Kibo blinked in shock."THAT shouldn't be possible! Who had it? What did it do?" Narchi shrugged. "Weakness. Pain. Loss of ability directly tied with the Druaga blood. Cyrus wasn't effected, though Neblae's powers fled closer she got to it. He mentioned 'Seal of Babel' and wanting to banish me to Hell. It was a man from Malta named Timothy Tisdale. Know him? Maybe one of the Scarlet Army?" Phineas came back in, looking pale, but steadier. "Sorry for losing my composure,Sir. I've got my nerve back. Stiff upper lip and all that! I wasn't even being shot at! Shameful." Narchi smiled at him. "Steady on, lad! Ye've seen things that NO man or woman of ye;re world have ever seen. If you find your self out of your depth or understanding, FLEEING is a sensible course of action!" Narchi noticed Cyrus edge into the room and hold back just inside the door, out of sight of Kibo. Narchi winked at him. Kibo said,"It had to be a Seal of Babel! If it had seven points, grey green soapstone, and causes weakness among hyperframed creatures... it HAD to be one! HOWEVER THAT IS FLATLY IMPOSSIBLE! They were made ages ago by the People of the Golden Disk and they had to copy them off of another species unnamed! There shouldn't be ANY other on Earth! The only ones of them were destroyed a long time ago." Phineas asked,"Were they supposed to be destroyed when the Tower of Babel was destroyed? Or when Atlantis was destroyed? Or...was that the same thing?" Kibo glared. "My, aren't YOU the clever monkey? Yes, same thing." Narcho asked,"What happened?" Kibo bit off with a contorted face,"I wish I could remember clearly! Challenger had just arrived at Earth. They needed one. ...the Jongwe had attacked it... They crash-landed near the Gate of Atlantis. There was a pitched battle on the slopes of Thera with the Horror! They had over-run the Tower and were started to power up. The gate was destroyed and Atlantis flooded, trapping the Horrors on Thera. The Challenger used it's Hypercannon to blow Thera up." Narchi looked over at Toxic, who was standing up. "What's a 'HORROR'? Like a Great Enemy?" Kibo shook her head."An ally of them, from long ago. They learned their 'Terror' ability from them. They are so totally alien that no one can talk to them. Save the Great Enemy. They were after the Great Seal to use against their enemies. So we had to destroy it and open the Planetary Defenses. The cost was bigger than any wanted to pay. The Challenger was badly damaged and was hidden somewhere. Ambrosius died a hero. So did... others. Azreal saved who he could. It's all blurry now. Like a waking nightmare." Toxic said tensely,"The HORROR-- they attacked BEFORE didn't they?" Kibo looked at Toxic with a sick look. "What... WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER?" Toxic shrugged. "Fire in the sky. People screaming and running. Then a bright light as Mi'i was calling for Momma." Kibo sobbed. She stumbled over to Toxic and held her tightly. "I'm sorry. I couldn't save any of you! When Sahuu was destroyed, I could only watch. I'm sorry. You DO have my long dead sister's spirit inside of you. I can't say any more. My limiter just kicked in. I'm actually endangering ALL of your lives and human survival if I keep talking. Sorry. I'll be back later." She stepped back, wiping her eyes, and sank into the floor. Toxic jumped back and shouted,"WOWEE! DID YOU SEE THAT? THAT was SO COOL! She's not nearby any more!" "More pieces of the puzzle fall upon the floor, some face up and others face down, but are they to OUR puzzle?" Narchi transformed Excalibur into a dagger and hid it away. Phineas walked over to the closest chair and sat down heavily. He said,"I need a drink after all that!" They heard Measure start swearing in the next room. Narchi said,"Phineas, Toxic--calm her down. I need to think." Narchi sat down and frowned. He had a lot to think about. --To be continued!--