dragon Knight, meaning to knock him off, but Phil dodged again and jammed the tip of his weapon into the titan's neck. This time, however, the Dragon's claw made contact, dislodging his spear and sending him hurtling into a nearby boulder. The Jade Dragoon fell to the ground, momentarily stunned.
Rayen, furious at the Dragon's brutality, drove his blade into the giant's massive chest. He withdrew his sword quickly, and rolled beneath the claw that once again endeavored to beat him into submission. Again he struck, and this time the leg came crashing down from over his head, meaning to squash him flat. He jumped to the side, then leapt on top of the claws, scoring a hit on the knee. Wasting no time, he jumped once more, bringing his sword up to deal a blow to the Dragon's central eye.
This was exactly what the Dragon wanted. Too late Rayen noticed the telltale azure gleam in the Dragon's eyes. The Dragon had fooled him, with the cold calculating intelligence built up over centuries of experience, which the shrewd beast had masked with his open sense of ruthlessness. He was given those opportunities to attack, for the Dragon meant to take one of these annoying insects out once and for all. Now that he was airborne, he had no hope of dodging the magical onslaught that would follow. This... is going to hurt, Rayen thought to himself.
The blue-white beam sliced through the air, colliding with the Red-Eye Dragoon in midair. Unbelievable pain exploded in his skull, and his body began to convulse even before his back was slammed into a sheet of rock. He crashed to the platform of rock on which the battle was waged, dazed from the blow. Even with the Dragon Block Staff channeling most of the power out of the Dragon, the power contained within that beam was tremendous. Rayen managed to pull out one of the healing potions Dawn had taken the precaution of making before the brawl, and downed it in one gulp. Rayen felt his bones knit, the gigantic ache in his head reduced to a dull throb. He got to his feet and charged back towards the skirmish, sword in hand.
The Dragon had foreseen this as well, and he reared back his serpentine neck, meaning to snap his head forward and devour this pestering Human whole. The Dragoons could not keep tormenting him for long. They would wear out long before he did, and then he would pick them off slowly, one by one. Sean recognized the Dragon's movements, having watched the way a snake moved in for the kill. He wracked his brain for something he could do, anything. His mind wandered, and he recalled the dream. That was it! He pulled out the Dragon skull the woman in the dream had given him.
"Rayen, catch!" Sean's voice rang out as he lobbed the object towards the sprinting Dragoon.
Rayen recognized the skull even as it soared through the air. He had seen countless sketches of the thing in History class. Sean, with no formal education, would probably not have known. Rayen wondered how Sean had managed to get his hands on such a thing, but that could come later. He plucked the artifact out of the air with his left hand, and slid his right hand through the space where the lower jaw of the skull would have occupied, and grasped the handle that appeared. Running all the while, he thrust his hand straight into the Dragon's central eye as the head of the massive creature snapped forward.
The pale yellow blade of the Dragon Buster slid through the eye with remarkably little resistance, and Rayen felt Wingly magic surge into the Dragon's head, accomplishing the deadly work for which it was created. The Divine Dragon convulsed, but it soon wore out. The Lord of Dragons gave one final shudder, than ceased to move.
Thus, by channeling their fear, hatred, and anger, the Dragoons had defeated the monster that epitomized all of these emotions.
The Divine Dragon lay dead, on a shelf of rock at the summit of his ancestral home.
Rayen drew a circle in the center of the main eye with the blade of the Dragon Buster. With a brilliant flash of light, a Dragon Spirit was born, hanging suspended in the air. Rayen was about to take it, when unimaginable pain, far worse than anything the dragon had caused, exploded in his head. He fell to his knees once more, and a dark figure swooped down and snatched the Spirit out of the air. Rayen looked up at the shape.
It was formed in cruel mockery of a Human, right down to imperfect facial features, but anyone could tell it was nothing of the sort. It was black as midnight, and its eyes had crimson irises, like a Wingly, that no Human could ever possess, and those eyes radiated a staggering malevolence, an evil surpassing anything the Dragoons had seen before. In his right hand, he clutched the Divine Dragon Spirit, and in his left, he held a small bottle of red liquid. Rayen recognized that bottle. It was the blood from the graveyard! A part of himself he had willingly given to another; it all made sense! Pure, unadulterated rage bubbled up from within him.
"YOU BASTARD!"
The villain just laughed, a gloating laugh that sounded like an echoing death knoll, and the crimson blood turned black, and Rayen clutched his skull in agony once more. Fortunately, his companions were not idle. Sean lunged at the wretch, shattering the vial and spilling the accursed fluid to the rock below. Rayen felt the pain recede, and stood up, shaking with fury.
The demon merely shrugged. "It had served its purpose. I was sent to make sure none of you get your hands on this," he said as he indicated the Divine Dragon Spirit. "Now that I have it, I'll kill you all now!"
The unholy creature coaxed the Spirit, and it, sensing power, responded. The devil was clad in the armor of the Divine Dragoon.
"Divine Dragon Cannon!"
The beam shot forth once again, speeding straight for Rayen.
Phil shouted to the Red-Eye. "Get out of the way!"
But Rayen merely stood there, staring upwards at the spell, with an almost resigned look on his face.
Then the light of Divine Dragon Cannon engulfed him.
Author's Note: OK, chapter over! This one was longer than it usually is, which is not very long for the people who have 10,000-word chapters, but I also update every few days, so give me some credit here.
I have left you people with an interesting little cliffhanger, with some good and bad news attached. The good news is that the Divine Dragon is finally dead, Rayen is finally rid of the evil head demons (now if he could only do something about mine), and the Dragoons also have the Dragon Buster. On the flip side, the guy who was invading his mind has gotten the Divine Dragoon Spirit, and he's trying to kill Rayen! Poor Rayen, he always seems to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, doesn't he?
What have the BOA guys been cooking up during this time? Whatever happened to the man who orchestrated the return of the Dragons? Who is this mysterious newcomer, and is he connected with the other two in any way? What will the Dragoons do about Sean?
I love all of those unanswered questions, they give my story some semblance of a plot. *is slightly pessimistic when it comes to writing ability, in case you haven't already noticed* OK kiddies, that's it for now! Poke the pretty link and review! Don't forget to eat your vegetables!