Here they are again- the kittens, Becky and the space elf.

Time to go back to the Mysterious Island, and we've got a wild, crazy ride here!

 
(With various characters and talents of J, M and A)

A strange pale light covered this section of the Mysterious Island, a pale and nearly white tint of yellow.

It felt like they'd been walking forever. Catrina knew something was wrong but couldn't quite put her claw on it, although she had her suspicions.

She shook her head, trying to shake the gloom off that enveloped her on this bright sunny day. It's nothing, she said to herself, just antsy because Sliver seemed in such a... hurry this morning to take Fahari away for her training. The old Muri-dan never hurried!

She glanced over at her brother, happily chatting up her friend Rebecca. She scowled. If only he'd show the same interest in someone like Fahari... but her thought trailed off with a realization. She was thinking like Mother used to so long ago!

She smiled to herself. "Must be in the genes." She muttered- not answering the puzzled looks from the others in the group.

"I have," Becky Joy started. "I have good singing genes. But I don't speak in gene so it doesn't do me any goods."

Catrina chuckled and pulled Becky closer to her. "I'm sure your genes are wonderful and you'll find some wonderful stud and raise litters of amazing children, sweetie." While she said this she took another look at Rebecca- from a Mother's point of view. And she purred. Sure she had no fur or claws- but Catrina knew that Rebecca's fighting heart was worth the claws of any alley cat in a scrap. Perhaps...

She chuckled again. If it happens it happens. But then..there was something different about the way her brother walked today- the way he stood... and the way Jen stood by him.

She knew... suddenly Catrina knew as if she'd watched them. Jen was an outsider. She knew nothing of her or her people beyond watching Dash and Aleena... and those memories were tainted with hatred brought on by the Darkness.

But mated to her brother?

"How come we're walking so long?" Becky asked. "Is this island really that big? Like, nine times as big as the map said or something?!"

Rebecca laughed. "Dunno about that, Becky lass, but the trip in the last time we came here felt longer as well. Course that could be the fact that we ran into a few... friends." The look on her face revealed the lie there.

Becky caught on. "Sounds pretty not great."

Catrina squeezed the gir- no the woman she thought a girl (where did those come from?) "Definitely not great. Both Rebecca and I had to fight our worst nightmare versions of our exes- to the death."

"You won?" Becky paused. "Oh yeah you're both alive. Hurray, you won!"

Rebecca chuckled and Catrina could only help but nod in agreement to her words. "Yeah, we won. Although I'd never describe the fight to someone who is faint of heart."

"Love, I'm not sure what to expect. My connection to the Morlencir net has become intermittent," Jen squeezed the tiger's paw with her hand. "The time signal I'm getting is reporting erratic and... impossible values."

It was Catrina that answered. "Not impossible- remember we're dealing with Chrono here. Hell he was able to pull soldiers from the Cola wars and bring 'em here."

Cattaras shrugged. "Don't look at me- I've never been in this neighborhood."

Becky suddenly stopped in her place and shivered intently, looking down at the ground, eyes tearing up slightly.

"What's wrong?" Jen asked.

Becky just pointed up to a couple figures vaguely visible through the thick smoke like fog in the distance and whimpered, shaking her head.

Cattaras reacted... well he reacted the way you might expect, stepping closer to the figures and growling. Or statue, one statue with a smaller 'cloaked' figure on its shoulder. Anyway, Becky didn't like 'em- so they were about to taste claw!

"Hey, stand back, love. It'd probably be safer to blow them up at a distance, if that's what you want." Jen raised her arm cannon and the metal plating on her suit began to glow faintly. She fired a blue plasma bolt that flew quicker than the eye -- but then stopped, in mid air, just in front of the statue. Ionized atmosphere trailed behind it, as frozen in time as our heroes suddenly were. To try to measure how much time passed like this would be naive if not futile and contrary to every scientific explanation to the contrary, our heroes were fully aware of what was happening.

It felt like a tug. Everyone around the statues felt themselves thrown into reverse. The plasma bolt found itself receding into Jen's suit. For a moment or two, Jen, Cattaras and the others found the last few moments playing themselves out in reverse.

"Tnaw ouyt'fi'meht..." came out of Jen's mouth, and then "gnorw s'tahw?"

"Doohrob siht ...." babbled Cattaras, voice sounding like a record being played backwards.

The larger human sized statue spoke, too, in voices sounding for away and distance. "What's the source of the attack, Captain? ... It's a magic attack, but I don't recognize.. Be careful, those might be dark ones! But.. it's my magic.. I don't under..."

Bursts of dark light and smoke exploded from the statues, which moved almost robotically, and yet like demons. They morphed into more familiar figures. Becky, Jen, Rebecca and the furries stumbled forward, free of the strange control a moment ago but physically drained by it.

Both Cattaras and Catrina growled, taking more defensive stances again even as the two forms became recognizable. Prince Blahking and Fluffy Hamster.

"Something is not right here." Cattaras explained to the scent challenged. "They look right.. but they smell..."

"Well, Furry usually smelled but this is the wrong smell." Catrina finished- cracking a smirk.

Jen needed to take a few extra moments than the others to shake the effects of the strange effect. "Let's not experience that again, I think."

"Away, outsiders." That was Blahking's voice, although.. not really. His lips weren't moving and it sounded inhuman. Harsh. Evil. "There is nothing you can do now. The convents can not protect you now."

Catrina growled, looking confused. "Okay.. Blahking usually acts like he's got a stick up his ass but this- this is ridiculous!"

Jen spoke to Cattaras, though not with words. She communicated in that special way her people's technology allowed. "What do you make of this my tiger? There's definitely some form of magic here... Remember, you need to focus inwards. Mentally link me to yourself, and then reach out to the two figures with your thoughts."

Cattaras' first reaction to the voice in his head was to jump and look around before doing as Jen suggested, closing his eyes and focusing himself- and apparently his Chi- inward before expanding to touch the others. Catrina saw the motion and actions and gave Jen a sharp look.

Cattaras reached out to Jen. He could feel her body and her warmth. Her cysuit obeyed his commands. He then reached out from her to the figures. He saw them from her point of view, but also saw through them. He saw a strange halo around them, with a small stream of darkness reaching up from their heads into the sky. He smiled, using his newfound control to grope certain parts of Jen's body with her own cysuit before turning back to the matter at hand. "You're right sis.... He's being controlled- so's the little fuzzball."

Jen couldn't help but blush.

Catrina looked between Cattaras and Jen- half guessing the answer to her thought. "I don't know how you did that... don't want to know. We'll talk later- if there is a later."

"There is no then," said the voice, sounding a bit more like Fluffy- but not really. "There is no now. There is no later. All which was and will be has ended."

"Nuhuh!" said Becky. "That's not true! I'm going strawberry hunting next week!"

Jen reset her arm cannon and raised it. A simple blast would override their nervous system, shutting down any potential threat from whatever darkness was controlling them easily. Jen estimated a separate chance that it would break them free of the dark forces as well. Seeing her prepare, Becky pulled out her focus device, a small yeti toy, ready to attack.

"Goo goo ga joob, I guess." Catrina growled, drawing swords while her brother stood ready to move. "Y'know you dark ones made a biiig mistake. I"ve been lookin' for a reason to beat the crap out of this sorry piece of shit ever since that meeting!"

"You mean the meeting in your nightmares?" asked the voice. "When I killed your brother and raped this one?" Blahking's finger jerked up, like on a string, to point at Becky, who responded by blasting him with a torrent of ice.

Jen fired, too, but both blasts bounced off an invisible shield Becky and Jen redoubled their efforts until the shield dropped.

There was nothing there.

"Fools!" the voice came from behind Jen. "We control their powers, their abilities, their knowledge. Yet, on a level you can barely comprehend."

Jen quickly spun and fired again.

"Hold it, love." Cattaras sent to her. "Aim through me- let me find them. There are other ways to find someone than by sight." Already he was scanning the area with all of his senses- including ones he had just learned existed.

Jen smiled, impressed in the extreme. A Morlencir technique called battlelink allowed the linking minds to fight as a single unit. With so many minds focused on the fight, nothing could surprise them. Further, they were even able to easily exploit any weakness presented. Their synchronized movements, like well practiced dancers, were perfect. And without any training, Cattaras was already utilizing some of its basic concepts.

Cattaras reached out with all his senses- probing for what he knew to be there. His nose told him much- but when he reached out with his Chi he felt them, wrapping them in his energy and letting Jen see it.

Jen crouched next to Cattaras and let her weapon's energy bolts fly. They found their mark, cutting off Blahking's attack on Becky and Rebecca before it could happen. Clearly, the two were dazed. Blahking stood to stare them down.

"The prince is fighting for you," said the voice, a twisted echo of Blahking's own. "He seems ready to die for you, but I'm not sure you have the will to slay him. Do you?"

With that, "Fluffy" sneezed a massive fireball at his enemies.

"Get down!" Cattaras roared, pushing Jen to the ground and diving himself- He mrowled with pain as the fireball passed close enough to singe his fur and give him a nasty burn.

Catrina, meanwhile, wasn't thinking about new lovers as she flashed behind Blahking, grabbing him by the throat and hissing in his ear. "You forget that this asshole and me aren't on the best of terms. You may want to get out before I start gutting him."

She probably talked too long. Long enough for Blahking to grab a limb- she wasn't sure which- and twist around, throwing her to the ground. The demon howled and rushed her and it took all of her speed to roll to the side in time. Then she flashed again, behind the demon- punching with all of her might into his kidneys.

Cattaras was on the move as well, flashing over and making a grab for the rodent- thinking of seeing how far could throw him. Then again, Hamster had himself surrounded by a tower of fire and wind which Becky was trying to ice blast her way through.

"Fine then!" Cattaras roared and attempted to punch THROUGH the fire, just wanting to lay a paw on Fluffy even if he burned it off. The tower of elements vanished, but Fluffy Hamster was gone. There was a hole left behind.

A dark twisted parody of his voice came from behind Cattaras. "He doesn't trust you," demon possessed Fluffy said. "The 'fluffy rat' doesn't trust you and he doubts the others do, either, Cattaras. They know we've got our claws in you and we'll never let you go. You'll never truly be free. You'll never be capable of - AHHHHH!"

Jen had quietly snuck around behind the magic duo, and a blast from her weapon struck the hammy from behind, knocking all sense and consciousness from the little furry body.

"Wrong kitty, dumbass." Cattaras growled at the still hamster. "You meant the one with more interesting bumps." He smiled at Jen then nodded over to his sister and her fight with Blahking. "Speakin' of..."

Blahking had gotten Catrina down somehow. Probably magic. Right now, he had a sword above his head and seemed to be trying to stop himself from finishing her off.

"Sorry, hon." Catrina said, even as she kicked upward, her paw landing... well you can guess. Especially as the blow caused her brother to stiffen up, so to speak. As the others gathered around, the darkness receded from the forms of Blahking and Fluffy, gathering itself into a terrible looking beast, albeit one made of nothing other than shadows and darkness. Catrina and Cattaras hunched over, ready for battle while Becky Joy stepped from behind, a giant ice sword in her hand.

"Wait, we have to fight an intangible shadow enemy now?!" she proclaimed. "Not cool, man!"

"Everything's cool with you around." Cattaras chuckled. "But yeah. This is gonna make life more difficult."

"Perhaps we might be of assistance." The kitsunes appeared, seemingly out of thin air, along with Sliver. "Or, more to the point, perhaps your friend will." The moved apart, revealing Fahari but yet more than Fahari. She stood ready to fight- but she glowed.

"What have you done to her?" Catrina and Cattaras growled, almost in unison.

Sliver chuckled. "We have only awakened powers in her that she already had- indeed had already used twice in her life though she was never allowed to remember."

"Only the pain," Fahari growled, "only the humiliations. I never dreamed- or allowed myself to dream- of the reason, the evil, behind it. "

Sliver spoke under her tones to the others. "Be ready. Strike when she does!"

"But now I remember- all of it! I have... I am a message from the Goddess- LEAVE US THE HEY DEZE ALONE!"

Sliver's instruction was almost too late as with that the panthress shifted forward to strike at the shadow. The other felines added their blows a scant second later- but theirs did not glow with the power of a Goddess. With the beast dissipated, Becky used an icestorm to blow the shadowy particles to the four winds. Literally.

LITERALLY!

After the battle was done Kyomi moved over to the seeming lifeless forms. She picked up the tiny form of Furry Hamster and cooed over it. "Such a tiny creature- fighting so bravely against the darkness in a battle you could not win, yet fighting hard enough so that it could not win either."

As she said that she cuddled the tiny mage to her bosom, while Asami and Myoko tended to the fallen Blahking- although he couldn't be cuddled to their own ample bosoms like Fuzzy.

Slowly the hamster awoke- and Kyomi had to hold him a bit tighter as he realized just where his nose was. She soothed him, then looked into his eyes. "Now.... Let us see what our enemy is up to."

Fluffy's eyes suddenly popped open. "Hi!" he squeaked. "Got any ginger snaps?"

"Put a guy there and all he thinks of is cookies?" Cattaras chuckled. "'Course, you could always dunk em in the- OW!"

Both Jen and Catrina elbowed him from either side, while Kyomi produced a snap with a snap- of her fingers, offering it to her tiny patient, who accepted it. "Now, little hero, you were in his mind for as long as he was in yours- let me see what you saw." Both fell into a munch filled silence.

After a moment long enough to make the others worry Kyomi's eyes snapped open wide and she looked off in the direction of the Dragon. She then calmed herself and looked over at her maidens. "Asami, Myoko, zip up our hero's pants. We need to move- now."

"Wait- what did you see?" Catrina said, but the vixen was nearly out of sight and the others were hard pressed to keep up, much less talk. It didn't take long until the problem came into view over the next hill and they saw the chrono dragon desperately trying to fight off the darkness itself. Along with the infant dragon, a handful of humanoid figures fought with the dragon.

Jen took off towards the dragon, looking tense and ready to fight, followed closely by Catrina, Cattaras and Becky.

The roleplay before this one had a good bit of action, but I think this might be the best action piece of this mission! (On the other hand, the next piece is quite good, too.)

It was exciting and had twists, turns, action and characterization- plus a little humor. It was flat out innovative and well written, I'd say. In fact, we're going to continue with this.. right after we take a little break to check out the action back on the KOL mainlands!

Up next: the Knob Goblins revolt.