TAPSLAUGHT #8Ocho205.242.93.133 writes: Lyssie ducked as Prizm fired another flash of blinding light at her. She raised her head and fired in the afterflash. A marigold in a little planter sat there, now. ~Heh.~ She turned to see how things were going on the other side of the room. A group of ninjas had arrived and were joining the fight. And-- ~Fekt!~ During the scuffle with Prizm, she'd moved away from Alan, and Sabretooth now had him. {{Captain, they're kidnapping Alan!}} {{Get him!}} {{Right-o.}} "Hey, you! Come back here with that Writer!!" The departing Sabretooth let out a snarl and continued departing. Lyss attempted to throw herself after him, but one of the ninjas slashed downwards at her leg, and she had to parry or lose a limb. Kicking the man's teeth in, she quickly skewered him and turned to go after Alan again. "Oi, you bloody arse. Bugger that, an' let the man go!" The sounds of a scuffle could be heard outside the bar door. Lyss yanked the door open and then stared in shock at the scene. There were three of them, of no more than two foot in height; they were running in and bashing at Sabretooth's legs. He was whirling, trying to grab one of them, while keeping Alan over his shoulder. One of the... Dwarves? Yes, dwarves, ran in and swung an axe. Lyss winced and closed her eyes as blood gushed out and splattered her and the surrounding area. The dwarf had taken off Creed's legs. He was howling in rage and pain. Lyss didn't hesitate, she raised her left hand--with the Browning in it--and fired, turning 'Tooth into a carrot cake. Alan lay on the ground, covered in, well, gore. She ran over and dropped next to him, "Alan? Alan!!" Her fingers quickly found a steady pulse beating in his neck. He didn't appear to want to stir, though. "Drat. Dammnit." An ostentatious clearing of the throat drew her head over to her left, "Yes?" The tallest of the dwarves (and the one with the axe), cocked his head, "Eh. You be the Muse wot has requested our presence?" "Oh. Um, erm.." Lyss blinked at him, "Yes. One of them, anyway. Look, do you think you could help us secure the Tavern?" The three looked at each other, "Mebbe," Their spokesperson assented, "And, mebbe you'll tell us who you are." She stood and extended her hand, "Lyssie, Muse to the Writer Ana. You would be part of the Tapcoterie, correct?" He shook her hand, "Blaise, Rom and Tanner." He gestured to himself and the other two, in turn, "Muses of the Tapcoterie, to the Writer Tapestry." He leaned closer to Lyss and whispered, "We're the cause of some of her recent fixations with Death." "Ahhh." Lyss leaned over and scooped Alan up onto her shoulders in the classic fireman-carry, and stepped back towards the Crossed Swords."Coming?" -------------- Captain had peripherally noted Lyss going after Alan. There was an odd lull, so she organised the defenders in the 'Swords. Old, young, infirm, or vibrantly hale. All were fighting for their tavern, now. Ale spilled, tables broke and chairs flew through the air as the Marauders found themselves up against rather virulent opposition. Ninjas were stabbed, beaten and completely plodded over. Lyssie walked back in, Alan over her shoulder and surveyed the room. Tom, the barman was tossing bottles at Arclight, who was smashing them and blinding her opponents, Gambit and Gambit and... Gambit. All three had squared off against her and begun tossing cards, trying to knock her over. Malice was occupying the conscious of a Xena fictive (at least, she was assuming the reason the Xena had 'killed' a Gabrielle and was attacking others was because of Malice). Three of the fictives had already been 'killed' by her. Blockbuster was taken down by a stray card from the Gambits, that hit in him in well... A delicate place. As for the other three Marauders, they were fully occupied in trying to stay alive, as the rest of the occupants of the Crossed Swords objected strenuously to having their peace and quiet disrupted. The fight ended rather faster than she'd expected. Somehow, she and the three dwarves were fighting as a team. They quickly dispatched Arclight, one of the sorceresses took out Malice/Xena, and the other two Marauders fled with the ninjas that got free from the people's vengeance. "There." Lyss panted a bit, "That worked," she yelped, seeing the figure lying still on the ground and dropped to her knees. "Methos?" Her fingers searched and found a faint, but steady pulse. "Good." She sat back on her heels and surveyed the damage. Tables, chair and glass littered the floor. In pieces or whole in some instances, the wreckage was immense. "I'm sorry all, we shouldn't have--" "Shut it, Lyss." Captain growled, "We didn't exactly have a choice." Lyssie blinked, "Oh. Yeah. We didn't." She semi-grinned and stood up. "All right, peoples, we need to figure out why Sinister helped destabilise Tappy. And are the rest of the 'Coterie here, Corin? Because I don't think we have five hours anymore." She looked at her fellow Muse, who was cleaning a rather nasty looking sword. He looked at her and blinked. "They're on their ways. 'Ello, Blaise." The dwarf nodded at Corin, "You've been keeping busy, I see." Corin shrugged, "A bit." He turned to Lyss and Captain, "We should have at least thirteen. I put out a wide-range call." "Good." Captain nodded. She turned to where Alan lay on the floor, "What did they hit him with?" A tan-coloured Hank McCoy stepped forward, "I'm a doctor, milady, let me check him." He did so. "He appears to be in a state of fugue." "Fugue? As in bliss?" "Yes. From what I can tell--and I don't have the proper instruments with me--he was 'zapped' with something that put him into a near-state of Nirvana." -------------------- "I have no idea why Sinister would assist Poccy--or even why Poccy would do it.." Lyss glared at Corin, frustrated beyond words. They'd rearranged some of the furniture--she and Captain--and were now all sitting around, sipping drinks and discussing the situation. Alan was laid out on a bench by the fire. "I can tell you," the voice was weary, female, and coming from the ruined door. She appeared to be an older version of Tapestry, dressed in faded jeans, green silk blouse and brown leather vest. "Hello, who are you?" Lyss demanded, standing to face the woman. Captain shoved an elbow in her side as she stood, "Can't you guess, Lyss? It's HER." She laughed softly, "Yes. 'Tis I, Tapestry's first Muse. I am the majestrix of the Tapcoterie." --------- "So, what you're saying is that Sinister figured out what this 'aura' was and decided to dispell it? And then Poccy joined him?" Lyssie was trying to figure it out. Not that it made much sense. "Tappy steals Muses. Or, rather, they are 'attracted' to her." Captain nodded, "I've felt the odd pull once or twice, myself. Never knew why, though." "But how did she get the 'aura' in the first place?" "That isn't known, though those of us who are the original Thirteen," She stopped and looked at them, seated or standing as they were. "We have speculated that it may be from Tapestry's age." Corin nodded, "Yeah. Bloody little gel is thirteen and starts writing." Lyssie sighed, "We need to take you with us, then, back to the big T. And, you think you can get to her?" Lyss felt like playing dumb blonde at this point. ~It's not as if I truly understand this, even though I *am* a Muse.~ Lia nodded, "Yes. We should be able to take hold of her creative processes again, that should stop her." ~Easy enough for her,~ Lyss thought, ~She's the Majestrix. Some of us aren't so exalted.~ {{A little jealous?}} {{No, Captain, just.. *sigh* Bothered. It's too easy. Take her there and presto-changeo, Tappy's back to normal. There *has* to be more of it than that. And, well. A little jealous. She *is* a premiere Muse after all. Second only to the Queen.}} Lyss tuned out of the conversation and looked around at the others. Thirteen Muses sat or stood around the bar, comprising the Core of the Tapcoterie. Corin, Blaise, Rom, Tanner, Red, Cherie, Lia, Sarin, Prue, Tala, Tom, Waster, and Thorea. She could name them all now. They all had...a presence, something that made them seem more Museish. Maybe because they had effectively become a collective. {{Hmm.}} Captain answered her, {{I'm worried about it being too easy myself.}} "--and then," Lia paused, "Was there something the two of you would like to add?" {{Oh, and they all left for Sinister. That bugs me, too.}} Captain added as she turned to check on Alan, leaving Lyss to field the question. "Yes. Why did you let Sinister and Poccy talk you into this?" The Thirteen looked at each other, discomforted. Corin finally took the initiative and spoke, when Lyss was beginning to think none of them would answer. Lia was blushing slightly. "We was all, well.. We was all bleedin' tired, y'see, and well." he shrugged, "It seemed like a good idea at the time." He glared at her, balefully. "Why'd'you wanna know, anyway? Wot, you think you're pure as the driven snow and have never thought of running away from your Writer--taking a vacation?" Heat flashed up Lyssie's face as that one hit home, "Yes, but I'm only on vaccie! I'm going back, dammit. You," she gestured at them. "All of you left her, and weren't planning to go back!" "She's always said she wanted rid of us," muttered one of the dwarves--Tanner, actually. "We gave her what she wanted." "That's not an excuse!" Captain snapped, rejoining the conversation, "As a Muse, you have a Duty to you Writer. You do not ever leave their side, save short, given vacations. Now, if you all don't mind, I think we shoudl go. We have Subreality to save, after all. And from what I'm picking up through the ether--what we *all* are sensing, dammit--things are NOT going well." She turned and carefully pulled a blanket over Alan. "Tom? I'm leaving him in your tender care," she stepped toward him, grinning toothily,"And if I hear of *anything* happening to him..." Tom went white at whatever his imaginings were, and nodded quickly, "I'll watch him, I won'tlethimoutofmysite, you havemyword!" "Good. Lyss?" Lyssie stood, and patted Alan on the cheek, "Luck, AlanBunny." She turned, "Let's blow this gin-joint." ------------------- Meta: I apologise for any typos, etc. It's 5:38 in the bloody morning and I was meant to ne in bed an hour ago.. *sigh* I'm sorry this took so long. Also, thanks to Kitarra for the lovely suggestion. :) (Even if you have no idea what I'm talking about). Hugs, Ana, who is going to bed now, dammit. Ana/Lyssie (Ya)Tapslaught: MuseQuest: Time Flies 161.142.52.129 writes: I'm tired, dirty, furious, and I want a drink, thought the Captain, stumbling out of Crossed Swords. Not a good day at all. And I'm frightened too, not that I'll ever admit it. {{Too late.}} The red-haired Muse's glare wouldn't have melted an ice cube, but she tried her best. Lyss smiled sympathetically, flicking dried flecks of blood from her clothes. "What're we waitin' for?" asked one of the Tapcoterie. They hovered uneasily behind the duo, wary of any unseen presence. "Illyana promised us a ride," Captain explained. "But her brother was injured in the fight, so it'll be a while before she can join us." Lyss blinked. "Ah, this would be the Magik Illyana? I've always wanted to see Limbo." "Trust me, you wouldn't want to live there," said the blonde girl, stepping up behind them. She was in full armour, Soulsword at ready. Catching their faces, she shrugged and said, "Just in case. Where do you want to go?" Captain and Lyss exchanged looks. "Umm... we're not sure where TAPSLAUGHT is right now." "I think she's near Subreality Hospital," Lia offered. "We can feel her there. We think." "That's good enough for me," Illyana decided. "Line up, ladies and gentlemen--" a stepping disk appeared "--let's go!" As they teleported off, a figure detached itself from the shadows, moving with absolute silence. A good observer would notice a small red glow, but it too disappeared into thin air. Yasmin M. (Mi)TAPSLAUGHT: Final Phase 24.2.115.57 writes: The fight was not going as well as was expected. * * * One of the troubles Yasmin decided NOT to tell her poor bodymates about- Oh, yes, let's blame Yasmin, shall we? Guys, let's not aruge here- Yasmin didn't tell us we wouldn't be able to THINK!!! Like I knew? Your idea- Guys- We can't make decisions or think of anything creative at all - Yes, oh yes, it's all YASMIN'S fault! Why don't we kick her out and leave her for TAPSLAUGHT! The poor marytr! She was only doing what she thought best- GUYS - Stupid damn leggy body - GUYS!!! DUCK!!!! And so the amalgam did duck, just under the reach of TAPSLAUGHT. Much like her namesake, TAPSLAUGHT was able to manipulate her body and send out small blasts of energy at the amalgam, which made dodging very difficult, and the problem was further complicated by panicking Writers trying to take control of them all to do what each thought would be best. Fortunately, because of the body they had formed, they managed to make their bungling look graceful and coordinated. In Subreality, anything is possible. * * * Jeez, that was close! Guys, let's cooperate here- Easy for YOU to say! How is it easy for ME to say- GUYS!!!! SHUT . . . UP! Okay, incoming! Parry! Dodge! Step aside and counter! SHIT!!! * * * TAPSLAUGHT smiled in pleasure as a particularly wicked backhand connected and the cat/bat creature was felled in a huge cloud of dust. It coughed, and its tail writhed in fury. "NOW, YOU SHALL FEEL THE WRATH OF TAPSLAUGHT!" A particularly loud noise came from somewhere near the back end of TAPSLAUGHT. She blushed. "THAT'S WHAT I GET FOR EATING SO MUCH GRAPEFRUIT AT ONCE," she muttered. * * * Holy shit! Guys, look at Tappy's tummy! What the heck . . . So Kielle's going to pop out and do a dance? Uhm . . . This is going to hurt . . . * * * A strange glow began emminating from TAPSLAUGHT'S midsection, and she put a hand to it in alarm. Pook, Ming, and the cross-dressing midgets stared in wonder as TAPSLAUGHT began to slowly expand, and expand, and expand . . . **************** Heh. Wonder what the Tappy Tummy Writers are doing. Mitai |