Interesting....

[SunKrux]

Sunny walked up to Rag, quietly.

"Ok, big guy, I'm ready for anything you have in mind," she told him, looking him straight in the eye.

"Just remember, I did it to SAVE your large, looney Viking ass, next time, I'll just let you rot. I bet you'd like it better."

[RagnarRB]

Ragnar mulled it over a bit....rotting might not be that bad would it? Then he smiled, and promptly tried to hide it.

[Kayde]

Sunny didn't notice the smile Ragnar was trying to hide, but Kara did, winking at him as she patted Sunny on the back.

Shaking her head to clear the cobwebs from her head, Kay looked at Loki.

"Who did that?" She couldn't help but grin.

"Ragnar." Sandworm said with a hint of admiration in his smile.

All the Scoobs were grinning at the position Loki was laying in until Jila reminded them. "He won't stay that way for long."

"And we still need to get out of here." Chryse said.

[Sandworm]

"Yeah," said Sandworm. His eyes scanned the blank faces of the Scoobs, as he remembered that no-one had been particularly glad to see him (:cry:)

Then he looked around the now-familiar room, and suddenly, saw the door.

"Duh!" he said. "We go through that door over there."

All the other Scoobs looked and also saw the door.

"That was easy," said Kara
"Yup," said Sandworm.

The Scoobs walked out of the door, and back onto the hot sand.

[JilaCosa]

"Okay, but now what?" Jila said, then whispered quickly. A pile of pith helmets appeared in the sand by her feet. Hers had a wide white ribbon wrapped around it and the ends waved in the slight breeze. She was in a good mood now that Rae and Sunny were safe. Jila looked at their surroundings. "There doesn't seem to be anything out here except sand."

"Looks like home." Sandworm sighed, obviously missing the warm sands of Arrakis.

Raegun scanned out as far as he could.

"Well, I found a door out, but I don't think you're going to like where it is." Which was all kay and Kara heard as they sunk into the sand and into the vortex, followed closely by the rest of the group.

"I'm starting to hate this!" Jila yelled as she went into the sand.

[Sandworm]

Sandworm just rode the whirlpool of sand, completely at home, whether he was on the sand, in the sand or under the sand. He felt the clean dryness of the desert as it ate him and the rest of the Scoobs, and felt perfect freedom for a moment as he fell.

The only thing he could imagine which would be like this is being swallowed by a sandworm, a maker, the greatest death a Fremen could ever hope to achieve. Of course, now that he represented a water barrier, encased in sandtrout, he knew he would never experience this.

He thought back again, to that day, many years ago now, when he had chosen this path. He had chosen it for all the wrong reasons: long life, great strength, the power of Shai-Hulud. He understood now what he had lost, and had begun to regain with the Scoobs. The Fremen had never been able to accept him the way he was. They had rejected him, and so he had left Arrakis. He had stowed away in a spice shipment, escaping his homeworld.

With the Scoobs, he had finally found a new home, a place where people accepted him for who he was, and instantly, he felt a great deal of gratitude to Ragnar, Sunny, Kara, Jila, Chryse, Kay, and all the rest. Inclusion was what he had been missing.

(guys, this is my way of saying thanks for all the encouraging emails I have been getting. It's great being part of the gang! )

Abruptly, his thought processes ceased, as they exited the lower area of sand, and fell several metres onto the ground. The magicians and telepaths were not, generally speaking, great on balance, and the way they landed demonstrated that. Emram clattered to the ground, followed by Ragnar with a great thud. Even Rae fell awkwardly, possible because she was tangled up with Sunny. Only Kara and Sandworm seemed to manage to land on their feet. He looked at her in surprise, and then went about, helping the rest of the Scoobs up.

He looked around the new area.

He briefly realised that was the way he thought of it now. He looked at every new place as a challenge, generally because things tended to go wrong the second they set foot outside the Scooby mansion...

It was a small room, maybe 5 metres in diameter. There were four exits from the room, each behind a different kind of door. The first was a prison door, barred, and through it all that was visible was a long dark tunnel. The second was a green door. That might sound unremarkable, but it reminded Sandworm of the door in "John Quixote", for some reason the thirdwas a sliding door, made of metal. It looked... cold and clinical. The final door was a glass door, which led into a garden - idyllic sunshine, green grass, flower beds.

Kay looked at all of the doors, and immediately made for the fourth. Sandworm moved to be between her and the door.

"Hey!" she said.
"Umm, Kay. Think about it. There are three doors which are... uncomfortable, at best. The fourth is clearly the best option."
"So let's go! It's beautiful."
"Well, the only thing is... why make it so obvious to choose that one? I mean, even I feel drawn to it. And there must be lots of water there for growth like that. It feels... too easy. I think we should wait a moment and think about this."

It was then that a lightning bolt hit the middle of the chamber.

All the scoobs jumped back, which meant that Sandworm, Emram, Jila and Kay ended up through the glass door. Ragnar, Kara and Spy ended up through the prison door. Sunny and the rest fell through the green door.

Sandworm immediately got up, and ran to where the door was before. There was nothing but air.

He turned to look at Jila, Kay and Emram with something that approached fear in his eyes.

"Oh, no."

[JilaCosa]

"Don't worry Sandworm" Jila tried to sound comforting. She could feel the fear radiating from Sandworm. It was the dampness in the air. The room was a greenhouse and Sandworm should not be here. "I know this spell very well." Jila whispered quickly and an invisible shield formed around him.

"Thanks. I was hoping you could do individual ones."

"Who do you suppose is behind this?" Emram took a couple of steps down one aisle of plants. It was a rhetorical question, of course. New place, new Powers That Be most likely.

"Do you think they knew that this room would harm Sandworm?" Kay took another aisle and started to check the plants there.

"Most likely." Jila stood still, thinking. Okay, we've got Emram's sword and my magic, as much good as that will be in an emergency, Sandworm's speed and agility, and, if Kay can still do it, her time stopping ability. And her love of animals. We might be able to do something with that.

Jila, you're broadcasting again. Rae and Sunny said together, then chuckled.

Sorry. Jila blushed slightly

You're magic will work fine in emergencies. Just don't get flustered.Rae reminded Jila.

Thanks. Where are you two?

The green door. Sunny frowned mentally. Oh Great.

What??? Jila, of course, had no idea what was behind the green door or what Sunny and the rest had just found. Curiosity was killing her. Then Kay let out a shriek and brought Jila's concentration back to the greenhouse in a hurry.

[Sandworm]

Sandworm and Kay were leaning over one of the flowerbeds. At first, Jila could not see what was wrong.

Then the flower spoke a little louder. "I said, 'Who are you, and what are you doing in my garden?'"

Sandworm turned to look at Jila.
"OK. That's a new one on me."

He turned to look at their marine friend.
"Emram?"

Emram glanced at his motion detector.
"Getting unusual movement from all over this 'garden'", he said.

Just then, the large carnivorous plant behind Sandworm decided it was time for a quick snack.

Luckily, it had bargained without the sandtrout that tried to latch onto it, sensing the moisture.

This was the only thing that saved him, because it caused the plant to feel pain when it touched him, and it recoiled, giving him enough time to run out of the way.

"OK. Plants that want to eat me. talking plants. I don't often ask this, but someone pinch me."

He almost hoped Jila would comply, but knew it would be useless.

He turned, and with a perfect kick, took the top off the carniverous plant, and returned to where he was standing before anyone even saw him move.

"I HATE PLANTS! Plants mean water, and I really REALLY hate water!" said Sandworm, in an uncharacteristically angry voice. "I hate it here. Lets go."

"Umm, Sandworm," asked Jila.
"Yes?"
"Go where?"
"I don't care," said Sandworm, staring angrily at the beheaded plant's stem.

[RagnarRB]

Ragnar pursed his lips as he looked about. Figures......

After all, where else was a prison door supposed to lead? You don't suppose anyone had been trying to read is karma again or something do you. He'd been trying to be a good boy. honest!

He glanced at Spy and Kara. At least he wasn't the only one who felt a little out of place standing in the middle of a jail cell.

"Oh well, it could be worse...." He mumbled.

[RagnarRB]

If he hadn't been staring at it, Sandworm might have missed a part of just why the plant was such a wonderous thing. Two little heads began to sprout from the stem.

[JilaCosa]

"oh my god" Jila said putting her hand over her mouth. Mostly to hide the fact that she was standing there dumbfounded with her mouth hanging open. Why didn't she shut her mouth you ask? It didn't occur to her at the time. Okay, you watch two humanoid heads sprout from a plant a let's see if you remember to close your mouth.

Anyway... kay, Emram, and Sandworm backed up slowly to where Jila was standing.

Whoa Jila couldn't tear her eyes away from what she was seeing any more than she could take her hand away from her mouth. Wierd. That's like head shrinking in reverse.

"Look, I asked a simple question." The talking plant was sounding angry. "Who are you and what are you doing in my house??"

"We... we..." Kay tried to answer but she was also fairly mesmerized by the heads growing on the plant.

"We are simple travelers." Emram finished kay's failed attempt. "We were thrown into your house by a strange bolt of lightning. We wouldn't be here at all except for that."

"What the matter?" The plant sounded angrier than before. "Don't you like my house? Isn't it good enough for you? You've got your nerve! You barge into my house and complain that you don't like it?? Why do you stay if you don't like it? Out with you then! If you don't like my house Get Out!"

"Excuse me sir." Kay blinked and looked away from the still growing heads. "Please, it's not that we don't like your house. It's just that our friend here can't deal with the humidity."

"Humidity??" The plant was becoming indignant now. "What do you mean humidity? The climate is perfect here. Humidity, indeed."

"If you could tell us the way out," Sandworm spoke up. "We won't trouble you any more."

"humph." The talking plant humphed. "Very well then. You'll have to go behind my friend here," the talking plant bowed itself toward the large plant with the two heads, which, by the way, had started to drool, "to the door there on the right.

"oh my.. OW!" Jila yelled as kay slapped her on the arm before she could finish. "What'd'ya do that for?"

"So you'd pay attention!" kay replied. "Now how do we get past that thing?

[Kayde]

Kay pointed to the two growing larger by the minute heads. She also looked around for any way of getting around it-them. This was going to be interesting.

[Sandworm]

Sandworm noticed the problem, and thought for a moment.

"Got it," he said.

He accelerated, and ran circles around the plant. The heads were following him, twisting around, eerily remeniscant of an owl's head. He kept running. This went on for about 5 minutes.

That was when Kay first noticed the plant was swaying. Soon after, the plant keeled over onto the ground, Sandworm stopped and said, "Come on then, while it's still down."

Jila, Kay and Emram hurried through the door.

Jila pulled Sandworm aside for a moment.

"How on Earth did you think of that?"
"Oh, that?" Sandworm smiled that half-smile the scoobs had come to know so well. "I got that idea from Ragnar."

They walked into the room. It was cooler, less humid, and full of cockroaches.

"Oh, OK," said Sandworm. "From man-eating, regenerating human-plants to cockroaches in one simple movement."
"HEY!" shouted the nearest cockroach. "Who are you calling a cockroach?"

Weirder and Weirder.

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Ragnar, Spy and Kara looked around the cell, with Spy using his magic to light things up a little.

That was when they saw the ravenous prison dogs, waiting for them, salivating.

"Oh," said Ragnar. "It's worse. Spy, some fire?"
"Ummm..." said the wizard.
"Great. Kara, any thoughts?"

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Sunny and co were in trouble too. She had found a back door out of "Scooby Universe" entirely. They had not slipped all the way to RL, but they had reached a quasi-real region, where there powers did not seem to work, and their telepathic abilities were fading fast.

*Jila... I can't...*

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Jila heard something in her mind. "J....n't...

"It's Sunny!" she shouted suddenly, out of the blue. "She's in trouble! We have to get to her!"
"Ok, Jila," said Sandworm is as reassuring a manner as he could manage. "We'll try to get these roaches' help to get back."

Fun Fun Fun

[RagnarRB]

"niiiccce doggy....niiiccce doggy....my what pointy teeth you have..." Ragnar crooned as he backed away. "Any time now Spyral!"

The Angel was already busy rummaging around in his wing. "I know I left them in here somewhere...here try this."
and handed Rag a slab of raw meat.

"Gee is this supposed to attact them or feed them!" And to think they'd road around in that wing before!

"Just throw it!" Kara yelled.

He aimed for a particularly vicious looking snout.

Kara, meanwhile, backing into the cell door...and it swung open. "Quick, this way!"

And they too were thru another door...well at least on the other side of one.

[Sandworm]

Meanwhile, Sandworm and Kay were trying to negotiate with the roaches.

"We're just passing through, looking for our friends," said Kay, pleadingly, glancing at Jila, who was becoming increasingly distressed at her inability to reach Sunny, Chryse, or anyone.

Sandworm spoke confidently.
"OK. Everyone wants something. We want information. What do you want in return."

The roaches all turned to look at him - quite a sight.

"We want freedom. You want to go, you must take us with you."
"Why don't you just leave through the exit we would?"
"Because there is a defence system, placed there by the humanoid species which inhabits this planet. It detects our form, and kills us as we try to exit. Humanoids would be able to walk through, unhindered."
"So how do we help you get out?" asked Sandworm, having a feeling he already knew.
"We wish to crawl onto the three of you, and cover you. Your shapes will still be humanoid, so the system will allow you through. If you help us escape, we will help you find your friends."

Kay was stunned.

"You want to... bury us in you?"
"We do."

She turned to Sandworm.

"I... don't know if I can, Sandy."
"We have to, Kay. I know, it will be... difficult. But for Sunny and the others... We have to find them. They may need our help."

Sandworm turned back to the roaches.

"We agree, on the condition that most of you travel on me. As many as possible. My skin is not my own, it will not be the same for me as it is for Jila and Kay."
"We agree to your terms."

And with that, Sandworm, Kay and Jila stood still as the sea of roaches advanced and climbed onto them. Within seconds, they were all covered, although Sandworm to a greater extent. They left room for eyes, and mouth, but otherwise, Sandworm, Kay and Jila were covered several roaches deep all over.

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Ragnar and co had run into a problem also. A large glacier blocked their path to the next door. Through that door, they could hear cars going past, and Kara suddenly spoke.

"I hear something."

She listened for a moment.

"Sunny! it's Sunny! I can hear her calling! Let's go!"
"Wait, Kara," said Ragnar. "Glaciers can be treacherous."

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Sunny was indeed calling for help. Chryse was playing her flute, with no effect. All of the Scoobs with her were stuck.

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