Welcome to Gaia! ::

Gaius paused in his work, rubbing his chin absently - a bit of a reach he was used to making by now. "Well, I know I've... had some problems. Kinda. Don't know if I want to bring them back up, but... well, if something happens in the future... maybe it'd be good to talk to someone, so I'm not bringing down my friends..."

His eyes drifted back to Victor. The guy was looking kinda sickly... "You sure you want to walk all the way to the beach?"

"Well, if you're sure..." Gaius sounded unconvinced, but let it slide with a shrug and returned to his hammering.

Returning from the jungle, Vixen came bearing a bit of old fruit she'd found lying on the jungle floor. She carried it gingerly in her teeth, a few bits of pulp oozing out where her teeth had pierced the rotting flesh, and walked right up to Victor...

And dropped the mushy fruit right on his foot. The lumpy thing burst open, over-ripe pulp oozing all over his toes.

Seemed she wasn't one to let a snub go without payback.

Gaius, immersed in his work, was oblivious to the whole scene.

Gaius looked up at the exclamation, first seeing Victor looking even sicker than before, then the pile of what had once been fruit, and finally Vixen standing a distance away looking very pleased with herself. It took a moment for it all to click. The instant it did, he shot a dark look at his dog. "Vixen!" he scolded.

"Victor... sorry... I don't know why..." he stuttered as he attepted to apologize, not rightly sure what had exactly happened. Finally he just gave up and gave an apologetic shrug.

"Thanks, hopefully it'll be soon..."

He watched the poor guy leave, then shot Vixen a dark look. "That was a nasty thing you did... Can't you see the poor guy was already sick? You should be ashamed of yourself..."

The dog hung her head, moving forward in a submissive posture, but Gaius would have none of it and shooed her away to amuse herself elsewhere and he returned to his hammering.

"No y'aint, yer... standin' there... arguin' wit' me!" He spat back, spiny fins along his head and back flairing upright.


He nudged Liamh in the shoulder with his elbow, then whispered. "Do we really want him over here?"


Gaius' face tightened. "So what if I am...? It's not because of what Sabin said!"


Seth frowned, nodding at Lucas's comment. "I don't want him over here either...." He glanced around for a moment, noting that most people were distracted right now. He inched towards Liamh and Lucas's shovels, pondering whether now was an opportune time to run off with them.


Liamh smirked over at the angry octopus. "Well, I'd be workin' if you weren't jabbering at us. You aren't comin' over here, right? Whatchagonando, annoy us to death with your weird accordion-thing while we slave away?" He glanced at Lucas, and pointed at Billy, "Hey, he started it..."


"Y'come o'er here an'... say tha' I dare ye!" Billy rasped back, chintacles wriggling frantically.


"Perfect," she chirped pleasantly before deftly throwing as much muscle as she could gather into a hard right hook. Shaking out her hand afterwards, Antony offered him a sneer, "My personal thanks, shitdick." Though she may not have looked it, she was definitely paying keen attention to his extra appendages. They were not to be trusted. Period.


Liamh stuck his shovel into the ground and turned away to face Billy with his arms crossed. "You come over HERE and make me come over there, why don'tcha? Better yet, use that noisebox to dig with! It'd be a better use of it!"


Newt meanwhile, remained forgotten under the wheelbarrow, but had caught sight of the aussie.... mammal of some sort-man stnading nearby. He had been nice, hadn't he? Oh, what was his name?? Shawn? Sam? Severyn? Oh, bugger.


The dhole had discarded his shovel earlier when he went for the water bottle and it lay on the groun. Lucas really hoped Billy wouldn't pull out that box again. "Please don't tempt him to use that thing."


Liamh turned to mutter conspiratorially to Lucas, "Hey, maybe we'll get lucky and he'll use it as a hammer."


"Some o' us.... aint so lucky... as t'have a .... full set o'... lungs, t'ank ye!" He was bristling with anger, limbs fidgeting and he had to pour a fresh bottle of water over himself.


"Uh-huh," he smiled, sounding totally unconvinced. He glanced at Emerwyn and then back to Gaius. He felt a little more confident with her around.


"That'd be nice. Maybe he'll throw it and we can bury it. Then he'd have to dig."


"Hoy! Pinnoccio!" He called as loudly as he could, "C'mere!"


Liamh turned back, about to say something else stinging in response, and then noticed the water bottle clutched in the tentacles... his mouth didn't quite close. "HEeeeeeyyyyy.... YOU"RE the one with the water bottle!"


Gaius' winglettes gave an indignant flap. "What's that tone supposed to mean!" he growled, advancing on the dragon. To hell with Sabin and his rules.


Seth bit his lower lip, his heart racing as he became edgy. As stealthily as he could manage, he slinked forwards, reaching out, grasping one paw around Liamh's shovel, his other paw around Lucas's. Then he held them both in one hand, picking up his own, leaving one behind of course so the work could be continued. Then, he made a break for it, silently dashing off into the jungle, heading for one of his many 'territory' paths to stash the loot.


Richard was taken completely by surprise by the punch. His head snapped to the side as he staggered to one knee. While he was far too dazed and stunned to respond physically, his tentacles failed around him. For a moment he merely clutched the side of his face. Then he looked up with murder in his eyes. "What in god’s name was that for!" He started to rise.


"Ah!" Newt's eyes widened as he saw him scurry off, casting a glance from Gaius to the theif and back again befor he swallowed and lept in hot persuit, (Although not so close as to cause a confrontation or seem impolite!)


Emerwyn had still not managed to say anything. The situation was obviously deep-seeded, and nothing Emerwyn said would stop it. Zachary was obviously not here to help. She smiled helplessly at him. Then, Gaius moved forward, and Emerwyn got really nervous. She placed a hand on Zachary's shoulder, since she did not know Gaius, and look imploringly at him, then she turned to Gaius.


"Wha'.... these...? They're... so I don' bloody... DROWN... t'ank you!" He huffed, spines bristling.


Liamh scowled, taking some steps toward Billy. "What's the idea, hombre? This some kinda duck shoot with my head as the target?" He pointed to his head. "What'ya chuckin' 'em around for?"


Oblivious to the theft, Lucas looked back and forth between Liamh and Billy. Lifting the bottle to his nose, he sniffed, taking in Billy's scent, not Zach's. So it was Billy. He followed the plant-man over, but did not hand Billy back his bottle. Not until he was sure he wouldn't throw it again.


It only took those couple steps to bring him within firing range. With a hiss, the octopus strethced his beak open, a sharp spray of ink arching through the air to spray down black across the viney-man's face and shoulders.


Seth continued to run off, heading for the area in the jungle, stopping on a path to the duplexes. Then he stopped, dropped the shovels, got down on all-fours and began to use his front paws to dig. He was still quite edgy and nervous as he dug, dirt flying everywhere as he dug with much vigor, intending to dig a hole at least two feet down, and big enough to bury the shovels in.


"UUuaaaagh!" Liamh yelped, retching as he wiped the nasty black liquid from his face and nose as best he could. "AAaaugh, nasty! Guuaagkh!"


"Oh sh-" Lucas side-stepped away from Liamh as Billy let loose his ink. Looking at the black liquid drip from the other guy, Lucas grimaced. "Eww."


Newt landed behind some ferns nearby, his green slimy skin blending in fairly well as he watched the thylacine burry his catch, and held his breath in case a nervious croak bubbled up without his permission.


A step behind her secured some distance between the two of them, and she met his eyes head on, standing her ground. Her own eyes burned lethally, her mutinous gaze amplified by their bloody color. With an eerily calm voice, Antony answered his question, "Like I said, I had to thank you... But if you want to hear it again, I'd be happy to repeat it a little louder for an elderly man such as yourself." She mimicked tipping a hat to him with a dangerous grin.


Zach spread his own wings as Gaius approached. Big, he had to look big. He was still on edge after Alec had leapt at him. He felt some pain from his right wing. The tears were pretty much exposed. He felt Emerwyn's odd hand on his shoulder. Uh-oh. He didn't want Gaius to say anything incriminating about him around her. "Jeez. Just calm down, Gaius. You're scaring Emerwyn."


"Now... get back... t'diggin'!" Billy beamed, proud for this blow made.


"What the hell, man?" Liamh spat some ink from his lips, trying to wipe his eyes with a viney hand and not accomplishing much. He got one eye cleared and stomped over to Billy. "That's just nasty!"


"Tha's... bloody nature beanstalk!"


It didn't take Seth long to dig a nice hole with his clawed paw-hands. When the hole was large enough, he carefully lay the shovels in, and began to bury the evidence. He did this part casually, not knowing he was being watched. After he finished, he flicked sand over the place to hide the newly-dug up area.


"Way to win over people who are only volunteering," Lucas gave Billy a look, but stood ready to jump if the octopus thought about spraying him.


Gaius stopped in his tracks, a few feet from Zach, as he noticed the deer lady's fearful looks, and the way she cowered back against him. For a moment, his wings sagged and he deflated, guilt and shame washing over him for showing such a face in front of such a delicate woman, but his temper was back the next moment. That was wrong! She was supposed to be afraid of Zach, not him!


Emerwyn's silent pleas were obviously not working, and the two enemies were not going to back down easily. She would not bear to have them fight. "Please!" she said desperately, though not particularly scared. She was, at least, glad that Zachary was showing some want to stop. She took her hand from Zach, stepping between them. "You do not need to be acting like this, either of you... If we cannot join together, then what else do we have?”

Here she noticed from her new vantage point that there was more ruckus a ways off. She had never seen this side of the Island before.



Liamh scowled darkly, pulling his inked shirt over his head, wiping his face with it, and tossing it aside. "Okay, that's IT. You want digging?" He reached forward with both hands and grabbed the nearest tentacles, dragging the octopus man forward and toward the nearest hole. "Dig yourself!"


"Jes'.... doin' me job, which is... t'make sure you... do yer job!" He barked back, the red spreading over his skin in siderweb blossoms.

As he was suddenly tugged out of his chair, he clung to the arms of it with his rear tentacles, flailing about his viney grasp as he gave a breathy yelp, "Gerroff!! Lemme'... go!"


"Join together?" the horse-man snorted, giving a toss of his head, though his voice sounded less sure, having seen the gleam of white fangs beneath the predatory yellow eyes. He had to clamp down on the thrill of terror that ran through him, something akin to a night terror, and the sense of being hunted. "You mean throw my lot in with this jerk and his lab-friends? I'd sooner hang myself, thank you!"


Lucas watched in shock as Liamh pulled Billy from his chair and tried to drag him. "What, er- Liamh." He wasn't sure what to do. If he should stop it or let Liamh get his payback for the ink.


Liamh gave a tug, pulling billy down into the hole with him in a tentacley heap. "Booyah!" He cried, flexing his arms over his pale skinned, green-patched body. "Hah!... oh, wait." He realized bringing the octopus down with them was not the brightest idea....


Bill wrapped all eight limbs around the plantman as they fell, squeezing around whatever he could grab like eight slimy, pissed off pythons.


Zach folded his wings again, though the frill remained spread. He was on edge now, worried. But he was far too proud to deny his allegience. Hopefully Emerwyn would understand. If not....


Richard raised himself to his feet and spread his clawed hands. He glowered at her as he drew himself to his full six feet of height, a growl rising in his throat. His tentacles would strike her as soon as either of them took a step closer. "Madame," the scorn dripping from his voice, "If thats the way you'd like to communicate then I'm sure everything else about you is equally worthless."


With the shovels properly buried and their dig site hidden nicely, Seth looked around, making a note of where they were, and how to find them again when the time came. He stood up once more and dusted off his paws, satisfied. With that, he casually wandered back towards the construction site to finish the job.


Newt waited a few moments to make sure Seth was gone befor hopping over to look around and find the soft spot. He was trying to take Gaius's shovels! Well, he'd see about that. Glancing around frantically to make sure no one was watching him, he grabbed a stick to quickly try to dig them free.


Emerwyn looked to Zach, a confused expression on her face. Lab-friends? He was in league with - or friends with - them? The fact that this was news to her was painfully obvious on her face. Her nonexistant brow furrowed. "It does not matter, not to me..." She said, mostly to herself.


"At least I don't have to write up an Island PTA newsletter to get attention and a false feeling of power," she said with a smile, barely having to look up to keep her eyes on him. At around 5'10'' herself, his height didn't frighten her in the least. The tails behind her twitched and made alert motions as she stared him down, her own claws ready to react.


Well, anyone who was against the labs would be no friend of his. He gave Gaius a look of disdain. "And how has all your constant, pointless bickering helped you so far? You say you hate them so much, but who’s supplying the bed you sleep on, the roof over your head here, your food? They are. If you were really serious about how much you hate the labs you’d be living on your own in the jungle, and taking your chances with Annie. I’d bet they even gave you all the wood and tools you’re using here. How rebellious of you. You’re really convincing me.” He snorted.


Gaius' hackles rose with every word that flew from the dragon's mouth, striking at him like bee stings that burned and irritated. His fist clenched at his side tightened, veins clear against the still-human skin. With a sudden move, Gaius did what he would forever regret later, and took a step forward, forcibly shoving Emerwyn aside with an arm, and nailed Zach straight up under the long chin with his other.


Seth returned to the construction site and frowned, people were still quite distracted with their arguing, so forth. He picked up the last remaining shovel and casually went back to finish the digging job as if nothing had ever happened.


He was in the action of drawing back for another swing when a sudden spasm overtook his body and his furious expression melted away, eyes glazing over as he crumpled on the spot.


It was difficult for the frog man to hop with both shovels, but he managed to balance them in his skinny arms while he practiced walking without hopping all hte way back to the other side of the campside. He had been sure to avoid where the man might have ended up. He paused, about to ask gaius something, but he seemed rather busy, so he left the shovels leaning against the far, finished side of the pit.


Emerwyn was knocked right off of her feet, falling to the ground with a dull thud. She looked up, startled and frightened as Gaius struck Zachary, then collapsed himself. She winced, trying to sit up right away.


Liamh yelped, going down with the tentacles wrapped around him, wrestling frantically to try to get them off him. "Auurgh!" He gritted his teeth, flailing at the octopus. "Get offa me, you... nngh! You... bottle-chucking.... projectile.. vomiting... accordion-playing... " he rolled around, feeling the choking squeeze of the tentacles and the suckers pulling at his already loose skin. Part of his arm came off and he got one hand free long enough to give a badly aimed swing at Billy's head.


Zach reeled back after the punch, that same horrible catlike growl full of screechy notes coming out as a roar. His head had snapped upward from the force of the punch, leaving him to stumble. Not again! He cupped a hand under his jaw, drawing in some unsteady breaths. By the time he'd recovered, it seemed Gaius had been buzzed. He stared down at his attacker, still surprised, still angry himself under the surface. Not long after, he turned his attention to Emerwyn. He offered his free hand to help her up, wincing at the pain in his jaw. He didn't know quite what to say, nor did he think his jaw was in any condition for talking.

Gaius... was as hopeless a case as ever. But maybe one day he'd see the truth.


His skull felt softer than it should have, his fist bouncing against the man's soft head and he flopped off of him to the ground, flailing tentacles with a pained groan.


Richard's eyes buldged and he shifted his weight to take a step toward her but stopped himself. Don't stoop to her level, he chided himself, still the image of his teeth in her throat bubbled through his mind. "I gave everyone all the information I've managed to gather since I got here. Things that people are better off knowing. Or perhaps you find it funny when everyone has to figure out everything about this place on their own. Or maybe you’re like Zach and just love to watch the rest of us suffer." His speach was interspered with a saw like growl.


Liamh peeled himself away as best he could from some of the tentacles, trying to roll over on top of Billy. The parts of his skin that had been tentacled showed strange, greenish sucker marks, and his glasses were hanging askew from his ears. "Grah! I'll... ....... Take that!" He snorted, pointing a finger at Billy and trying to decide whether he should attempt pinning the other man.


Emerwyn smiled weakly, accepting Zach's scaly hand. "Zachary..." she pushed aside anything else she may have wnated to say to him. "Are you alright?" She gently reached up a hoofed hand to inspect where Zach had been struck.


Stepping away from the two, not wanting to get dragged into any more hitting or spitting. He did wince as skin fell away from Liamh. "Okay, maybe you guys should settle down?"


Billy made an unintelligable noise, wrything on the floor as the horizontal slitted pupils of his eyes wobbled unevenly befor he managed to find which way was down again. His chair! s**t, it was all the way up out of reach, he gave an angry growling noise in the back of his throat, "Y'better... stay away!" He crawled backward away from him across the dirt, "I swear I'll..." When he noted the scraps of skin still stuck to his suckers, his color drained into a more greenish grey, "Y'bloody... MOLTED on me!"


"One day you're going to snoop your granny panties into someone's personal business," Antony began cheerfully, though there was a threatening edge to each and every one of her words. "Be careful who you piss off grandpa because while the labs make everyone suffer, they don't sleep on your side of the fence..." She took the time to curl a lock of hair with her clawed finger while surveying Richard lazily (though her tails revealed that she was still on guard). "Besides, all of your 'information' has been quite common knowledge for sometime now... And those who don't know no longer live in their duplexes. I personally would love to see you hand deliver your newsletter to Ms. Annie..." Her nasty smile had returned again.


Liamh sat on the ground, panting, and straightened his glasses. He glanced at Billy. "..... Wow.... i think that's the first fight i've ever won!" he made a face, examining the patch of ripped-away skin on his arm. ".... OW... freaking.... okay, that stings a little," he poked at it.


"Leave him be, Liamh." Lucas ran fingers through his hair, feeling very awkward in this situation. Looking around to check on everyone else, his eyes widened as he spotted Gaius lying on the ground near Zach. And Emerwyn was there, of all people. Leaving the plant-man and octopus on their own, Lucas hurried over to Gaius. "What the hell happened?" He shot a dark look to Zach, then a confused one at Emerwyn.


"Tha's... bloody... disgustin' wha'... th'bloody hell is... wrong wit' ye?" He made a face, sticking his tongue out as he whipped his limbs about to the tro clean them off frantically.


Zach couldn't manage a smile himself. He swallowed, and it hurt. As usual he was coming away with injuries left and right simply for saying what he thought. It was hard to feel safe when so few people had any self control any more. He tried not to wince at her light touch, then pulled his head away. All he needed was an ice pack or something. It was routine. "Fine. Happens... all the time." He didn't elaborate. "What about you? Did... did he hurt you?"


"Hey! You ripped my skin off, i'm the victim here," Liamh pouted, crossing his arms. "..... err... sorry 'bout the shedding, though.." he still felt awful for leaving the mess in Gaius' room, and though he didn't feel too bad about grossing Billy out after being barfed on, it was still a point of embarrassment. "And anyway, YOU barfed on me! What the heck!"


"I am fine. He did not hurt me." She pulled back her hand as he winced away. Then she turned, hearing Lucas' familiar voice. "Lucas-"


"S'no' barf, y'disgustin'.... bush! S'called ink! He tried to push himself up to some sort of standing position, limbs shifting and coiling and trembling to keep himself balanced. Sort out arms from legs. Alright, just pay attention to what limb is where. It was easier to move underwater. Swimming felt more natural. Walking was a far more complicated matter.


"Ink? You barf ink?" Liamh gave Billy an incredulous look. "That's..... weird." He pushed himself to his feet with a grunt and dusted himself off, making for the edge of the hip-height hole.


It was still over the octopus man's head, and his fins flattened as he glanced upward at it with raised brows. s**t. "It aint... barfin' so much as.... spittin'."


"Gaius here tried... talking with his fists. This," Zach made a motion at the inert body of the pegasus-man, "is what happens... when you do that. I suggest you... keep it in mind."


"And who you callin' a bush!" he made a face. He didn't have much response to that. "It's more like.... shrubbery.... I'll have you know." He hefted himself over the edge and sat there, glancing down at Billy. "Spittin', huh....." he rubbed at the patch on his human-ish arm. "What any kid wouldn't give for THAT trick in school."


"Emerwyn?" Why was she with Zach? Lucas bent down to check on the other man, but stopped and lifted his head toward Zach as he spoke, eyes narrowing. "Did you hit him?" What Zach said sounded more like a threat. The idea that the labs had buzzed Gaius had not even entered his mind.


Seth began to hum as he dug out the last part of the trench, casually working despite the cacophony around him. He smirked, quite pleased. Nothing could sour his mood right now. The most useful pieces of his plan were secure. "Finished." He announced to nobody in particular. "At least something productive got done today."


Billy gave a low chuckle, color returning to his normal greyish blue as he crawled along a few feet of the wall of dirt and back again. He could possibly climb out, right? Right... sure... it was just a matter of getting started.


Liamh stared at Billy again for a long second. He was going to hate himself for this... "Err.... here.." He held out a hand. "If i promise not to molt on ya, that is?"


"Zachary did not touch him," Emerwyn interjected, a little forcefully. She still refused to admit that Zach probably would have, if he was pushed far enough. "I-I mean, they were quarreling... then Gaius grew upset, and-" This was all making her very uncomfortable.


"Keep yer creepy.... plant hands... t'yerself! Y't'ink... I can't do this... meself?" He huffed, glowering up at him in not so gracefully hidden embarassment.


Richard's mind spun trying to figure out what part of the newsletter she could have objected to so voliently. The interviews? No. The graveyard? No The construction? The chip article? He had mentioned only two by name, Jamal and Anne. He'd thought he'd been tactful with that appearently not enough. Still it was best not to assume. "Funny, my experiance has been the opposite. Now if you’re quite done being a b***h, I have other things to do." Richard continued to glower at her but lowered his claws a tad.


Why would he have to bother with anything so crude as a punch when they'd zap his enemies for him? He was tempted to laugh at the dhole's guess. "Look, he's not dead, if that's... what you were wondering. Just got buzzed."


"Hey! Not my fault! It's not easy being green." He smirked. "If i didn't think you could do it, I'd take off with those water-bombs you chucked at me. I'm just covering my arse since i know you'll be outta there in two seconds." He scratched at his chin with his twiggy hand.


Billy shifted, fins flairing in an attempt to look impressive, "Aye, well, ye'll.... jes' see ...me do it!" He was panting heavily, already lookinga bit greyer.


So Gaius had been buzzed. Letting out a slow breath, he nodded. Had it just been Zach, he probably wouldn't have completely believed him, but he did trust Emerwyn's word. "Okay, I believe you. I hope you are going now." He looked at Zach. Had it only been them, more would have been said, but he wasn't going to get into anything with Emerwyn there.


Liamh winced. Dang, he was looking kind of... limp.... "Okay, well, I'll just help myself to one of these....." he leaned over, rummaging in Billy's fallen satchel for a water bottle. "I'm a bit parched. You know. Gotta water the bush and all."


The fact that she was getting to him was enough to satisfy her for the time being. "I just hope you'll take the consequences of your actions in stride..." She stepped back and gave a little finger wave before surveying the crowd of people in search of something more entertaining.


Emerwyn nodded to Lucas. It seemed there was a lot that Emerwyn did not know about Zachary. Like how many enemies he had gathered. She sighed, feeling drained emotionally, and even physically, somehow. She wished she didn't have to be in the middle of all of this. Lucas was her friend as well. Where did she stand??


Billy was panting, beak parted open as he gasped at the air. His tentacles stretched upwards to try to cling to the edge, groping along to feel for his wheelchair. "If.... y'wanted... y'coul'... pass one o' them... down here..."


Zach rubbed his jaw again. He wasn't in the mood for any more violence for today, no matter how satisfying it was to see justice upheld. Tail whipping in agitation, he moved away from the dhole and Gaius. "I'm not going to wait around for that maniac to come to." He glanced around one last time at the chaos that had ensued elsewhere, then went back to covering his lower jaw. "Bye, Emer." As quickly as he could at his walking pace, he set off for the cafeteria. He really needed an ice pack.


Liamh pulled a bottle out of the bag and popped the top off, holding it out to Billy. "Dang. I never realized fistfights were that much work." He pulled out a second one for himself, but didn't open it. He glanced at the wheelchair.


The octopus made a sad little desperate noise in his throat as he reached up to try to snatch it with a wrigging tentacle, thirstily biting at the air.


Liamh lowered it hesitantly toward the writhing tentacle, hoping to avoid any more contact with suckers and trying not to spill the water.


He watched the dragon go out of the corner of his eye, then returned his attention to Gaius. Not sure how long he would be out, he debated about moving him. "Geez..." What could Zach have said to set Gaius off? Nudging Gaius, he waited to see if that might rouse him.


Emerwyn waved feebly to Zachary, knowing it was best not to urge him to stay and 'settle differences.' Emerwyn knew better than to think that would work. "It seemed to me to be an old argument," Emerwyn suggested. "They stand on very different planes with their beliefs... And beliefs are highly dangerous things, when questioned or challegned." Emerwyn sighed again.


As Antony turned, Richard was sorely tempted to rush forward and hit her. Instead he simply fumed, unable to figure out some way to crack her. She thought she had still won! And that was just infuriating. The side of his face ached. "Nothing but a rotten child." He said just loud enough for hear, a last ditch attempt to get her goat, as he to took a step back and surveyed the rather decimated scene.


Once he managed to grab the plastic bottle, Billy greedily dumped the contents into the pulsating oraphice on the side of his head and the color returned to his face. "Now... get... away from me chair." He gurgled once he caught his breath.


The horse-man, who'd fallen down backwards and been lying in an awkward position on his side, groaned faintly, clenching his eyes as sense began to return to the shocked brain cells.


"Yeah, yeah... hold your hors- er, tentacles...." Liamh leaned over, looking in the bag again. He rummaged around, finding something other than a water bottle. He pulled out a pack of cigarettes. "Man. You know, these are kind of bad for ya...." he examined the box, smelled it, then put it aside. He put his hand back in and rummaged for something else.


"Ah... hey... hey! Get... get outa' there!" He grappled at the wall again, this time trying to pull himself up. He managed to lift a few feet, but his grip slipped and he fell back down into a cushion of his coils.


"I don't blame Gaius for getting upset." He muttered under his breath, then bit his tongue from him making a comment on Zach and his 'beliefs'. When Gaius started to come around, Lucas slowly pulled him into a sitting position, since he was sure lying on him on his back wouldn't be comfortably for his wings.



Liamh ignored the octopus' protests, pulling out a packet that smelled rather like fish. "Ugh... man. That's gross." He put it on top of the bag and kept rooting. "Hey, what's this?" he pulled out something that looked like a wallet - no, a passport. Score! "Heeeyyy.... sweet." He opened it up and started flipping through it.


Emerwyn also refrained from speech. She still didn't know what to say. Thankfully the responsibility was removed from her when Gaius began to come to. Still feeling instinctively nervous, if not her than the Doe, she stood where she was, watching from there.


One of his eyes blinked open blearily. "Wha-" he croaked. "What happened?" He winced, clutching his head as the elevation brought with it the pounding residual effects of the zapping. "Augh... hell..."


"Ah... give tha' back! Hoy!" He managed to coil a tentacle tip around the bottom of his wheelchair, slowly pulling himself up. The further up he grew, he snaked another limb up to streignthen his grip. Just keep breathing, he could do this! His leg-limbs arched around to grab at the ground, a free arm-limb making a grab for the plant man's ankle.


"You got zapped, apparently. Zach is gone. You okay?" When he felt Gaius was able to stay upright on his own, Lucas let go. He looked over at Emerwyn. "You, too. Are you all right?"


Richard, seeing the cluster of people around what appeared to be a fallen Gaius, Richard began to move in that direction, keeping an eye peeled for any sudden encounters along the way. He appeared peering over Lucas' shoulder. "It does appear I've missed something."


Emerwyn looked away a little. Though Gaius had indeed pushed her in his rage, she was not going to admit it. Emerwyn had a foul weakness for refusing to see the weakness in others. She simply nodded. "I am alright." She turned to Gaius now as well.


Liamh, unaware of the tentacle, kept perusing the passport. "Heh, now THERE's a mugshot. Good grief. Hey, is this really a stamp from Singapore? I always wanted to see Singapore." he flipped through some more pages.


"Pu' tha' down, it aint yer business!" He grabbed a hold of the ankle and clung tightly with as many suckers as he could wrap around the man, a second limb quickly flying forward to join the first. "Drop it!"


"Sad, someone who holds themselves in such high esteem can't even formulate a decent jab," Antony grinned sweetly, her whiskers twitching slightly before she turned and made her way into the jungle and out of sight once more. She had better places to be.


"Ack!" Liamh squawked, leaning backward and twisting his torso away. "No, leggo!" He held the passport out of reach. "I'll hold it hostage! No tentacles! Agh!"


Gaius rubbed his head. Everything just before the zapping was fuzzy... both from the electricity and the adrenaline that'd been pumping through his system. He recalled lashing out, he must have taken a swing at Zach. As he grew more aware of his surroundings, he noticed Emerwyn standing nearby and realized that she'd been witness to all of that. His cheeks flushed with shame as he turned his head away from her large eyes.


With his digging task done, Seth placed his shovel into the ground in such a way that it would stand up by itself. Then he wheeled the barrow off to dump the soil off on the side somewhere. He smirked and wheeled the barrow back to its place, then quietly slipped away from the site, heading back towards his duplex. He considered the day a success, and that this was just the beginning of something much bigger to come.


"I-I'm alright..." he muttered. "Don't know what came over me..."


Richard looked at Lucas, his face still a bit flushed from the encounter with Antony. "What happened here?"


"Drop it... an' then I'll... leggo'!" He snapped back with a hiss, reaching yet another around to try to climb up his legs and drag the rest of his complicated body out of the hole.


"Just a fight that ended rather abruptly with Gaius being zapped," he replied to the voice, then looked up. He stared at Richard brielfy, then looked away. ...that was...bizarre. He then shook his head. "I'm glad you are okay." He directed that to both Gaius and Emerwyn, then sighed.


"No way, first you let go, then i'll drop it!" Liamh flailed with the passport, trying to squirm his leg away from the encroaching tentacles wrapping around it. He could feel a small twig get stuck under a sucker.


Billy held his beak open, fins flaired defensively, "I'll ink again!"


Liamh's eyes went wide. "Nnngh.... no, okay, not that! I'll drop it! Just..... no inking..." he carefully leaned over and placed the passport on the bag next to the fishpacket. “There... see? All good...." He shielded his face with his one hand.


"Ah. I see," Richard said rather non-commitially as he joined them. He smiled at Emerwyn, although he did not recognize her. "I don't suppose anyone could tell me the name of that squirrel woman?"


The presence of a new form made Emerwyn feel even more uncomfortable. She would later only blame herself for getting herself involved. As for the question that Richard, yes she remembered the intriguing converstation they had had one day - had posed, she shook her head, secretly glad for a change of subject.


Not so carefully, Billy unwound his grip on Liamh, suckers leaving little green marks as he crawled back away from him, "Goo'. Righ'!"


Gaius, still avoiding looking at the deer woman, rolled to his knees as he worked on standing up. "'m fine, 'm fine..." Somehow, the 'squirrel woman' sounded familiar, but in his turmoiled state, he was in no mindset to recall Antony's identity. Instead, he looked back over the work site and the distinct lack of work with a sagging frown and sighed.


Liamh pulled his leg up carefully and examined it, sitting indian-style. "Ugh, it's green.... i hate that it's green..." he muttered to himself. "Guh. Hey, you have any gum in there?" He jerked a thumb at the bag, eyeing Billy cautiously.


"Squirrel woman?" He hadn't seen anyone like that, nor did he know of anyone turning into a squirrel. "I don't know anyone like that." He looked around, as he got to his feet, offering Gaius a hand if he wanted it. "Let's get back to work."


Richard sighed for a different reason, he still had no idea why she had been so upset. A bruise was forming on his jaw. "I don't suppose anyone here has less voilent opinions on the newletter?" Voice slightly hopeful.


The octopus gave a sniff, crawling to lean against the large wheel of his chair, "An' I though'.... I had it bad," He eyed the flaking skin with an odd expression, part interested grin, part bitter scowl.


"Yeah... i dunno if you can get worse than, uh, no legs... no offense... but frankly i just creep myself out." he held up his arm. He laughed wryly. "Ugh. I need a beer. I don't even LIKE beer and i need a beer. Maybe i could like beer. Do beer and fistfights go together?" He scratched his bald, slowly flaking head.


That made Billy's mouth settle for a smile, "I t'ink... a bi', aye, probably," He chuckled. "How d'ye.... move it, ezactly? Th'.... planty bits?"


Gaius snorted. "Work, right..." He cast a glance back over his shoulder, but as he caught sight of the deer, quickly turned away, ashamed again and inwardly cringed, recalling now how she'd stood before him as he barreled down on Zach...


Liamh boggled, putting his hand down to stare at it. "Ummm.... wow. I don't know... they don't all move, i don't think... i mean, the parts that used to be fingers and whatnot move... kinda hard to control, but i'm getting the hang of it. But the little bits... sometimes i think they twitch, but i can't tell. I once spent a whole day staring at them to see if they'd move, but then again, that's one of the reasons I came out here.... was going a little batty." He pointed at his head. "Anyway, i think it works like tendons." He nodded at Billy's tentacles. "Hard gettin' used to those?"


Emerwyn moved to stop Gaius before he walked off. She placed a hoofed hand on his shoulder, and looked him in the eyes. "It's alright," she whispered softly, only to him. She then released him and stepped back, her eyes shining.

Then, she looked at Richard. "A newsletter?" She'd never seen nor heard of such a thing.


Gaius' head jerked around to look down into her face, confusion quickly passing to surprise, and overwhelming guilt and embarassment. How could she forgive him so easily? Furrowing his brows, he turned away again and hurried towards where the other men were talking, wanting nothing more than to find a hole to hide in.


"Took me... months t'really... get th'hang o' th'lot o' 'em..." He shifted befor gripping the side of his chair and worked on hefting himself up into the seat again.


Richard smiled at the interest. "Yes, It should be on your doorstep. I'd love to hear what you thought of it."


He hadn't heard about a newsletter either. He only gave Gaius and Emerwyn a quick look, curious about what they were saying, but that was it. Craning his neck, he saw that both Liamh and Billy were not dead or drowning in ink.


Liamh stayed where he was on the ground, smirking slightly as Billy got himself situated again. "Hey, so, do we wanna get back to work, or do we wanna try that whole pit-fighting thing again? I was getting pretty good at that, but I gotta practice to keep on top of my game, you know." He tried to deadpan, but couldn't quite wipe the grin off.


"Nah.... probably shoul'... finish wha' th'hose... says..." He coughed, reaching around to fumble through his pack for another waterbottle, but frowned when he felt nothing. "Ach...."


"Dammit, where'd everyone go..." Gaius muttered, ignoring the people at his back and looking around. He spotted a green lump crouched amongst the log-benches and started for it. "Hey! Newt! What're you doing lying around being lazy?"


"I have not been to my room in a long time," Emerwyn said. And when she did go to shower, she was far too tired to notice it. "I am quite intrigued to see it. Then I will let you know what I think." She smiled, growing gradually more weary.


Liamh smirked and held up his unopened waterbottle. "Thirsty?"


It finally dawned on Richard, who he was talking too. "Emerwyn! Tis good to you again my lady." He winked.


Heading back to the construction area, the dhole looked around for something else to do, since it seemed most of the shoveling was now done.


"Oh! Ah! I was t-trying... I w-was waiting... y-you were t-talking... er... th-the... s-strange d-dragon man... um...KrrKIT!" The frog-man flailed once he was spotted, leaping to sit upright at attention.


Emerwyn smiled, happy to see that the man, strangely changed he was, too, had finally recognized her. She nodded. "And I am glad to see you again, as well." She was getting more light-headed now, and swayed on her feet slightly.


When he came up with none, Billy frowned, tentacles tremblign about the arms of his chair as he shifted befor reaching out towards it, "Hey.... y'be... nice now... I need tha'..."


Richard watched her with some concern. "Are you alright?" He offered a clawed hand to steady her.


Gaius pressed the side of his temple, still dealing with upset emotions and a residual headache, as well as the ego-beating he'd received. "Slow down Newt... What were you waiting for?"


"Yes, I-I'm fine..." She reached a hand up to her head, and brushed her bangs away. "I am just tired, that is all. It has been a rather eventfull afternoon... You will have to tell me more of this newspaper. If you ever need a writer, actually, I would be happy to lend my services. I did much writing back at my home."


"Ah... y-you... w-wanted to sp-speak to me...earlier?" He peeped, worried he had caught the pegasis at a bad time.


"You know... I have this powerful need to drink right about now... Maybe I should just chug it..." Liamh's eyes twinkled. "But then, you know, I'm not sure where this thing's been, so maybe I should just chuck it... whatddya think?" he made a motion as if to pitch it over his shoulder.


"No!" Billy didn't think it was very funny, reaching out for it frantically, "I need it... t'breath...!"


"Nuh... I did?" He frowned, trying to recall earlier... just a couple hours ago, hadn't it been? "Oh! Right, yeah, about the wiring... have you made any progress on the system for the curtains?"


Liamh's eyes widened. "Breathe? Oh. Dang. Well, it's hard to be evil about THAT..." he glanced at the bottle, then held it up to Billy. "Well, I'll find another way to milk you for everything you've got. Poker, maybe."


"Cards... I could deal wit'...." He snatched it back to clutch it amongst his tentacles, panting slightly as he tried to relax and gave his collar a nervious rub.


"Ah... Y-yes! I j-just... don't have my... I m-made some p-pulleys a f-few days ago..." The frog man glanced about to see where he had set down his make-shift bag before.


Liamh smirked. "Great. Make sure to bring a lot of, uhh..." his face fell. "Dang. I guess money's no good here." he looked a bit perplexed. "What do we use, freakin' coconuts?" He turned his head, rolling over to get to his feet.


Richard gritted his teeth together. It had certianly an eventful day and it was far from over. "Indeed. As for the newletter I shall happly talk your ear off about it if you'd let me. I'd love to print anything you cared to write. I'm looking for help. The first one is all my own work. I hope it serves as seed for something larger."


"I wouln' mind... bettin' fish," Billy chuckled, giving the cap of the bottle a careful, testing nibble with his beak befor resettling it again.


Liamh brushed his butt off. "Eugh, fish. Cookies, maybe. But not fish." he shuddered, staring down into the hole. "Hey, where'd my shovel go?"


Gaius moved to follow Newt, then paused and looked around at the others. Cupping his hands around his mouth, he gave a great bellow. "GET BACK TO WORK!" and then continued on.


"We'll work... soemthin' out," He chuckled, "Shrimp. Sushi. Clams. ....Crabs. Lopster. Fis,.... I aint picky."


"HEIL, MEIN FURERMASTER!" Liamh called back over his shoulder. He chuckled at Billy "Shrimp... man, i haven't had shrimp in ages..." He started searching around for his shovel. "Dangit. Hand me that accordion-thing, i may have to use it. Where's my shovel?"


Emerwyn nodded, smiling. She did not know what to expect from the newletter, but knew that it would be an interesting read, for Richard to have been expecting them to have a harsh, even violent, opinion of it. But now, she had to return home, to Ian. She'd stop by her room and get the paper. She smiled. "I look forward to it," she almost panted. "Good day to you, Richard." With a wave, she turned, and began to walk off, in the direction of the duplexes.


"Ah, y-yes! I... r-remember my old... old b-bucket? W-with the wheels? I t-took them off and j-just... f-fiddled with them and made p-pulleys, and.... I m-made others out of other th-things too! I'm j-just not sure about the rope... should we ask the luh-luh-labs?" Newt hopped after Gaius adoringly, babbling frantically in hopes of gaining his attention.


Gaius' head jerked up at the keyword and he looked sharply at Newt before taking a deep breath and visibly calming himself. "...Can't you get rope from some place other than the labs...?"


Richard waved as Emerwyn departed, then looked around, finding himself alone. He looked over at the few remaining figures at the work site. He considers rejoining them as he continued to rub his jaw. The hell with it. He’d had enough for one day. He wandered off in the direction of his own duplex.


"I... sup-sup-suppose so... it'll... b-be difficult, but if we f-found some... th-thick grasses or something to... make rope..." He frowned. It would be easier and better from the labs, but if Gaius wanted it from scratch, he'd have it.


Gaius scrunched up his nose distastefully. He was loathe to consider asking the labs for anything so shortly after the encounter with Zach, feeling like it was 'cheating' somehow, but Newt was right about it being difficult... "If you can't find anything suitable... then... ask them," he grated out. "But make sure it's the best they can provide."


"I... m-might have a l-little somewhere..." it had gotten frayed and someone had tossed it out from the back of one of the jeeps. He wasn't sure how long it was, though. Rope was definatly a comodity.


The horse-man gave a curt nod and finally broke into a small smile back at the frog, apparantly pleased. "Seems rope is the one thing we need... Can you have the pulley system done within two weeks?"


"I... ah... p-puh-possibly, b-but..." He glanced over to the unfinished stage, "I d-don't know about instillation."


Gaius just gave a smile and nodded. "Leave that to me..." Turning back to the others, he grumbled about the diminishing numbers and lack of progress, despite what they had managed today. Clapping his hands together, he shouted, "Okay guys, break's over!" With that, he headed for the wood pile, intending to finish off some more beams. He was going to see this project completed, and no lab rat was going to stop him.


"I'll... j-just get w-working on that , then!" Newt hopped a few paces after Gaius befor squatting still.


Billy, meanwhile was looking anxious now that he was down to his last waterbottle. "I shoul'... head back t'th'lake... aye, poker some nigh'... definatly."


Liamh chuckled. "You bet! .... Literally." He shook his head and hopped back down into the hole to search for his shovel.


The morning's excitement over, the remaining men were able to settle down. While not as speedy as before, they managed to get the remainder of the support beams in place with minimal bumps and bruises before calling it a day.

Oz had been very scarce from the construction site of late. Part of it was his fear that maybe the other Islanders had come to view him as some kind of liability, or even a danger to have around in a place full of heavy items and sharp things. The other part was a physical barrier - his back. For a long while, he'd had to hobble about to the cafeteria, the entertainment room, even the medical centre to beg for painkillers. He vehemently refused on principles to ask the labs for anything to aid his posture or support his back.

But he'd regained much balance in the past week or more, and could hold himself a little better. He was far from perfect in his posture, quite often resorting to a stooped appearance whenever he needed a rest. So with a 'victory' against the labs under his belt and some kind of renewed purpose, Oz had began to frequent the construction site.

But at peculiar hours.

Working from sun-down until he collapsed from fatigue, Oz would do little odds and ends across the whole site, just working with what seemed obvious to do. Without specific instruction, he couldn't risk ruining something or endangering someone.

So for a few nights, his duties were doubled - he worked on securing and placing the top frame of the stage understructure, and then spent at least an hour in quite reflection in a somewhat dignified pose as he 'protected' the construction site.

Before morning, he was always gone and sleeping soundly in his bed, thinking of his methods to cause as much harrassment to the labs as possible.

It was just before dawn, and Nita was awake. Comet had been fed and let out to do her business (having, of course, prodded Nita to waking and then promptly gone back to sleep). But Nita was restless; something in her was fond of the hours before sunrise.

She left her duplex alone, wearing a light jacket over her cuffed up scrubs. Perhaps she would keep an eye out for Gaius at the construction site. She had heard construction going on during all hours, so presumably the workers had acquired supplies again.

However, the site was quiet as she approached, her bare feet hardly breaking the silence. "Hello?" Nita called softly. Her keen eyes found a large lump on the wood-pile. She padded over for a better look. The lump was clearly alive, and probably an islander, although not someone she immediately recognized. Which was probably a good thing, since the person in question was sucking his thumb. Nita hid a smile and coughed quietly. "Ah, hello?"

Nita backed away from Oz's reaching hand, whiskers twitching in amusement. "But I don't have a watch," she protested, although she doubted the guy was lucid enough to understand just yet.

She squeaked and hopped backwards when the woodpile shifted precariously, threatening to dump the gorilla-man. "Woah, there, you okay?" Nita asked. She stood on tip-toe with her tail sticking out behind her for balance.