Astra, wearing the pink velvet, ran as quickly as her Aqualarian training
had taught her. Too many images flooded her brain, too many
discrepancies. She turned first one corner then another, and then she
stopped dead in her tracks. Before her was an eight-foot-tall creature
the likes of which not even Mistress Valerie had ever spoken of. It had a
huge ape-like body covered in purple hair, and for a head it had a shiny
metal toaster!!! Astra squeaked as the thing let out a roar (with what
she wasn't sure), raised its arms menacingly and bent down till it was
staring her in the face. With amazing grace and perfect execution Astra
dropped to the floor in a backward roll before those hairy, muscle-bound
arms could close in on her. The thing straightened up in surprise as
Astra cartwheeled away from it. Astra proved herself a competent
adversary, a dangerous soldier even if without a 'weapon.'
Astra breathed hard, waiting for the beast's next move. It wasn't long in coming. The thing took a step, paused, and then headed straight for Astra in long, apish strides. If it had anything more than a box of aluminum for a head, Astra would have seen it smiling. She readied herself for the attack. Astra knew it was bigger and stronger than her, but she was faster and, hopefully smarter. Then, without any warning, the creature stopped running, straightened up and began walking down the corridor in the opposite direction, and not only that, it lifted its hand at Astra and motioned with its fingers to follow it! Astra was wary, she did not trust this situation in which she found herself. First she was saved by the Allarian knight Fred, then he killed the mage-beast. Then they were both transported by the beast's master to this desolate desert waste where they found this black tower. She fell under some kind of magic and awoke dressed in pink while Fred was dressed in robes. But was it Fred or an illusion? And what of the look-a-like, an illusion as well?!? Fred spoke as if he knew this place, but before entering he confessed to no prior knowledge. Was he lying? Why? And now this beast, who only moments ago wanted her dead, ceased and motioned for her to follow. Astra sighed, she was way over her head. She decided to follow, being trapped gave her very few options. The ape-thing led her through the corridors until she reached a very, very large iron-hinged door which was conveniently open. She stepped inside and found herself looking at a mad scientist's dream come true. Not only that, she was staring at four people and a monster. The first person was Fred, still dressed in dusty robes. Beside him was the woman who looked like her, also dressed in dusty robes (the identical wardrobe made Astra shutter, it was as if she were looking into some kind of nightmarish mirror and it was the reflection who was the true woman and that left her as...what? A reflection of herself??). Standing by Fred and the woman was an old, wrinkled man with deep penetrating eyes. The eyes were momentarily looking at the other person in the room, a man tied to a table. Astra came nearer and looked at the man, he was wrapped from chin to toe in black leather bandages, criss-crossed with zippers, metal stitches and a couple of Band-Aids. His hands were not hands at all, though. They were a pair of hideous looking, surgically sharp scissors that extended from the leather cuffs. But what really caught Astra's eyes was the man's face, it was Fred!!!
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1/22/2001 10:41:34 AM
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