City of Night - Hellboy RPG #1

[Lady Hellgirl]

Edit by jnapper:
Rules for the HELLBOY RPG THREAD are located HERE (http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=83401).
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Location, B.P.R.D. Headquarters, Fairfield, Connecticut, U.S.A.

“Lights please”

“This is the best photograph we have of Doctor Wihelm Sterne, who achieved some small reputation in 1930’s Germany as a scholar of Arabic and North African history…also as a dedicated member of the of the Nazi Party. He appears to have convinced the hierarchy to finance his researches by rewriting large portions of Near Eastern history, adding an anti-Semitic slant.”

“February, 1941. General Erwin Rommel arrived in Libya to make change of Axis operations in North Africa. I imagine that most of you know something about all that. March 3, Doctor Sterne also arrived in Libya, on a military transport. Orders from Berlin were for Rommel and his staff to provide him with quote, ’All necessary assistance in his scholarship.’ Rommel seems to have given Sterne a bodyguard of second -rate troops and forgotten him. Records suggest that Sterne made a thorough nuisance of himself in the mosque libraries in Libya and Tunis for a few weeks, and then he disappears from view. There’s one final letter from Rommel’s staff, essentially disclaiming responsibility for losing him. It says that he’d wandered off into the desert with his bodyguard and a couple of armored cars, and disappeared. Rommel was doing well just then, so Berlin was disinclined to blame him.”

“U.S. Military Intelligence had a file on Sterne, but the last thing in it was correspondence they found in Berlin in 1946.

“Five days ago. A U.S. citizen named Doctor Reginald Clay telephoned the embassy in Mali. Clay is working on a restoration project in the city of Timbuktu. Two days before his call, a westerner - a very old man - had walked into town out of the desert and collapsed. Clay was one of the first people the man meet, and when he died after a few hours, Clay helped the local police try and identify the body.”

“The man was wearing the remains of a military uniform, and carrying papers in German. Clay thought that this was odd, and contacted the American embassy while the local police called Germans. His instinct was correct. The papers identify the man as Private Rudolph Frankelle pf the German Armey, missing since 1941.”

“You’ll see from this photograph, Frankelle looked his age. First reports suggest that the causes of death were dehydration and old age. The State Department found this odd enough to monitor the case, and discovered that Frankelle was last heard of as a member of Sterne’s bodyguard. He has only distant family in Germany, and we’re assured by the German Police that they’re as puzzled as anyone else.”

“The State Department dug up Sterne’s file, and realized that his known associates included members of Project Ragna Rok. Under the circumstances, they thought it best to hand the file over us. They’ve been in contact with the government of Mali, and everyone is happy for us to pick up the problem. If there is one.”

“Your job is to determine as many of the facts as are accessible. Decisions about further action will be based on what you find.”

“As usual you will have considerable freedom of action while in the field, but you will be required to justify any unusual decisions after word.”

(Taken from Sample Adventures, The Hellboy Sourcebook and Role Playing Game, by Phil Masters.)

Resources and Arrangements that will be provided for B.P.R.D. agents include:

1. Travel to and from Mali and Timbuktu
2. Guns: Each agent can take with them into Mali a pistol (may be concealed if necessary), or 1-2 rifles/light automatic weapons, and maybe some grenades. NO heavy weapons!
3. Radios: one satellite “base unit” to send signals back to headquarters (Keep it in a safe place!). As back up, one heavy portable headset capable of sending direct via satellite.
4. Other equipment provided: Body Armor (if requested, but will be very hot to wear in Mali‘s deserts!)
Rocket packs (if requested)
GPS systems (if you feel the need to go on a wilderness trip)
Vehicles and basic equipment will be borrowed from local government agencies in Mali.
5. A French/Bambara Translator may be asked for from the local government if required

Briefing notes about Mali

This landlocked peaceful country in Africa has about 11 million residents and is one of the poorest countries in the world. Most people living there are peasant farmers along the Niger River. However, there are also a lot nomadic herders found in Mali’s less fertile areas. Mali also has a few big market towns and cities with industries.

Mali’s terrain consists of semi-jungle areas in the south and deserts in the north. These areas are underdeveloped and are ruled by a democratic government. Mali’s capital is Bamako. Its national language is French (due to French rule from 1890 to 1960.)/Bambara and the primary religion is Muslim.

When at this country, be CAREFULL because petty theft is very common, especially from Americans. Who locals believe are all rich.

Agents include:

*Poe Ghostal as Dr. Manning and Hellboy

**Valkyre as Abe and Valkyre of the Fallen (Valkyre for short)
Biography of character can be found in Hellboy RPG thread, post #50.

*Lady Hellgirl as Liz and Narrator

*skinnymikec as Sidney leach, the human metal detector

*BKole as Johann

**Mist as Mist the Soul-Gatherer
Biography of character can be found in Hellboy RPG thread, post #28.

*Otto66 as a B.P.R.D. "redshirt"

[Mist the Soul-Gatherer]

B.P.R.D.
OFFICIAL MEMO

To: Dr. Tom Manning
From: Mist TSG
Re: Mali

Tom,

As usual, I'll be taking my Broadsword and own body armor (for obvious reasons), but will leave Long Spear and Shield at headquarters per your standing order to "Blend In". I also require the usual amount of nuts (unsalted) and/or Trail Mix for Ratatosk. And I have a few questions. Where and when will the Team meet to leave for this mission? And how are we getting there? 'Tosk and I aren't jumping out of that rattletrap B52 AGAIN.

Ever Yours,
Mist

[Lady Hellgirl]

Liz: Tom, I would appreciate it if I could take a pistol and GPS unit along on this mission. I also would not like to jump out of any moving planes either, at least not in this lifetime!

[-=Valkyre=-]

Valkyre: Tom, I'm certain Abe and I agree on this, but jumping out of moving planes is not going to happen, otherwise I will not be responsible for what happens should my demon form go postal.
I will be taking my usual weapons, but will not wear body armor as it will likely get ruined should I shift forms, and I dislike having my wings flattened to my back.
Abe: Don't worry, I wont let Valkyre do anything drastic... yet. I'll take my usual pistol, but I don't think the body armor will be necessary.

[Mike Cross]

::Great. Just great. My hands still hurt, and they itch ...they itch too much. Stupid burns. At least I'm going back into the field. So what if the first time didn't go..quite so well. Look how everything worked in the end? We mostly came home..mostly. Used to be I was the new face, but the way people and thnigs show up here, what use am I? Human metal detector..big deal...that thing's a frickin' winged creature or demon or something..i guess i should read the briefing..
Mali eh? Never been to Asia...i better take my camera. Wonder if they'll give me a gun?::

-Sidney Leach

[Mist the Soul-Gatherer]

MIST: Sid, don't get yourself all worked up. Val's not so bad-he's a real sharp dresser. And it's MALI, not Bali. We're goin' to AFRICA. Don't look so down-of course we need you-you can find more change for the soda machine than anybody!!
Hey Liz, have you seen Johann?

[Lady Hellgirl]

Liz: Not yet, I think he's returning late from his last mission.
Hay Sidney, you know your an important member of the team! Just remember that and how much you've helped in the previous mission. As I’ve said before, I am really SORRY for burning you.
Oh yah some good advice, don't just don't quite every few years like I do. As you get to know everyone in the B.P.R.D. you realize that they become a second family to you.

[-=Valkyre=-]

Valkyre: ::Growls as he's barely held back by abe:: "Watchit, I may have been an angel once, but things can easily change."
Abe: "Calm down will you? We need to work together and keep from doing anything drastic before Johann and Red get here so we can get going..."
Valkyre: "You're lucky this time..." ::sulks off to find something to eat::

[Lady Hellgirl]

Liz: Red's actually in a mission in Africa right now. We will meet up with him there and call upon him if we need assistance or if he feels like it. As long as I've known him though, he's never turned down an opportunity to participate in a good investigation before.

[-=Valkyre=-]

Valkyre: ::Flops into a chair, munching on a sandwich:: "Perfect... and I have to listen to the metal detector whine all the way?"
Abe: ::Sighs and heads off to take a soak to calm his neves::

[Lady Hellgirl]

Liz: Valkyre, don't take it personally, Sidney's kind of mad at me I think.

[-=Valkyre=-]

Valkyre: ::Sighs:: "It's not your fault he tried to help you..." ::swallows the last of his sandwich:: "Besides, He'll be fine, if he stops bloody whining about it... You, however, I'm more worried about... Who knows what could have happened to you after you 'died'... You're lucky Red managed to bring Roger in and give you your powers back, who knows what would have happened to you otherwise..." ::Smiles a bit, showing a bit of a silver tipped fang::

[Lady Hellgirl]

Liz: "I know" SIGH "But that puts one more person on the list who my powers have hurt. However, I am kind of happy Red helped me, at least I'll be able to help the B.P.R.D. fight all the evil forces lurking behind every corner of the world. Hopefully, using my powers for good, as a way to make up for all the bad stuff that they have done."

[Mike Cross]

::under my breath:: Yeah, and she looks normal, unlike some of us...

Mali...Mali...why the heck would Nazis go to Mali..?

Sidney: Hey Liz, have you ever been to Mali anyway? What's the big deal with it anyhow?

[-=Valkyre=-]

Valkyre: ::sighs again:: "Liz, don't blame yourself for what has happened, you are still learning, and should not blame thyself for what happened when you barely knew the powers you have... Evil may lurk around every corner, but unless you see that no one has died or been injured because you WANTED them to be, but because they may have indirectly brought such upon themselves..." ::Glares a bit at sidney:: "Not all germans are power hungry Nazi's, but you're right, why would they be there?"

[Lady Hellgirl]

Liz: "Would you two please stop that, if we are going to work together, we had better start getting along!" :Gives Valkyre and Sidney a pleading look:

"Anyway, I don't believe I have been to Mali before, except I have been on so many investigations that places and events regarding each mission are starting to blend together.

It's probable a big deal because there is a power hungry, occultist/ritual magician on the loss, who used to work for the Nazis, who is possibly connected to a suspicious death of a supposedly "lost Nazi officer from 1941, who just reappears." Need I say more?
However, I believe that this investigation will have more to do with Doctor Wihelm Sterne as a person, then it does with the Nazis. One of the main reasons he joined them, was for his own personal power gain, which had little to do with his actual belief in the Nazis ways."

[Mist the Soul-Gatherer]

MIST: Hey, guys, sorry I just got up and left, but, watching Val eat isn't such a pretty sight, and Ratatosk had some important information he wanted to tell me in private.

RATATOSK: (What everybody else hears) Chit chit zwerb cha chit!

RATATOSK: (What Mist hears) That Manning is one big frickin' liar!!

MIST: During down time 'Tosk runs up and down the Worldtree collecting gossip-

RATATOSK: chit CHIT!!

MIST: Alright, 'Tosk, INFORMATION, and he told me something I think we all should hear. You know how Manning's been saying HB's on a special mission in Africa? Well, he's not. He QUIT- Q-U-I-T the B.P.R.D.-'cause Manning put some kind of BOMB in Roger and gave HB the detonator just before their last mission-told him to blow Roger to kingdom come if he did anything funny--and here's the best part-Manning said it didn't matter, because Roger ISN'T HUMAN. How does THAT make you feel?

[Lady Hellgirl]

Liz: "By the way where is Manning, has anyone seen him?
He has to give us our supplies and tell us when/where we are to leave for this mission.
Thanks for the info ‘Tosk/MIST. Let’s all try and remain calm until Manning gets back. He has some explaining to do.
If Red actually did quite, then I'll have to quite again. :Sigh: See, I told everyone that rejoining the B.P.R.D. for the thirteenth time was bad luck!
Did anyone inform Abe yet?"

[-=Valkyre=-]

Valkyre: ::reclining in a chair:: "He's coming. I believe he went off to see if he could find manning after his 'bath'."
Abe: ::walks in defeatedly:: "I couldn't find Manning..."
Valkyre: ::thinks over what Mist had relayed for 'Tosk, although he loosely understood what 'Tosk had said:: "When Tom shows up, I plan to give him a peice of my mind. Not even a homunculus deserves such inhumane punishment... Sorry for the pun..."
Abe: ::sits in another chair to wait:: "Liz, if Red did indeed quit, and if you quit with him, I'm going as well..."
Valkyre: ::eyes them both, sighing after a while:: "I must concur... and Tom can shoveit if he thinks he can try and bully us out of it..."

[Mist the Soul-Gatherer]

MIST: 'Tosk is very rarely wrong, but gossip IS gossip--

RATATOSK: CHIT CHIT!

MIST: Shove it, 'Tosk-this is important. What we do know, is, HB is somewhere in Africa. I say, we take this mission, don't let on to Mannning we know anything, and while we're looking for the world's oldest Nazi, we find HB and find out the truth. I'd hate to break up our team-our family-if there was any other way around it.

[-=Valkyre=-]

Valkyre: ::Smirks:: "do you want me to mouthe him a bit for you Mist? I've always wondered what immortal squirrel tastes like."
Abe: ::glares at valk for a minute:: "Don't start with that again..."
Valkyre: "what? I know what fish tastes like, but you can't get squirrel in little bite-sized packets at the grocery store!"
Abe: "Valkyre, just drop it, please..."
Valkyre: ::grumbles:: "I will learn what squirrel tastes like, one way or the other..." ::Eyes 'Tosk before running out when a pistol barrel is shoved in his face::
Abe: :: Puts his gun away:: "I'm just glad he doesn't like getting shot... I'd hate to waste ammunition..."

(PS: Abe was bluffing, his gun isn't loaded :p)

[Lady Hellgirl]

Liz: "Great idea Mist and 'Tosk please check to make sure all the gossip that you hear is true before you tell us. :Feeling a little better about the situation, reaching out to pet 'Tosk behind the ears, but he runs away in fear of gun: I've decided that I am not going to quite, Mist's right, you all are the closest thing that I have to a family right now and I appreciate your support in leaving with me.

I do hope that Manning gives us our info so that we can go on with our mission soon."

[Poe Ghostal]

Elsewhere...

It was night. Good. It was easier at night. Timbuktu may have been making steps toward the twenty-first century, but there were still more than a few souls in this old city who had never heard of a red-skinned, cloven-hooved Westerner who went around talking to ghosts and punching monsters.

Hellboy took a drag from his cigarette. It was tasteless, some cheap brand he'd picked up in Libya. He'd had to ration them after taking up with a nomadic Tuareg tribe. He spent two months crossing the Sahara, living the Tuaregs' life and listening to the tales of their elders. It had been cathartic, after that mess up in Austria...to live so much closer to the edge of survival, knowing the whims of Mother Nature were all that stood between you and a cold, hard death. The Tuaregs had accepted him without question; their beliefs allowed room for good as well as evil demons.

Now he was in Timbuktu. Back in the twenty-first century--or as close as one got to it in a poverty-ridden country like Mali, anyway.

He took another drag from the cigarette. He checked his watch. No doubt the BPRD satellite was making a pass overhead. He knew the Bureau were keeping tabs on him; they kept tabs on everybody. Even Liz when she took off for that crazy monastery in the Arctic.

He raised his left hand and flipped his middle finger at the sky. Piss off, Tom.

They'd actually made contact with him here in Timbuktu. He couldn't believe it. He'd quit the damned Bureau, and here comes some CIA hack, looking pissed off and quite out-of-place, angrily informing Hellboy that the Bureau was sending a group to Mali to investigate something and that they'd "appreciate it" if he would offer his consulting services on the matter. Right. Just Tom trying to throw his weight around again. They'd lost their golden boy, their big celebrity, and now they were panicking. It was ironic. Two months ago they'd have blown up Roger without a second thought; now they were broadcasting their acquisition of a superhuman homunculus over the airwaves (while ignoring questions as to Hellboy's whereabouts).

Whatever. He'd planned to spend a couple weeks in the city before heading south, and it might be nice to have one last hurrah with the others. After that, though...

[-=Valkyre=-]

Valkyre: :: lingers about, grumbling at his own stupidity as to run when an empty gun is raised to his face, stopping by one of the display cases, the one with the spear of longinus inside, leaning on the glass and gazing at it sorrowfully:: "If only I could have changed my thoughts back then, who knows what could have happened instead..." :: watches a random agent go into Hellboy's room to feed his multitude of cats, sighing:: "Red, enjoy your breif reprive, whereever you are, I don't think this family of yours will last too long without you..."

[Lady Hellgirl]

Bureau conference room,
Liz: "See you later, I'm going to find Manning to get details about mission and take a nap.":Leaves room:

[-=Valkyre=-]

Abe: :: Decides to get some rest as well, leaving shortly after liz::
Valkyre: ::catches up with liz, wanting to also speak with Manning:: "How are you feeling? Besides being tired?"

[Mist the Soul-Gatherer]

Bureau Conference Room.
Ratatosk has climbed up on Mist's shoulder and is chittering angrily.

MIST: Calm down, Tosk. Val didn't mean it about tasting immortal squirrel, so don't go giving him a taste of your immortal swearing. He CAN understand you, you know.

RATATOSK: Yeah, yeah...but I wasn't lying about HB!

MIST: I know...I just couldn't let the team break up-not that way. (SFX: YAWNS) Liz's idea about taking a nap's a good one. I'm beat. You hang out here. If Manning shows up, come and get me. And, remember, Abe stood up for you, Tosk. He's a good friend.

Mist leaves the conference room.

[Lady Hellgirl]

:Turns in Hallway to talk to Valkyre:

Liz: "Better, but I have a do have a head-ach, how about you? Sidney was pretty nasty to you."

[-=Valkyre=-]

Valkyre: "I'm alright... I could be better. Sidney is likely just a bit nervous, I wasn't raised by some noble soul as Hellboy was, so he's more likely to assume that I have alterior motives and desires than to help all of you. He's half right, but I would NEVER go as far as to harm anyone here, Abe can back me up on that, even though he seems to have a hard time reading me..." ::smiles at her:: "I have some incense that might help you relax and get rid of that headache..."

[Lady Hellgirl]

Liz: "Thanks, I could really use some right about now." :Smiles back at Valkyre, and they walk off together to get the incense:

[Poe Ghostal]

Manning was passing the conference room, lost in thought. He glanced in and saw the agents milling about.

"What the hell are you people still doing here? Didn't I give you a mission? Your equipment will be on the plane. Standard issue--pistols, flak jackets for those who want them, radios, a few grenades--Abe gets those. Anything else, ask Hibbard the equipment officer.

"The plane takes off at 1800 hours. Johann will meet you there, he's running late. You've got five hours to get ready and get to the airport. Now go!" Without another word, Manning stalked off down the corridor and went into his office. The lock clicked behind him.

[Lady Hellgirl]

Just as Manning is stalking down the hall, he runs into Valkyre and Liz. He promptly tells them about the mission details. Turns and huffs for his office, muttering stuff under his breath, goes in his office, and slams the door. All the while Valkyre and Liz are trying not to laugh to loudly as they notice his frustrated and very crabby mood.

:Liz: Some one really made him mad this time! I bet it was Red, he has a way of doing that. I seriously think Manning could also use some stress relief incense too. :They laugh again: Let’s go before he comes back and gives us another one of his lectures.”

:They proceed down the hallway to their rooms to pack/nap, once at Valkyre's room Liz is given the incense and she proceeds to her own room:

Liz: :sighs and shouts down the hall at Valkyre: "Will you come or have someone NOT MANNING wake me up before we have to leave, please?"

:Liz enters her room and shuts door:

[Mist the Soul-Gatherer]

B.P.R.D. Living Quarters

Ratatosk comes racing into Mist's room, leaps onto her bed and does a little tap dance on the sleeping Valkyrie's head, chittering excitedly.

MIST: Ummm, wha-oh, it's you.

RATATOSK: Move your ass, Manning showed. Wants us all at the plane in five hours-standard equipment, no extras. Of course the moron said nothing about my TRAIL MIX.

MIST: Don't worry, I'll pack some. Plus a few other things Manning doesn't need to know about.

[-=Valkyre=-]

Valkyre: ::Growls and half-shifts when he wakes up after a nightmare:: "Damn..." ::gets up, mussing his hair back into place before he grabs his weapons from under his bed and over-coat from the back of the door before going to wake liz, waving meekly at Abe as they pass in the hallway::
Abe: "You'd better hurry and wake her, we're running a bit late."
Valkyre: "Gimme a break here, I haven't eaten anything other than that bloody sandwich from yesterday..." ::musses his hair again as he keeps going and knocks on Liz's door rather loudly once he gets there:: "Hey Liz, better get up, we're running a bit late."

(Edit: god I am so blind...)

[Lady Hellgirl]

Liz: :Groggily wakes up and yells back: Hmm, ok. thanks, I'll be out in a minute I just have to grab my bag!"
:She hurriedly gets out of bed, picks up her stuff, grabs a brush to fix her hair on the way out of her room, and meets Valkyre:

[-=Valkyre=-]

Valkyre: ::smiles at her, his twin swords strapped to his back and hidden by his coat, his large rifle slung over a shoulder, chuckling almost mockingly:: "nice hair..." ::doesn't give any indication that his insanely long hair is more than likely tangled beyond belief::

[Lady Hellgirl]

Liz: "Thanks, but I think you may need this more then me."

:She hold up her brush to him, while smirking at him:

"Let's go."

[-=Valkyre=-]

Valkyre: ::chuckles, gently taking the brush, walking with her towards the exit where everyone else is:: "How about this, I brush your hair you brush mine? I wont squirm, and I promise to be gentle."

[Lady Hellgirl]

Liz :Smiles: "Hay, that's not fair, brushing your hair would take all week. I could cut it shorter for you though." :She begins to chuckle:

[-=Valkyre=-]

Valkyre: ::Hisses at her:: "I refuse to have my hair cut... I brushed my hair yesterday morning, it only took ten minutes... Honest." ::Stops for a minute:: "Or are you avoiding getting close to me because of Red?"

[Lady Hellgirl]

Liz: :Blushing, looks away: "No, I'm not trying to avoiding getting close to anyone. I was actually just joking about your hair."

[-=Valkyre=-]

Valkyre: ::smiles, gently resting his free hand on her shoulder:: "That's alright, I've expected cracks about my hair getting cut for a while. But I can assure you, if you have any doubts about some things, don't hesitate to ask me, I can say this much; if I so much as growl at you in a threatening way, Red'll pound my head in. I meant what I said though, I'll brush your hair for you, I don't expect you to try and brush mine." ::chuckles::

[Lady Hellgirl]

Liz: : Smiles: "Thanks, I'd like that."

:She turns around to allow Valkyre to brush her hair:

[-=Valkyre=-]

Valkyre: ::Smiles, gently brushing out her hair, enjoying the silky feel of it on his hands as he does:: "How'd the incense work? I hope the smell wasn't overwhelming..."

[Lady Hellgirl]

Liz: "The incense worked very well and it even allowed me to sleep without any nightmares, for once, and No, the smell wasn't overbearing, you should have smelt the stuff they used in the Arctic monastery, theirs smelt bad."

:She sighs, liking her hair being brushed and remembers how her mother used to do it for her all the time when she was little. It was one of her favorite things that they would do together.:

[-=Valkyre=-]

Valkyre: ::chuckles a bit, picking up on her thoughts and sighing a bit, saying nothing of it, preffering to let her keep those good memories to herself:: "I'm glad that you did not have a nightmare, It's unfortunate that I couldn't let you sleep more." ::Finishes brushing out her hair, admiring how it shines in the light:: "Your hair is so beautiful. Red's a very lucky man." ::smiles::

[Mist the Soul-Gatherer]

Mist comes rushing down the hallway in the Agent's Quarters area. She's dressed in her traveling clothes. Worn jeans, sneakers, and a white short sleeve t-shirt, even though she knows it won't stay white for long. Her usually loose, flowing red hair is tucked under a black baseball cap with B.P.R.D. on it in white letters.
Strapped around her is her work gear, a large, overstuffed backpack that contains who-knows-what, with what appears to be a canvas golf bag sticking out from it. In the golf bag is her broadsword. As always, Tosk is perched on her shoulder. Mist stops when she comes to Liz's open doorway taking in what is unfolding before her between Liz and Valkrye.

MIST: (Clears her throat to get their attention) Ahem. If you two lovebirds can shake a tail feather, we've got a plane to catch. Last one in the limo gets the jump seat-and it's not gonna be me.

With that, she turned and walked briskly down the hall toward the exit to the outside world.

[-=Valkyre=-]

Valkyre: ::Blushes furiously, stopping brushing his hair through for a second:: "Did she just say what I think she said?"
Abe: ::Meanwhile is busying himself in his room with getting his disguise on while hiding his pistol and ammunition on him::

[Lady Hellgirl]

Liz: "I hope not. Let's go!"

:She picks up her gear and runs for the exit sign to meet up with Mist:

[-=Valkyre=-]

Valkyre: ::Follows quickly behind her, thankful his hair brushes easily, making little noise as his shoes hit the floor as he runs::
Abe: ::is waiting for them there, wearing his usual disguise, a backpack half slung over one shoulder::

[Lady Hellgirl]

Liz: Decides to just run ahead of Mist and get a good seat in the limo. When she gets there she asks the driver to open the limo's trunk so that she can put her bag inside, he does. She then proceeds to find a comfortable seat in the limo, sits down, and waits for everyone else.

[-=Valkyre=-]

Valkyre: ::Tosses his weapons into the trunk, taking a seat next to Liz, Abe following suit:: "Where's Sidney? Is he coming?"
Abe: ::shrugs slightly:: "I haven't seen him since I went to bed last night. He hasn't said anything of if he is or isn't coming."

[Mist the Soul-Gatherer]

Mist and Tosk walk up to the limo. The driver tries to help her as she shrugs out of her backpack, but she refuses his help, flashes him a smile and very carefully puts her oversize pack with protruding golf bag in an out-of-the-way area of the trunk. Then she and Tosk slide into the spot across from Liz in the limo's ample rear seat, Mist's long legs raised up on the few inches of seat between Abe and Liz.

MIST: Whew! I'm glad that part's over. I hate this rushing around. Reminds me of Valhala, when we used to scramble to get down to the battlefield to pick up the dead guys before they got carted off to Hades, or whatever mythology they believed in.

[Lady Hellgirl]

Liz: Sits silently watching everyone else, while thinking about her past encounter with Valkyre and Mist, wishing that they would understand that she REALLY DOES NOT have any romantic involvement with Hellboy or any one else at the Bureau, except possibly Abe.

[Mist the Soul-Gatherer]

Unconcerned by the lack of response-talking about dead guys frequently left mortals, even team members, speechless- Mist leaned back on the plush limo seat, closed her eyes and focused on the map in her head. The twenty-first century wasn’t so bad, compared to some of the others she’d been through. Laptop computers gave instant access to information it used to take weeks to research. Just go to Google, type in Mali, and in seconds you were as smart as a Travel Agent. Not that many would send you there. Hunting through Mali for traces of Sterne would be no day at the beach. Hot, dry, and landlocked, Mali was situated in West Africa and bordered Algeria in the north and northwest, Niger in the east and south, Burkina Fasso and Ivory Coast in the south, Guinea to the southwest, Senegal to the west and Mauritania to the west and northwest. A lot of neighbors. And a lot of places to get into trouble if one of the team stumbled across a border.

Funny that such a landlocked piece of sand should be dominated by two huge rivers, the Senegal and the Niger. After flying in to Bamako, Mali’s only airport, Timbuktu would be a good distance away. Manning said there’d be transportation, but he didn’t say what kind. Typical. If the team got to Mopti they could hire Pirogues, the locals name for canoes, and paddle up the Niger 8 miles to Timbuktu. Or they could hire a car and driver. If HQ hadn’t made arrangements in advance, the odds of getting that form of transportation was slim to none-and you know who just left town. So the team would have to hoof it-literally- by camel. That wouldn’t be so bad. The camels would be willing to tell her a lot more about what was going on than the natives.

Why in the world would HB want to go to such a god-forsaken, desolate place? Well, why not? It was a good place for a man-or half-man- to get lost in. Mali had reached its pinnacle of power and wealth in the 14th century, extending over almost all of West Africa and controlling virtually all of the rich trans-Saharan gold trade. It was during this period that Mali's great cities, Timbuktu and Djenne, became fabled centers of wealth, learning, and culture. After that, it was all downhill. In the 15th century Mali fell to the Songhai, who established their own capital at Gao. The Songhai ruled until the end of the 16th century. The collapse of their empire also marked the end of the region’s history as a trading centre, when sea routes replaced the trans-Saharan trade routes. Timbuktu wasn’t much better than the rest of the country. A city of mud-walled buildings in the middle of a harsh desert, Timbuktu was captured by the French in 1894. In 1960 it became part of the independent Republic of Mali, a strange and desolate city in a strange and desolate country.

Abe shifted in his seat, already uncomfortable in his disguise. The movement interrupted Mist’s thoughts, and she wondered how Abe would fare in the heat, with very little water, under all those clothes and that itchy beard. Hopefully, they’d soon get to a place where he could take them off and be himself. With all that reading, maybe he could speak French. She certainly hoped so….

[-=Valkyre=-]

Valkyre: ::Watches abe with some concern, eyeing Liz every so often, trying to keep his thoughts from drifting::
Abe: ::Is slightly worried that he'll be caught in the middle of the desert without water, already feeling hot and uncomfortable under his outfit, catching the worried thoughts from both Valkyre and Mist, along with the thoughts from liz, smiling a bit to himself::
Valkyre: ::Eventually sits back, uncomfortably sitting nearly doubled over in the limo, cursing himself for his height and eyeing ratatosk a bit::

[Mist the Soul-Gatherer]

Ratatosk had been sleeping curled up on the ledge between Mist's shoulder and the glass wall that separated the driver from the passengers, when he instinctively felt Val's less than wholesome thoughts. Opening one eye slightly, Tosk shot out a telepathic communication that only Valkyre and Mist could hear.

RATATOSK: Keep your teeth to yourself, Fang Face, it's going to be a long trip.

Mist suddenly felt like she was the teacher of a third grade class on the field-trip-from-Hell.

MIST: (spoken) Tosk, that was BAD. Val is just getting hungry. We all are.
Where's that frickin' Leach? We can't wait much longer. I wouldn't put it past him to show up at the airport in a cab, so he doesn't have to ride with the "wierdos."

[Mike Cross]

Where's my damn baseball cap? I can't go anywhere without my lucky blue hat...ah, there we go. I can find anything metal, but dang if i can track down the little things..
Ok, got my glasses..check...
passport..check..
Kitkat bars..check..
Ready to go, where's the car pickup? Ah, there's the note..

I walk up to car, everyone's already there..looks like i'm late as usual..Everyone's patient enough, except for that one..grr i grr to myself. Hopefully, we won't get teamed up..

Sid

[Lady Hellgirl]

Liz: Calls to the driver "We are ready to go to the airport now."

The limo starts up,Sidney to gets in, and they leave for the airport.

:Liz is happy to see that Sidney hasn't decided to quite this mission, even though his first one hadn't gone so well.:

[Poe Ghostal]

GAMEMASTER BREAK

The agents (and Johann) are driven to Logan International Airport in Boston, where they board a private plane to Mali's capital district of Bamako. In Bamako's airport they are met by an American attaché named Mr. Grennor.

If the agents want, Mr. Grennor will take them to see Frankelle's body. If not, he will usher them onto a smaller plane and send them on their way to Timbuktu. Only Frankelle's body is in Bamako; his belongings are being held in Timbuktu. Manning's orders make it clear that inspecting the corpse is optional.

The agents are gathered in the airport lobby to vote on what to do next. Mr. Grennor waits patiently.

[-=Valkyre=-]

Valkyre: ::Still growling a bit to himself, eyeing Ratatosk as though he looks like steak until he's elbowed in the ribs by abe::
Abe: ::glares at him, whispering:: "You'll eat when the rest of us eat, you might be able to coax sidney out of a kit-kat bar, if he has any left."
Valkyre: ::Grumbles, his large armored suitcase in one hand, feeling uncomfortable around so many people:: "What to do now? Anyone feel like just getting some rest?"
Abe: ::thanks god that valkyre's finally dropped trying to eat Ratatosk, for now, shifting the backpack on his back slightly:: "I wouldn't mind getting a good look at Frakelles body, who knows, I may find something that was overlooked."
Valkyre: ::nods:: "I'll go with you."

[Mist the Soul-Gatherer]

Mist and the remaining agents were standing around the airport lobby in a loose semi-circle, their belongings piled in a heap. Ratatosk was sequestered in a small piece of hand luggage Mist took from her pack, so the sharp toothed squirrel wouldn't be too conspicuous and too tempting to Valkyre. From the looks on her friends' faces as they watched Val and Abe walk off, Mist could tell they were torn between wanting to move on to Timbuktu, where some small amount of comfort awaited, and the obligation to look at the body. What she was about to say wouldn't make them any happier.

MIST: Well, so much for a vote. Looks like Frick 'n Frack want to go it alone. As for me, I've never seen a 100 year old Nazi before, so I think we ought to take a look. Who knows what we'll find? And Sid and Johann certainly should check it out. Just the fact that Manning doesn't care, makes me want to go over that body inch by inch. A full autopsy couldn't hurt, either. Maybe Val could tell us what's in his blood. What do you guys think?

[-=Valkyre=-]

Valkyre: ::Can hear and sense the thoughts of the others, stopping abe for a minute by the door leading to the loading area where the vehicle is waiting, turning to wait for the others::
Abe: ::stops, waiting with Valk, becoming increasingly uncomfortable in his outfit, his skin starting to dry out underneath:: "I wish they'd hurry up..."

[Lady Hellgirl]

Liz: "Even though I am not very keen on visiting any mortuary, I think we should all go and check out the body."

:She grumbles while looking for and picking up her pack and a few other major bags of equipment that Manning supplied them with. Thinking that it would be nice if the air port staff could treat their things with a little respect! Possibly they would, if their lives depended on the equipment carefully packed in to each bag, as they do for each mission. (Such as a sole satellite base unit phone that the unloading guy had just chucked on the floor a few moments before). Who knows, maybe the contents inside would eventually save them from being stuck in some god-forsaken desert.

:She heads for the waiting car, wades outside, and yells over her shoulder.
"Let's get this over with before Abe dries up."

[Lady Hellgirl]

GAMEMASTER BREAK

Agents enter Mr. Grennor's car after all the gear was loaded into the trunk and Mr. Grennor takes them to Bamako's Mortuary. Where they are being shown the body, by one of Mali's finest medical examiners Dr. Boko.

She explains her findings to them.

"Frankelle was in a good shape, considering that he was 80 yrs old man. His thin hair, as far as I can tell used to be cut in a military like style, but has not been kept up.

He was also not overfed or starving.

The body, as you can clearly see, :She pauses pointing out the effected areas to agents.: has clearly spent some time in the sun."

"Unfortunately, that's about all the information that I could interoperate from the body." She sighs, takes off surgical gloves and tells agents "When you are done viewing the body, please tell my assistant and she will put it away. Nice meeting you all, but I must go attend to another case. Feel free to leave when you are ready." She leaves the agents to talk over results to themselves.

[Mist the Soul-Gatherer]

Mist, Abe, Liz, Valkyre and Stan made a neat little circle as they stood around the corpse looking for anything that might mean something. Mist was the first to break the silence.

MIST: Well, that was enlightening. However....How long has it been since this Kraut said auf Wiedersehen?

Her eyes narrowed. A sure sign that she was trying to get two and two to come up five.

MIST: The briefing said he was dead two days before they called the embassy...then five days before they called us...and two days till we got here...hmmmm, nine, ten days.....

She began circling the body, leaning in closer and closer, singing a little tune from the Rocky Horror Picture Show under her breath.

MIST: (to herself) Come up to the lab...and see what's on the slab...

Turning to the other agents, she said something so obvious, they had all overlooked it.

MIST: There's no smell. The body doesn't smell. Dead ten days, rotting in the sun, and this guy looks like he's sleeping. No dehydration. Nothing. Maybe we should slice him open.

[Lady Hellgirl]

At the thought of cutting him open, Liz almost hurled.

I can just barely stand the sight of dead/dying people in the field, especially after particularly gruesome fights or attacks on innocent people.
However, this is no innocent guy, at least I don't think so. Liz thinks unconsciously.

She says "Go ahead." to the autopsy that Mist suggested.

But in her own opinion this morgue did smell, it smelt of death and chemicals used to preserve to the corpses. Those corpses used to be human beings, now lost forever, awaiting their final resting places. In the mean time they must first rest in the little square refrigeration cubicles and be subjected to constant prodding and poking by eager forensic analysts and medical examiners. Who are trying to get the now lost person to release their secretes that got them in to their present state.

To think this could have been me, just lying there and open for all to see. I guess having my powers is much better then this poor soul's fate. She thinks to herself as Dr. Boko prepares her next "victim" across the room.

[Mike Cross]

::My hand started to tingle..this time it wasn't from the burn.::

Sid: Uh,excuse me, but how in depth did you guys do your autopsy? There's something in there.

::I put my hand just below the nazi's abdomen..yup, i was definitely picking something.::

Sid: I agree with Sparky...there's definitely something metal in there. I think we should cut him open..

[-=Valkyre=-]

Valkyre: ::shrugs at a glance from abe:: "I'll do it..." :: picks up a scalpel from a tray and gingerly opens a deep vertical laceration along the center of the abdomen, wrinkling his nose:: "I think there's something amiss about his blood as well... It smells different from anything I've encountered before... I'll have to run some tests on it later.::
Abe: ::watches Liz quietly from under his disguise, worried for her::

[Mist the Soul-Gatherer]

Ratatosk was napping, curled up in the bottom of the hand case Mist had placed in the far corner of the examining room, out of harm's way, and out of sight. As Valkrye gingerly began his first incision, the smell of Bad Blood awoke the sleeping squirrel who peered over the top of the case and began chittering excitedly to Mist.

RATATOSK: Chit, Chit-Hey Mist, that blood-sucking moron could get us all killed. Don't stand there with your thumb up your butt, GET READY.

Quietly, so as not to disturb Valkyre, Mist backed up to where TOSK had his head and shoulders out of the bag. She reached in to a zippered compartment and took out what looked to be a Derringer, only with fatter barrels, two instead of one. She reached in again and took out two pellets with greenish liquid in them and placed them in the chambers. Mist had worked with Hellboy on missions when Abe was occupied elsewhere, and she had quickly realized the Big Red Guy knew more about killing demons than any mortal aught to know. She learned from him, and HB was happy to make the snub nosed "Pacifier" for her along with a supply of his special brand of ammo. Mist used it sparingly now, knowing that when it was gone, she may never get another new supply. But Tosk was right. It looked like this was going to be bad. Very bad.

[-=Valkyre=-]

Valkyre: ::has heard the exchange between tosk and mist, growling a bit despite the overwhelming smell of putrid blood mixed with something else, something he couldn't place, he looked at the others breifly:: "I suggest moving back, I don't know, but something is quite amiss here and I don't wish anyone to come to any harm..."
Abe: ::goes over and gently pulls Liz and Sidney out of the way, sensing some semblance of fear from the fallen angel turned vampire, which meant that something quite dangerous was to come::

[Lady Hellgirl]

Liz: One thing that she has learned while in the field, is to always trust her intuition. This moment was one of those times. Needless to say, as soon as Abe guided her out of the way, she hurriedly ran over to Dr. Boko

(who had stopped her autopsy a while back and was watching the ready for action agents with a certain curiosity, listening to their conversation, and wanting to know what she had missed. In her 23 years as chief medical examiner she had never failed to miss any single detail regarding autopsies, and was well renowned for being very thorough in all her work/cases. What had she missed?) while thinking about these thoughts she absentmindedly took a few steps forward toward the agents. But was caught and is being dragged out of the room by Liz.

Liz: "I insist that you leave this room immediately!" :Getting very annoyed Liz keeps shoving her out while thinking, doesn't Dr. Boko realize that her life was in danger, apparently not.:
Br Boko: "I am the chief medical examiner of this place and you have NO RIGHT TO THROW me out of my own LAB! Aghh!!" (Liz just manages to push her out of the room, slamming the door behind her and locks it. Then proceeds to return to the spot where all the other agents were standing-a few feet away from Valkyre and the dead body.

All the while Br. Boko is frantically beating on the doors window and screaming. "I Have a right to know WHAT”S GOING ON!" She is so upset at the moment that she completely forgets that she has the key to open the door in her top desk drawer. Which is a good thing for the agents sake.

[-=Valkyre=-]

Valkyre stops breifly once he finishes making his incision, breathing deeply and he withdraws the scalpel blade from the dead flesh and places it on another tray, taking off his coat and handing it to abe, thankfully flicking out his cramped wings.
'I wonder what sort of metal Sidney's found... perhaps just a bullet, but it's not likely, as there is no bullet hole or even a scar to suggest this...' He thought, thanking Liz soundlessly for pushing out the doctor. He reached over to the tray again, picking up a pair of clamps to spread open his incision, idly facinated by the innards of the man, frowning as he uses another claw-like tool to move aside the intestines and stomach.
'This can't be right... He has no kidneys, pancreas or spleen... Something is dreadfully wrong here...' He was about to relay his discovery when something moved within the dead mans stomach.
"Oh bloody hell." He groaned.
"What is it?" Abe asked moving to take a look, worried and oddly ethusiastic, having heard of nothing like this before.
"Don't move. I've only heard of this kind of creature, and thought them only to exist in colder climates..." Valkyre, worried and slightly frightened, put down the utensil he held and reached into the corpse, finding a large round hole in the bloated stomach and pulling out what seemed to be a massive worm with a red and black hide, large sharp teeth and seven beady eyes on it's lower jaw. It shreiked it's protest as it writhed in Valkyre's grasp. Abe froze in fear, nearly losing his footing.
"Infernal flesh worm... I never thought I'd see one personally..." Valkyre explained, holding up the wriggling creature to get a better look at it.
'I never thought they'd try this... What the hell are you doing so close to the equator dear creature?' He thought. It seemed to pick up from his thoughts that he wouldn't harm it and calmed, staring back at him with its seven eyes.
"Now I see how the good doctor over looked this, but it doesn't explain his death, long life nor the metal Sidney detected. If memory serves, these little creatures lie dormant in a host until it dies, then feed upon some of the body tissues, grow to nearly one hundred times their size, and pupate in their host's stomach before finding a place to lay their eggs. I've never seen one mature before, but I have learned that they'll listen to and befriend demons..." Valkyre explained, holding out his other arm and placing the worm on it. It then curled around his arm and made a low purring noise.
Abe let out a sigh of relief.
"Almost like a demonic cat..." he joked, trying to loosen the tension.

[Mist the Soul-Gatherer]

GAMEMASTER BREAK


AS IN A MIGNOLA ARC, WE PAUSE HERE A MOMENT TO SAVOR THE TENSION. IMPORTANT GAMEMASTER PLOT INFORMATION TO FOLLOW. ALL AGENTS PLEASE STAY AS YOU WERE UNTIL NEXT GAMEMASTER POSTING.

[Mist the Soul-Gatherer]

GAMEMASTER BREAK

B.P.R.D. AGENT HANDBOOK
CHAPTER 28, SECTION 5.

AFRICAN DEMONS.

There are many kinds and classifications of demons that exist on the African continent. Most notably Sand Demons,Ghuls (from which the word "Ghoul" is derived), Djinns and the Ifrit.

HOW TO IDENTIFY AFRICAN DEMONS

SAND DEMONS-Appear as a whirlwind in desert regions and burrow into the sand, where they lay in wait for unsuspecting travelers. Rising to heights of 20' or more, Sand Demons have black lizard like skin, three spike like talons on each hand, and 4 rows of razor sharp teeth. Sand Demons have been known to devour a camel and its rider whole, in one gulp.

GHULS-Appear only at night and disappear with the first light of dawn. They can make themselves invisible or shape-shift into the forms of animals at will. Ghuls are very dangerous because frequently they appear harmless, even friendly-until it's too late.

DJINNS-Spirits of Fire, Djinns are particularly nasty as they have the characteristics of other evil entities as well as those indiginous to them. Highly intelligent, the Djinn are master shape-shifters and use this ability to confuse their enemies, often forming a close bond with those they mean to kill, transforming into their real form when least expected. Djinns can inhabit the body of living beings of "weak spirit" or of dying humans by entering during the point of "barzakh" or separation.

THE IFRIT-Demons that frequent mountainous areas, riverbanks or desert oasis, Ifrits can read the minds of humans and use that information to transform into the shape of friends or loved ones, luring their enemies close enough to kill them by sucking out all of their blood.

WHAT YOU SHOULD DO

AGENTS CONFRONTED WITH AFRICAN DEMONS SHOULD

1) DETERMINE WHAT KIND OF DEMON YOU ARE FACING
2) TAKE PROPER PRECAUSIONS
3) KILL THE DEMON USING THE METHODS DESCRIBED ON PAGE 91 OF THIS HANDBOOK.FAILURE TO USE THE PROPER METHOD CAN BE FATAL
Unfortunately, page 91 is missing. Good Luck.

[Mist the Soul-Gatherer]

Mist watched Valkyre's and Abe's almost hypnotic fascination with the small purring creature. It DID seem harmless. But harmless and Mali didn't go together. DAMN! Something was pushing at the back of her mind...something she should know, but just couldn't remember.

MIST: Any of you actually go through all that stuff Research gave us on Mali? Didn't they say go to the Handbook and read some kind of chapter on demons, or possession or something like that?

[Lady Hellgirl]

Liz: :Walks closer to where Valkyre is and says:
"Mists right, I think that you should put that "thing" (She points to the wiggling creature on Valkyres arm. down. KNOW! (she emphasizes) at least until we know for sure what it is."

After she finished saying this, the "thing" looked up at her with all six of its beady eyes and made a hissing noise. Which sounded a lot like "back off or I'll kill you" to her.

Some how Liz couldn't place or understand how in the world she could actually understand what this creature was saying, maybe it had more to do with the way the "thing's" expression or body language. She shook off these thoughts and instinctively took a giant step backwards.

[Mist the Soul-Gatherer]

As Mist watched Liz step back, she began to feel more and more uneasy.

MIST: Well, I guess nobody read the briefing.

She tried making contact with the worm, but got nothing. "It's not an animal," she thought, "That's for sure." Mist kept wracking her brain. Africa. Where had she heard about Africa. Oh, yeah. The thought suddenly hit her. About a year ago. In an airport in Cleveland. She and HB had just finished up a Satanic Witchcraft thing. They were socked in. A lotta fog and rain. Airport shut down. Most passengers left to find a hotel room. The two of them sat at a small table at the far end of the bar and drank cheap booze all night. They talked. Not that HB was much of a talker. But he liked that she asked him questions about what he did and not who he was. And one of the things he talked about was Africa. Had been there years ago. Hunting demons. "They're not all alike," he told Mist. "African demons are highly specialized." He'd had about two dozen beers by then, not at all drunk, but talking was becoming easier. "An' they like to fool ya. Make you think they're one kinda demon when they're another. Gotta flush 'em out, Mist, make'em show themselves. Once you know what you've got-kill'em quick." At that point he had leaned in towards her and put both forearms on the table. Mist thought it would shatter, but it groaned, teetered and held. "Cause if you don't, they'll kill you."

Mist thought it was time to flush'em out. She held up the "Pacifier" and walked towards the worm that was purring and cooing and charming the pants off of Abe and Valkrye.

MIST: (TO ABE & VAL) Boys, I hate to spoil your fun, but I need your help.

She aimed the "Pacifier" at the worm. It stopped purring.

MIST: I think it's time we said 'bye 'bye to Wilber the Worm.

[-=Valkyre=-]

Valkyre growled and thought, 'what the hell is she doing?', backing away slightly. He looked at the small creature again, its seven beady eyes looking back at him pleadingly, then he realized what was wrong. 'Nice try, you nearly had me. I'm not falling for it again.' He thought grinning, knowing the creature would hear him. He was right and it shrieked it's outrage as he threw it across the room, withdrawing his swords.
"I've got it mist, no worries." He growled as the small wriggling worm reformed into a lumbering beast, like a cross between a Tiger and a man. 'Never thought I'd see a ghul in my lifetime. Oh well, It's been fun.' He lunged at it, his large swords glowing with swirling white flame, striking the beast and causing more damage than simple cuts, as their motions would allow. It howled in agony as it was slowly maimed and burned by Valkyre's enchanted weapons, falling to the floor in a heap as Valkyre managed to get behind it and slam both blades through the back of it.
Valkyre stood atop it for a minute, grinning gleefully, his eyes red and glowing faintly, his skin nearly black in the low light, sharp black claws where his fingernails should be, his elaborate horns glinting slightly in the low light and tail whipping from side to side agitatedly. He wanted more to kill, and everything around him was little more than a red haze.

[-=Valkyre=-]

Abe stared as Valkyre stood atop the fallen ghul, his heavy and rapid breathing sounding like growls. He moved to get closer to the bloodthirsty Demon, and ended up freezing only a moment later, a swordblade at his throat. He looked pleadingly up at Valkyre, into his glowing red eyes, slowly reaching out to touch Valkyres' mind with his own. 'Don't do this, please... You aren't yourself...'
As if in reply, the blade was removed and the demon slumped to his knees, the white glow of the swords fading. Abe moved to kneel next to him, resting a hand on his shoulder. 'Thank you...'

[Lady Hellgirl]

Liz: Umm, Valkyre are you ok? Liz was about to take a step forward, then stopped. Thinking that it may be best to let Abe handle this one. Until an unsettling thought crossed her mind.

"Valkyre I know that you have a good understanding of demons and stuff, but I must ask you, ARE you sure that "thing" is dead/gone?"

Finally remembering what the briefing papers said about African demons and realized why she was able to hear it's thoughts.

"I also don't think that was a ghul. It doesn’t make sense. First, it's broad day light outside and ghul's only appear at night. Second, if you knew were going to be kill, if you had the ability to become invisible, wouldn't you use that as a way to escape death? Finally, I didn't want to tell every one, but that "thing" actually talked to me and the scary thing is, I understood what it was saying when it growled at me. However as you all know I am NO psychic!

Pauses for a second to see if the they think she is nuts and to emphasize this last point.

"I think that was really a Djinn! I could hear it because we both have the same ability, that "things" essence is of fire. If that really was a Djinn, I don't think you killed it, even with your special swords Valkyre. They are very smart beings who use this intelligence in battle all the time, and are exhalent shape shifters, which leads me to think it "acted out it's own death, by showing us what it thought (emphasis’s this point) we wanted to see." I get this feeling, that it may still be in this room somewhere."

Liz changes her gaze from her fellow agents and surveyed the room.

[-=Valkyre=-]

Valkyre calmed slowly, his nearly black skin lightening a great deal as he listened to Liz. He nodded to abe and stood, flicking his wings slightly.
"You're right. I should have been paying attention..." He mutters kicking the carcass, watching it turn to a pile of ash. He turns to abe, then looks around the rest of the room, inhaling and exhaling slowly, concentrating on where the Djinn could possibly hide, looking for it's sentience.

[Mist the Soul-Gatherer]

Just then, the door to the examination room opened and Dr Boko burst into the room. After a few futile minutes of pounding on the door, she realized she had the key in her office desk drawer, and here she was, full of fury and indignation.

DR BOKO: Look what you've done! This room's a mess! And the body-you've ripped it to shreds-how will I ever explain this to his family??

The closer she walked towards the team, the more she seemed to take on stature and authority.

DR. BOKO: I don't care WHO you work for, I'm calling the authorities and having the lot of you DEPORTED-unless you leave on your own volition right now!!!

MIST: And suppose we don't leave-then what?

Dr. Boko seemed to double in size right before the agents' eyes. At the same time she grew larger, her body began to lose form and pieces of her started to protrude out at odd angles, like she was made out of Playdough. It was clear this was not Dr. Boko. And whatever it was turning into next was not going to be good.

The agents watched in horror as the form of Dr. Boko shifted and grew till it reached the ceiling-a height of 15'-and before their eyes, Dr. Boko transformed into a huge snake-like creature with coils five-feet wide and a head with a hundred blazing red eyes. When it opened its mouth it bared rows of stiletto sharp teeth.

I AM AHRIMAN, it hissed at them. AND I WARN YOU. GOOOO BAAAAK.
MY MASTER IS POWERFUL. DEATH AND DESTRUCTION AWAIT. Ahriman looked at each one of them with his hundred eyes. AND FOR OF EACH OF YOU, A HORRIBLE, AGONIZING DEATH.

Mist looked at Dr.Boko-Ahriman. "Kill'em quick." That's what HB had said.
She raised her gun.

MIST: Sorry to disappoint you. But the only one leaving is you.

She pulled the trigger and let Ahriman have it with both barrels. The Djinn's
head blew up, eyes flying out everywhere. And then the coils started to shake.

The agent's looked at each other. This was going to be bad.

KA-BOOM. Ahriman's body blew up, hurling the agents against the far corners of the room and sending ectoplasm flying everywhere. When the goop stopped flying, the team looked around. Ahriman had disintegrated.
And so had the body of the dead German soldier.

MIST: We better get out of here before we have to explain what happened to the body-AND Dr. Boko.

[-=Valkyre=-]

Valkyre dusted off his suit, growling a bit.
"You have no argument from me Mist..." He snarled, the otherworldly smell hitting his hyper-sensitive nose and nearly overwhelming him as he quickly crossed the room, twirling his swords up over his head and into their scabbards on his back without a sound. He was starting to feel ill, not from the smell or death of ahriman, but from his lack of sustenance, if he did not feed soon, he may turn on one of the others, and he hid this from the group by putting on his heavy jacket and hiding any and all emotion. He wanted to tell them, to warn them, but knew that if he did, he'd likely end up in a cage or getting sent back to the bureau. He had reason for being here, not just for these newfound allies and, hopefully, friends, but for something else that he thought he'd never get the chance to look for, and this mission would take him right to it.

[-=Valkyre=-]

Abe was thankful he wore his disguise, the beard blocked any possible smell, save for his own, and kept the weapons and such hidden in his coat from getting filthy. He watched everything happen with little interest, but knew that something about Valkyre was amiss, he blocked his mind from even him, which was usually as open as any book, and alerted Abe to some hidden plot and danger. He could sense that there was little they could do further and went off to follow Valkyre, wanting to see if there was anything he could do.

[Lady Hellgirl]

Liz: "YUK! THIS (She stagers to get up off the now sticky floor, where she was thrown. Reaches up and pulls out a glob of ectoplasm stuck in her hair and chucks it across the room.) is one part I HATE about missions, you always get demon goo all over you!" (She continues to flick off the remaining goo stuck on her clothes.)

"I think we should go to the hotel, get cleaned up (She discovers another piece of goo stuck on her arm and peels it off), and find some dinner. (She hold up the piece of goo for everyone to see) Yummy. (Pauses for effect, and chucks it.)

"We also had better contact headquarters later and tell them what happened before they learn it from another source. (She points over to Dr. Boko's assistants). Manning isn't going to be happy with this."

Looks up at the other agents, waiting for their responses.

[-=Valkyre=-]

Valkyre gently pulls the sole strip of demon flesh from his hair, sighing and going over to the assistants of the doctor, looking them each in the eye breifly, saying nothing, and one by one, they fall unconscious, slumping to the floor.
"That should take care of our little problem. They'll remember nothing of what happened, or of Dr. Boko and the body. As far as the mess goes, I'm sure they'll assume it was little more than an accident of some sort and clean it up without rhyme nor reason. I will call Dr. Manning later and tell him what happened." He then placed each of the assistants in chairs, making it look like each had done little more than fall asleep on the job, and head outside to their trasportation vehicle. He remained emotionless in appearance, but his eyes, still more of a red colour than usual, betrayed his feelings and hunger.

[Lady Hellgirl]

Liz: "That's settled then, lets go." She motions for the other agents to follow her, wanting more them ever, to take a shower and get cleaned up at the hotel. On her way out, she goes and meets up with Valkyre and Mr. Grennor.

[Poe Ghostal]

GM BREAK

Mr. Grennor is waiting by the car. Without a word, he ushers the agents into the car and to a small local airport.

At the airport, he hands them over to a young Irishman named Declan. Declan is slender, of average height, with short brown hair and unkempt stubble on his chin. He always wears dark sunglasses that completely obscure his eyes.

"Oh aye, it's you Yankee chaps," says Declan in a very thick accent. "I like Yanks. Not a lot around these parts though. Usually I'm just ferryin' them Egyptian business types, you know?

"Anyway, you're all going to Timbuktu, aye? Timbuktu, y'know, means 'the Well of Buktu,' Buktu being the lass who found the well, see?"

Declan continues to chatter away as the agents pile into his small prop plane--and throughout the entire flight. By the time they land in Timbuktu, the agents know more about African colonial history, the mating habits of camels, and the travails of the Irish soccer team than they could ever have imagined.

At the airport they are met by Mr. Drewberg, who takes the tired agents to the American embassy.

After a night of peaceful rest, the agents have a room service breakfast. Then Mr. Drewberg takes them to the office of Dr. Clay, a local Middle Eastern scholar who the police have turned to for help in the investigation.

Dr. Clay is a black man in his mid-thirties. He's dressed in casual, light khaki clothing, appropriate for the warm weather. He wears glasses and has the rumpled, stressed-out, but friendly attitude of the lifelong intellectual.

"Ah, there you are," says Dr. Clay as the agents enter. "You are from the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense, yes? I'm Dr. Reginald Clay. I'm a scholar in folklore and mythology here at the university.

"Before we go any further, let me show you what you're here to see: the late Mr. Frankelle's possessions."

Clay goes to a corner of the room and takes out a small bundle. He lays it out on his desk.

Among Frankelle's things are a genuine 1941 vintage German infantry uniform and a batch of brown and crumbling papers which identify the bearer.

The uniform is in remarkably good condition for its age, even disregarding the desert conditions.

END GM BREAK

[Lady Hellgirl]

Liz: "HMMM." She looks over each one of Mr. Frankelle's possessions, he had very few indeed, but she didn't think that was too surprising. Especially since this man was gone from the outside world for so many years, how would he have gotten anything new? Most of the stuff he owned probably would have disintegrated (like the papers that have his identification on) over the 40 plus lost years spent in the desert.

But then there was the condition of the uniform. It looked in her opinion to good to be 40 plus years old. This last observation was troubling her at the present moment.

"Isn't it strange that his uniform is in such good condition?" She remarks to no one in particular, while backing away from Mr. Frankelle's possessions to allow the other agents a chance to view them. Waiting to see their responses.

[Mist the Soul-Gatherer]

Mist stepped forward to take a closer look. Like Liz, she too thought it odd that Frankelle's papers were almost dust but his clothing was remarkably well preserved.

MIST: Funny how Frankelle's clothes look a lot like his body-not all that bad for almost 60 years of wear and tear.

She turned to Dr. Clay.

MIST: Doctor, I believe you were the one who found Frankelle. What can you tell us about that?

[Lady Hellgirl]

GM BREAK
Dr. Clay: "I was in the market place checking out the local goods, when this band of Taureg came riding into town on their camels and demanded that some one take this man to the hospital. They also demanded pay for their work in transporting/saving him. I obliged, seeing the man's age and condition.

I promptly got him to the hospital, on the way there he was conscious. Unfortunately, since I don't speak German, I couldn't understand most of what he was saying. I could make out "Doctor" and "Sonne is gut-sun is good" this last one confuses me somewhat because that is what killed him. However he did keep on repeating some words though. I contacted a college friend a few hours ago who's a German translator. He was able to help me and this is what we came up with." Show agents an e-mail printout with translations on.

"Zikenug is Volstandie"= drawing is complete
"Stadt"= city
"Mauer"= wall
"Zerschlagen"= broken or smashed

"Then he died.

That is all I know."

GM BREAK ENDS

[-=Valkyre=-]

Valkyre looked over the deceased German's belongings with mute interest. To him, they smelt of sand, old cologne and oddly enough, blood. The uniform seemed to be strangely well aged, almost like Hellboy from what little he knew of the other Demon. He sighed, finding little in the belongings that would aid them, turning to the others, cringing at how he could smell the blood in their veins and hear the beating of their hearts. His hunger was beginning to get the better of him, and he turned to stand by the door.
"If anyone needs me, I'll be waiting in the car..." He made a hurried exit, not wishing to cause any unneeded attention to be drawn to his condition.

~~~~~~~~~~

Abe could get little reading from the belongings left there, feeling much the same as the Fallen Angel next to him, finding only the traces of odd and fractured memories that he could not find meaning for. He sighed slightly, feeling increasing levels of hostility and hunger from his tall companion, nearly jumping as his eyes met the red orbs of Valkyre's own. He moved slightly, as if to stop him as he walked away, looking almost pleadingly at Liz to go and see what's wrong, knowing that she's likely the only one he'll talk to, and envying him with every fibre of his being.

[Mist the Soul-Gatherer]

Mist was puzzled. The sun is good, yet the sun killed him. Seeing Valkyre's strained behavior and quick retreat to the car made her think of the agent's other nature. Jeez, she thought, I hope he doesn't turn into something else RIGHT NOW. But it did remind her of his vampire side. And that brought her back to the sun. The sun that kills vampires. Maybe this guy WANTED to die..

At that moment Ratatosk chose to leap out from Mist's hand case, where he'd been concealed all this time, and jumped onto her shoulder. Dr. Clay was startled. But his shock quickly turned into a smile as the folklorist recognized something he never thought he'd see.

DR. CLAY: Good lord! But...why yes....it's Ratatosk, the mythological rodent that runs up and down the Worldtree spreading gossip and picking up bad language. How marvelous!

Ratatosk was incensed. Rodent, he thought, who's he calling a RODENT!!??

Chit, chit chit, Ratatosk spat out at Dr. Clay. Mist's ears were burning.

RATATOSK: I'll whup your boney ass you--

Mist yanked him off her shoulder and threw him forcefully into the bag.

MIST: Stay PUT, or you WILL be Val's next meal.

She turned to Dr. Clay.

MIST: I'm sorry about that. Tosk sometimes gets overexcited in new places.
You say the Tuareg's brought in Frankelle?

[Lady Hellgirl]

GAMEMASTER BREAK

Dr. Clay: "That is correct." He tries to sneak another glance at Ratatosk in Mists handbag, finding the creature quite fascinating.

"Now, I know your superiors have instructed that you follow Dr.
Frankelle's trail into the desert. I have arranged for Mr. Declan--I
believe you've met him--to fly us out. Of course, first we have to
figure out exactly where Mr. Frankelle's trail is. To do that, we'll
talk to the Tuareg nomads who found him.

"Since, my Tuareg is a bit rusty, I've managed to find someone who's
had time to brush up quite recently."

The side door to the office opened and Hellboy stepped out.

END OF GAME MASTERS BREAK

[Mike Cross]

::Well, this is already shaping up like my last mission...why can't i get the easy ones like Agent Willis..all he had to do was destroy some skeletons. Demons and ghouls and ghosts and nazi scientists and nomadic tribesmen..what's next?::

Sid: Um..i'm still detecting something pretty strong in there...

[Poe Ghostal]

Hellboy stood in the doorway, feeling a little foolish. He'd thought it'd be funny to have Dr. Clay introduce him this way, but now it just seemed juvenile.

He waved his stone hand at the group. "Uh, hi, everyone," he said. "Long time no see."

[-=Valkyre=-]

Valkyre turned and stared at the building, how hadn't he sensed Hellboy before. He couldn't have been aware to his senses to conceal himself.
'Strange indeed. You are a marvel even now...' He thought, smiling a bit, safely in the air-conditioned vehicle. He had two seats between himself and the driver, just as a precaution to his hunger, and didn't mind the sun, despite the rumors that Vampires were destroyed by it, but continued to remain in the shaded side of the vehicle, fighting with himself as to go inside and meet Hellboy for the first time since joining the bureau, or wait until he's fed so he doesn't make a bad impression. He gave in eventually, his curiosity getting the better of him, and headed back inside quickly, concealing himself until he was in the room, standing in a dark corner and watching the others, and the marvelous red demon before him. He smiled, glad that his choices in the past were right and just.

~~~~~~~~~~

Abe smiled, happy to see his old friend again. He stayed where he was though, nearly jumping when Valkyre was suddenly in the room once more. Abe had never seen or heard him do that before, and could feel the cold gaze of the Vampire passing over the group to land on Hellboy, and remain there.
'What is so facinating about Red that he would risk returning and possibly injuring someone?' Abe thought privately, guarding his thoughts from Valkyre. He sighed, lazily going back to looking for anything useful in the old belongings strewn about on a table before him.

[Lady Hellgirl]

Liz: "Hay, Hellboy, how are you doing? We're glad you could come and are willing to help us with this mission. It's a baffler. (She points to the uniform.) Did you get any clues off it as to why it looks so good for it's age? (She pauses, hopping he has the answer.) Then adds jokingly before he could respond. "By that way, you missed a fun chance to fight a Djinn yesterday." (Knowing that fighting anything was always his specialty.)

[Poe Ghostal]

Hellboy stared at Liz. It had been years since he'd last seen her. She'd left for the monastery in the Ural Mountains a year before Hellboy had even quit the Bureau. He didn't know she'd returned to the BPRD until now.

Then there was Abe. Good old Abe. Mist the Valkyrie--he'd forgotten she'd joined the BPRD. Her and that annoying squirrel. And a man in a suit with a clear dome for a head--that had to be Johann Kraus.

...and--was that a vampire?

"Uh, it’s good to see you too," he said. "A djinn, huh? Haven’t seen one of those in a long time. As for this guy--" he fingered the uniform, “I’ve already looked it over. Nothing unusual, except this…"

From his massive stone hand hung a pair of men’s silk underwear.

"Pretty nice for a Nazi who’s been lost in the desert for fifty years, don't you think?" said Hellboy. "In fact, I'd say these came from a store maybe a month ago. And the tag—" he pulled it out with his left hand and handed it to Liz--"says it was made last year."

[Lady Hellgirl]

Liz: Grabs the underwear with her thumb and pointer finger. Trying to touch it as little as possible. Gross, this mission is getting better and better she thinks, first I get slobbered in demon goo and now I'm holding worn men's underwear.

She frowns,
"I see your point. But that still doesn’t explain the good condition of his uniform if it was really vintage. She then hands it to Abe, now even more confused about this mission's clues.

"How do you suppose he got the modern underwear?" She asked the group with a puzzled expression on her face.

[-=Valkyre=-]

Valkyre watched the other demon warily, yet with a great deal of interest, sensing his thoughts and glad that he had managed to hide his wings under his jacket and shift back to his more humanlike form. He smirked at the reactions regarding the mens undergarments from Liz and Abe, watching them breifly before locking his gaze upon Hellboy once more. He felt like going over and opening his wings to show off, but remained still and held his calm, emotionless visage until Hellboy decided to come over and say hello.

~~~~~~~~~~

Abe quickly put down the undergarments, catching a flash of the previous owner of said undergarments, and another he hadn't seen before, who had likely given them to him. He didn't dare do anything else though, smiling at Hellboy. He wanted to hear Hellboy's story, and possibly continue to the next destination. Hopefully sometime soon he'd be able to get out of the hot and restricting disguise and take a long soak, his skin was desperately needing moisture and it was slowly becoming hard to breathe. Again he felt the icy gaze of Valkyre on him and shivered slightly, an almost unnoticable motion to those who weren't tuned to such subtle movements.

[Mist the Soul-Gatherer]

While the other agents were pondering the underwear, Mist took the opportunity to approach Hellboy. The last time they'd seen each other she was still a fledgling Agent, learning from him whenever he gave in to her cajoling and took her along on a mission.

MIST: Hi, HB. I guess you're a bit surprised to see me here. A lot's happened since you left. The Bureau's my home now. I only go back to Valhalla once a year, to renew my immortality. It figures you'd find SILK UNDERPANTS. Made a year ago? Looks like somebody went shopping.

[Poe Ghostal]

Hellboy nodded. "Yup. I wonder who, though," he said, absently rubbing the stump of a horn as he eyed the silk unmentionables.

"I've seen about as much of this guy's Underoos as I want to, though. What say we go talk to the Tuaregs?"

[Lady Hellgirl]

Liz: Fine with me. (She was feeling a little relieved because she wasn't the only one who couldn't figure out this mess either.)

[Mist the Soul-Gatherer]

Mist looked up at Hellboy. Even though she was close to six feet, he still was significantly taller.

MIST: You speak Tuareg, HB? When did that happen?

[Poe Ghostal]

Mist looked up at Hellboy. Even though she was close to six feet, he still was significantly taller.

MIST: You speak Tuareg, HB? When did that happen?
Hellboy grinned. "I just spent a few weeks with them in the desert, and I picked up a few words here and there."

Hellboy looked at the other agents. "Anyway, let's go find out where our mystery man came from."

[Mist the Soul-Gatherer]

Hellboy grinned. "I just spent a few weeks with them in the desert, and I picked up a few words here and there."

Hellboy looked at the other agents. "Anyway, let's go find out where our mystery man came from."

MIST: Yeah..uh, HB?

Hellboy was getting antsy. What the hell did she want now?

Mist turned and gave him a quick, warm hug.

MIST: That's from all of us. I think we're still in shock from seeing you come out from behind the door like the prize on "The Price Is Right."

[Poe Ghostal]

MIST: Yeah..uh, HB?

Hellboy was getting antsy. What the hell did she want now?

Mist turned and gave him a quick, warm hug.

MIST: That's from all of us. I think we're still in shock from seeing you come out from behind the door like the prize on "The Price Is Right."
Hellboy's lip twisted into a half-grin. "Yeah, I guess that was pretty corny," he admitted. "But it's good to see you guys, too. Anyway, let's go."

[Poe Ghostal]

GM BREAK

The agents bid farewell to Dr. Clay and meet Mr. Drewberg outside. They pile into a pair of jeeps and are driven to a Tuareg camp a few miles outside the city.

There, Mr. Drewberg and Mr. Dinar, the BPRD's Mali liason, locate the group of Tuaregs who found Frankelle.

Hellboy and Mr. Dinar spend a few minutes with the nomads, who gesticulate wildly and shake their heads. They seem to be trying to talk the Westerners out of something. Finally, they give in, and one man speaks quickly and at length, pointing out into the desert.

Hellboy comes back over to the agents. "They really advise us not to go out there," he said. "But one guy finally broke down and said--well, basically he said 'your funeral' and gave some directions. He said to follow the dirt road for about eighty or ninety miles north toward Arouane, then turn left and follow a few landmarks. And then...well, with any luck--good or bad--we'll come across the 'place where travelers become lost.'"

[Lady Hellgirl]

Liz: "You know HB, every time someone says "don't go somewhere" (she makes quotation marks in the air) during a mission. That’s were we usually go."

She smiles at him, thinking that it was nice to see him again. When he left the Bureau, she was never even given the chance to say good-bye to him. She was at the monastery working on trying to controlling/find peace with her powers. Heck, the stupid Bureau didn't even tell her that Hellboy had left until she rejoined!

[Mist the Soul-Gatherer]

Liz: "You know HB, every time someone says "don't go somewhere" (she makes quotation marks in the air) during a mission. That’s were we usually go."

She smiles at him, thinking that it was nice to see him again. When he left the Bureau, she was never even given the chance to say good-bye to him. She was at the monastery working on trying to controlling/find peace with her powers. Heck, the stupid Bureau didn't even tell her that Hellboy had left until she rejoined!

MIST: I don't know about you two, but the "place where travelers become lost" doesn't sound too good.

On Mist's shoulder, Ratatosk chittered weakly. He was recovering from the mild concussion he suffered when Mist threw him into the bag.

MIST: Tosk doesn't like it, either.

[-=Valkyre=-]

Valkyre, who had remained quiet since before Hellboy showed up, decided to choose this moment to speak.
"Wether we like it or not, we have to check this out." he said calmly, he was hoping that he'd be able to sneak away from the group later to catch a meal. He eyed Hellboy a bit, his slowly cramping wings still hidden beneath his coat.
'I wonder when he'll say something?' Valkyre thought, half grinning to himself. He wanted to know what Hellboy thought of him, and how he'd react, so he decided, after a few minutes, to open both pairs of wings, through the two slits in the back of his clothing. He did this slowly, not wishing to scare the Tuaregs nor damage his cramped wings.

~~~~~~~~~~

Abe was happy to see Red, but seemed reluctant to go, although this could be partly because of how dry his skin was becoming and how hot he felt. He stood near Red, speaking little, just listening to those in the group. He could sense that Valkyre wasn't the only one who was hungry, but said nothing still, barely able to stay on his feet.

[Poe Ghostal]

Hellboy eyed Valkyre warily. "I don't believe we've met," he said.

[-=Valkyre=-]

Valkyre smirked, holding out his left hand in greeting.
"Valkyre. I recently joined the BPRD and look forward to working with you. That is, if you come back." He grinned, showing off a bit of a silver tipped fang, his white feathered wings shining a bit in the sunlight. "You were right in your assumption earlier, I am indeed a Vampire, but I am more than that as you can plainly tell. There is naught to be worried about though. I hope to speak more with you later once this investigation is finished with." He added calmly, an amazing feat for a vampire as ravenously hungry as he.

'He's amazing, grander than I thought he'd be. He's still a bit shorter than I imagined, but oh well.' Valkyre thought to himself.

~~~~~~~~~~

Abe watched as valkyre spoke with Hellboy, smiling a bit under his disguise despite his apparent weakness and the ill feeling in his stomach.

[Poe Ghostal]

Valkyre smirked, holding out his left hand in greeting.
"Valkyre. I recently joined the BPRD and look forward to working with you. That is, if you come back." He grinned, showing off a bit of a silver tipped fang, his white feathered wings shining a bit in the sunlight. "You were right in your assumption earlier, I am indeed a Vampire, but I am more than that as you can plainly tell. There is naught to be worried about though. I hope to speak more with you later once this investigation is finished with." He added calmly, an amazing feat for a vampire as ravenously hungry as he.
Hellboy nodded, smiling pleasantly, then sidled over to Liz and leaned over. "Does he--y'know--drink innocent people's blood or anything?" he whispered out of the corner of his mouth.

[Mist the Soul-Gatherer]

Hellboy nodded, smiling pleasantly, then sidled over to Liz and leaned over. "Does he--y'know--drink innocent people's blood or anything?" he whispered out of the corner of his mouth.

Mist, from a short distance away, couldn't help but overhear him. HB's whisper was frequently like another man's shout. Casually she sauntered over to the two of them, a slight smile on the corners of her mouth.

MIST: HB, you and "quiet" don't go together.

She spoke softly, so the others wouldn't overhear.

MIST: I think half of Mali heard that subtle remark. No, Valkrye doesn't drink innocent blood. Actually he gets the leftovers from the local bloodbank-Manning arranged it. Out here, a very rare steak should hold him just fine.

Mist's voice level changed to her regular tone.

MIST: Speaking of eating, we haven't eaten since we got up this morning.
What do you say we all grab a bite before we take off? I'm sure Val could use that steak-or what passes for one.

[-=Valkyre=-]

Valkyre perked up a the mention of food.
"Mist? You just read my mind." He licks his lips at the thought of a steak, flicking his wings a bit.

~~~~~~~~~~

Abe sighed in releif.
"I wouldn't mind eating, and possibly getting a chance to swim..."

[Mike Cross]

Good to see Mr . Boy again, he looks redder than ever. The nazi's pretty underwear threw me for a loop though..those nazis could get anything...I wondered what about the djinn would make me hands tingle..there was nothing metallic in one of them were there?

Sid: Uh guys..why would the djinn make me think it was metal?

[Mist the Soul-Gatherer]

Good to see Mr . Boy again, he looks redder than ever. The nazi's pretty underwear threw me for a loop though..those nazis could get anything...I wondered what about the djinn would make me hands tingle..there was nothing metallic in one of them were there?

Sid: Uh guys..why would the djinn make me think it was metal?

MIST: That's an interesting question....why don't we talk about it while we're eating? I don't think the answer's all that simple.

Liz looks at Hellboy and gives him one of her famous sarcastic smirks-the kind she reserves exclusively for him.

LIZ: I bet Mr. Wizard can tell us, right HB?

[Poe Ghostal]

MIST: That's an interesting question....why don't we talk about it while we're eating? I don't think the answer's all that simple.

Liz looks at Hellboy and gives him one of her famous sarcastic smirks-the kind she reserves exclusively for him.

LIZ: I bet Mr. Wizard can tell us, right HB?
"Don't look at me. I'm a fighter, not a lover--or an academic."

[Poe Ghostal]

GM BREAK

The agents grab a bite to eat at a restaurant. They sit around a large table. eating local food, which is spicy but filling.

[-=Valkyre=-]

Valkyre grumbled as he ate the spicy local food. He hated spicy food with a passion, but ate it nonetheless. He half glared at mist, who had made the comment about rare steak, but likely had been the one to make a mistake about ordering him one. it wasn't until he was elbowed in the ribs by abe, wether by mistake or intentional, that he sighed and went back to eating.
'I swear if I loose control, I'll make it my buisness to bite her... Or her rodent...' He thought openly to Abe.

~~~~~~~~~~

Abe, unhappily eating as well as spicy food didn't agree with his system and he still hadn't gotten to take a bath, woefully glared at Valkyre for a moment.
'And If you did Red'd definitely beat you into the ground... If you can't get any 'sustenance' before we head out, I'll give you some of mine if you're so bound to have your fill...' Abe thought back, although he was sure he would regret it later.

[Lady Hellgirl]

Liz: "Hellboy, what is this that you ordered me? She points to a bit of food left on her plate. To her, whatever it was it tasted good, despite the fact that it looked rather revolting. "It's pretty good!"

She takes another bite and was glad she let HB order for her. At least she got something edible. She did feel bad for Abe at the present moment though. It looked like he hadn't liked his food much. At least that’s what she thinks, reading Abe’s face is a really hard thing to do, but while he was eating it he looked like he was going to hurl or something.

[Mist the Soul-Gatherer]

Ratatosk remained concealed in the travel case at Mist's feet. He was remarkably silent, not wishing to incur her wrath a second time. Instead, he occupied himself with his Trail Mix, picking out and eating the finest morsels, throwing those he didn't care for over the top of the bag. Mist traveled a lot with Ratatosk. She didn't bat an eye. It was good the restaurant was none too clean. No one would notice his leftovers.

As for her, Mist ate with gusto. She loved spicy food ever since HB introduced her to Kung Pao Chinese take-out. While she ate, she looked at her friends. It was great having everyone back together, even though Abe was looking pretty bad. He'd have to get to a bathtub, and soon. And Stanley-what WAS that metal he felt in the Djinn. How did it get there? And the silk skivvies on the dead guy?? It was too much to think about. Like the shifting sands that waited for them in the desert. But there was one thing she knew she could always count on. She raised the glass bottle to her lips and took a deep, satisfying swig. No matter where you went in the world, you could always get a Coke.

[-=Valkyre=-]

Ratatosk remained concealed in the travel case at Mist's feet. He was remarkably silent, not wishing to incur her wrath a second time. Instead, he occupied himself with his Trail Mix, picking out and eating the finest morsels, throwing those he didn't care for over the top of the bag. Mist traveled a lot with Ratatosk. She didn't bat an eye. It was good the restaurant was none too clean. No one would notice his leftovers.

As for her, Mist ate with gusto. She loved spicy food ever since HB introduced her to Kung Pao Chinese take-out. While she ate, she looked at her friends. It was great having everyone back together, even though Abe was looking pretty bad. He'd have to get to a bathtub, and soon. And Stanley-what WAS that metal he felt in the Djinn. How did it get there? And the silk skivvies on the dead guy?? It was too much to think about. Like the sifting sands that waited for them in the desert. But there was one thing she knew she could always count on. She raised the glass bottle to her lips and took a deep, satisfying swig. No matter where you went in the world, you could always get a Coke.

Valkyre ate the rest of his meal, a definite look of disgust on his face. He sipped idly at a glass of coke, thankful he could drink anything at all, but eyes abe every so often, looking to take him up on his offer later. Little did abe know that when Valkyre would bite him, he would also share his memories with the vampire, and part of his soul. He smiled despite himself, and went back to his meal, finishing quickly and drowning the spicy taste with the last of his coke.

~~~~~~~~~~

Abe eventually stopped eating, his plate still more than half full, feeling increasingly sick and dry. If he didn't get a bath soon, his skin would likely begin to dry out to the point of cracking, and that would be the end of his trip on this mission. He wanted the rest to eat though, waiting to let them finish. He knew that Hellboy, Liz, Valkyre and Mist could see he's quite obviously worse for wear, and tried his best to keep them from worrying too much.

[Poe Ghostal]

GM BREAK

Having eaten their fill, the agents get back into the Jeeps and head to the airport, where they're met by Declan.

"'Ey, it's the man himself!" says Declan, eagerly shaking Hellboy's left hand. "I've been 'earin' about 'oo for years now. Or readin' about 'oo at least. It's good to meetcha, Mr. Hellboy."

Hellboy, unsure of what has just been said to him, simply nods.

"So where're we headed?" asked Declan, grinning behind his dark sunglasses.

"North," said Hellboy. "Head toward Arouane. Once we're there, we've got to follow a few landmarks--something called the Devil's Spine, and the Stones of Dahar--"

"Shite and onions," said Declan. "Ninety miles. I've really only got aboot three hun'red miles of gas, plus a tank in the cabin that'll give us another hun'red, but I sure 'ope we won't be goin' much farther than that."

"Uh, I'm not really sure," said Hellboy. "Hopefully not much farther."

"Right then," said Declan. "Let's go!"

The agents pile into Declan's prop plane. After a few false starts, the excitable Irishman gets the vessel into the air.

Within a few moments, they're soaring three thousand feet over the dunes.

"Should be just a 'alf hour before we reach Arouane," said Declan. "'Till then, just set'le in and enjoy the ride."

[-=Valkyre=-]

Valkyre shifted uncomfortably in his seat next to abe, by now anyone with blood looked like a walking meal to him, and he didn't want to hurt anyone or make abe give up some of the water in his system, knowing he was getting low. He kept his eyes closed and envisioned one specific person in his mind, someone he had lost when he was cast out long ago. He fell into a partial trance, a meditative state, and kept his calm as best he could. He knew that if he was woken up too soon he'd likely shift partially to his demon form, which Hellboy and the pilot knew nothing about, so, needless to say, he wanted to avoid this.

~~~~~~~~~~

Abe was beginning to become worried now, his skin was beginning to crack beneath his clothing, and would wince slightly every so often. He was greatly worried, as he knew any scent of blood was likely to set off Valkyre's feeding instinct and he was closest to him. He calmed, to keep his heart rate down and hopefully lower the movement of blood to keep his skin somewhat moist, but he knew this was futile and decided to speak.
"Is there any chance we'd be able to stop at a body of water for a bit when we land?" His rhaspy and strained voice betrayed his calm exterior, and he knew it.

[Lady Hellgirl]

Liz: "Abe, you really look sick, I think there were a few water bottles packed in our supplies bag, you can have one until we find you some water ok."

She unbuckles and makes her way to a little pile of their belongings. Most of the bags were packed where she could not reach-them. "Shit" she swears, "I know the food bags were here somewhere!" She finds a bag with tent gear in it, the B.P.R.D. satellite phone bag (Better grab that one for later,(she murmurs to herself) just incase Abe passes out from lack of water. Of course the last bag she finds in searches has the water bottles in it.

She grabs a water bottle and the satellite phone bag, makes her way back to her seat, and promptly hands Abe the water bottle. "There you go, I hope that helps a little bit at least.”

She sighs , buckles back up, and thinks that Abe can‘t go on much longer this way.

[-=Valkyre=-]

Liz: "Abe, you really look sick, I think there were a few water bottles packed in our supplies bag, you can have one until we find you some water ok."

She unbuckles and makes her way to a little pile of their belongings. Most of the bags were packed where she could not reach-them. "Shit" she swears, "I know the food bags were here somewhere!" She finds a bag with tent gear in it, the B.P.R.D. satellite phone bag (Better grab that one for later,(she murmurs to herself) just incase Abe passes out from lack of water. Of course the last bag she finds in searches has the water bottles in it.

She grabs a water bottle and the satellite phone bag, makes her way back to her seat, and promptly hands Abe the water bottle. "There you go, I hope that helps a little bit at least.”

She sighs , buckles back up, and thinks that Abe can‘t go on much longer this way.

Abe nodden thankfully, drinking down the water and removing his gloves to rub some water into them, his arms and his face, sighing a bit as the water slowly soothes his skin.
"Thank you Liz..." He muttered, much improved, but still not out of the woods.

~~~~~~~~~~

Valkyre remained in his meditative state, his subtle breathing and heart beat nearly indetectable as he sat in the plane seat.

[Mist the Soul-Gatherer]

Mist loved flying. But she hated single engine props. Especially when they had to switch fuel tanks. The pilot had to turn the engine off while he flipped from one tank to the other. With the engine shut down, the plane would begin to drop like a stone. With the load in this one, Mist thought, we could drop maybe 50-feet before the engine started up again. And if it stalled..... she didn't want to think about it. Instead she concentrated on the passengers. Thankfully Liz got some liquid in and on Abe. Valkyre looked like he was in some kind of stupor. And Stanley was in a hyper-sensitive state from of all the metal on the plane. Hellboy, sitting next to Declan, was peering intently out the window. Maybe he actually knows where we're going, she thought.

[Poe Ghostal]

I have no idea where we're going, thought Hellboy.

The dirt road was still clear enough, but the terrain was getting more and more sandy and barren. Soon they would be getting into the Sahara proper--a desert larger than the continental United States. And somewhere in that desert was the place where the Nazi that Time Forgot had come from.

Of course, it was hard to concentrate when the plane was dipping and rolling like a Welsh bus. Hellboy was fairly sure his stomach had traded places with his throat at this point.

"We're getting close to Arouane," said Declan next to him. The Irishman had been talking non-stop for the entire trip, but Hellboy had stopped listening after the first five minutes.

Then Hellboy noticed something. He frowned. What the hell is that?

"Declan," he said, "what is that?"

The Irishman leaned over Hellboy to look out the window in the direction the demon was pointing. "Huh," said Declan, "looks like a body. Want to take a closer look?"

Hellboy looked at him, alarmed. "Do you think that's really a good--"

But it was too late. Declan was already nosing the plane down toward the dirt road.

"Don't worrah," said the Irishman. "I've doon this plenty 'o times. In fact I--"

He stopped abruptly. A red light was flashing on the instrument panel.

"Oh, that's not good," said Declan.

"What?" Hellboy said sharply.

"The first tank is out," he said. "But we're too low--I can't switch now--we'll have to land...hold on!"

There were shouts from the back of the plane.

"Hold on!" Hellboy shouted at them.

The plane hit the dirt hard. They bounced for what seemed like an hour, but was really no more than sixty seconds. Finally, the plane rolled to a stop.

"Three-point landing, aye?" said Declan, grinning.

"Yeah," said Hellboy. He pried his left hand off the armrest. "I need some air."

The agents got out. Miraculously, Declan had managed to land the plane a few dozen feet from the body.

"Looks like another Nazi van Winkle," said Hellboy. "What do you guys think?"

[Lady Hellgirl]

Liz: She was VERY happy to be on sturdy ground again and in one piece. While waiting for her pulse to return to normal, she managed to say, "Let's check it out."

[Mist the Soul-Gatherer]

I have no idea where we're going, thought Hellboy.

The dirt road was still clear enough, but the terrain was getting more and more sandy and barren. Soon they would be getting into the Sahara proper--a desert larger than the continental United States. And somewhere in that desert was the place where the Nazi that Time Forgot had come from.

Of course, it was hard to concentrate when the plane was dipping and rolling like a Welsh bus. Hellboy was fairly sure his stomach had traded places with his throat at this point.

"We're getting close to Arouane," said Declan next to him. The Irishman had been talking non-stop for the entire trip, but Hellboy had stopped listening after the first five minutes.

Then Hellboy noticed something. He frowned. What the hell is that?

"Declan," he said, "what is that?"

The Irishman leaned over Hellboy to look out the window in the direction the demon was pointing. "Huh," said Declan, "looks like a body. Want to take a closer look?"

Hellboy looked at him, alarmed. "Do you think that's really a good--"

But it was too late. Declan was already nosing the plane down toward the dirt road.

"Don't worrah," said the Irishman. "I've doon this plenty 'o times. In fact I--"

He stopped abruptly. A red light was flashing on the instrument panel.

"Oh, that's not good," said Declan.

"What?" Hellboy said sharply.

"The first tank is out," he said. "But we're too low--I can't switch now--we'll have to land...hold on!"

There were shouts from the back of the plane.

"Hold on!" Hellboy shouted at them.

The plane hit the dirt hard. They bounced for what seemed like an hour, but was really no more than sixty seconds. Finally, the plane rolled to a stop.

"Three-point landing, aye?" said Declan, grinning.

"Yeah," said Hellboy. He pried his left hand off the armrest. "I need some air."

The agents got out. Miraculously, Declan had managed to land the plane a few dozen f