(Comes out of the darkness, looking rather sheepish)

Well, hello everyone. I know its been quite a while, more than a year, since I've updated this story. I'll just say that writers block, school, personal difficulties, and trying t juggle two stories at once have not helped me in the slightest. But I've managed to finish the other one, and now I'm going to dedicate the rest of my time to finishing this story up. I've managed to get a couple of writing classes under my belt since the last time I worked on this, so hopefully, once I can get back into the flow here, things will start to improve.

Aside from that, I can offer no apology to everyone who I have kept waiting all this time, and if you feel the need to take it out my hide, I'll completely understand. Just give me a minute to go grab my riot gear.

&

History Repeats Itself

They marched forward in rows and columns. There were hundreds of them, thousands. Moonlight glistened off of the blue armor as they marched in step towards the massive council building. There were still some civilians out on the street at this time. Children looked on curiously and tugged on their parents' sleeves. They asked what was going on.

The elder members of Haven City, and those more well versed in the Machiavellian nature of politics nodded somberly. They'd seen this coming, they knew what was about to happen.

Like thunderclaps, their steps echoed through the streets of the city, reverberating throughout the air like the beat of a war drum. They rounded a corner, and light spilled upon them. At the front column were two individuals. One clad in black, the other in white armor. The two exchanged a glance as they reached the steps and came to a stop. As one, they nodded, and the black one brought up a mike.

"Count Veger," he said, his voice echoing throughout the area, "You and your men are ordered to stand down. This infighting is pointless. You are outnumbered and surrounded. Surrender, before you force our hand."

They waited for a beat and wondered what the response would be. It came a moment later. There was a crack, and a bolt of Eco lanced through the air. It slammed into the speaker's chest. He grunted and fell back a step. He extended his hand, and dark lightning flowed from it. The blast streaked up towards the building and hit the sniper. He gave a single scream before he plummeted and hit the street with a crunch.

The man in black stood where he was. Then he sighed, and turned back to face the men and women behind him. He dropped the mike, and drew his blade. He nodded, and they snapped their weapons to a ready position.

They rushed forward as one, before they spread out and took up position among the columns of the building. A sphere of darkness flew forward, hit the door and exploded. Metal shards flew through the air and pinged off of armor. Flash bang grenades soared through the newly made portals, and within seconds night turned to day.

The two Ascended Channelers were through opening in a flash, their blades hissing as they whirled them about in instinctive defensive routines. It would prove to be a prudent measure. Many of the Council's soldiers were down on the ground in blind agony. The few who'd shielded their eyes from the explosion threw down retaliatory suppression fire. Multi colored eco bolts streaked through the air, lit the hallway up like some holiday celebration. The beams smashed into walls and the floor and ceiling as the weapons of their foes proved superior. Holes and gashes appeared, molten slag dripped to the floor and spattered outwards.

Freedom League members poured in after them, their submachine guns blazing in tight, controlled bursts of fire. Men and women screamed on both sides as their armor was overwhelmed by enemy firepower, and they went down with holes burned into their vitals.

There was a strange savagery to the battle. From the moment that it had started, everyone knew this would be different. It was not Underground against Krimzon Guard, or Hora-quan, or Death Bots. This was two of the same people against each other, fighting for what they believed was right. Former comrades shot it out, no quarter asked… none given. The guards who were stunned went down first, those who had managed to stand their ground did not do so for long, as the armored Channelers were upon them within seconds.

Their helmets hid their visages, hid their faces. They were like machines, emotionless, remorseless, merciless. With super human speed and ruthlessness, they cut down elves where they stood, or were slain by Jak's dark powers.

Strange, what the desperation to survive did to a group that was bound by the laws of civilization.

The central lobby of the Council Hall, with all of its magnificent carvings and reproduced art, was in shambles within minutes, and under complete control of Ashelin's forces. The blue armored soldiers began to split up, squads and fire teams scattering throughout the building's many corridors and rooms in a furious bid to end this conflict as quickly as they possibly could.

Though they held an overwhelming numerical superiority, their foes were well entrenched, and the soldiers paid with blood for every room, every hallway.

The dark elf led from the front. He rushed up a corridor, a hand picked squadron right behind him. In a move that was naught but a blur, he spun by an armored door. And focused a tightly concentrated beam of Dark Eco into his palm. It acted like a cutting laser, and blew a half foot wide hole in the door. Gunfire erupted out of the hole, but Jak held his position. He gestured to the sergeant of the squadron, who nodded. The man moved forward, reached up to a harness he wore, and ripped off a plasmite grenade. He threw the explosive in. The fiery device burned for a second, and he could hear the cries of 'get down!' surge through the metal.

It went off with enough force to rattle the whole hallway.

An endoscope was fed through the hole a moment later. The room was a smoldering mess of superheated metal and gases. Bits of carbonized skeleton could be seen where the defenders had once been.

Jak prayed their deaths had been quick enough for them not to feel that kind of hellish pain.

The dark Channeler motioned his forces forward. They had to keep pressing the enemy and letting up for a single second could spell disaster.

Keira was not running into any lighter resistance over in her area. The Council guards fought tooth and nail for every room, every corridor. She pushed herself back up against the wall of a corner, shifting back slightly as a series of submachine gun pulses ripped away part of her cover. The girl steeled herself, and then erected a shield in front of her and spun out around it. Eco bolts streaked towards her as soon as she revealed herself to the enemy. They impacted upon the shielding, splashing out and sending minute cracks through it. With a little bit of focusing, though, Keira was able to strengthen it.

She brought her other hand up, and a white burst of energy gathered in it. With a scream, she unleashed it. The columns that the enemy soldiers were taking cover behind offered them no protection from the powerful Eco strike. The Ascended Channeler shielded her eyes from the blast, and tried her best to drown out the screams. This wasn't like killing Metal Heads, or anything else she'd ever done before. She didn't want to think about the implications that these were the descendants of her own people that she was cutting down.

"Damn you, Veger," she whispered to herself as other soldiers rushed up behind her.

She took her hate and her self loathing, forced it down deep inside of herself. There would be a time for that later, but it was not now. If she didn't stay at the point, someone else would, and that person wouldn't be able to put up with the punishment that she was able to. There was no sense in more people dying in this mess than absolutely had to.

The girl moved passed what was left of the corpses, and scanned around. The path forked ahead, just as the maps said they would. Just a little ways beyond them was the council chamber. With luck, they'd be able breach the council's defenses and end this quickly.

"Red Team, take left, Blue, right." She ordered. Affirmatives crackled over her radio a moment later. The Ascended Channeler nodded to herself and then locked Masamune into an attack position.

Eyes on her motion tracker, Keira advanced forward. Up ahead there was a blob of movement. Maps that she had looked over beforehand indicated the room that they would be in was some kind of garden sanctuary for the councilmen and women to relax in, which meant that they were probably taking cover behind the various bits of flora there. She steeled herself for what was coming and charged up her powers again. Backing up to the very edge, she formed a small ball of light in her hand, and then hurled it around the corner. Screams of surprise echoed from the soldiers hiding there. The brightness of the attack had overwhelmed their polarizing visors, and she could tell they were writing around on the floor in agony.

She was on them like a wolf. Her naginata tore into the first man, leaving a second smile across the length of his throat and leaving him in a pool of his own blood. Keira blitzed forward to the second man, covering the distance in a fraction of a second. She brought her staff weapon in from below. His armor parted before the ultra sharp weapon and it sliced into his heart. He was dead almost instantly. Number three was too far away for her to reach immediately, so she reached out and created a tendril of light. The whip like attack ensnared the soldier, and threw him against the wall with sickening force. There was a wet crack, and he slowly slid to the ground.

Just five left now. Keira took a flying leap forward, crossing twenty feet and coming down in between two more troopers. These ones were starting to recover, and probably had just enough time to realize what was happening before she spun around. Masamune cut both of them down with a single swipe. Then she turned and focused her attention on the next man. He was screaming, doubtlessly in a lot of pain, and firing blindly. Keira weaved and tried to doge, but a few of the bolts still hit home, dinging and blemishing her armor. She fired an energy beam at him, and the light Eco was sufficient to completely blast through his cover, his armor, and then explode against the fountain at the far end of the room. Stone fragments went everywhere and she heard another howl of agony. The next to last soldier had dropped his weapon and was clutching at his neck. She could see that a knife shaped stone fragment had pierced the glove of his suit, and judging by the amount of blood oozing from between his fingers, he did not have long left to live.

That just left the last man, off in the far corner. As with the former, he appeared to be in a panic. He knew what was upon him, and was firing to try to keep her away. The trooper also didn't appear to be too careful about where he was aiming, he must have known that she had already killed the rest of his squad. Keira jumped up against the wall, ran a few paces along it, and then flipped over. Her books sunk into the soft earth of one of the garden exhibits, but she was only there long enough to leave some foot prints. The Ascended Channeler threw her weapon will all the strength that she could muster. It hit the man, picked him up off the ground, and pinned him to the wall. He gave a choked cry, and coughed up blood. One hand feebly gripped the metal shaft of the naginata as he tried to yank it out of his body.

"All clear," she said, looking back over her shoulder.

The squad behind her came forward, and she moved to retrieve her weapon. Radio chatter was crackling over her comlink, and from the sound of it, while they were taking casualties, Ashelin's forces were steadily pushing forward. They couldn't stop now, though. The council chamber was just a short distance ahead.

Jak spun through the air dark lightning flashing from his armored fingertips. The men before him screamed as he blasted into them. Those who were not struck down by his powers soon found themselves sliced to pieces by Kitetsu. The sword's edge was stained red with the blood of those he had slain, and behind his mask, the dark elf frowned. He had lost count of the number of people now dead by his hands, and had little time to try to remember. A soldier before him leveled a submachine gun, and opened up with tight controlled bursts. Jak dodged, twisted, and deflected what shots he could, and let his armor handle the rest. Kitetsu sang twice, the first strike cutting the weapon in half, along with the hand on the fore grip. The second blow separated the man's head from his shoulders. The corpse collapsed at his feet.

Behind him, a Freedom League soldier fired, scoring a shot through the throat of an adversary. There were still more soldiers, though, all the way back to the wide staircase that led up to the council chamber. The dark elf didn't want to spend all this time cutting his way through their ranks, nor did he wish for unnecessary bloodshed. There might have bee a way around it, though.

"Surrender!" Jak called out to them. Though he held Kitetsu at a ready position.

There was a pause as the shooting on both sides stopped. For a second, the dark elf held his breath, hoping that maybe, just maybe, the message would sink in. A few moments later he heard Keira's forces approaching. The Council's soldiers twisted where they were, and sighted up the girl. Nothing happened though. Again, Jak felt hope flutter inside of him. Surely they wouldn't try anything now, not with two Ascended Channelers.

Fingers tapped nervously against weapons, and a man that he recognized as a captain, by his rank bars, carefully stuck his head up.

"What guarantees do we have that you'll spare us?" He asked.

"Very simple, Captain," the dark elf said. "We've got enough to worry about now, with the Fallen on their way. We'll need every gun that we can get our hands on. I don't need to be destroying our defenses." He paused. "Now, lay down your weapons, and I promise that no harm will come to you."

Jak could feel Kage nervously pacing inside of his mind. The Oni was watching these events closely, and Jak could not blame him. So far, most of what he had encountered in these situations usually led to the cornered opponents uselessly throwing away their lives. Would these ones be any smarter.

The squads of soldiers on both sides seemed almost frozen in time, and then, ever so slowly, one man laid down his gun. A few seconds later, so did another, and then another. It built to a crescendo in just a few short seconds, and soon every one of the Council's troops had surrendered.

Jak motioned the men and women behind him forward, and they quickly secured the weapons and began to move the prisoners out. The dark elf nodded and slowly exhaled, a breath he didn't even know that he had been holding. Then he looked over to Keira, and up at the double doors at the top of the staircase. The two met at the base, and then, side by side, they marched up to the top of it.

Jak looked around himself, and then leaned back against the wall. The Council stood where they were, their hands behind their head, and guns to their backs. Without anyone to protect them, they had quickly given up the fight. With them in custody, Ashelin and the others had come up from the rear, and were busily reading them their rights. They were going to be put into holding cells until this whole mess blew over.

"Thank the gods that's over with," Kage muttered inside of his mind. "This whole business leaves a foul taste in my mouth."

"I know how you feel," Jak closed his eyes behind his helmet. "What would my father think if he could see this? What would my mother think?"

He supposed he should have been grateful, though, this whole mess could have ended differently. At least there were no on the spot executions like the last time that this had happened. Keira was over by a corner. Her helmet was off, and she was quite pale, with a faint greenish tinge to her skin.

"Are you going to be okay?" he asked as he drew near to her.

"Does it always feel like this?" she muttered to herself. "This is different from what it was like when it was the Krimzon Guard. These people…"

"Let's just hope we don't have to do it again," he placed a hand on her shoulder, before turning his attention back to the situation. He moved back towards the center of the room, intending to talk with Ashelin, but he was intercepted by a lieutenant.

The officer approached him and saluted. "Colonel, we have a problem. There's no sign of Count Veger anywhere. We've managed to capture a few soldiers who were standing guard in the basement, though. They've revealed that the Count went down a series of catacomb tunnels. We weren't able to get much more out of them, but apparently there's a series of Precursor ruins not too far from here."

The dark elf contemplated this for a few seconds, and then turned to where Keira was. His wife had apparently overheard, though, because she was already gearing back up, slipping her helmet back on over her shoulders. Several other soldiers started to follow, but Jak held up his hand.

"We can handle it, don't worry. Just stick to securing this area and making certain that the Governess is kept safe, understand?" he said. When the soldiers returned the salute, he nodded and turned for the door of the council room.

"Oh no you don't!" He felt a weight jump up onto his shoulder and looked over to see Daxter staring at him. "You know that every time we get involved with some Precursor crap, really bad stuff happens. I'm not letting you two turtledoves go down there alone!"

"Do I detect a hint of loyalty and courage in your voice?" Keira asked. Jak could tell her voice was faint, but a touch of her old humor was still there.

"Hey, if you two get sucked off into another time warp, what happens to me?" Daxter crossed his arms over his chest and stuck out his tongue at her.

Jak felt Kage chuckle in his mind, and joined his alter ego. Then he was out the door, heading down towards the basement.

The catacombs were pitch black, and it was only thanks to their alternate vision modes that the two Channelers were able to see what they were doing. They advanced forward slowly, their weapons draw and their eyes alert. Their time with Tarath had shown them that the Precursors had had numerous security systems to protect sensitive areas. None of them wanted to think what might happen if they accidentally set one of those things off.

Before long, he, Keira, and Daxter arrived at what appeared to be a long tunnel. A series of what appeared to be some manner of hover car were arranged in front of it. Keira headed over to scope out the tunnel, tapping her naginata against the metal floor as she looked out into its depths. The tunnel was about twenty feet wide, and perfectly cylindrical. It reminded the girl of the mouth of some great beast, reaching up to swallow them alive. Jake, meanwhile, noticed that one of the cars appeared to be missing. He frowned and moved over to check the vehicles out. The vehicles were large enough to seat a pair of Precursors, from the looks of it, and so the three of them would be able to fit comfortably inside of it. Now, there was just the question of how to activate it. he hopped inside of the transport, noticing that it had a flight stick configuration.

"Kier, come on!" he shouted to her, pressing a large red button on the center of the control board.

Just as he had hoped, the car came to life. A band of light went over him, and Jak realized that he was being scanned. A few moments later, the stick was released into his hands and he started to maneuver the car out.

"The controls are like a Hellcat," Kage said, rubbing his chin. He was perplexed by the similarity to the technology of Haven.

Jak merely shrugged as Keira jumped into the vehicle. The dark elf then spent a few moments getting a feel for the transport, before shooting off down the tunnel. Heaven only knew what Veger might have found down here. Whatever it was, though, Jak didn't want to know what the Count might try to pull with it.

It took them a few minutes to arrive at the end of the tunnel, and their fears were confirmed. The car that had been missing up at the entrance was down here too. That Meant that Veger had to be close. Daxter yelped as both of the elves jumped out and drew their weapons in the same motion.

Jak held Kitetsu at the ready, constantly scanning about and running his helmet through its various vision modes. The elf had to be around here somewhere. His blade seemed to hum with anticipation of what was coming, and Jak had to forcefully remind himself that his objective was not to kill Veger, no matter how much he might have wanted to do it. They advanced further into the corridor, but there was still no sign of the rogue count.

The trio approached a turn a few moments later, and both of them slid up against the corner. Jak gave a quick glance down to his motion sensor. It detected nothing, but that wasn't an all clear. It could only scan so far after all. He cocked his ears to the side, trying to listen for anything that might clue him into to the location of his adversary. When he heard nothing, he bent down into a crouch, and began to silently creep down the next tunnel. Even Daxter understood the gravity of the situation, for though he was scant inches away from his friend, Jak could not hear him breathing.

The dark elf stiffened suddenly, and glanced around. He thought he heard something coming from a side tunnel. He looked over at Keira, and motioned for her to wait a moment, and then he started to move down it. Sure enough, as he drew closer he could pick up the distinct sound of conversation. A few more paces confirmed the voice of Count Veger. He heard Kage growl inside of his mind, the demon was nearly drooling with anticipation of what was to come. Jak turned around and signaled for Keira to follow him. The girl nodded, and fell in behind him.

"It is an honor to stand in the presence of such magnificent beings." They heard the Count say as they drew out into the end of the tunnel.

The passage opened up into a large room, about a hundred feet around. The two of them could see a variety of old technical equipment that appeared to have been recently refurbished lying around as well. So what was this place? Was it some kind of tech lab like the other ones that they had been to?

"You've said that a dozen times, now, would you please just get to the point?" Jak heard another voice, one that he didn't recognize at all. It was deep, and impatient, and even with a multitude of vision modes, the dark elf was unable to locate the source of it.

"I have dedicated most of my life to understanding the mysteries of your race, and to find that some of you are still alive fills my heart with joy. If it is not too much to ask, I would humbly request to join your ranks." Veger bowed low before the unseen voice. "I know that with your power, such a thing is possible."

There was a lengthy silence, and the trio exchanged glances with each other. Surely the Ancients would not be so foolish as too… A loud noise drew their attention back to Veger. They saw a large hovering piece of equipment come down out the air. It was semispherical, and had two glowing blue objects that could almost be mistaken for eyes. That was where the voice was coming from.

Keira leaned forward, wondering what the device was, the tech savvy part of her mind was itching to see its internals. But she checked herself, wanting to see what would happen next.

"Very well," the voice said. "But, be careful what you wish for…"

A beam of light came down from the ceiling and enveloped the Count. Motes and flashes of blue, red, and green filled the air around him. With a triumphant yell, the elf stuck his arms out and cheered.

It was now or never. Jak had faced a Precursor in battle before, even if it was only sparring. He had no desire to see what Veger had in mind with that kind of power. Keira was right behind him, Masamune spinning in her hands. Both of them let out battle screams as they charged in at the Count. He whirled suddenly, and they saw the expression on his face go from triumphant to ready to soil himself fear in a split second. However, before the two Ascended Channelers could close the distance and stop him, a barrier sprang up in front of them.

"Enough!" the voice shouted. "There will be no violence here. We have troubles enough to worry about." The machine came over to where Jak and Keira were. "Ahh, it is good that the three of you have arrived. We were about to send Tarath to fetch you."

Veger's face became a study in shock as he heard those words. He glared up at the machine as the light around him finally faded. "Seek the aid of these destructive freaks? You must be out of your minds! They're a menace to our society."

"They are our best chance for survival, you fool!" a new voice shouted, a female one. Both elves recognized it: Ariki. "And if I hear you bad mouth them one more time, the planet as my witness, I'm going to…" the machine gave a violent lurch.

"Ariki, watch out, your going to make us—" the first voice was cut off as the machine careened into the ground.

Both Jak and Keira winced and exchanged glances with each other. What in the world was going on here? Jak heard muffled swearing coming from inside of the contraption, and took an inquisitive step forward. The front of the device suddenly popped open, and two very small shapes tumbled out.

"Ariki, what the heck were you do—" Jak recognized the voice as the first Precursor.

What startled him though, was that it was coming from a bundle of robes and fur less than a foot and a half tall. Ariki, if that was indeed her, was even shorter. Both of them got up, glaring at each other and dusting their robes off. All parties present just stared as the two of them went back to screaming at each other, completely oblivious to the elves and Daxter.

The ottsel was the first one to break the silence.

"What… the…" he rubbed his large eyes. "The almighty Ancients… are…"

"Ottsels?" Keira finished for him.

Only then did the two of them stop and look at the audience. Shock covered the face of the two creatures, and they looked at each other, and then back to the group in front of them.

"Errrrr," the first one began, picking at his beard. His eyes darted about, like a prey animal about to bolt.

Ariki just blushed, and Jak noticed that she was staring straight at Daxter. She quickly turned around and clasped her hands behind her back.

"Hey, wait a minute, how come you guys get clothes?" Daxter demanded, walking towards them and staring straight into the eyes of the male.

"Ummm," he gulped, before suddenly looking up into the darkness behind him. "Tarath, help!"

"It is not my responsibility to save you from matters that revolve around your own ego, my Excellency."

Jak, Keira and Daxter once again found themselves paralyzed by what they saw. Down from the upper reaches of the room came a small figure. He was larger than the other two though, and clad in a diminutive suit of black armor. He crossed his arms over his chest as he floated there, staring down at the group.

Suddenly, Veger, who looked about ready to explode, the way his cheeks were puffed out, drew a pistol. "You insolent little creatures! Step away from those machines!"

There was a sphere of darkness that suddenly formed around Tarath. It up a split second later, revealing a form that Jak was much more familiar with. Veger heard the noise and twisted to look back over his shoulder. His eyes widened in surprise and he fired a reflexive shot off as the Precursor warrior streaked in towards him. The round merely bounced harmlessly off of Tarath, though. There was no time for anything more than that, as Tarath's warp blade snapped into attack position, and he lashed out. A shriek split the air as the gun was cut in half, followed swiftly by a much more high pitched yelp as the Count found himself knocked to the ground. He gulped as he felt Tarath's razor sharp weapon press up against his throat.

"Defending you against physical threats to your bodily health, on the other hand, is my department." He looked over to Jak and Keira, nodding slightly.

"What is going on here?" Keira asked, shaking her head hopelessly at the situation before.

"I… we…" the bearded ottsel continued to sputter.

"Oh, come off it, Executor, the secret is out already, as it should have been months ago. Just tell them." A bolt of dark lightning crackled around Tarath's body.

"Very well," the Precursor snapped, before staring up at Jak and Keira. "The great mystery that your kind has wondered about for eons is over at last. Here's what we look like normally."

"Wait a minute, then," Daxter muttered to himself, rubbing a hand along his chin. "If you're Precursors, but you're also ottsels, then that means…" an ear splitting grin lit up on his face. He let out a loud shout and jumped up into the air, vaulting off of Jak's shoulder before beginning to dance around. "I'm a Precursor, I'm a Precursor!" he began to chant and sing.

"And to think," Veger muttered to himself, "I wanted to…" his voice trailed off, and his eyes widened in horror.

"I think the changes are going to happen at any second." Jak could tell that Tarath was smirking as he made that statement.

There was a flash of light that blinded them all for a moment. When it cleared, Tarath was holding nothing but a very expensive suit. A tiny bulge could be seen wiggling around underneath the clothes, though. A few moments later, the group was treated to the sight of a short and balding ottsel, with a pair of very distinct, overly bushy eyebrows.

Within his mind, Jak heard Kage burst into raucous laughter. He joined his alter ego a moment later in the mirth of the moment.

"You… you… I'll," Veger shook a pint sized fist at the dark Channeler. Then he turned to glare at everyone else, before he was made aware of the fact that Ariki was blushing again.

"Little drafty, isn't it?" Tarath asked, cocking his head to the right slightly.

Veger just sputtered and dove back down into his clothes. Tarath snorted, and then turned his attention back to the trio in front of him.

"Well, now that the big secret is finally out, do you mind coming along with me?" He folded his arms over his chest, and motioned for them to follow.

"What's going on, Tarath?" Jak asked, moving in behind his ancestor.

"Much as I hate to allow it to happen, the Executor has gone over my head," The Reaver said, leading them deeper into the complex. "He is convinced that we will need all the Channelers that we can get."

"There are other Channelers around here?" Keira asked, looking up at the large warrior.

"A small collection of them have clustered together in a region of the planet approximately four thousand kilometers from this position." Tarath pressed a series of numbers into a keypad, opening up the door before them. "It will not be easy to convince them to join us, though. I have spent some of my time carefully watching them. They are bitter about their position in life, and I don't blame them."

"What do you mean, Vader?" Daxter did not look convinced.

"Not everyone has been as receptive to your kind as Haven has, remember that."

With that, Tarath advanced into the darkness.

&

Okay, hope that wasn't as bad as I thought it was.

And now I will proceed to crouch behind my riot gear and await your furious vengeance… for all the good the padding will do me.

As always, feedback is graciously accepted. Be it in the form of advice, ideas, or in this case, flaming the holy hell out of me/verbally reducing me to a fine red pulp.

(braces self for pounding)

In the meantime, do have a good day.