No time for formalities! Busy at work! New ideas!

chyp: Thanx, chyp, and have fun with your fellow Scouts. I used to be one, but alas, I was just too lazy to get anything done. It was a long time ago, though, when dinosaurs still walked around…

Raya: Cheers for your comments. I try to throw in a nice quote every now and then to keep the regulars entertained.


"I'm right here!" Matthew shouted at the top of his lungs. His brothers had entered the basement, where he was, but because they were in different realms, they could neither hear nor see each other.

Matthew groaned. Sabo had gone upstairs to read the Book in silence, leaving Matthew alone. Matthew had by this time gained back his ability to move, but it seemed as though he was unable to leave the basement. Every time he tried to go up the stairs, his feet would pass through them like they were holographic and unreal.

He turned his attention to his brothers, who were unknowingly looking right at him. Matthew waved his hands; although he knew that they wouldn't see it, he was out of ideas. After a short while of thinking, he decided to try and touch them. He grabbed James' shoulder, but like the stairs, his hand passed through James' body. He tried a few more times, even concentrating deeply, but each time was just as successful as the first.


"Did you feel that?" James asked Wesley and John.

He had been talking, but suddenly felt a strange sensation. It felt as if someone touched him, but he knew that it was impossible since the only other people in the room were at least five feet away from him. Yet, the feeling would not go away. He looked around for other signs of anything that could give a logical reason to why he felt what he did.

"Feel what?" Wesley asked.

"Somebody touched me," James answered.

"Nobody touched you," Wesley said. "You're crazy."

"I'm not crazy," James replied. "I know what I felt. Maybe it was the wind or something."

"Because we get quite a breeze down in the basement," Wesley responded dryly.


"Shut up!" Matthew shouted to Wesley. He loved Wesley like anyone loves their younger brother, but sometimes he just wanted to punch him right in the nose.

This was Matthew's chance to get in touch with his brothers, but Wesley was constantly thwarting every attempt by downplaying James' suggestions. At this rate, Matthew would never be found, and his brothers would never find him. He switched his attention from James to Wesley, in order to try and convince him that it wasn't the "wind," as James had suggested.


"I guess the windows aren't open," James said. "Maybe it was just a fly or something in my ear."

"Wait a minute," Wesley said, changing his tune. "I think I felt it. Did it feel like a cold chill on your shoulder?"

"Yeah," James said. "Who's crazy now?"

"Oh grow up," Wesley spat. "John, why do we both feel this same thing?"

"It could be Matt," John guessed. "Maybe he's trying to contact you from wherever he is."

"Sure," James said. "We scryed for him and that told us that he was in the house. Maybe it really is him."

"Okay," Wesley said, "that makes some sense. Well, if it is Matt, what do we do now?"

"Now comes the hard part," John said.


In another realm of existence, the five members of the Council sat around their pentagram-shaped table as Mastiphal studied the Book of Shadows carefully. The ancient Grimoire was several times thicker than the brothers' Book of Light. It was a deep crimson color and on the front was a large pentagram, colored black, to symbolize all things evil.

"It does not make sense," Mastiphal said. "This language is too difficult to understand completely. It follows no other grammatical form that I have ever seen."

"We must keep trying," Ardad urged. "If we waste too much time, our fate may already be sealed. We cannot allow the Alpha Order to be recreated."


Uh oh! It looks like things are getting worse and worse as time passes… The Council can't read the Book of Shadows. John is telling Wesley and James that everything's about to get a lot trickier. Matthew can't get out of wherever he is, although he's somewhat successfully 'contacted' them. Will things ever get better?