Date: Fri, 24 Jul 2009 06:08:54 +0000 From: Guy Cornelius Subject: The Elemental Chapter 8 Hi guys, As promised, here is the next instalment of the Elemental. Please feel free to email me on the_elemental909@hotmail.co.uk and let me know what you think and if you wish, I can add you to my notification list. On that note, I have had a couple of people complain that I didn't respond to them. I reply to ALL emails so guys, please check your junk-mail filters because I may end up in there!!! Also, I have started a Yahoo Group for the story where the chapters will be posted that little bit quicker than Nifty and you can chat with some of the other fans etc etc - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/the_elemental909. All the usual disclaimers apply, if you are too young, don't read this. It is the property of the author and is not to be copied without his express permission blah blah blah. Finally, thank you once again to Kane, who helps get my work up to standard and is my ever reliable Kiwi Big Brother. Chapter 8 "Idiot...idiot, idiot, idiot!" mumbled Tommy as he ambled in the general direction of the café. He fucked that whole situation up and there was no going back now. How could Marcus ever forgive him after what he had done? Aside from that, how could he ever forgive him for keeping it a secret for so long? He couldn't even use the reasoning that Marcus just wouldn't have believed him. Generally people don't tend to believe in magic and druids and all that stuff, but logic dictates that a guy who can turn himself into a ball of angry fire is far more likely to be open to the idea. As he walked, Tommy slowly slipped deeper and deeper into a pit of self hatred and eventually he just stopped paying any attention to where he was going. He let his feet take him wherever the hell they wanted to instead while his mind roiled, going over and over the recent, disastrous events. He had always been a coward and he accepted this with a degree of fatalism. But for once he had actually found someone who, had things gone a little bit differently, he could have been truly happy with. And not just the sort of happy that lasts a couple of months and then becomes stale. This could have been that real happiness that so few people ever experience. A happiness that transcends everything else and allows those involved to live a long, full life of joy and accomplishment. But no, he had to go and throttle his chance at happiness and hold it eight feet in the air with a magical vine. "Great Tommy. Just fucking great," he muttered. He stumbled on an uneven curb and had to put a hand out against the wall to steady himself. Having been abruptly yanked out of his funk, he had a look around to try and work out where he was. He had no idea but there was a street sign just above him that read "Curtain Road EC1A" "How ironic; the final curtain falls on the best things that ever happened to me and I find myself in Curtain Road...but how the fuck did I get all the way over to EC1A?" he asked himself somewhat bitterly. Blushing a deep crimson, he had a quick look around when he realised he was talking to himself, hoping that nobody had heard him. Luckily the street appeared to be deserted, so he let out a deep sigh and carried on walking, hunting around for a bus stop or taxi rank. About a hundred metres down the road his path was blocked by some roadworks spanning the whole width of the street. He was about to turn around and try to retrace his steps when he noticed a sign on one of the railings: "PV&Q Logistics would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused. Curtain Road will be closed for a period of approximately 8 weeks commencing 01/07/09. Pedestrian diversion: Through NCP Car Park basement to left and exit onto The Broadway. Once again, we apologise for any inconvenience caused." Tommy huffed in exasperation and looked around for the NCP Car Park the notice mentioned. As it had stated, it was just to his left and back a little way. He had heard of The Broadway and was pretty certain it lead to one of the bigger stations like Liverpool Street of London Bridge so decided to follow the diversion. The Car Park was you typical concrete monstrosity with little light and plenty of damp, but the construction company had had the foresight to put arrows up leading to the required exit onto The Broadway. It wasn't until Tommy had descended down two flights of stairs into the sub-basement level of the Car Park that he became a little suspicious. For the most part, central London is a pretty flat place, especially if he was where he thought he was. So why would a street level exit be two storeys down from the one he had entered by? He decided that he would just go back to street level and find another way to the station. Turning back he walked towards the stairwell but halfway there he saw three people emerge from the door. One turned to the left and waited in the shadows, the second waited by the door and the third approached Tommy. The guy was dressed in what was once probably quite a nice suit, but now it just appeared worn and lived in, like he had been wearing it every day for the past year. Although very tall and skinny, he appeared fairly unremarkable otherwise. "Can I help you?" asked Tommy when the stranger stopped in front of him, blocking his path. "Shut the fuck up, Mage. I'll do the talking." Tommy was quite taken aback by this man's assumption that he was a mage, but decided not to correct him. "My name is Valkir and I want to know where the renegade Marcus is, and I want to know now." Tommy's surprise was instantly replaced with hatred and venom and it showed so strongly on his face that the stranger took an involuntary step backward. "Unless you wish to experience considerable pain within the next ten seconds, I suggest you explain who the hell you are and what the fuck you want with me. Otherwise I will rip you limb from limb," Tommy snarled, taking a step toward Valkir and stealing quick glances at the other two, to evaluate his chances. The man guarding the door was what you might call a typical bruiser; short, fat, bald and looking like he had been lured down from a mountain using a chunk of raw meat. The other figure was harder to figure out. It looked to be a woman, but because she was standing in the shadows he was unable to pick out any further detail. "The Masters just want to ask you a few questions is all. Nothing sinister, they just want to talk." A slight quaver in his voice betrayed the fear Valkir was struggling to hide. "Would these be the same Masters who kidnapped us and have tried to have us killed on more than one occasion?" Tommy sneered at the man, arms crossed, his whole posture screaming defiance. "Well..." started Valkir, clearly taken aback that this Mage was not coming as easily as he had envisaged. "Yes, the same Masters. But I am sure that was all just an innocent misunderstanding. Now, we can do this the easy way, or the hard way. I mean, its not like you can use your magic right now." Valkir had this smug look that was just gagging to be punched right off his face. "What do you mean I can't use my magic?" asked Tommy, his defiant sneer making way for doubt. "It's what I do you dumb fuck. I dampen magical abilities. It's why I'm so good at what I do. Try it out if you like." The smug look plastered all over his face wasn't going away and Tommy desperately wanted to get rid of it. Seconds later, Valkir cried out in pain, his hand flying up to cup his cheek. "What the FUCK?" he shouted while he watched the thorny vine retreat back into Tommy's hand. "No mage has ever got past my dampening field! How the fuck did you do that?" "Well there is your first mistake...I'm not a Mage.. I guess your pathetic little powers don't work on me." With an enormous grin on his face, Tommy quickly shot out another vine, cutting across Valkir's other cheek, drawing yet another scream of surprise from him. "Enough of this...GET HIM!" Tommy spun round when he heard running footsteps behind him. Clearly there had been more people hiding in the shadows nearby because two more bruisers came running up to him having appeared as if from nowhere. The first was quickly dispatched with a vine around his throat snapping his neck. The second then had two vines wrapped around his waist, lifting him into the air. There was a scream when he was thrown, but it was cut short when he hit a concrete column and his lifeless body slumped to the floor. Tommy turned around just in time to see the original bruiser flying through the air and rugby tackling him to the ground. The air was completely knocked out of him and dizziness washed over him as he cracked his head on the floor. "You little SHIT," yelled Valkir, walking over and kicking Tommy squarely in the face as he dabbed at his own with a handkerchief. "If it wasn't bad enough that I am going to have to harvest two more of these idiots to replace the ones you just ruthlessly dispatched, you've probably scarred my fucking FACE!" He kicked Tommy in the head again, almost causing him to lose consciousness. "Cleanser," he heard Valkir yell through the waves of darkness threatening to overcome his mind, "get over here and empty this asshole out. Make sure you get as many of his memories as you can. I don't want this to have been a complete waste of time." Had Tommy been straight, he would have sprung wood at just the sight of her. Even through his dizziness and bleary eyes he could tell that she was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. She had a tall, curvaceous body covered in porcelain white skin, with gorgeous black ringlets reaching down to the middle of her back. To top it all off, she was wearing nothing more than some conveniently placed strips of cloth. "Lift him to his knees," commanded a distinctly Russian voice. The bruiser who had tackled Tommy stood up and then pulled Tommy to his knees. He was so transfixed by her beauty that when she lifted her hands to his temples, he didn't even flinch. "Tommy...can you hear me?" Tommy could have sworn that her lips hadn't moved when she said that. "Wha..." "Don't speak," interrupted the voice that he now realised was coming from inside his head. "They can't know I'm talking to you. If you wish to respond to me, simply think the words you wish to say. I will hear you." "Who...who are you? What do you want with me?" thought Tommy, feeling more than a little silly and wondering if this was nothing more than some hallucination brought on by the trauma he'd suffered from the kicks. "Before I answer these questions, we must make it appear as if I am doing what he wants me to do," said the voice, tinged with a hint of urgency. "You must appear to be in pain. The process of forcing entry into someone's mind is very intrusive and if Valkir doesn't believe that you are in pain, he will know something is amiss. "Why should I..." started Tommy, looking up into her face. Her eyes were closed, as though in deep concentration. "Please, we don't have time...you must trust me." For a few seconds Tommy didn't react, but he decided that at this point he really didn't have a whole lot to lose. He may even be able to get some useful information about his pursuers from this woman. Already on his knees, he swayed slightly and grimaced as though in pain, grunting slightly from some imaginary effort. "When I release you, slump to the floor," said Tatiana. "Er, okay...are we done already?" queried Tommy, his brow furrowing in confusion. "No, not yet. You'll understand in a minute." With that, she took her hands from his face and stood up. Tommy let out a sigh and allowed his body to slump back down to the floor, a groan escaping from his lips as the slight jolt ravaged his already hurting head. "He's been well trained," said Tatiana, addressing Valkir. She allowed an edge to colour her voice and Tommy had to suppress a chuckle when he understood what she was doing. "There are a number of strong psychic barriers around his memory and consciousness that are almost impenetrable. Whoever is training him, and presumably his allies, is very powerful." "Look, if you can't get me the information I need, I'll just kill him," sneered Valkir, reaching into his jacket and stalking toward where Tommy lay. Tatiana stepped in between him and his intended victim, a deep scowl on her face. "I didn't say I couldn't get it," she said, exasperation evident in her voice. Valkir looked shocked when he picked up the less than subservient tone of her voice and she quickly moved to placate him. "I merely meant to point out that they are clearly much more formidable than we had previously thought and the Masters would most probably be grateful for this information. They like to know as much as they can about their enemies." Suddenly Valkir's eyes lit up and, despite the large cuts on his cheeks, he broke out into a huge grin. "Yes, yes you are right. I should let them know what I have discovered. I am sure they will be most pleased...perhaps I will even be rewarded for my efforts." He mulled this over for a moment, most likely imagining plentiful bounties and hearty congratulations and then, as though switching off a light-switch, the anger returned. "I don't care how fucking long it takes," spat Valkir, nursing his wounded, dripping face, "get past those barriers and find out everything you can. You work with the mind...so fucking work!" "I really don't think that sort of language is necessary," muttered Tatiana whilst turning back to Tommy. "Pick him back up...onto his knees," she snapped at the last remaining bruiser who was hovering nearby. He scurried forward and pulled a groaning Tommy back up onto his knees while Tatiana knelt down and placed her hands back onto his temples. "If I were wearing one, I would take my hat off to you, my lady," said Tommy, eliciting a little giggle from Tatiana. "Not only have you bought us some time, but, if that Valkir is as stupid and greedy as he seems, he will run back to his Masters like a good little lap dog and tell them just how powerful we supposedly are." "Thank you kind sir," lilted Tatiana, still smiling slightly. "It is never a bad thing for your enemy to believe you are much stronger than you actually are. Perhaps with this information, the Masters will think twice about their dogmatic pursuit of you. Now, this is what I want you to do. If you follow this to the letter, we might just get out of here together." Tatiana proceeded to spend the next few minutes outlining her plan, occasionally prompting Tommy to react to her supposed invasion in some way. Once finished, she asked Tommy if he understood and whether he had any questions. "Just one," he said. "It's one that you keep avoiding but unless I get a satisfactory answer, I am doing this my way...without you. Why should I trust you?" As soon as he said this, he felt Tatiana's entire demeanour change. Her breathing became laboured, her shoulders slumped, even the voice in his head sounded like it was about to burst into tears. "Because I need you far more than you need me. Please Tommy...help me." The emotion was clear to him but still something didn't quite ring true. Something just didn't seem right about this woman who seemed so eager to betray her masters and help him escape. Tommy remained silent for a while, contemplating his next move. On the one hand he could trust her, do as she said and hope like hell that she wasn't double crossing him. He would gain a powerful ally but at the same time, it could just be a well planned trap. On the other hand, they had been kneeling on this floor for a while now and he was feeling a little recovered after the blows he took. Obviously the pain was still there, but with a bit of effort on his part he was sure he could bust his way out of this weird situation. Eventually his mind was made up when he asked himself a very simple question: what would Marcus do? Without warning, he let out a huge bellow and launched himself to his feet, throwing The Cleanser from him in the process, her scream cut short when she hit the ground a few metres away. Valkir stood rooted to the spot in surprise, having never seen anybody ever break out of The Cleansers hold. It was this tiny delay that gave Tommy just the opportunity he needed. He launched out his vines, wrapping them firmly around Valkir's waist and then spun around to bring him crashing down on the bruiser, who had pulled himself out of his shock and was hurtling towards Tommy. Releasing the vines, Tommy stood for a moment, panting and trying to clear his still fuzzy head. Unfortunately for him, Valkir managed to collect himself a lot quicker than he had anticipated. For a moment, Tommy couldn't work out why Valkir had his hand thrust out in his direction, then screamed in pain when a knife embedded itself into his shoulder. "You may not be a Mage, but throwing blades still work on you," chuckled Valkir sardonically as he got to his feet, brushing off his suit in the process. "Shall we see how many you can take?" Opening out his jacket, he revealed a belt covered in knives, all glistening in the dull light of the car park. Palms sweating and shoulder throbbing, Tommy knew he was in trouble. This wasn't the way he had seen this going. He hadn't expected this guy to put up such a fight and especially not one he couldn't defend against. Therein lay the problem; he needed to find some way of defending himself...or convince Valkir to attack using a method he could defend. "Do you even HAVE any magical ability Valkir?" he taunted, trying his hardest to affect an air of disdain and humour into his voice and posture. "I mean, so far all you have done is order people around and throw some cutlery at me. Not exactly very magical, is it?" He smiled playfully when he noticed Valkir's face turn beet red and his body begin to tremble with indignation. "I have power the likes of which you have never seen, you little whelp," snapped Valkir laconically, his hands balling into fists and his feet shifting into the ready position. "You know, I'm not so sure. I think that's all just bluster to try and make yourself look better...oh, wait...I get it now. Listen man, it's nothing to be ashamed of." Tommy chuckled slightly, but quickly caught it with a cough, shifting his stance to one of concern and sympathy. "I'm told it's not the size that counts anyway, it's the way you use it...not that I would really know. Size isn't exactly an issue for me. But hey, there are surgeries..." "You little SHIT," roared Valkir, launching a ball of energy at him but missing by about a foot. "I don't need to make myself look better, I'm one of the strongest Mages in the Guild! As for my cock, it is plenty big enough." With that, he grabbed his package and gave it a quick squeeze, showing off what Tommy had to admit was quite a decent sized bulge. That, however, was not what Tommy was interested in. He was far more interested in luring Valkir into his hastily conceived trap, which so far seemed to be working. Valkir was so incensed that he was allowing his rage to take over. He wasn't thinking his actions through and that was when people made mistakes, like switching from throwing knives to power orbs. "Hmm, plenty big enough for a mouse maybe," he taunted again with hands on his hips and a huge smile on his face. "I think I have the number of a surgeon who might be able to help you with that." Valkir was now in such a rage that Tommy could actually see his body shaking even from the distance between them, coupled with a face so red and twisted with anger that it looked like it might be about to explode. With another bellow of rage, Valkir shot out two more orbs, one of which went wide, and the other Tommy managed to avoid quite easily. This game of cat and mouse continued for a few minutes with Tommy throwing insults at Valkir, who returned them with powerful orbs crackling with a malignant energy, fueled by increasing rage and frustration. Tommy managed to avoid them all but he was beginning to tire. Suddenly, after a particularly witty remark from Tommy involving Valkir's mother, a goat and a dildo, Valkir fired a single orb which Tommy easily span away from. What he didn't see was the orb that Valkir loosed immediately following, which caught Tommy square in the stomach when he turned back to face his foe. With a grunt he crumpled to the floor, the wind knocked out of him and his stomach feeling like it was on fire. While he lay there coughing, Valkir took a few steps towards him, a look of pure evil glistening in his eyes. Raising his hands, he produced an orb between them, slowly pulling his hands apart and pumping more and more energy into it, making it larger and more powerful. Eventually, when it was about the size or a beach-ball, full of black and red swirling energies, he stopped a few metres away and stared down at him. Tommy desperately tried to force some air back into his lungs and thrust his arm up to defend his head. "You know, the Masters wanted me to bring you in alive if I couldn't get the information directly from you. It's such a shame that you chose the cowardly way out and took your own life. They will be most displeased." His hair was blowing about his face from the waves of energy spilling from the mammoth orb and his eyes glowed a dark red from the energies reflected within. "I think it is time we put an end to this," he whispered, an evil glee filling his voice. With that, he raised his hands above his head and, with a grunt of effort, pitched the orb at Tommy. Quick as lightening, Tommy shot out a thick, wooded vine and attempted to smack the orb back in Valkir's direction. He screamed out in pain as the ball of pure energy burnt through the vine, but was extremely relieved to see that he had succeeded in sending it back in the casters general direction. Moments later, agonising screams rent the air and the smell of burning flesh filled his nostrils when the orb smashed full on into the final bruiser who, up until that moment, had been standing a little way off behind Valkir. Now, the man was rolling around on the damp concrete, screaming out in unimaginable pain while his body slowly melted into a pile of ooze and bones, the shock to his system proving more effective at silencing him than the attack itself. It was a delay of just this sort that he had been waiting for. While Valkir gaped at the results of his, admittedly unsuccessful attack, Tommy shot forward and rugby tackled him to the ground and then, having managed to sit on his midriff, proceeded to rain down a hail of punches to his face and head. Valkir attempted to defend himself, flailing his arms around to try and fend off Tommy's assault, but soon found his hands secured about his head at the wrists by a vine. He tried to buck his body around to throw Tommy off, but Tommy clamped down with his thighs and refused to be thrown, continuing to land punch after punch. Eventually Valkir stopped fighting, stopped moving at all apart from the steady rise and fall of his chest, letting him know that he hadn't actually killed him. Tommy stood up and brushed himself down, retracting his vine and leaving Valkir with a steadily growing pool of blood around his head. He took a quick look around, making sure that there was nobody left to follow or attack him and then made his way over to one of the motionless bodies. With a look of concern washing over his face, he crouched down and laid his hand on Tatiana's shoulder. "Are you okay? Did I hurt you?" he whispered. "Well, there might be some slight grazing, but nothing I can't handle," came the cheerful, almost song-like response. "Thank you for trusting me, Tommy. I knew you could pull it off." "It was a good plan...even though I had to do a little tweaking towards the end," laughed Tommy, sitting back on his feet while Tatiana sat up and inspected her very minor wounds. "Yes, I saw that, and I have to be honest, I had to fight back a chuckle at one point. That rolling pin comment...genius!" she laughed a sweet, bell like laugh but stopped abruptly. "He's not moving...you haven't killed him, have you?" "No, you are right about him being too important a tool to kill. I have a little task for him to perform before he is allowed to die. Come, I'll show you." With that, he stood and offered a hand to help Tatiana to her feet. They walked over to where Valkir's body lay and Tommy signalled for Tatiana to stand next to him while he crouched down. He ripped Valkir's shirt open and then looked up to his companion. Slowly, a vine extended from his palm about eight inches long with a razor sharp tip, much like a spear head. After a second or two, a drop of viscous liquid started to ooze from the tip. "Do you see this liquid?" he asked Tatiana, who nodded in response. "It is a very complex, natural poison. At first, after about an hour, it acts as an anaesthetic, numbing the body entirely. Then it kills very painfully and, more importantly, very slowly. I know he has caused you a lot of suffering and I can't change that, but perhaps with this, you can get some form of closure in knowing that he will spend the next few weeks in unimaginable, unavoidable and incurable pain." Tatiana continued to look down at him as two tears first welled up in her beautiful eyes and then began to run down her smooth, alabaster cheeks. At first, Tommy thought he had upset her, and was about to apologise, but then the most loving, angelic smile spread across her face. She squatted down beside him, her hand on his shoulder for balance and kissed him lightly on the cheek. "Tommy, in an odd, perverse kind of way, that is the most beautiful thing anybody has ever said to me or done for me. Even if Marcus doesn't allow me to join up with you guys, I will always be there to help you." She smiled an even bigger smile as the tears continued to course down her cheeks, causing her to giggle self-consciously and wipe them away with her hand. Tommy looked her directly in the eye and then grunted sharply, gritting his teeth together to prevent any further sound from escaping. Tatiana frowned in confused and then gasped when she saw what Tommy had done. In his upturned hand, he presented her with the makeshift blade that he had snapped off the end of his vine. "Tommy! What are you doing! I can't imagine how much that must have hurt!" she exclaimed, desperately looking for some way to sooth his pain but failing miserably, realising that she had no idea how to go about alleviating pain in what was essentially plant matter. "I know," replied Tommy, retracting the broken vine into his palm and forcing a smile, "but it is important that you do this yourself." "Oh Tommy, you really are a wonderful person, you know that?" "Yeah yeah, whatever," chuckled Tommy. "Just take the blade. You know what you need to do, right?" Tatiana gingerly reached out for the blade, but Tommy quickly pulled away. "One thing I forgot to mention. Don't, under any circumstances, let the poison touch you. It works on contact, not entry to the system, so even a drop touching your skin could land you in a whole heap of shit!" "Oh...thanks for telling me!" she said, releasing a big sigh and reaching out for the blade once again. She grasped it firmly and then turned her attentions to a still unconscious Valkir. For a second, she didn't move, simply staring down at him, some unknown war waging within her mind. "This is for all those years of hell, you pathetic little cunt!" With those words, she cut into his chest and stomach, carving away at the flesh. Valkir came round briefly, the pain rousing him out of the darkness, his eyes rolling back into his head and his jaw lying slack as silent screams leaked out, but that very same pain quickly sent him straight back. When Tatiana was finished, she wept quietly to herself, whether through joy or sorrow Tommy couldn't work out. He gently took the blade back from her and lead her over to a nearby column and sat her down, soothing her hair and holding her close while she wept. After a few minutes, he returned to Valkir to finish the job. Once he was satisfied, he picked Valkir up and slung him over his shoulder, carrying him back up to street level and into an ally running along side the car park. Propping him up against the wall in a sitting position, Tommy gave Valkir a couple of slaps until he returned to consciousness, even if only partially. "Listen to me you worthless sack of shit," he spat and he bent over Valkir's bloody and beaten form. "I have left you alive for one reason and one reason only. Not out of pity or some moral guidance, but because I want you to take my message back to the Masters. Do you hear me?" When he received no response, he slapped Valkir again. "I said do you hear me?" Valkir grunted and just about managed a nod before slipping back into unconsciousness. Some hours later, long after Tommy and Tatiana had left, Valkir came back round. At first he didn't know where he was, but slowly his head cleared and things started coming back. He remembered waiting for the Mage, setting The Cleanser on him...was she really gone? He had seen the Mage throw her and then she hit the ground and didn't move. Shame, such a waste of such a gorgeous piece of ass. Slowly more and more of the event came back to him; he remembered being beaten on by the Mage and then a lot of pain. Strangely, now, he couldn't feel anything at all. It was like he had been put under a general anaesthetic or something. Looking down at himself, he realised he was naked apart from his bloodied boxers. On closer inspection, he noticed that they seemed rather flatter than they usually did, his not inconsiderable dick usually making quite a nice bulge. Although entirely numb, he managed to get his arm working and hooked his thumb under the waistband, pulling out and peering inside. Screaming out in shock, he realised what had been done to him and floods of tears washed down his face. It was at just that moment that he began to feel some stabbing pains in his chest. Looking down, he saw a series of cuts all over his chest and stomach that were slowly becoming more and more painful. On closer inspection, they seemed strangely familiar, like they were in a shape he should recognise and it was then that he remembered the Mage yelling something about a message. Just down the ally, he noticed a blacked out window that might work quite well as a mirror so he could get a better look. With the numbness wearing off, he struggled to his feet and stumbled over to it, weeping for his lost manhood. Staring into the blackened window, he instantly recognised the marks as words, and suddenly he understood what the Mage meant. He knew he had to get this information to the Masters, even though he had failed them. Valkir stumbled to the end of the ally and looked around to see if there was anybody about. Seeing the street deserted, he pushed off from the wall and loped off towards his destination, three words ringing in his ears like thunder: "We are coming." Well, let me know what you think guys -- the_elemental909@hotmail.co.uk or you can join the yahoo group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/the_elemental909. All feedback, both positive and negative is greatly appreciated.