Interesting....

[JilaCosa]

Jila didn't know whether she wanted to cry or throw up first.

Why did I volunteer for this? Why?

Jila tried to be as still as possible. To not tremble so bad that the roaches would fall off. Bugs! Oh Gods she hated the just the thought of bugs landing on her and now she was covered with the things. Cry. It was the only option. If only she could connect with Sunny or Rae. They could help. They always did. The tears began to trickle down her cheeks.

"Jila, what's the matter?" Sandworm knew this wasn't the tradition of giving of water to seal a deal.

"It's nothing." Jila lied through clenched teeth. "Let's just move."

The group walked toward the door. Would it work? And what would they find on the other side of the door?

[Sandworm]

(I'm sorry, Jila, that idea hit me from watching the mummy, lol! I couldn't resist...)

They reached the door, and Sandworm reached out his hand to activate the control that cycles the door open. He hesitated for a moment.

"Kay, Jila, maybe... maybe you should stand back. if this screws up... well, it was my call in the first place. You shouldn't die because I made a mistake."

The girls did not move.

"I mean it! stand back! NOW!"

They complied, grudgingly, and Sandworm activated the door. A large beam of light emerged from the ceiling above the door. It highlighted Sandworm for a second, scanning. Slowly, the door opened.

"See, their pathetic devices are no match for our cunning!" cried one of the roaches.

The door, or whoever was controlling it, obviously heard this, because as Jila and Kay started towards the control panel to follow Sandworm, he was once again haloed by light. However, this time, it was an evil red colour. They heard a sound, a burning, a screaming.

And then Sandworm was gone.

All that was left was a smell of burned flesh. Jila and Kay stood, open-mouthed.

Jila began to rip the roaches off her, shouting at them.

"See what you've done? You've killed our friend. Your kind... you killed... I thought he was immortal..." she stopped, unable to continue.
(surely someone would miss me, right?)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sandworm was in a dark room.

He knew, because he could feel his eyes open. It was dark, he could not see anything at all. The roaches were no longer crawling on his sandtrout skin.

He shouted, but there was no answer.
He waited and nothing happened.
He shouted again, tried shouting with his mind to Jila, to Sunny, to anyone.
Nothing.
So quiet.

Noise. A sound. An explosion. no, more of a wet sound. Like an... well, he knew it sounded stupid, but like an explosive device that had been shoved inside a watermelon.
Another. And another, closer this time.

Light. Light so bright it burned his dark-filled eyes. His eyes that had adjusted to the darkness of the room.

Slowly, his eyes re-adjusted, and he was faced with the present Arch-Nemesis of the Scoobs - A watermelon (well, why not? we've had barbies, flowers, roaches, teddy bears, and magicians since I arrived. I don't like watermelons.). The watermelon spluttered, making the exploding noise again.

"You have tresspassed on my world. You and your freinds have destroyed my creations. Inferior beings! Always trampling wherever you can, never accepting betters!"
"Umm... You're a talking watermelon...?" (well, you don't think you would be surprised?)
"Oh, he's a quick one."
"Where are my friends?"
"They are in trouble."
"Yeah, thanks, Mr Squishy. I knew that already. I asked where they were, not how they were. What happened to that superiority complex of yours? I thought you were supposed to be intelligent?"
"I am! I am the most intelligent creature on this planet! On ANY planet!"
"Right... Prove it, then."
"What?"
"Prove it. you don't expect me just to take your word for it, do you? I'm quite intelligent myself. I bet between us, the Scoobs could make a complete mockery of you."
"Oh Yeah?"

Several watermelon exploding noises occurred, and all the Scoobs appeared behind Sandworm, who suddenly realised he was lying on the floor, staring at the ceiling.

"I hate telepathy! It's so rude!" was all he could think of to say.

He looked around the now-lit area. It was large and flat. The light did not reach any walls. The ground was solid, smooth metal. The Scoobs were standing still. Too still...

"Ragnar?" he said, waving his hand in front of Rag's face. Ragnar 'woke', and began to move, slowly, sluggishly.
Sandworm woke Jila, Kay, Sunny and Kara in the same way. They all began to slowly gain movement.
When he moved to Emram, he got no response, however, nor from the rest of the Scoobs.

Booming laughter filled the room.

"You will not be able to wake them until they return, or you win, pathetic one."
"If you are calling me pathetic, surely that implies you have sympathy towards me?"
"Ummm...."

Sandworm moved to whisper to the Scoobs who were awake, seeing they had finally regained their ability to move, and their ability to speak.

"I'm glad you're here. We have a problem..."
(and why do all the bad guys have bad superiority complexes? )

[Kayde]

Kay's immediate relief at being free from the roaches that litterally made her skin crawl, was short lived. As Sandworm approached, she looked around her.

Watermelons? Talking? Where were they? What was wrong with the rest of their friends?

"We have a problem? You can say that again." Kay said, looking around and trying hard not to run over to her friends to help them. She didn't want these creatures to see a weekness. She grabbed Jila's arm just in time to keep her from doing the same thing. She gave Jila a slight warning shake of her head and her eyes darted to the watermellons.

To Sandworm she said "We have to play their game. We have to let them think they are winning and that they have outsmart us. Then we can take a move against them. When they are off guard."

"Hey! What are you whispering about over there!" came a harsh voice accompanied with more squishes.

[Sandworm]

(I'm sorry - these bad guys really crack me up.... )

"You're right, Kay. I don't know how intelligent they really are, but they cretainly think they are the brightest things in the universe. I think it might be even better if we can beat them at their own game."

Sandworm looked doubtful.

"What do you want us to do then, mr Squishy?" he asked.

Ah, that's for me to know and you to find out... errr... person-type one.

"Hmmm... that's interesting," Whispered Sandworm to Jila, Ragnar and Kay. "I outsmarted him over the words 'pitiful one', and now he's stopped using them. hmmm... I have a plan."

They all turned back to the talking watermelons and readied themselves for Sandworm's plan.

(Uh, guys... what was my plan again?)

[RagnarRB]

"How about we fill him with rum or vodka then carve him up for a snack?"

Of course there's always the time honored melon smash, or flight test.

[Kayde]

Kay grinned at Ragnar. She couldn't help it. That was the best plan of all. The awake Scoobs couldn't help but grin and snicker too. There was, still the issue of their friends who had not yet come to yet.

"What is this melon smash, or flight test you speak of? And what is vodka?" the squishy melon asked suspiciously.

"It's just something we do for fun." said Sandworm as if it were not important.


"You wouldn't like it. You probably don't like having fun, especially at the expense of others." Ragnar said as if he were deliberately trying to talk them out of it.

"Hold up. Wait. You can't tell us what we want or don't want to do." Squishy said with more squishes.

"Although," Jila said, looking at the others, "You have to admit it is so much fun." She shrugged her shoulders as if the matter were closed. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched the sleeping Scoobs nervously wishing they would wake up soon. Once the 'fun' started, they would not be able to carry their friends out quick enough.

[Sandworm]

"I want some of this 'Vodkaaa'," said Mr Squishy, and then began exploding again.

Jila was about to speak in response, but Sandworm interrupted her.

"No can do," said Sandworm. "Only the rest of the Scoobs can help us make it."
"Make it yourselves! You challenge us to an intelligence test, and you can't even make vodkaaa?"
"You've never even heard of it, so how are you better?" pointed out Sandworm.

The Melons muttered (or should that be splattered?) amongst themselves.

"He's right, you know...."
"True, True."
"Oh, no. That's two points to the inferiors..."

Sandworm turned to Jila, Ragnar and Kay.

"I think we're winning!"

[Kayde]

Kay listened to the squishing sounds that the melons were making as they muttered amongst themselves. It was disgusting. But, she did feel as if there were something about the sounds. It seemed as if they weren't just normal squishing sounds, but almost different levels and pitches.

Yea. That was it. Almost as if the sounds themselves were making a message of their own.... That was it! She would bet on it!

She listened for a minute more. It was as if they were communicating amongst themselves even as they let the Scoobs believe they were muttering in human language. Was this also from Loki? Or Heimdall? Or even more of the naughty gods? Was it possible that this maze was part of Loki's game? That they had to get out of the maze of mischief and disgusting things by listening to, and solving the sounds? Was Loki giving them the key to beating him, even in his play?

She needed to tell the Scoobs what she thought. To see if they could hear the same patterns of sound as she was. But how?
They were being watched closely. If only she could get into the heads of the others like Jila and Rae and Sunny could. Then she could privately warn them all. But she couldn't. The only power she had was to stop time for 5 minutes or so at a time. Wait. She could do that. That would be enough time to explain what she thought and the melons would be none the wiser. She froze time. The Scoobs looked at Kay, waiting. They knew this was her thing. But Sandworm froze too.

"Um....can you fix this?" Kara said pointing to him?

"Oh. Woops". Kay said. He must have a different structure that didn't recognize her particular magic. She went over and touched him and he looked around, none that wiser that he had been frozen.

[Sandworm]

"... Why have they stopped moving? Oh, it's Kay. What's up?" he asked.
"I have a thought," she replied, and explained.
"If that's right, and I can see that it could be - Loki is a god of trickery - he longs for a worthy opponent," said Ragnar, "We should listen closely."

By this time, Kay was running out of her power.

Sandworm looked at her, and noticed her swaying.
"Kay, you'd better stop. We all know now."

She did.
The Scoobs slipped back into normal time...

[RagnarRB]

Ragnar thought about it some more. "But I'm not really sure it's Loki. I mean a couple things are but we left him unconcious, he should be out for several more hours. and he denied some of the stuff when he was drinking. There's more to this."

It's not like the gang wasn't equal oportunity offenders.

"Where's Athene?"

[Sandworm]

"Athene was... she disappeared. A while ago now, didn't she? When Loki first appeared. She turned into Loki. Just when I thought I'd got the girl. Again."

Sandworm looked around at the now-placid watermelons.

"I agree, though, I think there is more behind this than Loki and a game now I think about it. It is all too perfect, as if it was orchestrated by someone higher, greater, better. But before we can find who that is, we have to figure out how to beat these watermelons. Maybe we'll go to the next 'Level' when we do? And at the top, there must be someone ion charge. Let's see. We've had Loki, we've had watermelons. What next? Flying pigs?"

(and if anyone makes that right, I'll... I'll... I don't know.)

[Kayde]

"I'm afraid there may be more in store for us than flying pigs", Kay said, quietly, thinking about the different Gods she had studied in history. But, the watermelons and roaches, etc., certainly insinuated that someone or some thing was definately toying with them.

[Sandworm]

"To be toying with us, it must be something really quite powerful. The watermelons are in charge here, and we have to think of a way to defeat them," said Sandworm. "Then at least we can find out what's next. Who was it who said 'time spent in reconaissance is seldom wasted?'"