TAPSLAUGHT #7

As Yasmin ran towards the Uncreated Cafe, one of the black birds dove sharply, cawing in delight.

"Oh no, you don't!"

The unfortunate bird suddenly found its face full of rotten tomato.

"Better," Yasmin said, putting the palmtop away. Distantly, they heard the sound of someone groaning in pain. The Writers forced themselves to run faster, stumbling through the Cafe's door in an ungainly heap.

"Ouch!" That was Fancy.

"Sorry," Azzy apologized.

"I think I lost all feeling in my legs," Yasmin muttered.

"Look!" said Mitai urgently. Rowan had landed smack on top of a group of Uncreateds, flattening them -- literally. The Bartender was desperately trying to keep order, not an easy thing to do when your face keep morphing from Wolverine to the Scarlet Witch.

"Is he all right?" Fancy asked the rather fuzzy Uncreated Hank.

"I have not completed my diagnosis of this young man's condition, but I would venture to opine that concussion would be worst of his worries."

"He's fine," Mitai translated.

Yasmin dropped to the floor in relief, doing a head count of the Writers present. Some leader I am, she thought bitterly. At least half a dozen of them are missing, and God knows where they are now. Probably playing poker with Kielle and Co. in TAPSLAUGHT's intestines.

With some difficulty she pulled out her laptop, trying to link to the Subreality Satellite.

At least we got the laptop in. At least we accomplished that much.

The display told her that the missing Writers were still alive, but dispersed throughout the Cafe's vicinity. The Heralds and TAPSLAUGHT were moving in on them rapidly, as her cyncism insisted they would.

Bitter glass, Yasmin, bitter glass, she thought, mentally rewinding Yeats' poem. Can't angst here while Subreality needs saving, hmm?

"Guys? I've managed to locate the missing Writers," she showed the laptop's screen, "but TAPSLAUGHT's hunting them down. We need to send out a rescue party -- small for preference -- to get them here. I think it's safe for us to open a short-distance portal to here... and it's a hell lot better than letting them be eaten and TAPSLAUGHT absorbing our plans."

"How are we supposed to rescue them?" Azzy asked. "And what do we do now that we can't go back to the hospital?"

"Well, I'm open to ideas..."

(?)Re: Re: Tapslaught #1

Fancy looked confused. "I thought all the writer's that weren't previously eaten were in the hospital still mesmerized?"

Yasmin nodded. "I'm sorry. What I meant was that Tapslaught has invaded the hospital. She's found them."

"Are they...are they....?" whispered Mitai in horror.

Yasmin looked at laptop. "There's a lot of dead," she confirmed, a note of bitterness in her voice. "But someone...it's hard to tell who, possibly Renn, has opened a new portal out and many have escaped."

"Well I wouldn't call coming back here escape, exactly," said Azzy.

Rowan moaned and the writers turned back to him.

"I'm ooookkkkkaaaaayyy," said Rowan as he sat up.

"I'm impressed," said Fancy. "You seem to be completely indestructable."

"Maybe we can use that...," said Yasmin as she began to think hard.

"We're never gonna be able to beat Tapslaught," moaned Mitai in frustration. "She's faster, bigger, stronger and more knowledgable than us."

"What what we need is a anti-Tapslaught," said Fancy absently.

"What did you say?" asked Yasmin, perking up.

"An anti-Tapslaught?" repeated Fancy in puzzlement.

"That's it!" shouted Yasmin.

"Where do we find one of those?" asked Ramiel.

"We become it!" shouted Yasmin excitedly jumping to her feet.

"Huh?" chimed in the other writers in unified confusion.

"We join together and become a being with power as great as Tapslaught's. We each have special strengths and powers, which are puny next to Tapslaught's, but if we join forces, we might be strong enough to defeat her, especically if the Muses and Alan find the Tapcoterie. It just might work."

"How do we go about that?" asked Azzy a little distrustfully.

"And how do we separate, if we win?" asked Fancy.

"Well that's the question, isn't it?" said Yasmin a little uncertainly.

"You mean we might be trapped as a superpowered amalgam forever?" asked Mitai her eyes boggling slightly at the thought.

"Hey, sounds good to me!" replied Azzy.

"Its risky, but it might be our best shot," said Yasmin, looking around the group hopefully.

(Renn)Twisting the Night Away..

"Y'know," Renn muttered in her mind, "I'm recalling just WHY it is I dislike jogging."

Not that she was jogging. No, she was full out sprinting. Tapslaught's minions had led the scary one to the hospital. Cries of, "Attacking a Hospital?! You fiend!" had merely amused the being. The kazoo had nearly been swallowed by hysterical laughter.

In an effort to stall Tapslaught, Renn had shoved forward the She-Hulk, and whispered something in the emerald-tressed woman's hair. A muttered, "Unusual, but it's worked in the past..." bought precious escape time for several of the writers. Dr. Strange had opened a portal for those awake enough to jump through. Jump they had.

The closing of the portal brought a tear to Renn's eyes as she heard Shulkie say in her best legalese voice, "..have violated these writers civil rights.."

I only hope it works, thought the blonde as she and a scattering of other writers scrambled their way through the now-shambled landscape of Subreality.

(Ya)TAPSLAUGHT: Final Phase

"Ladies and gentlemen," Yasmin began. Her voice, in contrast to its earlier weariness, was now as cool as a Vulcan's. "If we sit here and do nothing while Subreality becomes TAPSLAUGHT's personal snack bar, the question whether our Anti-TAPSLAUGHT can later seperate into its individual components becomes moot."

She gestured towards the open doors of the Uncreated Cafe, through which the rubble was clearly visible. "Yes, I know that TAPSLAUGHT has consumed some of the more powerful Writers. Yes, I cannot deny that this plan is a desperate one -- and may not work. But is it any better than hiding like rats? Remember, she will find us sooner or later.

"I vote that we take the battle to her. Who's with me?"

"I am," said Azzy. She shrugged at the looks on some of the faces. "Do you have a better idea?"

Mitai slowly nodded. "I still have my doubts, but I'm going with you."

"So will I," Fancy concurred.

Rowan simply raised his hand.

Somewhat surprisingly -- That's your cynicism talking, girl, Yasmin thought -- most of the Writers agreed. Those who did not offered to look for the survivors of TAPSLAUGHT's attack on the hospital, "just in case," as someone put it.

"Okay, now that the fiery-speech-and-rallying thing is done with, how are we supposed to, uh, combine our strengths?" asked Fancy.

Yasmin typed a few lines on her laptop and pressed Enter. A young, dark-skinned woman dressed in crimson robes appeared before them, looking less than pleased. She fixed a gimlet gaze on the Writer, saying acidly, "I see that you finally deigned to bring me out of limbo. I'm honoured."

"Wait... I know her... Monet? From "Avalon"?" exclaimed Mitai.

"Yes. I thought that being the Archmage and all, she'd have the magickal know-how." Yasmin gave the mage a beseeching look.

Monet sighed loudly. "How can I deny my own Writer?" she murmured. "I need the laptop for this... thank you. Everyone, stand in a circle around me and hold hands. Tightly."

"Not much for courtesy, is she?" Azzy whispered. Yasmin rolled her eyes. The Archmage pointedly ignored them both.

She waved a hand over the laptop, turning it into a crystal ball which barely fir her palm. It shone with an inner light of its own, perfectly translucent. With a practiced grace, Monet snapped her hand up, tossing the ball upwards. It stopped and spun slowly a few inches above her head. The glow intensified, bathing the upturned faces of the Writer.

"Focus your eyes and thoughts on the crystal ball," Monet commanded. "Empty your mind of everything except it. This is no time to ponder on your grandmother's walnut bread recipe. Focus on the ball. And hold hands."

The crystal ball spun faster, mesmerising its watchers. Monet began to chant, which to the Writers sounded like sing-song gibberish. As her chant ended, the ball stopped spinning. The world, or so it seemed, held its breath.

"Unitas."

There was no dramatic roar, or even a Lovecraft-ian sucking sound. The Writers simply seemed to dissolve into glittering motes and were swept upwards by an unfelt wind to where the erstwhile laptop waited. For a moment, they orbited the ball like Saturn's rings. Then Monet clapped her hands once, hard, and with a flash of light only the crystal ball remained.

Monet held out her hands, and the ball floated gently onto them. It now had a mother-of-pearl sheen and, as the remaining Writers watched, its liquid insides roiled restlessly.

"I will bring this to TAPSLAUGHT," she said, breaking the silence.

"And then what?"

"Then I will break it, and see what will hatch: an falcon, or a sparrow." Monet stepped into a portal and vanished, leaving only an echo of her words. ___________________

Take it away, Light Brigade! :)

(Fa)Re: TAPSLAUGHT: Final Phase

Monet moved into a clearing in the destruction and stood tall. Softly she whispered, "Tapslaught. Tapslaught. Tapslaught."

The landscape twisted and blurred for a minute and then Tapslaught slowly materialized in front of her. Monet’s eyes sparked dangerously and she stood her ground as Tapslaught roared mightly in front of her.

"Hail, Monster!" shouted Monet above the Tapslaught’s fury. "Mark me well fiend, for I am the emissary of your destruction."

Monet raised the swirling, glittering orb high above her head. With a softly whispered prayer she dashed the ball to the ground. It shattered on inpact and a cloud of sparkling, redish gas slowly began to rise from the remains of the globe. Monet vanished as the cloud grew and grew, swirling slowly into a form. In a moment the amalgam had formed. It looked around in surprise, trying to orient itself. It looked down at it’s body and smiled in both amusement and surprise.

*I’m female,* it thought to itself.

It moved slightly and realized that it was tall. In fact it was less than a head shorter than Tapslaught.

*I’m a giant!* she thought in mounting excitement. She realized she was mostly arms and legs. In fact, her arms and legs were unnaturally long, connected to a short torso. Her extradorinary height combined with her thin frame and long limbs gave her a willowly, graceful look and when she moved she felt powerful muscles and a natural gracefulness. She took a tentative step forward and felt her body respond as if it was floating, gliding, swimming, flying. She was almost weightless. Something in the back of her mind recognized part of herself.

*I’m a ninja,* she thought and was confident that she possesed the skills of a highly trained martial artist. She knew also, that she had the ability to teleport short distances.

Her gaze wandered over her limbs and she saw that her slender arms ended in leonine retractable claws and a cat-like tail swished from her rear and ended in a barbed bundle of quills. She flicked her tail appreciateively and realized that her back was unnaturrally heavy. She turned slightly and saw leathery bat-like wings stretching out around her. She was clad in a short leather tunic which was slit on both sides in the front to allow her ease of movement. Long dark red hair cascaded down her back and she felt it tickling the back of her thighs. Her dark eyes, large, oval and slightly upturned like a cat’s, and yet so very human, glinted dangerously and she turned to Tapslaught.

"Pray tell, what are you?" sneered Tapslaught looking her new foe up and down.

"I am the end," she said, her voice deep, low, throaty, gravelly. It was almost a growl or a purr and yet it was fully of danger and warning.

"Tapslaught is amused by you, beast. You will be allowed to watch while I finish destroying subreality."

"Hear me, Tapslaught, for I am...Raazyafaromi." Her eyes widened and she clamped a hand over her mouth in surprise. That didn’t sound right in the least. She searched her mind franctically. My name? My name? Indistinct thoughts swirled in her head.

Taplaught merely arched a formless eyebrow. "Indeed," she said dryly. "And it’s lovely."

"I am Azramifaroya!" Again she knew that wasn’t right and she stepped backward uncertainly. Her mind screamed that there was a name...no several names, but she couldn’t seem to remember them. Several names? How could that be? What was her name?

"If you don’t know, I’m sure I don’t," said Tapslaught, a hint of amusement in her voice. "Beast, you are most certainly amusing. I may have to keep you around as a pet."

"I am Mifarayaroaz!" she nearly shouted in desperation, her brain seemingly unable to come up with her name.

"Rumplestilksen?" suggested Tapslaught

"I am...I am...I am Azmifarayaro!" she shrieked triumphantly. "Behold, I am Azmifarayaro, and I have come to do battle with you."

Tapslaught shrugged carelessly. "What care I for your name? In the end, you will be but one of the nameless legions crushed beneath my heels." Taplaught turned away and in a careless, off-hand kind of way she said, "Heralds, put the cat out, if you will."

From behind Tapslaught’s immense form Dande and Pook popped up.

"I knew I heard the Kazoo of Doom in the background," snarled Azmifarayaro.

Dande clapped her hands as the kazoo began to sound more loudly. "Come on, nice kitty. Shoo! You’re bothering the boss while she’s trying to work. Shoo!"

Azmifarayaro snarled and then reached out, swiping the kazoo from Pook’s hands. She crushed it and tossed it over her shoulder. Pook’s face was frozen in a look of utter surprise and bafflement.

"But...But...hey, you just can’t do that!"

"Too bad," growled Azmifarayaro. She spun around and executed a perfect kick which impacted Pook squarely in the chest. Pook sailed across the ruin of the Age of Apocolypse grill and landed with a crunch and a thud.

Dande put her hands on her hips and glowered at the amalgam before her. "Look here. You can’t be doing that kind of thing. It’s just not the way things are suppose to happen. You had better start behaving or things are going to get serious here."

Azmifarayaro laughed and the sound was frightening to hear. It was like rocks being ground together and it held no real mirth. Dande’s face fell and she managed to mutter a small, "Uh oh" before Azmifarayaro knocked her to the ground with a powerful swipe, her claws raking open Dande’s chest. Dande looked at the blood oozing up from the wound and her eyes opened in surprise and then they rolled back into her head as she sagged limply to the ground.

Tapslaught whirled around, a cry of rage ripped from her throat. "HOW DARE YOU MAIM THE HERALDS OF TAPSLAUGHT!"

Tapslaught sprang at Azmifarayaro and the two locked together, grappling furiously, the ground churning beneath them as they twisted, writhed, and fought.

Another Dande and Pook materialized on a boulder nearby, hugging their knees to their chests. Dande produced a bag of popcorn from somewhere about her person and offered some to Pook. Pook declined.

"I can’t play fight music and eat at the same time," she explained.

Dande popped a handful into her mouth and the two watched the action with interest.

"Should we do something?" asked Pook.

Dande shrugged. "Um, I think the boss has it under control."

"I think we should help," said Pook doubtfully between toots on the kazoo.

"Ah ha!" shrieked a high pitched voice behind them as a cross dressing midget popped up. "Found ya!"

"What the hell...?" snapped Dande irritably as she looked behind them.

"Take that! And that!" shrieked the midget, kicking Pook and pulling her hair.

"Hey knock it off!" groused Pook, unhurt and annoyed.

As Pook flicked the midget in an attempt to get it off of her, a dozen or so more appeared.

"Where are they coming from?" asked Dande curious yet unafraid.

"Hey, sister, you ever see Jurassic Park 2?" asked one of the midgets.

"Why do you ask?" replied Dande.

"You know that part where the one little dinosaur is cute, but then when a bunch of them get together they’re dangerous?" asked the midget and the band of midgets drew in closer, with more appearing every minute.

Dande nodded and then understanding struck. She stepped back, raising her hands defensively as the entire mass of midgets swarmed as one body and jumped on the two heralds, pummeling them furiously. The heralds shrieked in terror as they fell to the ground under a mass of midgets.

****

Okay, if you don't like our appearance I'm sure we can shapeshift or something like that. I tried to give us tools and abilties that were taken from everyone. Like I'm a cat so we have claws and a tail and wings from Ramiel and ninja skills from Mitai, near invulnerability from Rowan, teleporting from Azzy and strength, intelligence and beauty from Yasmin. I also tried to make us kinda funky, monster like but also attractive so that if we end up stuck together we can still pick up guys :-)

As for the name...well it's the first two letters of each of our names. If you don't like it, you can change it. I tried to give the impression that Azmifarayaro sort of realizes it's an amalgam but that it can't really remember the distinct individuals who went into making it...can't remember them or their names. Feel free to change anything I wrote if you think it's silly or you don't like it.

(Fa)PS

Oh yeah, and yes, I did rip off Beetlejuice at the beginning and also I tried to make it ambiguous as to whether or not we killed the 1st Pook and Dande cause I wasn't sure if eveyrone would approve of us being killers or not so I leave that also in your hands.

(Renn)The things you see...

207.211.43.38 writes:

She blinked.

During the blink, she nearly fell over a chunk of rubble.

"What in the....?"

There was Tapslaught fighting some catwoman. There were cross-dressed midgets attacking Dande and Ming.

"I wonder," muttered Renn as she regained her breath.

Tapslaught bellowed in anger. The amalgamation wasn't just lying down and dying. Her heralds were in trouble, and to top it off, she had a severe case of indigestion.

"ENOUGH!" the crazed one screached. "I AM TAPSLAUGHT! MY WILL IS LAW!"

"Ah, stick it in your ear." The amalgam looked bemused, and a stray thought reached the other swirling minds, ~Sorry, I've never been able to take meglomaniacs seriously.~

Her breath regained, and muscles sore, Renn shook her head, and winced as the shimmering amalgamation took a nasty hit. The blonde cheered silently when Tapslaught was hit by a nastier jab to the abdomen with a knee.

"I guess it's a matter of wait and watch. I hope the amalgamation can seperate afterwards."

"HEY!" a midget lashed out with a boa, catching Renn on the calf. "Here's another one, boys!"

Renn narrowed her eyes, and very evenly stated. "Don't. My creativity demons have eaten ones such as you before. I've no fear of setting them loose on you." Quietly, she added to herself. ~I hope I can clean out the infestation if it comes to that...~

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