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Corwin:

Grant moved quickly to show himself.
"Oh Tim, it's only you. Guess we're all a little jumpy tonight with everything that's been happening. See you inside later."
Grant breathed a sigh of relief as the guard moved away. With his obvious resemblance to this guy Tim, they had a really good chance of pulling this little caper off without getting detected. That would be a first.

There were lights coming from a large building straight ahead and it didn't take a rocket scientist to work out that it was most likely their destination. Rose, impatient as ever, kept pushing him towards the door. Always in a hurry that girl, he thought to himself. One day she'll rush right to her destruction if she's not careful.

No one seemed to be guarding the open door, so they quickly stepped inside to take a look around. Hmm, looked like a large auditorium about half full of people. Strangely most seemed to be carrying primitive weapons. This could get dangerous.

"Hey Rose," he whispered, "Getting any readings on that gizmo of yours?"
"Yes, straight ahead. The thing's nearly jumping off the dial, so we must be real close"
"Oh CRAP!!" came from Mouse behind them. Grant looked up and wished he hadn't. He saw himself walking towards them. Guess this must be Tim he thought to himself. Now the manure really hits the whirling blades!!

CM:

"Get your weapons on sleepy time. Looks like we are in for a fight."

Mouseolini reached inside the coat he was wearing as Grant spun on his heals back toward the door he had just come in. Before he could think, Rose moved quickly toward Grant's double, gently grabbing his forearm and whispering something into his ear.

Tim nodded and smiled as he walked to the door just right of the podium. Rose and Tim were gone from sight, the door slowly swinging closed behind them.

"Brother Tibberton! What happened to your robes? And where is your weapon! You heard what The Keeper said, we have to guard the device!"

"Sorry Brother. I had to run out to my vechi..... car, and I got soaked. I left my weapon with the others. I didn't think I should take it out for anyone to see." Grant was scrambling his brain to try and pass as his clone.

"Very well, get a new robe from the storage box in the hall and get back here as fast as you can. Who is this with you Brother Tibberton?"

Rose was smiling and walking along at Tim's side as he escorted her to the lobby and Jayne's desk.

"Jayne, this is Rose, and her car won't start. I would go out and help her, but I have to get back in there. Can you see if Fred can give her a jump? If not, one of us will go out and do it."

Tim gazed at Jayne just long enough for Rose to pick up on the feelings he had. It was one of her greatest tools as a thief, reading the mark, setting him up for the kill, and then walking away as someone does the dirty work. But there was no one to do the pick and roll with this time. She had to get this guy out of commission without anyone seeing it.

As Jayne picked up the phone, Rose again touched Tim's arm gently, but this time with a different purpose. "You have something going with Jayne?" Rose asked, more as a statement, then a question.

"No.......I mean we are friends....I never..."

"I know, but this would be a good time. No one will miss you for a few more minutes. I can slip back in the hall for a while and wait for Fred. I can tell she likes you a lot. You really need to say something. If anyone asks I'll tell them you are getting my car fixed for me."

Rose squeezed Tim's arm in reassurance, but the small needle she injected would take only a few minutes to start working. She walked slowly back to the hall door, glancing back to see Tim shaking his head and suddenly running for the bathroom.
Badger:
As Rose escorted Tim from through the far door Grant turned to Mouse.

"Right, now before we have to entertain any more of the natives, let's get this thing done!"

Mouse took Rose's locator from out of his sleeve and flipping the switch with his thumb he was immediately rewarded with a steady beeping.

"I'd saaaaaaaaay" said Mouse spinning in a slow circle, "that our target is......... There!"

Stopping mid spin Mouse pointed the device emphatically toward a heavy looking pair of double doors and with a glance around the pair made their way across the room.

"Can you deal with this lock?" Grant asked.

"I think so," mused mouse, "but let's just try the handle first eh?"

Grant shook his head. "To these guys this is a supremely important artifact to be guarded with their lives! I hardly think that...."

With a click the handle turned and the door swung open.

"You're a 'glass half empty' kind of guy Grant, you know that?"

"Yeah, let's just get on with it eh!" Pushing past Mouse irritably, Grant strode into the room.

Beyond the doorway the room opened out into a wide-open area, dimly lit by long candleholders placed at intervals around its edge. At the far end stood a baroque table on top of which sat an even more ornate chest. The front of the chest which was hinged and opened downward, was agape and from its depths Grant and Mouse could see a steady flashing which intermittently bathed the table top in a warm red glow.

"This is it," Mouse whispered, "Go to it Grant."

The pair moved forward and Grant leaned over the top of the device staring intently into the blinking light.

"What are you waiting for?" Mouse prompted, "Get it done man!"

Grant held up a hand for silence. "Don't rush me!" He glared. "You don't rush art and I am an artist."

"Erm...." Mouse breathed. "You might want to keep your brushes dry for a moment Picasso."

"What's that?" Grant snapped looking up. "Oh!"

Standing in the middle of the room flanked by several armed guards stood the robed and hooded figure of the keeper.

"Brother Tibberton." He said menacingly. "I surely did not expect to find you here in the inner sanctum accompanied by a stranger." He raised a hand and pointed to one side. "Step away from the table brother, do it now."

Grant stepped forward with hands outstretched, "Wait, there's been a misunderstanding here. You all know me, it's Brother Tim! I'm on board, I'm one of the gang, why would I betray you?"

Instantly the assembled brothers raised their weapons and Grant froze.

"Ooookay," he said smiling, "that's ok guys.. no need for the guns, I'll be staying right here."

The Keeper spread his arms wide and began speaking.

"And in the final hours the believers shall be tested by the Prince of Lies!"

"I think he's talking about you!" Whispered Mouse.

"He shall come to you as one of the chosen, but you shall know him by the lack of faith in his eyes!"

"He is you know!" Mouse breathed, "He thinks you're the Devil, I've thought so for ages, but didn't want to say."

"Shut up Mouse!" Hissed Grant.

The Keeper raised his gloved hand and pointed at Grant. "He shall twist the truth and seek to pervert the faith, and the lies shall drip like honey from his serpents tongue!"

Grant held up his hands. "Look." He began. "I can see that you guys are not to be messed with. I can see you're an intelligent crowd, so I'm not going to insult you with lies. Here's the thing... you have no idea who I am, and you have even less idea what this is!" He pointed tellingly at the chest.

The Keeper paused for a moment.

"Are you so very sure?" He began and reaching up he slowly pulled back his hood. "I know exactly what that is, and who you are Grant! I know you and I know your type, very well!"

Grant stared, for a moment he was to shocked to speak, then slowly he breathed a name..
"Killick! Debbon Killick!"

Lintra:

Grant visibly relaxes. He pitches his voice down so only Killick can hear it, "Well then Commander, I haven't the foggiest how you got here, or what you hoped to achieve, but at least you must know what is in the box, and what is about to happen."

"Oh, I most certainly do know. I know very, very well ... ". Something in his tone turns Grants blood to ice. The keeper then replaces his hood and turns his back on Grant & company, "Shoot them" he says to the faithful.

Grant dives to the side in a vain effort to evade being shot. He can feel the impact of being hit many times as the guns fire, twisting his body around in mid air with the force of their impacts. A small part of him is remotely aware of hitting the floor as the room fades from view like water running down a drain - his last split seconds are oddly devoid of pain. Some where far, far away Rose is screaming...

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Scene: A cockpit of a small space ship. A man is dressed as a commander in of the IBI is standing with his arms crossed behind his back. He might've been described as handsome, in a rough sort of way, except for a facial tic.

"Yes, we finally caught them", he says to the empty air. He appears to listen to something unhearable. He then reaches up to adjust a small device by his ear. "Excuse me, but I must not have heard you correctly. Could you repeat that please?"

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Scene: Somewhere there is an empty store room. The room has walls of metal, is lit by a single panel in the ceiling and has what might or might not be a door. It is a very nondescript room. It could be anywhere, any time. Something in the Spartan appearance speaks to a military origin.

The room's emptiness is emphasized by the three coffin sized boxes in it. Each has a small display on the side, reminiscent of a medical read out. If it is a medical read out an impartial observer would be forced to conclude the patient was either dead or in a coma. A silly conclusion since there does not appear to be any patients in the room. Each coffin has a single letter scrawled on the side, apparently written with a large chunk of yellow chalk: an "R", an "M" and a "G". The "G" appears to have been written with great force.

Corwin:

Black and white swirl in a never-ending dance coruscating wildly back and forth like some sort of eternal Yin and Yang. Lights, at once bright, yet strangely blurred, seem to flash in a rhythm only they can understand. Then, slowly, surreptitiously, the sounds began. Thump, thump, thump, like the pounding of a drum or the beating of a heart!! Yes, definitely like the beating of a heart.

Slowly consciousness returned to Grant, and with it, an even deeper awareness of pain; not blinding pain, but a dull grinding pain that threatened to be with him for several days.

At least I'm not dead, he thought to himself. sure glad I wore that protective vest. Still, those projectiles will have left me with a lot of bruises. I must have hit my head when I fell too, it's throbbing like a three day hangover!! Strange almost dream I had too, about coffins? Not sure what that was all about.

Ever so slowly, Grant cracked open an eyelid, trying to avoid blinking in the expected light. Darkness was all he saw. No light, no sound, nothing!!  Strange, where were Rose and Mouse, what had happened to them? Why was there no one here? Where was here?

CM:

The hallway was gray, sparse, and winding apparently from nowhere, to nowhere. Sitting in the center of it was a lone uniformed IBI security guard, scrolling through files on a small handheld device.

A low echo of footsteps started at one end of the corridor, approaching slowly enough for the guard to stop reading, ready his collar, and stand as if doing something important. Moments later as the figure appears in clear view he knows he can drop the pretense and sit back down.
"What are up to?" Asks the approaching guard.
"Who knows? Some top secret crap. Someone said it has to do with that time travel stuff they have been working on in Command Level 12."
"Level 12? I just took a couple of GIA's down there. They looked like top brass for sure."
"Well all I know is there are boxes in there, and I was ordered to kill the first guy to go in or come out. Funny thing is, those three boxes are all that's in there. Why would they give me specific orders to kill anyone who comes out?"
"You asking me? I just do what I'm told and get paid."
----------------------------------------------------------------------
"Could you repeat that please...........I still don't think..."
"You heard me, send them back. They have to finish."

The tic on the man's face was now totally out of control. Months of work, tracking, planning, and finally he had his prey, and they want to send them back?

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Grant tried to move, but couldn't. All he could do was blink, and that didn't seem to be coming on his command. No sound, no smell, no feeling of anything but the dull pain in his chest.
Suddenly there was a flash of light. Light so bright it should have easily let him see where he was. But nothing, nothing but the light was visible, and beginning to swirl and ebb as if water.
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Grant found himself lying on the floor of a small office. Rose and Mouse were next to him, both stirring as he was, trying to gain some sense of balance and reality.

"What the hell is going on?!! You were dead, or should have been. And Rose was being setup for an execution shot to the head. And so was I!! You know, this adventure has pretty well put an end to my patience and good humor." Mouse was not his usual self.

"I give up! I am not moving from this spot until something makes sense. If someone wants to come here and explain, fine. If they want to come and shoot me again, fine too. You guys take off if you want, but I have had it. My chest hurts, my eyes hurt, and I have a headache that feels like a brain tumor, so I am staying right here!" Grant crossed his legs at the ankles, folded his arms in a sign of defiance, and reclined back against a file cabinet.

Rose got up without a word. She checked the room, and then intently listened at the door before opening it just enough to get a peek. She seemed to stare out for hours, without a hint of movement.

Slowly turning toward Grant and Mouse, she shook her head and then nodded toward the door.
"You are never going to believe this one!"
"I told you I am not moving!"
"Grant, get your ass over here. It is the same place we were at! But none of the guards are here. And guess who is in there waiting for us to take him out!"

"KILLICK!" This was the one thing that could get Grant to move.

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