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VRDET-OP: The Marraketh Connection
     "Underground Part 3/4"
        by: Red Paladin
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	Having not gotten any sleep the night before, Red slept 
in late. Again, memories from a few months back came to fill his 
dreams for the final time.

                            * * * * *

	Red had been talking to his friend Kreel, the only other 
one of the four that had some musical interest. The indoor garden 
they were in was incredible and masked any sounds effectively. He 
recounted another part of the story between him and Elaina.
	He had called her through the hotel phone system and 
asked to talk. It was sort of funny since the people on the other 
end thought Red voice was someone else's and he had gotten past 
what seemed like a screening process.
	"So I call, right, and Juliet answers. She asks whether 
I'm Matt or not," Red explains. "I smile and go 'Yes' in a sort 
of sarcastic way. She doesn't pick up on it and say to the rest 
of the room, 'It's Matt'. I almost burst out laughing."

[Note to Reader: this won't sound like my normal talking because 
I need to disguise myself like a student and also because verbal 
story tend to be this way for me.]
	"I keep going and say, 'Can I speak to Elaina?' They say 
sure. She gets on the phone and first thing I say is 'You guys 
suck at voices.' I mean I had to make sure she knew it was me. 
She yells at the other girl saying that it was actually me. The 
thing is, I didn't even try to disguise my voice!"
	"Anyway, I go, 'We have to talk.' I figure this would be 
perfect since another of her roommates had to come over and talk 
with Matt. She replies, 'About what?' I want to break that wall I 
told you about, so I didn't want to say that over the phone. I 
told her that I didn't want to say it over the phone."
	"A few minutes later she came over. I dressed in black to 
try to get back the mood of the bus ride. I don't think she 
noticed though. Now that I think back, people don't even realize 
every action I do has a purpose. Anyway, she comes over, Matt and 
the other girl go to the other room. Wait, you've never seen the 
room have you?" Red said to Kreel. "Our room's huge. Two TVs, a 
couch... but I'm going off topic. Where was I again?"
	"You were telling me she came over?" Kreel reminded Red.
	"Oh yeah. I start talking. I stand over her for a second 
and say, 'You plan on ignoring me the whole trip?' I don't know. 
Maybe the tone of voice was wrong. Huh, I was also playing with 
that yo-yo I'd bought. I think that affected it, cause she like 
freaked out on me." Kreel continued to listen patiently.
	"She's like, 'I'm not ignoring you.' At the time, I 
didn't notice it but I think I heard something else in that 
voice. I just continued. 'You've been ignoring for the past day 
and a half now.' She still denied it.
	"'Look,' I said, 'if you don't want me around, just say 
so. I can be like a shadow in the brightest of day.' Or tried to 
say. She cut me off after 'shadow' and said, 'That's such a bunch 
of bull,' The thing is, I meant to go on and explain. People just 
don't appreciate poets. What did I want from her, she asked. I 
was sitting down on a chair now, looking down, moving the yo-yo. 
Now that was unexpected. What _did_ I want exactly? I thought 
fast. 'I just want... I just want things to be like they were 
before you knew.' She asks, 'Before I knew what?' I was stunned. 
Did she just forget the events of the past few days that easily? 
Nothing happened? 'Before you knew I liked you,' I finally said. 
'They are though,' she said. What!?! I thought. 'Are they?' 
'Yes.' I finally looked up in her beautiful eyes. I thought I saw 
truth. She believed she was telling the truth." Red stopped to 
catch his breath and think clearer. He put his face in his hand, 
regretting. *Damn!*
	"I left it at that. Then I just had to leave. They other 
two had finished talking. Now that I think about it, it was 
probably about me. You know, I probably made her angry. I'd 
better apologize."
	It was nearing the time to go Smiley Hollow to meet the 
band members from the other schools. Mostly from Texas, as Red 
had heard.
	"I'm going to get changed," Red told Kreel. I'll meet you 
at the ice cream place?"
	"Sure."	Red walked to his room. He did not want to wear 
the blacks to the place. Sliding the card into the magnetic lock, he 
heard voices inside.
	"... but.... Wait, he's here now. I call you later," Matt 
said as he hung up. Red guess correctly that that was Elaina and 
they did not want him to hear the conversation. He pretended that 
he did not hear it and proceeded to change into a green Kodiak 
sweatshirt and off-white pants. He kept the collared black shirt 
on though for the collar.
	"Hey," Matt called his name. "We need to talk."
	"Sure," Red replied. He continued changing.
	"It's about Elaina," he said.
	"I know," Red replied.
	"She feels a little surprised by this situation," Matt 
explained.
	"I understand that," Red said.
	"Then you know she doesn't feel the same way for you as 
you feel for her..."
	"Yeah,"
	"... so she just needs time to get over it..."
	"Fine."
	"... and she'd appreciate it if you just stayed out her 
way for a while." *What!?!* Red finished putting on his second 
white sock. *Didn't I just offer that! She couldn't tell me this 
to my face, so she gets other people involved!* What Red saw 
before was not truth, but desperation. She was scared. Outside, 
Red remained cool, except for a briefly closing his eyes.
	"Joe? Is there anything you want to add?" Matt asked.
	"No," Joe said, shaking his head.
	"Back to the shadows," Red inadvertly muttered.
	"What? What does that mean?" *Damn!*
	"Nothing. You wouldn't understand."
	"Oh." came the unconvinced reply.
	"Anything else?" The Fire[tm] burned in anger.
	"No."
	With that, Red stormed out, waiting for night to come so 
he could be alone in the shadow world with only his sorrows to 
accompany him. Though he may be like those dark things, his heart 
was anything but black.

                            * * * * *

	Red woke, sighing. Even after three or so months, the 
details stilled seemed so vivid. The colours, the sounds, but 
most of all the pain. Physical pain he could deal with, but the 
pain of this nature had almost no defense. He had already lost 
Valeriana, physically, and Elaina, emotionally. He sighed again, 
as he realized, after experiencing it again, he could put it all 
behind him. Finally.
	A silent rumble from his stomach. He laughed, shaking his 
head. It was half past noon. Maybe he could still squeeze in some 
lunch.
	He opened his door, walking to the dining room. The 
druids were a little more friendly, with emphasis on little, but 
to Red, it was a sign that they would be willing to accept him 
despite less-than-perfect first impression.
	He had half finished eating when he realized that he had 
missed the appointment with Bryn to help him with translations. 
He decided to ask one of the druids to see if they had seen her 
today. They shook their heads in non-comprehension.
	"Bryn," he emphasized, "you know? With the magic 
crystal?" He pointed to an imaginary pendant, pantomiming. They 
still shook their heads. "Damn! Where's Bryn when you need a 
translation?" He thought about finding her, himself. *Right, and 
then I'll find the things that disappeared in the Bermuda 
Triangle too!* "Can't even remember where I explored yesterday, 
this place is so complex," he finished, muttering to himself.
	The druids left, as they felt their attentions were no 
longer needed, to do their own jobs.
	"Hey, wait a minute," Red said to himself. He took some 
of the bread that was left on the table. "I'll just leave a trail 
of breadcrumbs to help me find my way back."
	With that, Red set of one of the corridors, leaving the 
trail as he went.
	After several hours of searching, and five loaves of 
bread later, he could find no sign of Bryn.
	"Damnit!" He continued navigating the passages, then 
stopped at a crossroads (cross-tunnels, to be exact) to examine 
something on the ground.
	"Doh!"
	On closer inspection, it was a trail of breadcrumbs. A 
trail that he himself had left hours ago.
	One hour more and it would be night time, though the 
passing of days and nights did not change the atmosphere, it did 
permit and restrict Red powers. Shadowslipping[tm] would help 
immensely as the walls would no longer hinder his movement.
	Deciding to wait for that time, he followed the found 
trail of bread back to the dining room.	"How the hell do the 
druids find anything in a place so big? Well, I guess you get 
used to it, living here all your life."	Arriving, he found a 
group of druids talking to the elder that showed Bryn around. He 
was gesturing and speaking. From the tone it sounded like 
questions, with Bryn's name being the only thing that Red 
understood.
	"Ahem, do any of you know where Bryn is?" Red asked. At 
the sound of her name, the elder looked at him inquisitively. 
"I'm looking for her, do you know where she might be?"
	As strange as it may have seemed, the elder understood 
what Red meant. He lifted his hands and shrugged. Red was getting 
worried. This was the druids own home, and from what he could 
guess, they could not locate her anywhere.
	Suddenly, one of the younger druids came rushing, 
babbling. They told him to slow down, and explain.
	"Damn this language barrier!" Red said. He only heard 
Bryn's name being mentioned. *Trouble*
	"Trouble indeed." The elder spoke to him.
	"What?" Red exclaimed in surprise. "You just spoke 
English... and you read my mind?"
	"Correct, I will explain later. Right now, your friend is 
in great danger..."

To Be Continued in "Underground Part 4/4"

(C) A Neutral&Chaotic Production, 1998.

Neutral&Chaotic Publishing since 1997.
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The preceding segment is a work of fiction. Names, characters, 
places and incidents are either the product of the author's 
imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual 
events or locals or persons, living or dead, is entirely 
coincidental.