Saying Goodbye To Sarah: The Story Behind SarahPlot

Took me long enough to write this, didn't it? But hey, now that the busiest part of the offseason - the holidays - is over, and we enter the long stretch of peace between now and May 1, I figured it was high time I finally get around to talking about my third and final plot of the 2016 RP season - SarahPlot.

This one's gonna be different from my usual plot aftermath posts, working a bit more stream-of-consciousness than a format of characters then events.
  
THE INITIAL IDEA
With my roster enormous going into Season 6, it was high time I do some wrapping up of major characters to make room for others to have their own time in the sun. One character chosen for retirement was Sarah Triden. She's had an incredible run in RP. She was one of the driving forces behind the initial "RP Explosion", and had gotten in on the ground floor for RP's ascendance to being a serious, plot-driven Thing instead of just "a bunch of weirdos talk about ZooFights". She was instrumental in the stories of many characters, whether it was by befriending them or saving their lives, or in one case falling in love. She came back for a second season, then faded into the background before coming back with a vengeance halfway through Season 4, then remained major the next year. As much as I love the little marshmallow, I knew I was running low on stories to tell with her, and her role could be filled by other characters. Helios and the rest of the hospital crew have slowly usurped Sarah's role as the primary healers of the Kobbers, and I've got no shortage of cute, bubbly characters that could be used instead of Sarah for casual bar chat and making friends. But with a character this important to RP, who's been around this long, you don't just snuff out their light and move on. Sarah needed a proper finale, one that built on her history.

Cutting Room Floor 9: Rejected Characters Depot II

Well, you know how we are with bandwagons. JRM's latest blog post reminded me that I've got a few characters in the reject pile. Unlike JRM, I usually can't completely rule out a character or plot unless I made a replacement character/plot that fulfills the same purpose (Clippy instead of Cedric the owl) or if I do something that contradicts what the rejected thing would have done (Ariel as a dark knight instead of an archer). There IS a possibility some of these characters may show up in some form, but the most likely fates for them are Fite Club cameos or simply being on display here.

Chatzy Madness Volume 40: Cursed With Jonesy Forever

TheDeleter: so on the evil DW thread
TheDeleter: i have asked your character a question
TheDeleter: it's to flesh his character out some
SteelKomodo: w=ah
SteelKomodo: *ah
TheDeleter: answer it - use as many words as you want to do it
SteelKomodo: kk.
TheDeleter: but do answer it because it will be cool
SteelKomodo is secretly Waluigi.
TheDeleter: also waaaaaaaaaaaaaah
TheDeleter: WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA​AAAAAAA
SteelKomodo: Expecting a normal Chatzy day?
TheDeleter: pretty much

---

Saberwulf: The storage card that came with animal crossing is still sitting in my gamecube, and it's gonna sit there until the sun explodes

---

Gooper Blooper: I remember once I talked to a villager while I had a gyroid in my inventory
Gooper Blooper: She told me it was nice and then stole it
Gooper Blooper: In retaliation I set up signposts around her house so she could never go to bed again
SteelKomodo: ...D:
SteelKomodo: my god, villagers can be dicks sometimes
Saberwulf: Messing with villagers was hilarious in AC
Gooper Blooper: PITFALLS
Saberwulf: And then you fuck up and fall in your own pitfall
SteelKomodo: ouch :<
Saberwulf: ...Shit. City Folk is 14 bucks on Amazon
Saberwulf: Must resisssttt

Gunningshire: Normal

VVVVVVVVRRRRROOOOOOOOOP

"...What the devil?"

He'd done it. Dr. Bulgrave had successfully added the new dimension to his sifter, and transported himself there with a hundred different ideas in his head for what could await him. He'd expected someplace run-down and slummy. A place Gust could blend in.

Which is why he was left dumbfounded when confronted with a green, well-kept suburban block that looked like it fell out of a picture-perfect fifties sitcom. Immediately Dr. Bulgrave was aware of two things: First, he was roughly a five zillion on the Scale of Conspicuousness, and secondly Gust would be just as much of a sore thumb.

"The poor boy's likely gotten himself arrested..." Bulgrave mused, strolling down the sidewalk and trying to keep his steam billowing to a minimum. "I'd better find the police."

-2 HOURS LATER-

"The very nerve of that man! Yes, I know it's not Halloween, you whelp! Hmmmmph!"

You could almost see the mask scowl as Bulgrave grumbled to himself on a bench. He glowered at the world around him. Yes, it looked pretty, and clean, and well-mannered, but something was off here. Something wasn't right. And not just the hundreds of weird stares he'd gotten from the citizens of this world. It almost felt like the whole thing was an act, and if just a few things were tampered with the whole of the society here would collapse.

Identical houses with white picket fences. Hard-working suitcase-toting fathers coming home to greet their kitchen-bound always-smiling housewife and their 2.5 kids and their dog. It was... what was the word? Stifling? Maybe that one, yes.

He was so busy moping he almost didn't hear the motorcycle. Well, it was more like a moped. Whatever you'd call it, it was a no-nonsense, bulky, and decidedly non-extreme motorbike, and the only non-station wagon Bulgrave had seen on the road since he first got here. The man riding it looked unfamiliar, but then again Bulgrave had never seen Gust without his helmet. An attache suitcase was hooked to the front of the scooter, and the nice suit the man was wearing indicated that he, like all the others, had a well-paying office job and was probably going home to a family. The eternally grinning foodmaker and their perfect little tousle-haired kids. And of course a dog, or maybe a dog and a cat.

The man turned his head to look at Bulgrave and his eyes just about popped out of his head. To be fair, this was the reaction the doctor had been getting all day. But when the man made a turn to get off the main road and drove up to near Bulgrave's bench...

"...Bulgrave?" The man murmured. "The heck are you doing here?"
"I could ask the same of you, Gust."
"I'm not Gust. Not anymore. I go by Lawrence now."
"Lawrence? My god... *psssh* You've really integrated yourself into this society. To what end?"
"To what end? Don't you remember what I talked about in the past? I'm sick of the nonsense that revolves around those other worlds. I wanted a normal life. And during that last fight, you know what happened? I ran into the guy who gave me that arm. And he said he could make all that junk go away. I trusted him, and I was right to do so."
"So you're happy here? But it's so sterile and dull-"
"Safe, Doc. It's safe. I've had enough adventure to last a lifetime, and almost got killed twice. I'm done. So please, vrop on outta here before you lure some kind of death virus mantis robot kobber thing into my hometown."
"..."
"Gotta go, Chas is waiting for me."
"Wh-! She's here too?!"
"She's here too, and you can't meet her. Unlike me, she doesn't remember a thing about our little adventure. And I think that's just fine." Gust got onto his bike. "Goodbye, Doc. Don't worry about us. We're happy now."

Gust started up his moped, gave a simple nod to Dr. Bulgrave, and turned back onto the main road, puttering away.

The doctor watched him go, remaining silent for a while before finally moving to a secluded area. When he was certain nobody else was around, he warped away.

Gunningshire: Rival

"Excuse me... pardon me, ma'am... whoops-"

Dr. Bulgrave weaved his way carefully through the crowd. Curse his lack of foresight - he was so close to accessing the dimension he believed Gust had vanished to, but unfortunately supplies had to be gathered. Vital, important, desperately needed items required to finish the project.

Like, um, confectionary nourishment, oh yes.

As the doctor emerged from a tunnel underneath a cobblestone bridge, checking and double-checking his shopping list, he was stopped in his tracks by an irritatingly familiar voice.

"Wellll! My first day back and already I've run into old Copper-mask! Fancy seeing you again so soon, old boy!"

Dr. Bulgrave's teeth ground together as he turned and raised his head to see the man standing on the bridge.

"Barnaby."

"Sir Barnaby McManus von Buxton the Third, I believe you mean. So, as I was saying, fancy seeing you!"

"Yes. Fancy that."

"I say, I only just got back from an expedition to Africa. Found the most amazing thing!" Barnaby said jovially as he descended the cobblestone steps to talk without yelling, leaving his two associates on the bridge.

"And what would that be?"

"You'll never believe it - a living dinosaur! Had my boys capture the thing with tranquilizers and nets. It's been shipped overseas and they're hard at work studying it."

"...A living dinosaur, you say."

"Indubitably! The scientific discovery of the century! Turns out those African savages were right - the 'Kasai Rex' spoken of in their native legends was in fact a real animal!"

"...Fancy that."

He had gotten there first. HE had, not this smug bastard. But he'd squandered his discovery by weaponizing it. And then Jaxx Tantra had punched it so hard it erupted into a pile of ribcages.

And then he had been too obsessed with Project 28 to go and fetch another.

And then he was in prison.

And then it was too late.

"Hmm, well then! I'd love to hear what you've been up to lately, old Copper-mask! How's the animal-fiddling business?"

"...I've given up on that. I work solely in the fields of medicine and machinery now."

"Ah yes, your little wind-up toys. A most amusing pastime, to be sure!"

Dr. Bulgrave's gloved hands briefly clenched into fists. He was extremely glad his mask covered his current grimace.

"I believe, Sir Barnaby, that my studies in clockwork will lead to great strides in the future."

"Do you? That's not what I've been hearing. I've heard steamworking is on the way out, old chap. Have you seen the wind turbines they're pioneering in Valleyridge? Power from wind! It's astounding!"

A travesty of engineering, that's what it was, thought the doctor.

"Well, I imagine you're very busy gathering watch parts and the like so I'll be on my way - I'd hate to keep you held up from your advancing towards the future of clockwork!" A quick bark of a laugh, like if a walrus was amused. "Do take care - wouldn't want you getting anything stuck in your intake valve from working too hard!"

Barnaby strode off, leaving Dr. Bulgrave to silently turn and stalk away to the shopping center of Gunningshire. The steam venting from his pack came thick and dark.

Gunningshire: Storm

"Home... sweet home."

Dr. Bulgrave stood in the pouring rain, standing in front of his heavily damaged castle.

"This place has certainly seen better days. *psssh* Well, no sense standing out here in the rain."

The doctor entered slowly, looking around with some trepidation.

Alone.

He was completely alone here. It was such a bizarre feeling. Bulgrave had been a bit of a loner, true - aside from Dr. Welward, few ever visited him. Which had made this previous summer all the more unique.

There was no chance. No way. The kobbers had killed him. He couldn't have fled. The chances were infinitesimal. But to hell with probability, he was alone and had nothing else to do.

"...Gust? Gust, my boy, are you here?"

Silence descended upon the fortress once more, with only the rain and Bulgrave's breathing apparatus to dull the silent roar of emptiness.

He traversed the halls of his castle like a stranger, noting and observing every chipped stone, every smashed glass, every overturned object or fallen keepsake. The blackboard he'd used so many times to communicate with Blackbird was face-down on the floor. Some of his books had tumbled off the bookshelves, with one on insects having busted its spine upon landing. The food in the pantry had gone bad, except for the canned stuff.

Tcccththcccthcccccththc

The doctor stopped walking.

Thththccccccththccccccth

"...What?"

He reached behind him, grasping a handheld device hooked to his life support and sifter.

Tcccchthththcccccthcccthch

"It's picking something up... Someone sifted here?"

Bulgrave stared at the readings for a few moments before it dawned on him.

"...He got away. *Psssh*

He did survive."

He began fiddling with the device, flipping levers and turning dials, energy seeming to return to his movements.

"It might not be too late."

Gunningshire: Plague

Nobody had ever expected a deadly virus from an earlier age was lurking in their hometown. Nobody had even the slightest suspicion. And that is for the best. If they had known, there would have been panic. There would have been pushback. There would have been resistance to science, to the study of knowledge and discovery.

You see, after the Black Plague was finally completing its greatest grim tour of Europe those 600 years ago, someone had the foresight to capture it. Bottled up a bit of the germ in a glass jar and put it on ice in the hope that someday something less indiscriminately genocidal could come of it. Such forward thinking was rare in those days.

Through the centuries, the knowledge was passed down but kept limited to a tiny few. Whoever had managed to capture the plague told a fellow scientist. In his old age, this scientist passed it on to his brightest understudy. And so did the secret follow the best of humankind through the ages. Some of those who knew studied the plague under microscopes, spending weeks, months, or years trying to crack its code. Others knew, and passed it on, but never once decided to mess with it themselves, being too fearful.

It was inevitable that someone would finally get careless. And about five years ago, someone did. And so the secret was secret no longer.

This was where being more advanced as a society came in. We knew what the plague could do. We'd all read about it in school. And we'd changed. Our streets were not dirty and filled with animals. The homeless and deprived were kept clean and safe in group homes. People knew what showers were. And antibiotics were more advanced. The Black Plague wasn't just a musty memory from our history books. It had come back, weaker, in recent centuries. But it never made the same impact - not in more developed nations. And our advances in science were why. It's things like that that make me proud to be a scientist.

The moment the first deaths were reported, a quarantine was placed upon the city. Citizens were allowed to evacuate only if passing a complete and total examination to determine they and all possessions they wished to bring were 100% free of the plague and of carriers like fleas or ticks.

I was lucky. I have no family here, and I never caught the plague. Why would I? I spent most of my time holed up in my fortress, and on the rare occasions I left for errands I was covered in my typical dress quite well. Once I'd heard of the plague spreading I added a hooded coat to my ensemble, but that was all.

But really, I was especially fortunate that I didn't have to see my colleague, Dr. Welward, as anything but a friend.

Bartholomew Welward... is a morbid man. A man who has worked with the dead for his entire career. He has two specialties. The first is studying fatal diseases with no known cure. The other is study of the limits of human life - where life ends and death begins, how long the mind can persist, and whether there is such a thing as a soul. The coming of the plague gave a huge boost to his activity. He seemed to take more pride in his grim work than ever, and for the first time in years he began treating live patients rather than just doing autopsies and funeral services. He quickly rose to prominence as the go-to man in the city for plague-related treatments and discussion.

And he began wearing that damned birdlike plague doctor mask all the time. He was entirely too excited about this.

"Afternoon, Welward."
"Afternoon, Bulgrave! Keeping well?"
"Well enough."
"No symptoms?"
"None at all. *psssh* Seems my choices in fashion are a boon."
"Good to know."
"How many today?"
"Just two. The government's done a fine job keeping everyone orderly about this. We've hardly got more than twenty cases, none outside Gunningshire, and it's been two whole weeks. A few of them even look like they'll survive."
"You sound disappointed."
"Well..."
"Welward, why? Why do you have such a sick fascination for human suffering? *psssh* You and I, our job is to relieve suffering, not revel in the causes."
"I do nothing of the sort, Bulgrave. Seeing these people... men, women, children, all types - seeing them in need moves me to find a cure. I have studied the Plague for-"
"There is no cure for the Black Plague. Immunization, yes - surgery, possibly - but not a cure."
"No KNOWN cure, my comrade. But I'll find it. I'll be the first. I will be the one who saved the people from the Plague."
"You're a few hundred years late on that one."
"This year begs to differ. It could rise again for real, Bulgrave, immune to our antibiotics. What then? Why, that's when the world turns to me."
"Seems rather selfish of you to wish a disease to return from the grave just so you can be the hero."
"You're one to talk about selfishness. How's that research in brain disorders coming along?"
"Pah, I've given up on that for now. It's not possible at this time... *psssh* Instead I'm considering applying to join a Zoofights team, and learn that way."
"Zoofights? That traveling gladiatorial animal show? A fascinating pursuit to be sure, if a tad morbid. I've looked at many animals in my studies of the crossing of life and death, and I'm not certain that-"
"Humbug, they're only animals. Animals don't have souls, or feelings. And they don't feel pain like we do. They are tools for advancing our knowledge, and devices for human entertainment."

Dr. Welward stared, deep in thought, before finally responding.

"Are they?"

For years after our conversation, I thought I knew the answer to that question. And it was "yes".

Today, I am no longer so certain.

Chatzy Madness Volume 2: Sarah Has A New Daddy

Jumpropeman: I kind of wish everyone took a swig for being a bicycle
Gooper Blooper: Happy to be a paper clip. Ecstatic to be a bike. ClippyBike.

---

Jumpropeman: King o' Babies!
RedSpy: The King of Babies Daycare would be so weird
Jumpropeman: Sister Alice would be the babysitter
Jumpropeman: That's why all the babies play in the mud full of rusty nails...
Jumpropeman: and drink beer
Gooper Blooper: King of Babes: Only female characters
Jumpropeman: And WALL!! peeping on them
RedSpy: King of Beets
RedSpy: Everything is a vegetable nothing is okay
RedSpy: European Onion tends bar

---

Jumpropeman: Celestia is getting hella developed these days
Jumpropeman: no innuendo intended...

Cutting Room Floor 6: Dr. Bulgrave Edition

The Dr. Bulgrave storyline, my longest and most-developed plot ever, has finally ended. And in unique fashion, too. I was getting kinda choked up there, honestly.

An absolute shitton of stuff did not make it into the plot, or was done differently than planned. Here's a look.

Cutting Room Floor 4 and Ensemble Update

The GB Ensemble has been significantly added to and upgraded since it was first posted, and not just because the Dr. Bulgrave plot has created tons and tons of minor characters to write mini-profiles for. If you wanted to review the cast, check out their pictures, or just find out where the hell that sunglasses-wearing T-Rex with guns for arms came from, you can check it out here.

Now it's time for a quick Cutting Room Floor, with scrapped and altered storyline ideas!

* An old mini-plot I considered last year was about Widow Maker challenging Sarah to go a certain length of time without any sweets - either one or two days. Her success would probably have been tractored. Scrapped after Sarah went a day without sweets of her own free will to prepare herself for her fite with Draco.

* Project 29 was originally slated to be the "final boss" of the Projects - the last one to appear and the last one the bargoers fought. However, while drawing additional mutants I wound up making some that are even more dangerous-looking and powerful, so 29 was downgraded slightly and got to be unveiled early for the dinosaur hunt sequence.

* It was possible for the bargoers to tame Kasai Rex instead of killing him, but I didn't want to state it outright because if people knew it was an option they would obviously go for it and avoid killing him. Instead I figured maybe a T-Rex wearing sunglasses would get people to go "Wait, can we spare this one?". Sort of a secret bonus, if you will. Instead Jaxx Tantra punched him so hard his flesh vaporized. Welp.

* I have several scrapped RP characters, but I might use them someday so I won't say who they are. One I will mention is Cedric from King's Quest V, who I rejected in favor of Clippy, who fulfills a similar role.

Lastly, a few random RP thoughts.

* I was pretty much making the clockwork spider thing up from day to day. At first I thought about just making the spiders appear friendly. But then I thought, what if they actually were friendly due to glitches in their mass-produced AI?

* Dr. Bulgrave's name comes from a steampunk name generator. I took "Franklin" from one name and a last name from another was tweaked to "Bulgrave" from something else.

* I can't believe Lotta has nothing to do with the reincarnated Operatives.

* I actually thought Jonesy died when she was kidnapped by the Zerg. I normally would have been skeptical, but there was literally no way for her to escape. I figured it was a joint decision between Deleter and Erebus because they were bored of their main characters and wanted them to leave for a while, so this is how it would be accomplished, and after a lot of moping maybe Erebus would come back and there'd be a revival mission. What I didn't take into account was the possibility that the Zerg wanted her alive for something.

* The anniversary of the first RP couple forming (Saralex) is July 1. You can pretty much peg that as the starting point of the RP Explosion, as well, although it was a gradual thing that happened over the course of a month or so, starting in late June and reaching full steam by the end of July.

GB Crew Board Meeting

(I wanna do one too!)

A mantis. A white mage. A black mage. Several robots, a steampunk scientist, a horde of unruly bikers... it was quite crowded and chaotic in the small meeting room. A boombox desperately tried to keep the peace with relaxing elevator music.

Okay, people. People, can we bring this meeting to order?

"You quit freakin' staring at me, Bulgrave."

"Or else what, Project 28?"

"I'll sic Sarah on you."

"Ooh, a girl in a wheelchair. Pardon me while I wet myself, Project 28."

"Leave my daughter out of this."

People.

 "Gooper is right. Can we settle down, please?", asked a girl wearing a green hood and brown dress.

"Who the hell are you?"

"Don't talk to my daughter like that!"

"What, another one? How many freaking kids did you pop out, anyway?"

"Four," Celestia said coldly.

"Where are the other two?"

They said they couldn't make it. Sick, I think.

"Bah, whatever. Let's get started."

"For once I'm agreeing with Dr. Bullshit. Let's get this over with."

Yes, lets. Okay, first item on the agenda... the Storm Bikers wanted to air a grievance?

"Damn right. We want assurances that we won't be killed off."

"This is the first steady job I've ever held!"

"I DON'T WANNA DIE"

Will you calm down?!

"WHY DID THE BIKER HAVE A SNACK AFTER BEING FIRED? BECAUSE THE PINK SLIP WAS A LOAF OF BREAD."

Listen, you guys are villains. Villain characters have a pretty poor record of survival at Zoofights. If you want to live, I suggest a Heel Face Turn.

"Fuck that noise! I ain't pulling a Celestia, and the boys won't either."

"YEAH!"

"Stop discriminating against the working villain, you ass!"

"WE'LL SUE"

Uuuugh.

"So when is the fight happening, anyway?"

Don't know. I want to see if we can reach Erebus first. It'd be nice to have Eshe or Erebus or Pech or even Antoinette onboard, and I know Tornado is aching to match bikes with Doomrider.

"That fire-headed mutant's bike is far inferior to Cyclone."

Yes, yes, heard it a million- Sarah, what are you doing.

"Just having a snack."

"Heh heh. Good ol' little sis."

Put that away, there's no eating in the meeting room.

"I hope you brought enough donuts for everybody."

"She didn't even bring enough donuts for herself! Pfffft hahahaha-"

"Am I ever going to get to do anything else?"

Please have patience, Electra. There are an awful lot of you and I don't know if-

"So i have been THINKING......... about a SUGESTOIN to improve the RP......."

"Oh for fuck's sake what is he doing here"

"What am I looking at?"

Jeff, go away.

"The RP has too many WORDS and SAYINGS! Ther should be more short posses like in the goog old days that I was there for."

Jeff, that ship has sailed. Big character rosters and subplots everywhere in this bitch.

"god DAMMMMMMNNNNNNNNN"

Yeah, whatever. Does anyone have any other issues they'd like to address?

"I was thinking about adding a moral to our subplots."

A moral? Sarah, this isn't Aesop's Fables or a Saturday morning cartoon. This is Zoofights RP!

"That doesn't mean we can't use our positions to help educate!"

"Uh, you got a little frosting on your cheek there, kid."

"Thanks, Electra. Eheheh..."

What exactly did you have in mind, Sarah?

"I was thinking clean energy."

...What?

"You know, going green! We could have the bikers switch to electric bikes, and outfit the slums with LED bulbs, and-"

"Advocate steam power and you've got my support."

"Sarah, this is ridiculous. And green technology sucked in the 90s, anyway. Also Dr. Bozo supports it and you'll never catch me on board with any plan of that bastard."

"I'm also in favor of eating, breathing, and playing Sintendo games."

"Oh, FUCK YOU."

"Can I at least tell people to recycle?"

Sarah, I don't think we need any morals in our- DON'T YOU GIVE ME THOSE EYES.

STOP.

STOP THAT.

MEETING ADJOURNED, MEETING ADJOURNED!

Sarah Joins A Fite Club - Part Three

Widow Maker stared, her mandibles gaping, as one of the surgineers who had given her life over two years ago now stood before her.

If Widow Maker had fought the nue, this is what it would have turned into. The men who had complete control of her life. Who used her as a tool to get what they desired - a Zoofights championship.

Steam billowed from the surgineer's pack. Widow Maker, while possessing no steampunk qualities, came from a universe that occasionally dabbled in such technology. The surgineers, frequently working in polluted and poisonous labs, often required life support systems to assist their weakened lungs. This man's mask and pack were just that.

"It's time to come back, 28. Back to the lab. The next tournament is coming up, and we need you. We need your brain, your intellect. Nothing else will do. Come back, and follow your destiny."

Widow Maker tried to speak, but nothing came out. Sarah looked worried. Finally Widow Maker managed to whisper.

"No."

The man took a step forward. Widow Maker stepped back.

"G-get away."

The surgineer smiled under his mask. Subject 28 was afraid of him. That was a boon. He reached behind him and pulled a small disc off of his pack.

A crude sifter token.

"Come now, 28. We haven't much time. Just allow me to implant this and we'll be on our way."

Origins

-OCTOBER 15-
Project 27 died on us today after showing early promise. The lungs gave out after it grew to half its adult size. Back to the drawing board.

-OCTOBER 16-
We are still working on enhancing the genetic code. I have a feeling that Project 28 could be the one.

-OCTOBER 17-
Project 28 was born today. Early brain scans detected extremely powerful activity. If these scans hold true, 28 will surpass our wildest expectations for intelligence.

-OCTOBER 20-
We began to test Project 28 directly today. It passes with flying colors. Memory, logic, even a strong grasp of understanding language... some on the team express belief that 28 may be capable of speech.

-OCTOBER 26-
It can speak.

And it's on to us.

-OCTOBER 27-
We succeeded in sedating 28 and put it in storage to await augmentation. Some of the team say it's dangerous to keep 28, but it is proving to be such a success that I dearly hesitate to start anew, not when we're so close. 28 has been placed in the Accelerated Growth Chamber to get to the adult stage quickly.

-NOVEMBER 22-
Project 28 has been fully augmented and has reached the adult stage. Soon we unleash it, and prove our mettle.

-JULY 20-
Scheduling for the first match is underway. We are confident Project 28 can overcome the poorly-made experiments the other teams bring to the table.

-AUGUST 8-
That was a disaster. Project 28 is gone... and so is its first opponent. Moments before the match was due to begin, both of them vanished without a trace. What a waste of time...

Some of the team say "good riddance" though. They claimed Project 28 was not only aware of what we were making it do, but it wasn't happy and it wanted out. Normally I'd dismiss such ridiculous notions, but those brain scans... perhaps it was for the best after all.

-----

-OCTOBER 15-
We're in danger of falling behind schedule. The next tournament requires signups in less than seven months and we haven't moved past the planning stages. The team seems conflicted over which direction to take. Personally, my mind keeps wandering back to Project 28. The more I think about it, the more I can't help but imagine what we could have done with it.

The potential...

-OCTOBER 25-
We started work by modifying a rhinoceros, but I have to admit that my heart isn't in it. I still think of Project 28. This rhino is powerful, especially with the muscly arms, but he's such a dullard. If only Project 28 had understood the glory of being a Zoofighter.

-OCTOBER 29-
Harrumph. I suggested we try to recreate Project 28, and the others turned me down. Said I was crazy for wanting "that thing" back. The fools. Brawn only takes you so far. If you don't have any proper tactics, all is lost. Mark my words, the next Zoofights champion will be a creature that won with smart thinking, not by blundering into battle with arms a-flailing.

-NOVEMBER 4-
I have decided to part with my former colleagues. They don't share my vision any more.

I will bring back Project 28 all by myself. Then they'll see.

-NOVEMBER 9-
My first attempt at recreating Project 28 didn't go over well. But I'm not going to euthanize it. It still has potential. Perhaps as an ally for 28, or I could keep it as a guard dog of sorts. It can certainly fight.

-DECEMBER 13-
Nothing's working. I'm getting frustrated. Perhaps 28 was a one-off, a freak accident. Perhaps 28 could never be recreated.

There has to be a way... Maybe...

-DECEMBER 14-
I can't believe my good fortune! My equipment detected some leftover energy from the incident last summer in the arena. I've gathered up what I could and am studying it to see if I can trace its origin.

-DECEMBER 31-
It appears that Project 28 and that fish were sent to another dimension. If only I could travel through dimensions...

-OCTOBER 2-
I've been working nonstop on a way to harness this warp energy, and I think I've made a breakthrough. The pack is a tad bulky, but if it can send me on the trail of Project 28, I don't mind.

-DECEMBER 27-
This is it. I've worked out the coordinates. I hope this works.

-----

 
VVVVVVVVVVVRRRRROP

The Manhattan back-alley was engulfed in smoke. A nearby stray cat yowled and dashed away in surprise as the smoke billowed outward. In the center of the cloud, a figure stood, moving its head from side to side to get a look at its surroundings. Slowly it strode into the street, looking around and realizing the jump had been a success. Sine X. Cosine would no doubt be amused - this primitive device could only jump between two dimensions, and it was anything but stealthy thanks to the smoke cloud and drawn-out jump noise. Still, it worked for what it needed to do. A simple round-trip affair.

The figure produced a small handheld device that scanned the surrounding area for a trace of Project 28's DNA. Nothing was found.

Except.

Outside that weird-looking closed-up tavern a block away, there was a response. It wasn't a big enough response to be 28, but it could be a valuable clue all the same. The figure approached the bar and found a grasshopper near the door, bitten in half and preserved from the cold.

No doubt about it. It had been here.

Now it was time to lie in wait. Project 28 would be back. He could feel it.

"Project 28...

It's time to come back home."