* * * EARTH – MARY * * *

Mary was using her dolphin avatar. Escorting her, deep under the surface, were a trio of sea serpents and two octopus ridden sea wyverns. She was in her secondary Earth domain in the Gulf of Mexico. Currently she was watching the eclectic collection of ships and boats that were probing the surface of her dungeon.

A handful of curious dolphins were also hanging around.

‘’Bout time to liven things up,’ Thought Mary to herself as she approached a small brightly coloured ship, a ship bristling with antennae, cranes and satellite dishes.

“Good afternoon. What are y’all doing out here today?” she asked the people who were idly watching the small pod of dolphins approaching their ship.

Mary grinned internally at the looks of shock and incomprehension on their faces. “Hey, why so surprised. Did y’all really think you lot would be the only ones affected by the System?” Mary rose up on her tail and then took a small dive. She rose to the surface again with a squealing laugh. “You did! You did! How funny. But seriously, what’s all the fuss about?”

“You – you can talk – How?” stuttered a bespectacled, balding individual.

“’Course I can. Hey, I think therefore I am – right?” teased Mary.

She examined the crowd lining the rail of the research ship, and at all the cameras focused on her and did a small dance. Then she stilled again. . “Ooo, am I goin’ to be on TV? Can I claim royalties? – But seriously, what are y’all doin’ here? What gives?”

“Um, we’re investigating this area. The sea is remarkable clean. And the System tells us we have found a dungeon named Blue Lagoon. This doesn’t look like a lagoon, or a dungeon.”

Mary watched as a discussion broke out amongst the gathered spectators. She also kept a note of the small coast guard launch that was swiftly approaching them.

“Hey, that’s ’cause this isn’t but an outlier of Blue Lagoon. An’ Blue Lagoon’s kinda invested in clearing up her territory. She has to attract prey y’know,” explained Mary with a snort of spray through her blowhole.

Mary snorted in amusement once again on seeing that she had silenced everyone again. “Huh, y’alls no fun. See ya.” And with that Mary dove and swam away to check out some of the other intruders.

* * * EARTH – MARKOWITZ * * *

Things had moved extremely fast. The Militia guys had been wildly enthusiastic. Markowitz had not a clue as to where they had come up with the absurd idea that the girl’s backers included the Jews, but the idea had energised them. They had looted the CIA weapons cache with enthusiasm and now they were all heading into Portland, and the Portals shop that was located there.

Markowitz watched from behind the smoked glass of the car he was travelling in as a bunch of heavily armed militia tumbled out of two vans and covered the five national guardsmen who had been manning the barricade outside the Portals shop. They ushered their prisoners into the shop.

Markowitz pulled his hat down to partially hide his face and made sure his shades were settled firmly on his face. After he wrapped his scarf around the lower half of his face, he got out of the car.

He and the two militia leaders watched as the rest of their men entered the shop. The vehicles were driven off. Then Markowitz followed the rest of them into the shop and through the portal. He found himself once again in the big circular room on the moon.

“The rabbit girl fled through this portal,” bellowed one of the heavily armed men who was waving for attention.

Markowitz nodded and strode towards him. He noted in passing that two of the militia were keeping a guard on the five disarmed national guardsmen and a scared looking young woman with goth tendencies.

“Head on through boys,” ordered the man he only knew as Smith.

The militia men filed through the portal, that Markowitz was relieved to see was labelled “Parthia – Maalea Two”.

He then stepped through the portal himself immediately after the two guards that had just herded their prisoners through.

* * * MOON – LEWIS CARROLL * * *

Lewis responded almost instantly to the alarm generated by his Portland terminal. He took a split second to scan the cctv footage outside the shop as heavily armed thugs poured out of two vans and activated the emergency evacuation alarm.

He switched the portal to the backup portal room on the moon and watched with admiration as Claire the rabbit girl ran to take her place by the exit that would still lead to Parthia for a few seconds or minutes.

Claudia Moore on the other hand just froze and looked completely lost. That despite the weekly drills. Lewis felt like cursing. But gentlemen didn’t curse in the presence of ladies, and Alice was now with him. Both of them waited.

« Mary – It’s come, looks like mercenaries of some kind. They are coming through the Portland portal. And the dungeon isn’t ready yet. »

« Most of the caves are done. Aren’t they Lewis? You have been drawin’ a lot of mana from the Argentines’ experimental transformers. »

« Well yes. But Mary the monsters are not ready. Only a few of the lesser ones are done. »

« That Shoggoth thing you and the nutcase have cobbled up from slimes is ready. Isn’t it? »

« Not really, they are only overlarge and overactive slimes, and he’s not crazy. Do you think I should... Oh... Here they come. »

« Let the weather take care of ’em Lewis. Or just dump them where my Candiru-tribbles can take care of ’em. »

« They have prisoners. The Mountains of Madness it is then. I’ll let you know how it turns out. »

* * * PARTHIA – MARY & MEADOWS * * *

Mary settled herself comfortably on her couch and picked up her phone. She hit the speed dial even as she patched in the feed from the Portals shop in Portland.

“Hi Meadows. You know that special feed I had installed for you. I suggest, most strongly that you play it and record it. Your superiors are goin’ to blow a gasket.”

Meadows stiffened, ‘What is she up to now?’ he wondered to himself even as he interrupted the feed to the room’s TV and set up the feed and recorder.

To his surprise he and two of his team witnessed the capturing of the national guards men and the clerk at the shop. The pictures had a nicely legible timestamp and location. On checking his watch Meadows realized this had happened only a few minutes previously.

Then the screen split vertically into two and he could see what was happening in the moon portal terminal and the shop.

They saw the rabbit girl flee through the portal to Parthia while the obvious militia types chased after her. One even fired a shot and got bawled out for it.

The bundled up individual was labeled ‘Markowitz’.

“So that’s what that SOB was doing,” muttered Meadows.

He felt a chill run up his back as he watched as the lunatics file through the portal to Parthia.

“Is there more Mary. I swear this has nothing to do with the USA. Are they on Parthia? Will you need help?”

“I know that Meadows. This is somethin’ that beep Markowitz dreamt up all on his lonesome. An’ no they are in polar regions on Ambuila. Had ’em sent to a new, unfinished dungeon some nutcase wanted to set up. It’s called Mountains of Madness. We will do our best to recover the hostages. But figured the US might want to lend a hand, or at least monitor the situation.”

Meadows looked at the blank screen. “This is— I have to talk to the Admiral— Um, the ambassador. Can I call you when we have a decision or for further information. And why did the recording just stop?”

“Told you it is a new unfinished dungeon. We weren’t ready yet. No cameras were set up yet. Can tell you they are all alive at the moment though,” explained Mary.

* * * GARDENS OF PARADISE – SIN TCHAI * * *

Sin Tchai the messenger approached the modest – for a god of the low middle tier – mansion. After some bowing and scraping he was able to confirm that Villius of the eyes was indeed home, and that he would be willing to receive a messenger from the majordomo to Meek’aym’ooz, Foozharn Longlegs.

Sin Tchai found Villius seated in his garden with most of his eyes maintaining a close orbit around his head, while the remainder hovered in their triads, at several locations around the garden.

Bowing low, Sin Tchai said, “My lord, the munificent lord Foozharn Longlegs asks that you visit him. He hopes that you will share with him the reason you were observing he fight where the lower planes goddess took control of Ambuila from the disciples of Brinius of the Blue Host and Meera the Night.

‘It really is most frustrating,’ thought Sin Tchai as he observed Villius’ immobile, expressionless sky blue egg shaped head with it’s large spreading three nostriled nose. ‘It’s just impossible to guess what he’s thinking or feeling.’

Villius’ collection of eyes focused on Sin Tchai. He waved one of his six arms languidly in a dismissive gesture, “That little affair on Ambuila – well to be honest – I haven’t checked it out yet. But if I did, then I will have to remember to do so. Sometime or other, there’s no hurry after all.”

Sin Tchai licked his lips nervously. “What do you want to tell Foozharn Longlegs, so he may inform Meek’aym’ooz King of Rodents, overseer of the Gods of the lower tier and their Gardens.”

Villius examined Sin Tchai through sixty-six eyes. He said nothing and seemed bored.

“What should the great Meek’aym’ooz, tell Brinius of the Blue Host and Meera the Night, about the final death of their disciple Sentssonwi’tsna’wa,” asked Sin Tchai somewhat desperately.

Villius spread all six of his arms in defeat. “Tell your master, I will have an answer to his question shortly. I will visit the rat king’s palace in three weeks time. If he can’t meet me then hard cheese.”

Villius rose to his feet. “Now go, while you still have your life.”

Sin Tchai bowed nervously and fled.

* * *

Villius watched the terrified messenger flee. He sighed. “Looks like time’s running out,” he murmured to himself as he went to order his things packed for an extended journey.