THE DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS CARTOON FAN CLUB NEWSLETTER Issue 4, I January 1998/February 1998 ****************************************************************************** "What does this song mean? My whole life I don't know what this song means. It means 'should old acquaintances be forgot'. Does that mean that we should forget old acquaintances, or does it mean that if we happen to forget them, we should remember them, which is not possible because we already forgot?" -- Harry (Billy Crystal), in the movie "When Harry Met Sally" ****************************************************************************** BA-BA-BA BUUUUUMMMMM! Yes, the rumors are true (well, seeing as I'm the one who said it, it isn't technically a rumor..but that's beside the point)... The D&D Cartoon Newsletter is now BIMONTLY! Woohoo! Well, now that the big announcement is out, here's some more topical news -- like the fact that this here issue has a whopping FOUR(!) different fan fiction stories, including Part 1 of a new fan fiction story, "Return of the Dreamer" by Rhonda Robinson, and Part 1 of a new Elseworlds story, "Players", from Maureen O'Brien -- as well as the continuations of Victoria Bishop's story from the last few issues. Enjoy! I know I am. For those of you who are anxiously awaiting Part 3 of Mike Bugg?s story, my sincerest apologies -- my word processor refuses to cooperate with the text files Mike has so patiently supplied and resupplied me with. The problem should be solved by the next issue, where we will have both Part 3 and Part 4 of Mike?s story for you all to enjoy. Also, you?ll notice that this issue will be sent out in four different parts in an E-Mail format rather than an attached text file...yep, you guessed it, my text problem once again. I wish I could find a way to condense them into one mailing...or maybe set up a website to post it. If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know! The next issue will be going out around the beginning of March or so....I hope you all enjoy the new, now six-times-a-year D&D On-Line Cartoon Fan Club Newsletter! See ya! --Amy Hodman (IllyanaAM@aol.com) ****************************************************************************** THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! Okay, okay, so this isn't a regular feature of the newsletter. I just wanted to thank everyone who's written in with comments, ideas, and contributions for the newsletter. You guys are great! I certainly couldn't do this without everyone's great suggestions and all your input. And for those of you who've sent me stories and articles -- especially the fan fiction stories from Mike Bugg, Rhonda Robinson, and Maureen O'Brien, and Justin Alexander's trivia -- you guys are awesome! A special huge Thank You goes out to Victoria Bishop (who I definitely could not do this newsletter without) for taking on the substantial task of maintaining the membership list and answering everyone's questions about the club -- as well as helping me with the various drafts of the newsletter and being a regular contributor with her terrific ongoing fanfic story. Another hugmongous Thank You goes out to Zakiyah, who's helped me with this whole idea from day one, and has offered time and time again to post information about the on-line club on her web page, as well as posting sections of the newsletter and its fanfiction on her page! Thank You! Thank You, one and all! ****************************************************************************** YE OLDE FAN FICTION CORNER! For your further reading enjoyment, we have TWO fan fiction stories in Ye Olde Corner this issue. To start us off, here's an all-new story by Rhonda Robinson -- which features the return of a favorite old character to the hallowed halls of D&D Cartoon-dom! Who, you ask? Well, read on and find out for yourself! * The STORY is all mine, but only one of the CHARACTERS in it is mine, and you'll know which one. The rest all belong to TSR, Marvel, and whoever else had a hand in creating the long-lost Dungeons & Dragons cartoon. Rated--well, I don't think it's worse than PG. I'll try to keep it no higher than PG-13 at the roughest. (When I write fanfic, I try to keep it at the level of the original show, or at least close to it.) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Return of the Dreamer by Rhonda Robinson "Those accursed children!" snarled Venger. Yet another of his plans to capture his young enemies and steal their weapons had failed, and he was furious. Not even the screams and cries echoing from the walls of the torture chamber, which he was inspecting with Shadow Demon at his side, could soothe him. "Master, what should we do with this one?" an orc asked him, shoving an unlucky drow before him. Venger looked coldly at the black-skinned elf. "Take him to the Tower of Sunrise and chain him outside. Let the suns take care of him." "No! Mercy, Master! I'll never fail you again!" pleaded the drow as the orc dragged him away. "If there were only some way I could accurately predict what Dungeon Master's pupils were going to do, I could use that against them," Venger mused. He paused to watch two orcs slowly lowering a metal-and-glass cage over a large fire. The naiad in the cage was shrieking more in terror than in pain. "Lower the cage more and add fuel to the fire!" he ordered. "She dared defy me when I took over her lake, and I ordered that she suffer for it!" As the orcs scrambled to obey, he continued, "Yes, if I know what those young fools will do, I can finally defeat them forever, and then use the power of their weapons to destroy Tiamat and all others who think they can stop me." "But, Master, will you be able to see enough of their future to use it in your plans?" asked Shadow Demon. "No. Alone, I could only catch glimpses of what is to come. I need a seer to tell me the future, so I can use it to make plans and carry them out." Venger looked directly at Shadow Demon as he spoke. "I may need you to find me one, some young innocent with no experience battling others. A spell- casting seer will be useless. I want one who needs no magic to look through time." Shadow Demon was about to say something, but another orc interrupted them. "Master, the troll is healed again." "Use the Flames of Truth on him and find out if he still opposes me. If they burn him, tear off his limbs and blind and deafen him again." As the orc left, Venger commented, "Trolls are always difficult to discipline, the way they regenerate." "Was there not a young seer from Earth here once?" asked Shadow Demon. "She would be a good choice. Her life has been a pampered and sheltered one." Venger stopped in his tracks and turned back to Shadow Demon. "The girl? She would be perfect!" He whirled and stalked back to the entrance, Shadow Demon in his wake. When he reached the door, he stopped so quickly that Shadow Demon almost bumped into him. "I will be in my Chamber of Magic. See that I am not disturbed!" he ordered over his shoulder before leaving. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Venger stood at a small table, gazing into a crystal ball. "Show me the Earth girl Terry as she was when she was in the Realm," he commanded. "Show me every detail of her time here, including any dreams of the future she had." The crystal ball clouded, then cleared. The image of a black-ponytailed girl appeared. Venger smiled an evil smile. *Yes, she is the one,* he thought. *With her help, the entire Realm will soon call me Master.* Venger recalled some of the events the crystal ball showed him because he had seen them as they took place, and had gotten reports of others. But Terry's dreams were new to him. He studied them carefully, comparing the dreams with what had actually taken place. Her final dream before returning to Earth, the one where she had dreamed of meeting Bobby again as school let out for the day, especially attracted Venger's attention. *Her visions are limited and often symbolic. But this final dream in which she met the young Barbarian is too clear to be a mere clue to the future. How can I appear to let it take place while using it as a lure to bring her back here and trap her?* He knew it was very difficult to interpret visions of the future accurately. Often what seemed to be one thing was really another, no matter how clear the vision was. *This meeting must take place, but she will meet one of my servants in the Barbarian's form,* Venger decided. *He will fulfil her dream, then turn it into a nightmare. Once she is in my power, I can force her visions to grow more clear and frequent, and tune them to the Dungeon Master's students.* The images in the crystal ball faded as Venger turned away from it. "Shadow Demon!" he called, knowing that his servant could hear him no matter where he was. It took only a moment before the creature of darkness was hovering before Venger. "What is your desire, Master?" "Bring me the doppleganger Fo-Ne. I have a mission for him." As Shadow Demon departed, Venger turned toward his workspace. *I must create a false locket for him to give her, something that will help him bring her back. This time, I will succeed.* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Fo-Ne was typical for a doppleganger in many ways. In his natural humanoid form, he was about five and a half feet tall and completely hairless. His thick gray skin protected him as well as chain mail protected a warrior. His blank white eyes, pointed ears, and elongated fingers and toes added to his eerie appearance. He could take the form of any humanoid creature between four and eight feet tall, duplicating it exactly, even down to its clothing and other items worn or carried. He could read the surface thoughts of other creatures at will. However, neither his shapeshifting nor his mind-reading were perfect. One time in every ten his disguise failed to fool others, and if too much stone or metal was between him and another creature, he couldn't read the other creature's mind. In other ways, however, he was different from others of his kind. Most dopplegangers were lazy, greedy, cowardly, and worked in groups. Fo-Ne was always busy researching different people and trying to perfect his mimicry of them. He desired not gold, but the praise of a powerful master, preferably an evil one, for a job well done. He was very brave, often finding it difficult to act in character when he was impersonating someone with less courage. And he worked alone by preference. When Venger had learned of Fo-Ne, he had instantly tracked down the doppleganger and offered him a position as a spy and assassin. Fo-Ne had accepted at once, and had served Venger faithfully and well for many years. Fo-Ne stood before a mirror, watching as he transformed from one being to another, recalling each mission as he took on the shapes he had used during it. While he was in mid-transformation, Shadow Demon poked his head through the mirror, startling both. Fo-Ne recovered first. "What does our master want of me?" he asked, taking his normal form. "He told me to bring you to him," Shadow Demon replied. "More I cannot say for certain, but I think he wants your help in luring a young seeress into his power." "Then bring me to him." Fo-Ne took the form of a harpy and flew off after Shadow Demon. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * "What did Shadow Demon tell you of your new mission?" Venger asked once Fo-Ne had arrived. "Only that he thought you wanted me to lure a young seeress into your power, Master." "He was right, but this mission is more difficult and dangerous than most. The child you must bring to me is on Earth, a world with little or no magic. She had a vision of the future involving an enemy of mine returning to her. You must play the role of that enemy and fulfil her vision. Only then can you lure her to me without trying to thwart Fate." He gave the doppleganger a heart-shaped locket on a chain, both made of gold. "This will give you the magic you need to survive and keep your assumed form. It will also open a gate between the Realm and Earth, but it will open the gate only twice. If you are not through the gate when it closes for the second time, you will die." Then he indicated the crystal ball on the table beside them. "Study this carefully. It is the vision you must fulfil, and shows you the form you must take and the girl I seek." Fo-Ne gazed into the crystal ball as the images played, memorizing every detail of the scene. His photographic memory and strong insight into human's personalities, two more qualities most dopplegangers lacked, made a second viewing unnecessary. He turned away when the ball clouded over, taking his new form as he did so, that of a ten-year-old boy with neatly combed blond hair, blue eyes, and freckles, wearing a white T-shirt with a yellow yoke, blue jeans, and sneakers. "No sweat, Master!" he said in Bobby's voice. "I'll bring her back!" * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * The bell rang, startling Terry out of her half-doze. She hadn't gotten much sleep the night before, worrying about Bobby and his friends. *How long has it been for them?* she thought, gathering her books together reluctantly as the other students streamed out the door and headed for the lunchroom. *Are they here today? I wish I could've stayed at the park long enough to see them come back, but after I vanished for a few hours, Mom and Dad insisted we go home right away.* There had been only two good points about the previous day and night after she had come back: her parents had believed her when she said she'd gotten off the ride and couldn't see them when they asked her where she'd been and how she'd gotten lost, and she'd been able to figure out that a day in the Realm equalled an hour on Earth. *If they're here today, that means they spent about a month and a half there,* she reasoned as she wandered out the door. "Hey, Terry!" *Is it really...?* Terry looked in the direction of the so-familiar voice. "Lose something?" Sunlight glinted off a golden heart-shaped locket on a chain, held by a familiar person in everyday clothes. Terry's books fell from suddenly nerveless arms. "Bobby!" she cried, dashing to him. He dropped his books and reached out to her an instant before she flung herself at him. Locked in an embrace more characteristic of people twice their age, they spun around a turn or two from Terry's momentum, holding each other close even when they came to a stop. *It's my Real Dream,* Terry thought in esctasy, *and it's come true so fast I can't believe it.* They broke and stepped back a pace, holding each other at arm's length. "How did you get back? What did you tell your parents? How long have you been back? Did you finally stop...?" "Whoa! Slow down, Terry! I'll tell you everything I can." Bobby looked around. "But not here. Let's eat our lunches in the woods." "But that's off-limits," protested Terry. "They're outside the fence, and we can't go off school grounds during the school day." "OK, but Uni's gonna be disappointed that you didn't come see her." "Uni's HERE? How?" "When we found a way home, nobody was there to take care of her, and I wasn't gonna leave her and hope someone would find her," Bobby explained as he put Terry's locket back around her neck. "Presto pulled something out of his hat that created a tiny gateway, just big enough to let magic through, that stays with her all the time. She ran into the woods near the amusement park when we got back, and I saw her in the woods near the school when I got here this morning." He stooped and picked up his books. "Can I put these with yours till after lunch?" "Sure." Terry gathered hers and stacked them just inside the classroom door, then Bobby added his. A few minutes later, they both had their lunch bags and were walking to a few tables near the fence. Bobby looked around, then pushed a clump of branches aside, revealing a hole in the fence. He wiggled through, then took the lunches Terry handed through to him, and finally helped her through. "Come on," he urged. "She's close, but I don't want anyone to see her." "Or catch us," Terry agreed. They started off together, Bobby carrying the lunches. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * When they were out of view of the school, Terry heard a sound like a combination of a bleat and a whinny. Knowing what it was, she looked ahead, between two trees, and caught a glimpse of something red and white, which moved out of sight. "Uni!" she called, rushing ahead, with Bobby barely a half-step behind her. She passed between the two trees, which seemed to be framing a golden light--and her clothes suddenly transformed. She had been wearing normal school clothes: a light blue blouse, blue jeans, and blue sneakers, with her hair in a ponytail held by a blue elastic. But in a heartbeat, she wore an open-faced helmet, a metal belt obviously designed for protection, a leather sleeve on her left arm, a leather chest plate, a knee-length skirt made of stiff overlapping leather panels, and leather bands on her legs, all clearly armor. All were blue, though the helmet and belt were more of a steel-blue color. The locket around her neck, its power gone, crumbled to dust. The instant Terry noticed what had happened, she stopped short, about halfway between the trees and Uni. The little unicorn abruptly turned black with a few tinges of red and grew to adult size, her horn vanishing as a familiar rider appeared on her back--Venger. Every plant and tree in the area turned dead and dry, losing the illusion of a green and growing forest like the woods she'd entered. Terry whirled, ready to run through the gateway and back to the school, but an empty-handed Bobby blocked her path. "Don't go now!" he said. "We just got here!" As he spoke, he dissolved into an eerie gray light, and returned to the natural form of a doppleganger. Terry looked around, hoping to find some familiar sight, but her search was in vain. Even the gateway was gone without a trace. She finally faced Venger again. "What happened?!" she demanded, trying to hide her fear while letting her anger loose. "My plan has succeeded, little warrior," Venger gloated. "My doppleganger servant Fo-Ne lured you through a gate back to the Realm, and you are now my prisoner." *Run!* Terry screamed in her mind. But before she could move, Venger raised his hand over his head and a ball of sickly orange light appeared in it. He threw it at her, striking her squarely in her chest, and her whole body went limp. Unable to stand, she fell flat on her face. "Soon all the Realm will be completely helpless before me," predicted the evil conqueror. He pointed at Terry and fired a greenish-yellow beam at her. It circled her waist, then pulled her up and onto the nightmare's back behind Venger, lashing her down. The nightmare whinnied and leapt into the sky, followed by the doppleganger in harpy form. They headed for a range of black mountains where no plant grew or animal roamed--the Mountains of Misery, where Venger kept a favorite fortress. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * End Part One A big thank you to Vic for looking this over for me! What do you think? E-mail me at rosrobin@ab.imag.net with your comments--but please don't be too harsh, it's my first published fan fic.