"FORGOTTEN DREAMS" Writen by Leonel Gonzalez (leondrel@att.net.mx) Arranged by Sean Campbell Babs, Shirley, Buster & Hamton are used without permit, copyrigth by Warner Brothers. Killina, Eugnostos, Magnalucius & periadham are used without permit, Copyrigth by Ediciones Urano. To my mother, Who showed me how to believe. To my sambumnim & sensei, Who showed me how to defend what I believe. To Babs, Who gives me something in which to believe. To a special Irish pal, Because he also believes. ---0--- 1 CONTACT Noon had just faded and night was taking it's place when somebody knocked upon the door. Leo was at the window watching the falling night when he heard it and although he went quickly to see who it was, all he found outside his apartment was a little box with a letter attached to it. Opening it, a plane ticket fell out, accompanied by a single white piece of paper that was blank but for one word. "KILLINA" Leo quickly opened the box, seeing a single clear round object that looked like a badly made marble. "A P...Periadham?" he thought, "No. It can't be but... it is!" Then, examining the ticket he read all the details very carefully. "It's for today at 8:30 P.M.", he expressed. "Man, I'm almost out 'o time" At full speed he filled a bag with some pants and T-shirts. Then, after packing a pair of shoes he attached a belt bag to himself. He was outside and locking the door when the phone rang. Entering again, he picked it up quickly and heard a very familiar voice on the other end. "Hi Leo", it asked. "Is that you dear?" "Mom! Hi Mother... I'm in a hurry. I have to go right now!" "Leo? What's going on? Where are you going?" "I can't say mother, you'd never believe it anyway," he replied. "Mom, you know I love you... but this goes beyond myself. Please don't worry, please try to understand." "Are you in some sort of trouble?" "I hope not... I don't know. It's just something I have to do. Goodbye and wish me luck." And that was all. Hanging up the phone he closed the door and then caught a taxi to the airport. ---0--- Everything was almost ready, Leo waiting in the terminal when from a speaker he heard a voice. "Phone call for Mr. Leonel by phone #7." Leo took his bag and made for the phone, hearing a rusted voice at the other end. "Leo?" "Frater Eugnostos?" "Yes, it's me. Look, the 'team' are here. We're ready to start the plan as soon you arrive." "Frater?" asked Leo. "You found the Periadham in that place right? "Yes, it was the probe and sign we were looking for. Are you ready to do this?" "Yeah, but are you sure that Killina is there? That place is pretty hot and I never spect to found him there -" "He could be hidden in any part of this world. The weather is not a problem for him and I'm sure he's there. If everything goes OK we can start the search tomorrow at 5:00am." "But Frater," asked Leo. "How will I meet up with you?" "Don't worry, a taxi will wait to take you to our hotel. Just give your name in the reception hall and they'll give you the room number." "Frater, I just need to..." Leo never finished speaking Suddenly feeling a chill run down his back, he slowly turned and saw them. Babs, Shirley, Buster & Hamton where standing there, about sixty metres away from where he stood. "Leo?" asked Eugnostos. "Is there something wrong?" "No," replied Leo. "I have.... I have to go now." Putting the phone in it's place he hid behind a wide marble column. He could see them but he hoped they couldn't see him. He noticed how Shirley didn't stop watching the column and it seemed so obvious that she could feel him. What could he do? He couldn't exactly go out and say: "Hi you all, I'm going away now and maybe I'll never return. How are you?" No, he knew he wasn't brave enough to look into Barbara's eyes and simply say goodbye without ever telling her how he felt about her. Maybe if Buster wasn't there... But no. He could only pray that he'd see her again. "What are you staring at Shirl?" asked Babs. "You never believe this," said Shirley. "But like, I think Leo is here." "That freaky bushy-headed guy is here?" asked Buster. "Man, I hope not." "Why not Buster?" asked Hamton. "Well," said Buster, "that human's got some weird habits.". "Like what?" "Well," replied Buster. "He turns out all the lights and then by candlelight he writes horrible gory stories. He collects tarantulas and scorpions ...man, he even touches and plays with them. And let's not forget all the freaky video stuff he has." "Leo collects x rated movies?" asked Babs. "No, just wild predator and weapons videos. I saw him once inside a martial arts store. The way he was watching a sword... I suppose he was wondering who to kill with it." "Well," said Hamton. "I know he's a bit weird but I think you've gone a bit too far." "And," continued Buster, "let's not forget the way he looks at Babs." "What?" said Babs. "He looks at me pretty normally. You don't have to be freaky to appreciate true beauty". "OK," said Shirley, her eyes still on the column. "Let's see if he's really there." But as she started to walk, a speaker announced that their plane was ready to board. They turned and went, Leo finally breathing a sigh of relief and wondering what it would be like if things had just been a bit different. Then another message came, announcing that his plane was ready too. He went and boarded. Only a few people were travelling with him so the trip was very calm. He slept a bit but he didn't have any dreams. ---0--- He finally arrived and as Eugnostos had said, a taxi was waiting for him. He simply got in and after adjusting his watch, he tried to calm himself down. Despite this, his mind constantly asked the same questions. "How can Killina be here? In this part of the globe? Could it really be him?" He finally arrived at the hotel, going directly to the reception desk and hearing where the room was. The fourth floor. Still a bit confused, he went to the elevator and waited. Some minutes later he lost patience and went towards the stairs. As he went he suddenly felt like somebody had just pierced him on his right shoulder and turning quickly around he saw them. At the reception desk Shirley was signing her name. Deciding to run whether she saw him or not, he made his way quickly to the fourth floor and started looking for the right room. Knocking on the door an old man opened it and saluted him like one would do an old friend. Leo entered and saw that all of the 'team' were there. Angel Jaguar, Maurice Cat, Charles, Ovadi and even him: Goroidi Crow. Leo passed an eye to everyone and when he looked into the crow's evil eyes, he said: "So, if even you're here then I suppose this is very serious. Can we trust in you Gor?" "Siurre," the crow said. "As long as I get paid." "Yeah," said Leo, looking at him with an expression which could have been anger. "I suppose that a sadist like you can only use his talent for either hurting others or for money." The crow saw that Leo was angry and passing a hand down his throat replied: "Well at least I don't have any doubts about the natures of good and evil," he replied, showing a twisted smile, "I choose to be evil of course, but," -he looks upside, like if he search for a correct word- a under being like you cannot understand, Rigth?" He smiled once again. Leo looked at him sternly. "No," he muttered. "Of course not." He then turned to the old man. "Frater?" he asked. "I need to talk you... I need to speak to you in private." "It's bout your pals right?" asked the crow. "Yes, the silly human wanna ask the old one why the pals he loves so much are involved in this. Well, it's simple. That Loon girl could be useful too, not as much as me of course but who knows?" Leo looked at them all with surprise and anger. "Well, if that's true then I don't care for this mission anymore," he said in a rage. "I quit! Goodnight gentlemen." And turning around he simply walked straight out. ---0--- "CAREFUL MY LITTLE LOON." Shirley fell silent as she heard the words. The voice seemed to be coming from inside, from within her head. "Hey Shirl," asked Babs. "What's wrong?" "Huh?" Buster put his hands over his mouth. "Earth calling Shirley," he grinned. "Bfzzzz. Respond please... bfzzzz. We need you to sign in in order to get a room. Bfzzzz... respond please... bfzzzz." "Hey Buster!" said Babs. "Shut up!" Then, turning back towards Shirley she asked if she was okay. "Y...Yeah...it's just...like...you know, like I think I feel something...and I have the feeling that Leo is here but...I don't know but I feel that...not... that damned crow can't be here too..." "I think she's got a crossed wire," said Hamton, pointing at her head with his index finger. Babs rudely palmed Hamton's head, Shirley pushing away his hand. Then, quickly signing the book she made for the elevator, seemingly quite angry with the guys. Babs went swiftly after her and Hamton, suddenly feeling quite guilty, just let them go ahead. He was almost on the verge of following when Buster put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey Hammy," he smiled. "Cheer up. Don't let that crazy Loon ruin all the fun." "But I know I shouldn't have done that." "No!" continued Buster. "It's OK. Look, go and apologise if you like but take it easy. Remember how quickly her mood can change. I'm going to that mini market we saw in the next street so do you want anything?" "Yes," replied Hamton. "Maybe some peanuts? Wait...Why do you have to go right now?" "Cause it's late and the restaurant isn't on service until tomorrow," answered Buster, pointing at an announcement pinned to the wall. "The service stopped 2 hours ago so I'm going to buy myself some food. Don't worry though, I'll be back soon." With that, he left the hotel and Hamton quickly headed for Shirley's room. ---0--- "Hey Shirl," said Babs. "Wait for me!" She ran to catch up with her. Shirley was pretty angry but when Babs looked at her more closely, she realised that something else was worrying her. They took the elevator and headed for the 6th floor, Shirley looking at Babs directly and with a serious expression. "Babs... please, listen to me." "What's the matter Shirl?" "Do you remember when I went to that Psychic conference last year?" Babs nodded. "Remember how I told you that there was a very talented guy there?" "Yes, I remember you told me about him," answered Babs. "Somebody with very unique abilities. I also remember you saying that you felt he wasn't a good person though. What was his name? Crooty? Thooty?" "No. His name was Goroidy and he's here." "What? Leo and him? Here?" "Yes," answered Shirley. "I don't know why but I do know that that crow is an evil being." As she spoke the elevator came to a stop and the girls got out. "And if Leo is involved with him," she continued after a moment, "maybe we should take care with him." "Wait a minute," said Babs. "Let's see... both Leonel and your crow are here. Why would they be together?" "I can feel that they're close to each other right now and that there's five other uncommon beings with them. It's like they're all getting ready for something big to happen." ---0--- "Leo, wait!" Eugnostos shouted as loud as he could but Leo simply ignored him and went. The old man followed and caught up with him in the elevator area. "Leo... Please. Where are you going?" Leo suddenly grabbed him by the neck and pushed him against the wall. "EUGNOSTOS!," he shouted. "WHY? You can't put innocents in danger no matter how important this mission is." "We don't have an option," replied the old man. "What else can we do? If the 'Twisted Horn' wish to include this girl then I can't do anything about it. Please Leo...understand me." "NO!," shouted Leo, holding him closer to the wall. "Not only will you put Shirley in danger but also the others... Especially HER." Eugnostos tried to calm him down by speaking in a quiet voice. "Leo... please take it easy. You know this goes just a little too far for us." "Yes, you said it. To us but not them. We all knew that this moment would come but nobody, not even 'Twisted Horn' has the right to endanger innocents." "Leo... do you really have an understanding of this situation?" coughed Eugnostos. "We need all the help we can find and this girl is just that." ---0--- "Gor?" said Mourice. "You do know that you're an idiot right?" The crow looked at him and smiled. "Siurre I am but at least I know the stupidities of others. Ha! All this happened cause the 'Twisted Horn' underestimates my power and they want support. As if that Loon could compare to me. TO ME! I can even feel her fear right now. From the moment she entered this place her mind started to harbour doubts and even now she starts to have second thoughts about her human pal." "Like if we had to fully trust on you..." "But you have no option," the crow smiled, cutting off Mourice. It was almost as if he enjoyed being rejected. "I'm the only really important one on this mission and the old Frater couldn't leave me out of this," he grinned. "IT'S GREAT BEING SO IMPORTANT!" Then he started to laugh, voice growing louder with each second. Then, quite suddenly he stopped, his eyes turning white as his whole body began to shake.... ---0--- "So where's Buster?" asked Babs. "Well," answered Hamton, "He'll be here any moment I guess." "Oh well, I just think he's taking far too long..." She never finished speaking, eyes now fixed upon Shirley. The Loon was on the floor, starting to convulse. After a few seconds of shock, Babs ran to help her. ---0--- "So what are you going to do now?" asked the old man. "Well," replied Leo, "I'm going to warn them and take them home with me if I can." "And just what are you going to tell them?" "Well I gue...." Suddenly an incredible pain took over his entire body, especially his head. Putting both hands against his ears he fell writhing to the floor. The old man tried to help but before he could, Leo managed to stand up by himself and putting both hands to his chest he took a deep breath. After doing this three times he spoke. "Frater...It's him...the light one. Here." ---0--- "Gor!" screamed Mourice. "GOR! CAN YOU HEAR ME?" The cat put a finger to the crow's neck as the others tried to hold his convoluting body. Suddenly the movement stopped and Maurice put his ear against Goroidy's chest. The crow took the cat's paw and looked straight into his eyes. "Please forgive me," he croaked. "I don't know who could have done this to me." He started to cry. "If only I could have warned you earlier. I hope you've had an enjoyable life..." ---0--- "Shirley!" Babs screamed as Hamton tried to get help by phone. Babs could only try to hold her friend's head. Between her furious convolutions, Shirley spoke in languages that she did not know, her body suddenly tensing as from her throat a loud cry emanated. Then she fell unconscious. Hamton finally got a dialling tone and he was about to ask for help when a sudden large earthquake knocked him to one side, a massive explosion filling his ears.. ---0--- The vibration was powerful enough to blow away the entire window. Babs, perhaps just out of instinct, reacted by shielding Shirley's head with her own body. Fortunately, not a single shard of glass touched them. With great fear and maybe without quite realising what he was actually doing, Hamton walked slowly towards the window, heavy shoes protecting him from the glass blades that were scattered all over the floor. They made a clinking sound as he passed over them. Reaching the shattered window, he glanced in all directions before turning back towards the girls. "We have to hurry!" he exclaimed. "That came from a lower floor and the whole place is starting to go up in flames!" "But..." Babs cried. "I can't move her... look she's-" "NO!" interrupted Hamton. "We have to leave now." And without a further word he flung open the door. He took a hold of Shirley's head as Babs held her feet, the two of them struggling to carry their friend to safety via the stairs. They weren't the only ones trying to escape, some people even pushing them away several times in their hurry to flee the imminent fire. In a short time they were the only ones who still remained on that floor... ---0--- Leo was on his knees trying to recover his senses and Eugnostos was simply attempting to stand up when a group of terrified people ran past, throwing the old man to the floor as they quickly ran over him. Soon, only Leo and Eugnostos were left on the floor. Leo finally came to his senses a few moments later, helping Eugnostos to his feet. Surprisingly, the old man seemed to be more or less fine, an amazing feat considering that a group of people had just run over his aged body. "C'mon," he said. "We have to find the team." They ran through the corridors in a frantic effort to discover the source of the explosion. Their room... The place was in flames, the explosion having been powerful enough to blow away an entire wall. Despite this they did manage to find something... Between the ashes of their pals a group of six commando type individuals were waiting for them... ---0--- "HURRY BABS!" screamed Hamton. "We have to get out of this place before the fire gets closer!" "I know", she replied still crying "But I just don't want to hurt her." Suddenly, a very familiar voice called out to them. "Hey guys! Wait, I'll help you." Leo ran over to meet them. "Leo?," asked Babs in surprise. "What the hell are you doing here?" "Errr...Helping you?" he answered. "Well, I'll try to explain it to you later but right now we have to leave." He turned to look at the old man. "Frater?" he asked. "Please take a look at her." Eugnostos put a hand on Shirley's head, closing his eyes for a brief moment. "She's almost OK but still unconscious," he said. "I don't know how long she'll be like that. It's perfectly safe to move her though so let's go." "To the street?" asked Leo. "And what if there's more of 'them' waiting for us?" "Don't worry," replied Eugnostos. "I have a rented car in the basement. We can easily escape that way." "THEM? ESCAPE?" asked a very confused Babs. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TWO TALKING ABOUT! AND WHO'S THIS GRANDPA? IS HE A DOCTOR OR SOMETHING?" "Babs," replied Leo. "I'll explain everything later, I promise you that. But as for now..." He turned towards Shirley and picked her up. As he did so, Hamton saw his hands. "Hey Leo?" he asked. "Are you hurt?" "No," he replied. "Why?" "Well," Hamton insisted. "There's blood all over your hands." "It's okay," muttered Leo. "This blood... this blood isn't mine." They had almost reached the first floor when Buster finally appeared. He told them that at the beginning he hadn't quite known what to do. After seeing the explosion he ran to the hotel but the authorities tried to stop him coming any closer. Buster finally finished talking as they arrived at the parking lot. Eugnostos guided them to a big black car and they were placing Shirley inside when three guys dressed as commandos suddenly appeared. One of them removed a communicator and was about to say something when Leo jumped between them, delivering 3 hits... Moments later 3 dead bodies fell to the ground. Then, climbing into the car they left at high speed. ---0--- END OF FIRST PART. TO BE CONTINUED....