I.151 ECSTASY smirks at ROMANTIC. "Too late, love. Travis told me about it last week. No es importante." X cracks her whip and snags a bottle of chablis. Snapping the whip back to her, she catches the bottle in one fluid motion. Pouring a drink for ROMANTIC, she laughs and starts to make fun of CAPTAINKIDD's hair. User: fear and ecstasy in las vegas Date: 19-Oct 10:28 AM 751026525
I.152 rom: Hey! I like that idea! :) ALBATROSS walks up to the bar and greets ECSTASY and romantic. "Hello ladies. (Mmmmm...legs.) How are you this fine day?" [Refraining from speaking for them and infringing on their creativity, he goes on.] "Have either of you visited the gardens yet? If not, I would _highly_ recommend the new labrynth that WOLFIE and I have just finished trimming. It is quite....unusual." With a evil glint in his eyes (aimed at someone's legs), he saunters (How does one "saunter"?) off. User: Albatross has your baby brother... Date: 19-Oct 11:33 AM 751030427
I.153 <<damn modem software...can't post from home>> STEFAN the busboy finally recovers his strength from the Venus busboy trap incident and returns to inside the VVVC only to find everyone gone. "Dammit... I'm the stupid busboy and I missed the bus." He sighs heavilly and walks up to the bar. "Howdy," the temptrest of a barmistress ECSTASY say,"how's life as a busboy?" "Well, if you really want to know...nah, you don't. Let's talk about something a little more intersting. First of..why don't you pour both of up a little something to break the ice. Since TRAVELER's not in, what you say goes." STEFAN gives ECSTASY a shy grin. "Hmmmmmmm...." she says as she considers it. User: Stefan...well X? Date: 19-Oct 11:40 AM 751030858
I.154 suddenly two men covered from head to toe walk in and take out a gun. "this is a hold-up... give us all your money" as they leave, they take out a flare and set off all this neat orange smoke. :) User: SIREN Date: 19-Oct 11:49 AM 751031402
I.155 romantic asks you this, x: how can you make fun of his hair? he has none. and he seems pretty proud of himself. and he exaggerated. gimme another drink. double chivas on the rocks. feeling hardcore. as she gracefully sp9ills it all over her gauzy shirt and albatross's fave shorts. and then stumbles into the next room to have a semi-philosphical discussion with traveler about why existence exists or something. User: for he on honeydew hath fed, and drunk the milk of paradise. Date: 19-Oct 12:01 PM 751032108
I.156 ECSTASY shakes her head and laughs. Mopping up the remains of romantic's drink, X looks at STEFAN and wonders where this newbie came from and how did he get to be on the boards so quickly. "Just curious." STEFAN looks dazed by the question so she turns away to lock up the bar. Pressing the button for the automatic locking device so no one can get alcohol while she's gone, ECSTASY looks around to make sure everything is okay for now. Leaping over the bar as gracefully as usual, ECSTASY stalks towards the door leading to the garden. "Time to check out this labyrinth to make sure we won't get busted for it. I'd really hate to explain to TRAVELER that we were closed for ....ahem.... unusual plant growths. User: thrill kill ecstasy Date: 19-Oct 12:17 PM 751033065
I.157 ALBATROSS, standing on the roof of the VVVC, just outside the greenhouse, sees ECSTASY wandering about the labrynth with a dopey grin. He shouts, "Hey! No smoking the hedges!" She shouts back, "I'm just smoking a Camel(tm)!" but then begins to look more carefully at the plants around her. After a few moments, ALBATROSS comes jogging out to speak to her. "I don't go snooping around your bar do I? This place is for pleasure, not discoveries." "Additionaly, I'd be careful in this place. Ever since we did the interdimensional shift things have been a little....quirky around here. (No, that wasn't a veloceraptor you just saw...)" ECSTASY smirks, laughs, cracks her whip and walks off. ALBATROSS smiles to himself and begins looking for `that doorway'. "I knew it was around here somewhere." User: ALBATROSS Date: 19-Oct 02:07 PM 751039704
I.158 "What the hell?" ECSTASY grinds out her cigarette and sees a glowing door in front of her. Backing away, she realizes that she shouldn't touch it. "Maybe I should be hauling ass out of here." Looking up, she spots a spire that has the letters "VVVC" on it. Grabbing her Extendo-a-Whip, she cracks it towards the spire and watches it wind around the spire. Pulling taught, she sets the handle to "elastic". The whip tightens up and pulls her out of the labyrinth. Whooshing through the air, ECSTASY realizes that she is about to go crashing through the windows of the red room. "Might as well make it dramatic." She extend her legs to their full extent [but by no means comparing with romantic's gams (tm)] and points her toes. The windows of the red room crash beautifully as she makes her entrance. Sprinking the tables and chairs with glass, she lands on top of PYEWACKET's table. "Sorry if I got glass in your tea." Stepping off of the table, she is knocked out by Sean Connery cracking a vase over her burgundy hair. User: ECSTASY Date: 19-Oct 02:29 PM 751041002
I.159 Meanwhile, STEFAN has reovered from his initial shock(?) and reenters the virtual world. He sighs as he contemplates the lonely life of a newbie. Then he chuckles as he remembers how he stopped the spread of the Venus busboy trap by taking the exit to the greenhouse and some sort of hegded pathay with him when he left...chuckle chuckle...Then he thinks, "Did some guyss just rob this place...time for action." He gets out his VFBI ID and his virtual Magnum and takes off after the thiefs. User: STEFAN Date: 19-Oct 02:34 PM 751041291
I.160 Zoroaster strides through the door to the white room, ignoring Cado as usual, just in time to hear the crash of broken glass. He runs in the direction of the sound. He stops and surveys the destruction in the red room. Glass has flown everywhere, Pyewacket is glaring at her tea, Ecstasy is lying on the floor, and a dapper gentleman is quaffing a shaken (not stirred) dry martini. "who might you be?" asks Zoroaster enquiringly. "Connery. Sean Connery, in Her Majesty's Secret Service." "Connery S. Connery, eh? What do you friends call you?" Connery just rolls his eyes.. Zoroaster turns more serious. "Have you ben 'over there' recently? I hear the situation on the continent has been getting worse." Connery shrugs, indicating that Zoroaster will get no real news from him. "There's plenty of work for spies these days," Connery quips, "cigarrette?" "Yes, thank you. So, has the queen ordered you to destroy the red room, or what?" Connery laughs, a big open Darby O'Gill sort of laugh. "Why ever should I do that? Blame your amazing barmaid here! Confidentially," he whispers to Zoroaster, "she's quite the lass!" "Well, its been nice meeting you, Mr. Connery. I have pressing business in my role as a Private Dick. I've been in your line of work of late. :)" Sean Conney nods a pleasant goodbye.. "if you get in to deep, don't hesitate to call. I always like to do a little work on the side during vacations." User: ZOROASTER Date: 19-Oct 04:05 PM 751046765
I.161 Daricell, having returned to the kitchen and to the joys of cuisinary preparation, hears a velvet voice with a Scottish burr echoing from the bar-- "You make quite an entrance, my dear. I'll be seeing you again, I'm sure." Sean Connery. Sean Connery! Daricell whips off her apron (no relation to X's whipping activity, of course) and dashes out of the kitchen to the White Room -- where no Sean Connery is in sight. "Where is he?" she asks the hostess, her voice frenzied. Louch cast a pitying eye on the star-struck master/mistress chef. "Sorry, he's gone. Are you feeling all right? You still look a bit pale." "Oh, I'll be fine," Daricell replied. "I just wish I'd seen Sean Connery. I always miss the fun stuff!" She returned to the kitchen, where Diqman was working on the newest batch of doughnuts to complement Jon Vallee's excellent (and powerful) coffee. "Oh, and by the way, Diqman, where's my father?" Diqman was torn. Should he tell her what had really happened? That her father had nearly been her *gulp* murderer? She did not know, as yet, the truth behind the Great Freezer Incident... <<I think Zoroaster took him home. He -- wasn't feeling well,>> Diqman replied carefully, and then said no more, but returned to his doughnuts. Daricell frowned. Diqman was hiding something again -- but she had no energy now to explore the mystery. She hoped her father wasn't feeling too unwell -- perhaps a batch of her soon-to-be-virtually-famous chicken soup ... User: Dark Lady is stirring the pot -- no reference to Albatross, of course :) Date: 19-Oct 05:00 PM 751050049
I.162 Pyewacket, roused from her placid state by the cacophonous crash, picked a large chunk of glass out of her tea, frowned, shrugged, and threw it back in. Tea was gettin' cold anyway. She stared in amazement at the wreckage, and then her eyes fell upon the inert form of barmistress Ecstasy (please God let me have spelled it right!). Glaring over in the direction of Sean Connery, she watched as he carelessly plunked the vase back on the table, all the while talking to Zoroaster, who was apparently too far gone in the throes of hero- worship to notice that Ecstasy was out cold. "Some people!" 'wacket grumbled to herself, "just because they're famous and have a nifty accent they think they can go around bashing people over the head with crockery . . ." Slowly, she approached the barkeeper and knelt down. "X, hey Ecstasy," she whispered, gently shaking her, "wake up, hon . . ." The bartender, regal even with a knot on her head, opened her eyes and glared around her while trying to focus. "Here, this should help," whispered Pyewacket, handing her a Hershey's Special Dark miniature. "Thanks," X muttered, and her eyes cleared as the chocolate took effect. "Somebody's gonna pay for this," she growled, "now what happened to my whip?" User: PYEWACKET Date: 19-Oct 05:21 PM 751051306
I.163 In the immortal words of Dave Schlafer: "the HELL!?" Uh...I'm confused... Okay...I guess STEFAN and CADO _didn't_ go with TRAVELER to look for ROMANTIC's car. Fine. TRAVELER motors down the highway in his convertible, blissfully unaware of the latest thugs breaking into the VVV Cafi, the strange appearance of Sean Connery, and the mysterious bus parked across the street. STEFAN didn't come along--he was apparently preoccupied in the Greenhouse--and CADO was also busy. No one else volunteered; Trav was somewhat disgruntled, but dammit, he wasn't going to stand for his customers', and friends', cars getting towed mysteriously. "Chivalry is not TOTALLY dead!" he mutters. Having a huge parking area, the Cafi does not bother to tow; there is an old towing sign outside left over from the previous owners, but it doesn't mean anything (in fact it has become ZOROASTER's parking space). Trav figures that the old towing company must have come by and thought they still had authority. Well, he'll just drive to the address on the sign (no phone number was listed) and explain things to them. Now he enters the northwestern area of the City, a warehouse district. Somewhere near here is the towing company. A big, black cat runs in front of the car, and briefly glances at him with a strange glint in its eyes... User: But wait! There's more! Date: 20-Oct 11:40 AM 751117273
I.164 As opposed to the zero lines of nothing known as TESSAT. :) Hey, miscellaneous critics and bus-starters, the interactive format of VVV Cafi obviously is popular. VAXTREK type stories, which involve VAXers but are written by only one or two people, are fun, but so is the alternative of being able to write your own character. I admit, some of these posts seem irrelevant, especially when I'm archiving them to my ELM account :), but there is a plot, or rather, umpteen plots, and they're all going in some vague direction, slowly... Deal with it. Feel free to write yourself in. And have a nice day. User: Traveler Date: 20-Oct 11:56 AM 751118195
I.165 Well, I realize that someone will have to drive Rom's car home, so would anyone like to retroactively volunteer to have gone along with Trav? :) Hell, I'll volunteer CADO. TRAVELER figures a military man and bouncer is a good person to take to an inner-city towing yard. :) Now they approach the address that Trav copied down from the faded sign in his parking lot, and find... Nothing! Just a burned-out lot surrounded by a mangled chain-link fence. "Whoomp, there it...isn't?" Trav says, puzzled. Suddenly, there is a loud cracking noise, and a hole rather abruptly appears in the car's windshield. "Sh_t, I had to take the convertible today!" shots Trav, throwing it in reverse. CADO conveniently pulls out a gun, and looks around wildly. There is a sniper on a nearby building... but also several cars parked near the lot that have just started their engines, and appear to be closing in on Trav and CADO... User: Traveler Date: 20-Oct 12:03 PM 751118606
I.166 The Man in Black and Tom, watch these proceedings with sadistic glee, knowing full well that the heroes will probably escape with their lives, and a badly beaten up convertible. Nonetheless, its gratuitous violence...the best kind. "I love the sound of gunfire in the morning...or anytime for that matter..." sighs the MIB...(Tom hisses noncommittally.(sp)) "How inept can you be, Tom, to walk right into a furball like this?" Tom spits and arches his back at the 'furball' pun and slowly makes his way closer to the carnage. The MIB, follows suit and soon is beside Tom, at the edge of one of the warehouses. Trav has slammed his car into reverse and is beating a hasty retreat from the area, while Cado is squeezing off a few rounds at anything that moves. The thugs are pursuing the duo and Trav has just realized how difficult it is to drive a car at high speeds while looking through a spiderweb pattern on the windshield. "Well, now...I wonder what those two could have wanted down on this end of town, Tom. Its so far away from their pitiful little cafe. Perhaps we should follow and find out....yes...I think we should." User: TIPMO Date: 20-Oct 12:23 PM 751119853
I.167 All was quiet on the gastronomic front. The baker was mumbling and fretting about something, but that wasn't unusual. There had been no major catastrophes, and the day's planned menu, featuring baked chicken, pasta and pesto sauce, was getting rave reviews from the customers (at least, some of them were raving). Daricell was quiet and thoughtful (a rare moment, to be sure!). She had brought her extra-special restorative soup home to her father, Pallas, but he had been rather reticent about his illness, and in fact had retired early. Something odd was going on, and no one was telling her. (But then again, this is what plots hinge upon.) Traveler and Cado were off on a search and rescue mission to recover romantic's car from the evil towtruck agency... but they'd been gone a rather long time, too... and Diqman was still mumbling over his brioches. Sighing, Daricell popped open a Virtual Cola (tm) and took a long, satisfying drink, hoping the caffiene would make her focus. Maybe if she did a little therapy baking -- baking was Diqman's job, of course, but she would ask... "Would you mind if I baked some baklava?" <<Go ahead, O master/mistress chef,>> Diqman replied absently, still concentrating on the French pastries. Daricell pulled some phyllo dough from the freezer and began mixing the walnut filling... User: Dark Lady will continue... plot twists, coming up! Date: 20-Oct 01:42 PM 751124576
I.168 <<I think Zoroaster took him home... he... wasn't feeling well. *She'll find out soon enough. I doubt everyone in the entire Cafi has the sense to keep his or her mouth shut*>> Plagued by a moral dilemma, the Head Baker wasn't quite sure to react. He didn't want to lie to her... yet the truth might be too much for her to handle right now. Luckily, he found a way to tell a true statement, although in a untruthful manner. He'll have to deal with his conscience later... Throwing himself (not literally, however) into his work, DIQMAN was really trying to clear his mind of the whole sequence. Pallas, press-on father had turned on his daughter, then the mysterious, potentially plot-advancing bus showed up outside. Not the best state of affairs, certainly not when he can't even share his knowledge. What he needed right now was a break... a long tea break, with some music... some poetry, perhaps. Anything to help clear his mind... before he spills it too freely... User: (: Diqman :) -- I hear the secrets that you keep... Date: 20-Oct 02:24 PM 751127108
I.169 ECSTASY looks around and thanks PYEWACKET for all of her help. "Damn those former movie spies! They think they can come in here and crack crockery over my burgundy tresses!" She slowly arises onto her spike heeled boots and wobbles. "Time to put on my boots. I hate heels." User: ecstasy by the shores of the river alph Date: 20-Oct 03:03 PM 751129421
I.170 meanwhile, waiting for her heroes to bring back her car, romantic craves something chocolate. now. User: chocromantic Date: 20-Oct 04:55 PM 751136149
I.171 COOPA supervises cleaning up the mess made by ECSTASY's unexpected entrance. (She actually came in through the side wall, since the back wall, facing the garden, is behind the stage.) Everyone notices the mist from the garden; some notice a faint glow. There is a heavy, pungent, cold smell, a smell from the depths of the sea. Strangely, the Bay does not appear to be foggy at all...there is one ship visible at the very edge of the horizon. SYLVAR, aka Jon Vallee, brews an extra large pot o' joe for everyone in the Cafi. Soon the incident in the Garden is mostly forgotten (except by ECSTASY), but no one seems to feel like strolling there for the rest of the day. ZOROASTER has arrived just after the would-be robbers, who actually didn't get any money (like the previous thugs, their guns contained only virtual bullets); it seems clear they were just sent to shake everyone up. Zoro takes information from all the witnesses (TRAVELER has retained him as the Cafi's security consultant, preferring not to trust the City Gendarmerie). It looks like these masked men were probably the same ones who attacked the VVVC before; eventually he's going to try and run all this through the police database, if he can pull strings with some of his connections on the force. (The nice thing about corruption is that it can work both ways.) Apparently STEFAN has taken off after the gunmen himself. (Of course, Zoro doesn't know that he's an agent for the Virtual Bureau of Investigation....) User: Traveler Date: 20-Oct 04:55 PM 751136186
I.172 Feeling awkward and stressed out in the Kitchen, DIQMAN decides to take a break in the Blue Room. He wipes the flour from his hands, picks up a book of poetry from one of the shelves behind the Blue Room bar, and settles down into a well-stuffed easy chair (there are a number of these scattered around the room, with carved wooden tables and reading lamps next to them). FIREFLYTE happens by, and pours him a hot cup of **BoardOp: insert your favorite tea here--StoryMaster**... Everything seems quite placid, until he realizes that the quiet of the Blue Room is being encroached upon by music blaring from a loudspeaker somewhere outside. Through a window on the eastern side of the room, he can see that the mysterious bus parked across the street has undergone some changes. An awning has folded out from one side, windows have been opened, and some sort of business appears to be setting up. The music, which he now realizes is mariachi, is coming from a speaker rigged on the bus roof. A lone figure is unfolding a sign... And finally the letters " C O B U ", which were all that DIQMAN could see earlier, make sense! He drops his book, and turns, walking quickly to the White Room. Zoro is tossing back a drink that X has just handed him. "I think there's something you should see," he says... User: TRAVELER Date: 20-Oct 05:12 PM 751137164
I.173 And everyone had some decaf, and decided to slow the plot down just a bit. (HOW many hundred lines have been posted in the last two days??) :) User: TRAVELER Date: 20-Oct 05:27 PM 751138081
I.174 TRAV: It's only because we enjoy interactive creativity so much.... GENERAL AUDIENCE: plot twists are on hold until I discuss them with Traveler. It seems to be the smart thing to do. :) User: Dark Lady Date: 20-Oct 06:06 PM 751140387
I.175 Wow... OK... (yeesh...this is what I get for not reading the board for two days... Zoro: The reason you ignored me is because I wasn't there... Stefan: I know this is virtual reality, but you're in two places at once...and that's a little heavy even for the virtual world. :) Trav: Never fear, I have not left your side...I just had a momentary lapse of virtuality...but I'm out of my real-world now, so let's get these damn thugs!!! (UFCC)VENKMAN - He's going to bork her, Russ. D'oh!! User: Cado...Back from reality...(What? Someone already used that line?) Date: 20-Oct 09:01 PM 751151106
I.176 *CRACK* *GROANS FROM MASSIVE HEADACHE FROM CRACKED CROCKERY* User: ECSTASY Date: 21-Oct 11:28 AM 751202892
I.177 You know, maybe we should make a VVVC MUSH, so all these people could go write silly things without bothering me, because, well, I'm bitter, and I'm big, and you had just better watch out. Dat dat dat.... And then maybe they could all go to Chicago and get trapped in Startbus, Indiana. Or else they could just pretend to be Jack Morris, and start the bus... User: VENKBUS Date: 21-Oct 12:10 PM 751205450
I.178 "Or maybe," Jon Vallee retorts through clenched teeth, "you could bugger off and read the boards you care about, and leave us to entertain ourselves. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have work to do." He squats behind his coffee bar, selecting a nice calming blend to prepare for the Virtualfolx. User: Jon Vallee Date: 21-Oct 12:25 PM 751206320
I.179 Venkman: Bite me...you don't like it, hit <N>ext and quitcher bitchin'... In the Black Room, a small crowd fades and flows in the fervor of some Brownian Moshing...the strobe light makes the room seem to move with the dancers....or doesn't it? In the Blue Room, Fireflyte sets a small black enamelled pot of violets on a table in a corner, looking around a little awkwardly, thinking, "I hope Traveler doesn't mind, ...it just seemed to be the place for them..." She pushes in a chair on the way out, and pauses a moment, blinks, shakes herself and moves on into the White Room. In the White Room, she spies a small bowl of Hersheys Hugs at the end of the bar, but absently dismisses it as she ducks back into the Victorianesque Coffehouse airof the Red Room. In the Red Room, she pauses, breathing deeply the mixed scent of soft Darjeeling, rich Mocha, and sharp Coffee, and smiles, feeling fully comfotable for the first time in a long while...she looks around, to see who's in the room... User: Fireflyte... ...Gypsy Songdancer, with tea and violets... Date: 21-Oct 12:25 PM 751206332
I.180 COOPA finds Ecstacy behind the bar. He smiles. He holds out his Cafe Americano and asks Ecstacy to make it Irish. Jon Vallee told me to ask you to add the Irish to my coffee, he explains. Could you help me out, PLEASE?? Coopa whines to the best of his ability and waits for X to reply, Hoping she won't say no..... User: Coopa, semi-regular at the Cafe Date: 21-Oct 03:45 PM 751218358
I.181 *poof!* Roark zaps through the vortex and into the cafe. She drags her tired body over to the bar and requests a cup of Red Zinger tea from Jon. "I've been battling the evil Keepers of the ARC 2303 Section Numbers," she says. "I'm pretty worn down. Does anybody have any cookies?" "By the way, I've drawn some plans...", she adds, pulling out her sketchbook. User: ROARK Date: 21-Oct 05:11 PM 751223518
I.182 Top Ten Reasons Why YOU Should be in the Virtual Virtual Vax Cafi @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ 10. You can see the nearly extinct Durannosaurus Max in its Virtual habitat -- no, wait, that's Virtual Virtual Jurassic Park, sorry! 9. There are more plot twists in five minutes than ST:TNG and ST:DS9 have all season! 8. The drinks are potent and the food is fantastic -- virtualli! 7. It's a legal hallucinogen. 6. If VENKMAN won't do it, it's got to be good! :) 5. There aren't nearly enough rats and roaches in there. 4. Unlike T.E.S.S.A.S.T. and VAXTREK X, it exists in a readable format. 3. The House of Buttafuoco closed, and you'll have to go SOMEwhere... 2. We aren't part of the Madame Fong Corporate Conglomerate (tm). 1. Sometimes you want to go... where everybody knows your [USER]name... MBBS: "Some things have to be believed to be seen..." --Albert Q. Einstein, Age (i) User: Dark Lady and Diqman -- your friendly galley slaves... Date: 21-Oct 05:20 PM 751224062
I.183 <<Eureka! It makes perfect sense now...>> Stumbling out of the blue room, the Head Baker DIQMAN has finally figured out the meaning of the letters on the suddenly-undead bus parked outside. -flashback- ROMANTIC and Master Mistress Chef DARICELL, in their post-swoon minutes, passed stories about the evils of man-kind (as opposed to woman-kind), and the patriarchal nature of the tow-truck industry. The baker, loath to speak, lest they realize he was (and still is) a man and rip him up, went silently to the window to examine the wonderful exterior... and noticed a bus with the following sign on the side: "* * C O B U *" (All non-visible letters have been replaced by asterisks. And please, don't ask how he knew how many letters there were... that's just not important right now.) -end flashback- The baker, now all the way to the kitchen (he can move fast during flashback scenes, you know), was about to reveal the meaning to Little Dark Lady Hood, the mistress chef, but something seemed to be blocking him. Something... big, and that looked like... a virtual-stand-in-waiter. And he was getting the worst of his conversation with the Chef... like that should be a surprise. He probably wanted her to make fast food... if there's one thing the baker had learned about his associate, she took extreme pride in her cooking, and would tolerate nothing that got in her way... <<Oli! I mean <Eureka!> Damn foreign languages...>> User: (: Diqman :) -- and the (mariachi) band played on... Date: 21-Oct 07:43 PM 751232667
I.184 "Hey! Two specials!" the waiter-who-was-serving-in-Pallas's -place, yelled into the kitchen. "And make it snappy!" Daricell, who had been slowly drizzling molten honey over the now- baked pan of baklava, looked up with a frown. Her green eyes got even greener as she set the pot of honey on the counter and turned to face the busboy-cum- headwaiter, the dripping ladle still in her hand. "WHAT did you say?" Her knuckles whitened around the handle. The waiter was oblivious to the signs that the Master/Mistress Chef was about to let loose with one of her rare bouts of temper. "I said, Two specials, and make it snappy!" he repeated. "Let me inform you of something here," Daricell said, her voice dangerously calm. "This cafi, though virtually virtual, has a reputation to uphold. My cuisinary art is part of that reputation. ALL of my cooking is special, and I never, NEVER make it 'snappy'!" Hearing the rising timbre of her voice, he paled a little as she took a step toward him, the ladle now raised and quivering in her clenched fist... He was saved by the sudden appearance of Diqman, who entered the kitchen shouting, <<Oli! I mean <Eureka!> Damn foreign languages...>> Noting the temporary distraction of the Master/Mistress Chef, the waiter made a break for it. And then.... User: Dark Lady -- the plot thickens, if you add a little cornstarch... Date: 21-Oct (: PM 751232788
I.185 hhhhmmmmm. (L)(O)CO BU(S)? (W)(A)CO BU(S)??? Start the bus, it's on fire! User: PYEWACKET Date: 22-Oct 09:19 AM 751281570
I.186 Meanwhile, Maharet walks her rounds... Maharet wanders along the alley, sniffing curious objects and piering in crannys... she'd decided to take an extra long route along the bay to look for dead things on the beach, bits of trash to play with, and things that sparkled in the sun. She thought she'd steal scraps from the Cafe kitchen again; it was so fun to watch the Chef bellow and swing her ladle at her! The sun had come out and the breeze carried something of the light playing on the waves. Maharet stops to desire a seagull, moving above the wharfs... and suddenly a pall moves across the sun. A strange smell, like rot and blood and metal overpowers her nose. She hears her heart, suddenly very loud, adrenalin surging on a wave of nameless fear. Her back arching by instinct she turns about wildly searching for the pressing danger... As quickly as it came it is gone. The birds are gone from above, and the silence is overwhelming, but the sun still shines bright. The sea still plays happily with the shore. Maharet stands for a while, defensively scanning the trash cans and crates. In the distance something moves and she runs off, forgetting her fear. She follows the flitting form, dashing into an open building, her nose twitching as she tries to discern the smell of her prey. Inside the building she stops, confused. Among the dusty boxes there is no motion. After a moment the world seems to twist, a painful snap heard as much between the eyes as in the ears. She smells her own fear, returning from some primeval source inside all cats*. Something moves, and in its motion she feels metal and death. Sudeenly with a yowl from hell itself the metal corpse of a cat hurls itself at Maharet! (* I refer here to the instinct which makes us run from room to room, and bite our beloved human pets, and tells us when to climb trees- Mahie) User: Maharet, as told to Zoroaster Date: 22-Oct 10:14 AM 751284882
I.187 Fortunately for Maharet, however, the attacking cat wasn't Tom. It was, however, the hiding bully from Tom's first encounter. Unfortunately for Maharet, this cat was large and extremely insane. (Even for a cat...) Only her small size and quick reflexes saved her from the initial rush from her opponent. As adrenaline pumped even more wildly through her veins, she jumped vertically barely missing the snapping muzzle. With detached calm, she sensed, rather than felt the forepaw strike her left hindquarter. Things were starting to make sense now...there WAS a hellcat out on the streets... her sense hadnt lied to her about that...whats more, the Man In Black was awake once again, and that single thought made her shudder. The jarring impact of her landing on the floor of the building brought her back to the threat at hand. Her attacker had overrun his target on his first pass, but had still managed to wound her...he had reveresed his direction and was coming at her again...slower this time...but no less deadly. At this point, alrealy wounded and on foreign turf, Maharet decided that flight was the best course of action. She darted to a side window, the cat close behind her. As she bounded up onto the sil, all hope suddenly dissolved. ......Tom was outside.....and so was a tall dark figure in a trenchcoat.... User: TIPMO Date: 22-Oct 01:14 PM 751295740
I.188 The Man In Black was in a foul mood...even for him. The thugs had messed up a simple capture or murder...and those two 'heroes' had led him on a merry little goose chase through the inner city. Tom was hissing and spitting because he had been unable to kill anything in the last three hours. So, all in all, the afternoon had been almost a complete waste. Suddenly, Tom stopped and perked his ears toward the warehouse where the unmistakeable sounds of a catfight were coming from. There! Movement! A small shape had just passed in front of the near window! With a snarl, Tom leapt forward and covered the distance from the alley to the warehouse in a matter of seconds. The MIB, puzzled, hurried afterward. Inside the house, Maharet had had only a split second before the cat had reached her perch on the windowsill. She turned and jumped for a nearby pile of crates and looked for a good place to barricade herself. The insane tomcat yowled and spat and jumped onto the same crate pile, and felt it shift under his larger weight. He jumped back and landed on the floor and froze. Even insane, his instincts warned him of a threat from behind. Whirling he found Tom stalking up from behind. Terror and panic competed for dominance in his addled brain...neither had a chance to win. User: TIPMO Date: 22-Oct 01:26 PM 751296418
I.189 Tom had decided that he would toy with this cat, now that he had it out in the open. He swatted playfully at the cat's head and growled when he missed. Something snapped for the final time inside the cat's head, and with a screech, he launched himself at Tom. Surprised by this sudden attack, Tom jumped back and hissed at the cat who had managed to scratch Tom's muzzle. A long grey tongue licked out from between Tom's lips and wiped away the trace of blood from his muzzle. Then, with no more thought, Tom launched himself. He landed astride the larger cat, and promptly bit into it just to hold on. The other cat yowled and jumped in a vain attempt to dislodge Tom from his back. Tom, however, was enjoying the ride. Maharet was watching all of this through the slats in one of the crates. She found that she couldnt move a muscle to even try to escape. Whatsmore, she knew that if she tried, she'd be dead in seconds. So, she was forced to wait and to watch as the horrible scene played itself out just a few yards away. User: TIPMO Date: 22-Oct 01:35 PM 751296959
I.190 Tom quickly tired of the game and ride, and released his hold on the tomcat. With a quick roll and jump, he was upright once more and darted in front of the fleeing cat. This time, there was no playfulness in his swat that was directed toward the cat's throat. In fact, as it hit, the tomcat had just started to react to the swipe. Metal claws scraped from the cat's left ear all the way to the center of his chest. Tom immediately followed this up with a viscious bite to the nose. It was all over in a matter of seconds after that. "Enjoying yourself?", asked the MIB as he watched from the doorway. "At least you had some fun...now get rid of that carcass and come over here." Tom hissed, and then stopped. A strange new scent had carried itself to his nose. There was another cat here! The MIB had sensed it as well... together they closed in on the nearest bit of cover...the crates. (Take it away, Walter!) User: TIPMO Date: 22-Oct 01:52 PM 751297946
I.191 In the White Room, Fireflyte pauses, the silver teatray in her hands no more rigid than her own frame...she stares at a point somewhere between the floor and her, and her eyes widen. She stays frozen like that for several moments, then seems to abruptly forget that intensity, as she whirls around to head into the Red Room. She smacks the tray down on the Coffeebar, drawing a perplexed look from SYLVAR, and skitters into the Black Room. Looking through the door, SYLVAR sees her climb into a precarious perch amongst one of the speakers mounted high on a wall, and seem to go almost to sleep,...her eyes half closed, only the tip of her right foot, as it hangs down from the rigging, moving in nervous flicks... User: Fireflyte... ...it's just a cat thing, y'know... Date: 22-Oct 03:27 PM 751303639
I.192 *MISSING MATERIAL* INCLUDES: TRAVELER and CADO, in Trav's convertible, flee from the mysterious gunmen in black cars. They come to an opening drawbridge, and Traveler decides to try and jump across. Unfortunately, he fails to gain enough speed, and the convertible plunges into the river. Cado and Trav swim downstream, and climb out of the river on to a dock behind a restaurant. DIQMAN and DARICELL have investigated the mysterious vehicle parked across from the Cafe, which bears a sign calling it the TACO BUS. Its sole occupant, NORM!, is busy serving cheap, low-quality Mexican food to a line of customers. The baker and chef steal a package of napkins labeled "FarRight Co." from Norm!, figuring that they might identify where the Bus comes from. Daricell has vowed to hold a Mexican Cook-Off to prove the superiority of her own fare.
I.193 STEFAN looks at X and her sudden outburst. "Oh, you were so busy lying on the floor I figured there had to be someone...ummm..competent? So, do you want to know what happened to me or what?" STEFAN tells his temporary boss. User: Stefan...hates Thursdays... Date: 28-Oct 05:16 PM 751828595
I.194 As soon as the preparations were fully underway for Daricell's Mexican Fiesta meal, the CopperPot and the head baker took their box of napkins from the newly established Taco Bus up the stairs to Traveler's office/penthouse/ meditation-mosque. Diqman knocked resolutely on the door, but there was no answer. "Are they still out after romantic's car?" Daricell asked, a bit peevishly. <<I guess so,>> Diqman replied. <<But didn't they leave hours ago?>> "My car's been towed before. The towing place is not *that* far away," the Master/Mistress Chef mused. "Y'know, things have been weird around here. Do you suppose they could have run into trouble?" <<Trouble? They're at a towing agency. They're probably still arguing with the towers.>> He moved back down the stairs, and Daricell followed more slowly. "All the same..." She took the napkins from Diqman. "I'm going to go show these to Zoroaster. He's been looking into some of the problems around here, and I'm sure he'll want to know about this." <<But... You're cooking. I'll go instead.>> Diqman pulled the package of FarRight napkins back from Daricell, hoping she would just let him go. <She still doesn't know about her father,> he thought... "I want to go." User: Dark Lady Date: 28-Oct 08:29 PM 751840174
I.195 Diqman sighed. When the Copperpot got that rebellious glint in her green eyes, it was best to let her have her way. <<All right. But be careful.>> He gave her the package of FarRight napkins. "Good. I won't be gone long. You can keep an eye on things in the kitchen. Really, everything is ready to serve," Daricell directed as she departed from the kitchen with the napkins. The M/M Chef was not sure exactly where Zoroaster's office was, but she knew that if she just let her mind drift, eventually her feet would take her in the right direction. Before long, she was before the office door reading "Zoroaster & Maharet, Private Eyes". Daricell knocked, but as with Traveler's office, there was no answer... Sighing, the CopperPot turned her back on the private eye's office, and walked back to the VVVCafi. She and Diqman would hide the napkins in the pantry, just to be sure... User: Dark Lady Date: 28-Oct 08:40 PM 751841351
I.196 It is another night... Maybe in the past, maybe in the future... The last customer exits, and CADO locks the door for the night. He walks over to the main switchbox behind the bar and pulls some levers, turning off all but a few dim lights in the Cafe. He walks over and leans against the bar, sighing heavily. A few sounds make their way into the White room; ECSTASY and TRAVELER shuffling papers upstairs; STEFAN shuffling dishes in the back; DIQMAN and DARICELL cleaning up the kitchen...but they all seem a thousand miles away. CADO picks up a bottle of 100-proof Vodka and a bottle of Kahlua, and proceeds to mix himself a rather strong Black Russian. He takes a tenative sip at the glass. Pausing, he licks his lips a bit, then suddenly downs the entire glass, setting it down on the bar when it is empty. He gets up and walks into the Blue room, which is all dark except for the glare of computer terminals. He sits down at one of the terminals and punches in an access code. The screen soon pops up with the letters "You have 1 new mail message(s)." Obliging, he enters the mail system and pulls up the letter... User: cont'd Date: 1-Nov 08:38 PM 752186337
I.197 Words scrawl quickly across the screen. The screen blinks a few times from lag (can't get away from it even in a virtual world), finally displaying the entire message. Cado reads through about 3/4 of the letter, when suddenly his face turns white. He reads it again, in horror, but the words are the same. Almost automatically, as if in self-preservation, he reaches up and switches off the terminal. He rises slowly from the chair, a look of pained disbelief frozen on his face. He makes his way back to the bar, grabs the largest glass he can find, fills it with 100-proof vodka, and downs it. As the alcohol burns holes in his throat, the letter continues to burn holes in his mind. He drops the glass on the floor, where it shatters. He reaches a shaky hand into his back pocket, pulls a $20 bill from his wallet, and leaves it on the cash register. Finally, he makes his way to the Red room, where he collapses on a couch, praying for the alcohol to take effect quickly and make him forget... User: Cado...remembers those days... Date: 1-Nov 08:48 PM 752187020
I.198 Gee CADO, you didn't tell me I had mail... Meanwhile, STEFAN has been busy the past few days in the freezer, the sign on the door saying-- TOP SECRET. All day the sound of power tools has been coming out of the freezer, and suddenly, all is silent. The silence last for a second, broken by a cry of, "I DID IT!!!!" The door to the freezer is blasted off and a weak humming sound can be heard in the smoke from the explosion... out of the ashes rises ROBOBUSBOY, followed by his proud creator, STEFAN. "Never again will the sound of broken dishes be heard around the VVVC, this puppy can track any dish and keep it above ground," STEFAN says to no one but himself((authors note:and to enlighten the reader)). "MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!" User: Stefan...mad scientist-at-large... Date: 1-Nov 11:44 PM 752197531
I.199 ALBATROSS looks about, then smiles to himself. "So, everything's closed for the night...hmmm." he thinks alot loud for the readers' benefit. He sees CADO snoring loudly. "Ah, so much the better." he remarks aloud knowing that all is well. He walks over to the entrance and lets in WOLFIE. "Now you shall learn some of the privilages of being my assistant." He continues, "Come with me to the kitchen." "Chop these...herbs very finely whilst I mix up the cookie-dough." When WOLFIE looks at him with a confused look, he begins to laugh evily much the way that Oldman did after he gave the baby to the three sucubi in Dracula. User: Albatross, master herbalist Date: 2-Nov 01:52 AM 752205162
I.200 Albie, what the hell are you doing in my kitchen? Diq, you better watch out. If you don't like me snitching your flour, you *really* won't like what Eschel's doing to your cookie dough! DARICELL tacks a sign to the kitchen door: "This Kitchen Will Not Be Used to Further the Consumption of Illegal Substances!" She nods smartly. "I run a clean kitchen, thank you," she says aloud to the empty Cafe. As she walks through the White Room, she sees the broken glass on the floor, and the crumpled twenty on the cash register. "Someone's having a hard night," she mused, pausing to sweep up the broken glass. "Perhaps I'd better go check it out... and I'll definitely be needing to whip up my famous hangover remedy." So murmuring, she wandered into the Red Room, and found the someone snoring on the couch, shivering in the suddenly- much-colder weather. "Poor Cado," she said, and found a blanket to spread over the slumbering bouncer. "Looks like you've had a hard night." And she left to seek her own bed... User: Dark Lady wonders--exactly *where* is my virtual bed? Date: 2-Nov 09:34 AM 752232952