FINALLY! Took me till 12:30am but now its copied up! just in time for me to go away tomorrow morning in like 5 hours!

Laura: Nooooo not crazy frog! anyway you better like it - You've been pestering me enough on msn.

Robyn: Yay hope you like this as much as other but you (and Lar) already know the two best jokes, hope you still like it.

Cazflibs: Lol I descriptive and tension building person!

Write read on people and I want more reviews for BOTH chapters so I better have a huge pile of reviews in my inbox when I get back or they'll be trouble! (I'll glare at you all evily on msn with my new webcam or send Tini (cat) to your houses to scratch you or rip your furniture up... maybe I'll just set my good friend Mister Flibble on you all - so remember REVIEW or die... in the most horrible horrible way!)


Encounters

She had been watching the Sunday lion sacrifices when the Emperor had summoned her as he commanded that her overwhelming beauty must not be ignored. Rosemary had felt privileged at the time but soon saw this as a way to trick her way to the top, first coaxing the Emperor into making her a royal dancer then over the few short weeks she had been there, had fought off a lot of competition to be known as the girl to be reckoned with – the most ruthless and sneaky one of them all – the Emperor's rand hand snitch as it were.

She felt nothing for him though despite his advances and was toying with him teasing him to give her more control and power despite her official position still being just that of a royal dancer.

All that mattered to her was the status symbol – the royal "H", the symbol that had originally been installed after Adam and Jane had conquered this land – the Garden Of Eve from a weaker race and had laid claim to it, renaming it Rimmerworld.

One evening she was walking round the grounds looking for slave defects and the gardeners to insult, when high pitched and out of tune singing reached her ears. Rosemary spun round to discover the noise was coming from a small barred window under the palace – one of the dungeons. Feeling curious and cruel she knelt down next to the window and peered into the murky cell.

"Hello?"

"Someone to watch over me" The person replied deliriously, ignoring Rosemary, but at the same time making her wince due to his dreadful whiney voice.

"You can't sing you know." Rosemary said in a smug voice as the person in the cell paused for breath.

"Toastie Talker?" The person asked a moment later, almost in a whisper.

"Who?"

"Someone I used to argue with."

"Doesn't sound like a Rimmer."

"Hah, I'm Rimmer… Well I was."

"We're all Rimmer's – I'm Rosemary Rimmer and you don't deserve to be one if your in prison I could tell on your bad singing and get a raise from the Emperor you yellow livered coward!" Rosemary boasted as the person under the sheet shifted position and moved from the bed, scratching something on the wall using a small round object.

"What's that?"

"Worry ball – Titen or Kit or was it Kryten gave me it years ago…" The Rimmer trailed off, now grinding the worry ball with another, the silver glinting in the dim light, causing Rosemary to blink repeatedly.

"Who?" Rosemary asked as she rubbed her eyes.

"People I met…"

"When? Intruders?... You're probably mad… So what you do… madness isn't a crime here… Did you help an elder across the road or not laugh when someone fell in mud?"

"Created you."

"Don't talk rot."

"I made you because I couldn't properly read the smegging manual… probably would have happened if the first egg had been female – not a clone… still would have been a Rimmer…"

"You what?" I was born you smeg pot." Rosemary objected feeling annoyed and curious.

"Yes but I made your world… 600 years… surly been by now… they won't come, they won't come…" The Rimmer collapsed to the floor rocking backwards and forwards… "Can't count, can't count…" He continued in vain trying to count the days marked on the wall through the thin sheet but found his eyes hurting and the marks merging into one.

"What are you drivelling on about?" Rosemary scoffed.

"Not brave, I ran… left them to die… they'll leave me here to rot…"

"Who?"

"The Drifters… Drillers… Dwarfers or something…. I can't remember – I think I'm loosing my mind."

"No? Really?" Rosemary laughed sarcastically though the Rimmer appeared not to have noticed the sarcasm.

"Yes… Few hours for them – centuries for me." The figure started to sob where he was on the floor, still masked by Rosemary by the sheet, though she knew what he'd look like, it's people looking different she couldn't imagine

"If these people and your messed up story is true, what do they look like?"

"Can't remember… pigtails… black… car crash victim…" The Rimmer trailed off again mumbling under his breath.

"Riiite, I still think you need a gold member's card to the loony bin." Rosemary smirked as her interest faded and she turned to leave.

"Don't go, the king of the potato people will be cross." The Rimmer muttered looking at Rosemary through his sheet cover.

"Will he really? Thanks for that Mister fruit loop, I'll be sure to have a potato peeler at the ready!" Rosemary scoffed though the Rimmer didn't seem to hear her.

"I'll live forever, tortured by myself." He murmured, pulling the cover away to reveal a messy haired and red eyed Rimmer, with the sacred "H" imprinted on his forehead. Rosemary automatically saluted at the sight of the "H" then she scowled.

"How dare you wear the holy "H"? Remove the power symbol at ONCE you pathetic parasite of a Rimmer!" She ordered adding an insult for extra measure but in response a tear just rolled invisibly down Rimmer's cheek and he descended into mumbling and thinking his thoughts aloud again.

"What I long for – even more than another round with McGruder the boxing champ or the girl who loved me… Nirvanah… pity we were both dead at the time…"

"You're dead?" Rosemary asked puzzled.

"Hologram – class 1… died… a long time ago… I was the template of your race, I created this world using echo accelerator rockets and then your race… your race…" Rimmer spat the word out hating what he had created – as he had created a world of himselves – snivelling conniving weasly people who'd sooner nick your wallet then look at you. Rimmer tugged at his "H", moving his hair and revealing the hologramatic scars where hw had tried in vain over the years he was imprisoned to scrape the "H" away.

"We… we didn't conquer this place?" Rosemary asked, shell shocked to believe that maybe everything she knew – everything in her life was a lie.

"HA! Your race is made from a chicken soup technician how lived and died over 3 million years ago who has in total failed his officer exams 13 times. I kept my underpants on coat hangers and my most useful quality is running away. Us Rimmers couldn't fight our way out of an open plan room where the only other occupant was a small chiwawa called Beryl!"

"Great… if you really are our creator Mister Paxo (reference to chicken soup repairman) –" Rosemary was cut off suddenly.

"What? Where?" Rimmer asked his eyes widening as he dropped the worry balls, which hit the floor with a loud thud, Rimmer meanwhile did some kind of defensive move (Kong-Fu) and shuffled round the room, he then heaved a sigh of relief then squeaked and picked up his precious worry balls and began to grind them again.

"As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, if you're our creator, why are you here?"

"Was hated, couldn't be killed, left here to rot, I escaped, but was always sold back, once I found a secret place a waterfall but I wanted to change… wanted to show Rimmers could be kind… I helped a lost and hurt child – he had a broken arm from a fall… reminded me of me, after bullies had had a go… I helped him…" Rimmer trailed off yet again, another tear rolled down his cheek, but this time it shone in the light and Rosemary saw it.

"What happened?" Rosemary asked a little dumbly, already knowing the answer, staring at the tear as it ran down his face. Rosemary felt a pang of something… Guilt? Sadness? Sorrow?

"The little git ratted on me, got sent back."

"How long have you been here?" Rosemary breathed, anger beginning to enter her heart as she looked at this pitiful creature – she didn't hate him even though he was still one of them – he had grown, was more mature knew about the wider world, she hated herself and the lies she had been told she hated her elders and she hated Rimmerworld... She was brought back to reality as Rimmer answered her previous question.

"Longer than it took for Kit to change his clothes or Custor to read a book."

"Were they your friends? I'm sure they'll come back for you." Rosemary soothed though doubted herself, who would come back for someone like them?

"Friends? They hated me and me them, I tried to get them to like me but they hate morris dancing, risk, Reggie Wilson, James Last, Diesel Engines, 20th Century telegraph poles… they just hate me… and they won't come, too busy changing outfits, cleaning clothes or eating sugarpuff sandwiches to care."

"Eating WHAT? Sounds disgusting."

"Try telling Custor that."

"And you definitely don't think they'll come?"

"If they were gonna travel the few hours in their point of view they surly would of arrived by now, it feels like 6 millennia, never mind 6 centuries.." Rimmer pulled the sheet back over his head and sat on the floor leaning against the door, facing Rosemary through the bars, he began to mumble again to himself.

"Why do we live like this?" Rosemary persisted, pointing to her clothes.

"What?... The 1st clone chose it, from my dictators monologues, he liked the Roman period of time…"

"Romans?"

"A true concquering race that existed millions of years ago… thousands of years before I was even born… on Earth… Well I'm from IO, but Earth feels like home to me… Custor went on about it enough…"

"Where are these places?" Rosemary asked but Rimmer didn't reply though his head was screaming "I wish I knew!" he dismissed the thought and began to rock back and forth, humming that song again.