Thread: Passing Strange

inorite?


(what - it's a tender caress! )

Dianeva - thank you for being an amazingly good sport!!! (And point taken)

I couldn't ask for any more... any forgiveness is appreciated - I was pretty worried about your reaction.

It's tough to write a story like this - I don't want it to be boring, but at the same time I don't want to go too far. Sometimes I'm afraid I make the wrong choices. Heh, and I have been taking character inspiration largely from the Fetish thread..

*Commentary*

Both my character and Dianeva's just had their pivotal moments. She's been broken all the way down now - from proud invulnerable warrior to naked crying little girl who just wants to run away - but in that moment she found the strength to stay and fight. And my character finally stood up and grew a pair. Now it remains to be seen if he can be as assertive against an enemy - especially when it involves killing..

(Just wanted to point out that there are actually important things going on in that scene )

Moments later she's arrayed in her armour again - including the sword belt Diddy was wearing - and we're off to try to find the source of the eerie discordant music.

"Look out bitch!" Diddy hisses a bit over-dramatically.. "Mama's got a squeezebox!"

He grabs the accordion and riffs off a few notes, but it sounds terrible.

"Dammit, this isn't going to work! I dragged you folks all through Hell for this accordion - because after all, what's the opposite of discord? Harmony right? Accord. I used to be able to make magic with this thing - but it depends on being able to PLAY it!! No magic unless there's music. In order to combat Saffron's discord I need to be able to counter it note for note - find the notes that, added to hers, create harmonious chords - and it needs to be done instantaneously without thinking consciously about it. That requires a musician - something I used to be. This truly is a magical accordion - but it's useless unless somebody can play it flawlessly.. "

DeMonica puts her hands on his shoulders.

"It's because you lost your soul - your anima. Your Lucy. She's your muse. Without her you wont be able to create anything beautiful. She's not dead - or you'd be dead. If we could only find her.. "

"She's probably right here in the castle somewhere - I know Neener - she'd think it was a great trick to hide her right in plain sight somewhere. But where? It would take forever to search the entire castle!"

"Wait - " Xey begins. "What about that thing Darkmatters said - about burying the kitten in the coal cellar

"Under. Under the Coal Cellar." I pipe up.

"Yeh whatever. You said that was important right? Maybe it's a clue?"

Diddy pulls his lip for a moment in deep thought.

"Yes.. yes, it must be. But how? Under... under what?"

"Under everything." I guess. "What's the deepest part of the Castle?"

"Well - the dungeons of course... but there are too many... of course!!! That's it!"

And we're running.

"I just remembered - see all this nice tile? We got a great deal on it but we had a bunch left over, so we stacked it in an unused dungeon room."

"Yeh - so?" Xey inquires.

"We stacked it right on top of a solitary confinement cell - which is the only thing deeper than the dungeons!! Right on top of the trapdoor!"

"Oh hell - that's GOT to be it!" I agree.

In moments we've pounded down a flight of stone stairs into a dungeon room lit by a few guttering torches. Diddy cautions us with a raised hand..

"If there are torches that means somebody's here - a guard probably."

"Which means you're right." I point out unnecessarily.

And just then someone steps out into the light.

"Tommy-O!" Xey ejaculates.

The newcomer raises a hand to stop us and Xey lops it off with a sickle.

"Bloody bastard!! Learn some inductive reasoning ya Git!"

He sinks the point of the hooked blade into Tommy-O's chest. It doesn't seem to affect him much - his face remains impassive and odd. And there's no blood.

"Gah!! Spider-thing!!" Xey cries, leaping away convulsively.

"Wait - " DeMonica interjects. "You didn't know?"

"Oh I knew! Just freaked me out is all."

We're all looking at him a little funny as he draws back and proceeds to hack Tommy-O to bits, revealing the black spider legs hidden by his coveralls.

Xey looks up from his bloody work - "Hey, I might not be all smart anymore, but I remember I used to be and this fool couldn't reason his way out of a paper bag!!"

DeMonica grabs him by the wrist and pulls him away. Wow..

"There!" Diddy exclaims as we round a corner. Before us lay stacks of slick tile all piled to mid-thigh height.

I just spent a good portion of 2 days reading this all. Amazing penmenship, a remarkable story, and though it... sometimes turned directions I'm not used to reading, I kept reading right through to the end! As a lurker, I only know a few of the people caricatured in this tale... so there's a mixture of confusion and knowing there, but it was entertaining all the same.

But... you're leaving me hanging here! I need to know what happens next.

Thank you. You know - I'm a bit surprised myself at the direction this has gone, and sometimes I just think "What the hell am I DOING??!!!"

And I know - I didn't write yesterday. My excuse is my Kindle came in and I got a bad case of gadgetitis. Spent too much time downloading free books and reading and playing around with the features. So today I'll make up for it.

Hah, no worries.

You know, right after I posted here I checked my watched threads and saw you responded to me in the Rant and Rave thread, so I posted there. Then I see you've already responded here, too. Funny how that works.

Originally Posted by Darkmatters

And I know - I didn't write yesterday. My excuse is my Kindle came in and I got a bad case of gadgetitis.

Any excuse short of a dead relative is not valid!

The entire time I didn't have access to the internet over the past few weeks, I was almost constantly thinking about this story. And now I've read what I missed... and it continues to be awesome. I'm going to be depressed when this is over.

Haha! Awesome!! Way to make a writer very happy!!

Also, thank you for bumping this right to the top just when I was ready to post the next (rather small) scene. Seriously, made this easy...

* * *

Mighty Banhammer is slicing through the air at a height of about 5 feet, pulling Zombie_Muffin behind it - her legs and feet dragging across the ground. It's hard to say which is controlling which, if indeed there is any control.

The funnel clouds have drawn closer - they roam in restless loops crossing over the castle walls - now inside and now out. Wind is lashing violently through the entire Castle grounds. Lightning flashes almost constantly and the rumbling of thunder is continuous.

Suddenly the careening hammer angles upward, yanking her off the ground and into the air. It does a few loops and barrel rolls - swoops up and down dizzyingly - all with no rhyme or reason. It dips groundward, rips through a little grove of trees and bounces off the dirt a few times before stabilizing at about an 8 foot altitude and swerving toward the corner of the Castle.

It smashes a hole right through the stone wall. There follow a series of crashing noises from inside, and then it smashes out again a dozen yards away going in a different direction. Muffin still dangles like the tail of a kite behind it, and a tattered curtain flutters for a moment from her body before violent winds tear it away.

* * *

It's the work of 5 minutes to clear away enough stacked tile to reveal the trapdoor underneath. Now Diddy stands just in front of it. He takes a deep breath, then lifts off the accordion from his chest and sets it on a nearby stack. Then he nods.

DeMonica and Xey remove the thick pins securing the hasps and I lift the heavy door open. Immediately there's an audible gasp from inside the dark hole and I see pale arms rise up toward Diddy even as his (similarly pale) reach toward whoever is in the cell. It's like a magnetic attraction. Behind the arms rises a slender pale girl - nude with long black hair hanging almost shroudlike over her body. She's crying out loud now, and so is Diddy as they come together in a tight embrace.

The cell must be tiny! She's standing in it and only her calves and knees are still hidden. It must be hardly large enough to lay in - like a casket!! I can't even conceive how horrible it would be to spend any time in there.

I notice they're breathing completely in unison. Even sobbing in unison. Their voices in total sync.

Their embrace is so tight it's hard to tell it's actually two people. They're literally melting together. And then it's only one person.

Before us now stands Ominous_Diddy - but no longer effeminate and weak.

Now he's quite obviously masculine - I mean not like big and brawny or anything, but a far cry from the feeble, pallid transvestite we've known. Neener's pink gown tears in a few places as his chest expands and his stance becomes assertive and dominant. And now, even in drag he exudes an undeniable masculine power. We all unconsciously bow our heads for a moment in awe - no wonder he was the king!

Something profound happens the moment they merge. A powerful surge crackles like electricity through the air - through all of us. It changes us subtly. For a moment we exchange incredulous glances, like sleepers awakened and not yet sure quite what's going on.

"Lucidity." I say quietly.

"Wot's that?" Xey asks.

"Lucidity. That's it - it's the word we didn't have access to earlier - or one of them anyway. Lucy Diddy.. "

* * *

At the selfsame moment Zombie_Muffin is being flailed violently against the ground once more - rather like a tin can being dragged behind a speeding car.

The surge passes through her and instantly her flight stabilizes. Her face changes slightly as well - a new self-control settles onto her features and she turns her face toward the Castle. Smoothly she sails up and over the spires and turrets until the courtyards at the center come into view.

Crowds are massing there - throngs of people (there's something strangely wrong with their legs and the way they walk) and something else - creatures larger than people and with too many legs... striped in grey and black.

* * *

Suddenly there's a faintly audible *pop* and Ominous changes again.


"Omnis Dei!" DeMonica gasps. Indeed. "The God-King is come again!"

He's also had a very fortunate and instantaneous change of clothing - A rather strange one though.

He's wearing pencil-slim Levis and a poncho and flat wide brimmed hat. In fact he looks suspiciously like Clint Eastwood from the Dollars trilogy. And I'll be damned if he doesn't actually exude just enough masculine power to pull it off!!

He picks up the accordion and settles it against his chest, experimentally riffs off a few bars of Welcome to the Jungle by Guns-n-Roses. It sounds amazing!!! I can swear I even hear Slash's lead guitar... how the hell can you do that with an accordion??!!!

Then he slings it across his back and gives us a grim look.

"Come on."

* * *

DeeryTheDeer: You fucked up.

what

DeeryTheDeer: You wrote the Muffin scenes in third person. Your character wasn't there to see it - even in a 'vision'. Until now everything has been seen through your character's eyes. In fact you're fucking up right now - how can you be seeing my posts?

Originally Posted by Darkmatters

He picks up the accordion and settles it against his chest, experimentally riffs off a few bars of Welcome to the Jungle by Guns-n-Roses. It sounds amazing!!! I can swear I even hear Slash's lead guitar... how the hell can you do that with an accordion??!!!

Then he slings it across his back and gives us a grim look.

"Come on."

Originally Posted by Darkmatters

* * *

DeeryTheDeer: You fucked up.
what
DeeryTheDeer: You wrote the Muffin scenes in third person. Your character wasn't there to see it - even in a 'vision'. Until now everything has been seen through your character's eyes.

hahaha. That threw me off a bit, too.

I was wondering if anybody caught that or was going to say anything.

And now the end draws near.

I'm sad to see it end, but in a way it's almost a relief. The writing has changed drastically (for me - I mean the writing process) since those heady early days when I was so fired up I felt like I was floating. Some of the more recent days it actually felt like a chore - and some days I just coasted by, writing on autopilot.

I remember doing the early parts of the journey across the island of IRC - the thrill of weaving those complex sentences and archaic terms so it almost sounded like Dante or Shakespeare (er - ALMOST almost.. ) and checking online thesaurii every few minutes to find interesting words that I never would have come up with on my own. Ahhhh - if only that kind of passion and patience were available all the time on demand!!

If this was a more serious story I would have done it differently - I would have outlined the entire thing first and then roughed out a 1st draft before anybody else saw it. But that wouldn't have been nearly as much fun!! For one thing - if I approached it that way and saw how long this was going to be - I would have probably got discouraged and moved on to something else. (I wonder how long it is? I want to put it into some kind of software that can do a word count - wonder if it's hit novel length yet? It sure feels like it!) But posting each scene as soon as I write it for everyone to see (and thus locking myself in to something that I might later wish I had done differently) kept it fresh and exciting - it was as much an adventure for me as for anybody. I often start writing and as ideas occur I'll laugh or shake my head and smile... I love the way it twists and turns even though I knew basically where I was going.

But it's not over yet... the most exciting parts still lie ahead. Looking forward to tomorrow!

'Yes, the new brood has grown nicely' thinks Saffron. She thinks it with the surface part of her mind, for the deeper part is busy directing thoughts into the minds of her minions as they sway hypnotized before her - half-human spider-minions in front and beyond them the larger heavier warrior class standing some 7 to 8 feet tall and built thicker than the minions - heavily armored until they have knobby bony shells almost more like crustaceans than arachnids. And they're beautiful - sleek and powerful, adorned with patterned grey and black stripes.

'I remember birthing you all as if it was only yesterday' she thinks and smiles wickedly. Actually it was earlier today. But they had scuttled out to seek dark nooks and hollows where they could grow unseen until they became strong enough to defend themselves.

But her pleasure at this family reunion is marred by the howling winds and constantly pounding thunder and the threatening tornadoes that ring the entire Castle and occasionally roam right across the perimeter wall to chew up the sward - HER sward - or at least it soon will be. In a sense she already owns it all - it's just that nobody else knows it yet. And there are those who will try to take it back from her.

But all this noise makes it so hard to hold her warriors and minions in thrall and communicate their instructions to them. What should have been done in 5 minutes has taken over an hour now and won't be done for some time yet. Her arms are getting worn out working the Discordion.

But that's discord for you. It fouls the best laid plans of men and monsters. Usually it's on her side because unlike most she understands the powerful role chaos plays in everything - but she supposes creating this complex plan to take over DV was an open invitation to chaos to come in and foul it up somehow. That's alright - she always accepts its dictates. As a faithful servitor of the Goddess Discord she had rather expected a little help from her though.

She's also beginning to get a little peeved because every so often another of her Minions suddenly pops and turns into a person again - very similar to the person it had been, but not exactly the same. It's happened to a few dozen of them already, and at this rate she'll have no minions left in another few hours. Thus far though she's simply instructed all the nearby minions or warriors to tear the changelings asunder. This at least has kept them from running and causing any trouble. So many interruptions though..

But what's this now - a young girl flying up over the walls - attached to the handle of a huge sledge hammer??! A zombie girl it looks like - no wait, she just popped and became fully human again - became Puffin again. And now she's speeding downward behind the hammer and tearing huge swaths of destruction through the ranks of her lovely pets.

'Fuck it' She decides.

She quickly instructs all of her ranked pets to just go on a destructive rampage (THAT isn't so hard) - then she compresses the Discordion flat and latches it with a tiny brass hook and lets it hang once again on its thin leather strap from her sash.

She didn't even realize how much tension was building up inside her throughout this ordeal. But now it all floods her - her arms feel shaky and there's a fierce throbbing headache shaping up mostly behind her left eye. For a moment, unable to deal with the debacle that's become of her beautiful plan, she covers her face with both hands and sighs deeply.

And when she slides her hands down yet another problem confronts her.

The king is here.

What the hell.. she had the entire castle searched all day for him immediately after the sausage feast - she thought she had him cornered in the Royal Bedchambers briefly, but he had apparently escaped just before her arrival. She was beginning to believe he had fled and would not present a problem - but there the bastard is now - dressed like some kind of Marlboro Man and with a huge clunky old worn-out accordion slung on his back. He's just burst out the doors leading down to the dungeons with a couple of other people..

Well, her pets will keep them occupied. Even now they're swamped in battle against a dozen minions with more closing in rapidly and a few warriors beginning to move that way.

She turns and slips discreetly through the doors behind her to stalk angrily down the empty corridor, silken dress swirling agitatedly. There's only one thing that can calm her distraught nerves now. It's been many months since she last indulged herself, but this is just too much.

"There she is!" I shout "SaffronAxe!"

But no-one can hear me. There's too much noise - too much violence and confusion. Suddenly I'm attacked by 2 spider minions at once and I'm forced to draw the heavy battle axe from my belt and defend myself. For a moment I only use it to swat at them and thrust them away - but their attack is too powerful and aggressive and there's no alternative. So I start swiping downward - hacking off spider legs and spider heads and splattering gobs of thick white ichor all over. I can't bring myself to destroy the human parts.

We're all separated in seconds. I can just see Omnis's cowboy hat over a few bobbing heads -the rest have utterly melted into the raging battle. I keep my back to the wall and take down three more minions - this thing is a real bitch to swing but once I get it moving it cleaves through spider parts like a hot knife through butter - seriously, I hardly feel the slightest resistance.


But now one of the bigger ones is moving toward me. Jesus - that thing is huge!! It towers over the crowd, and it presents the impression of a sort of tank on multi-jointed legs. The armor looks thick - but I suppose the axe will stave it in pretty handily. But holy shit - I have to FIGHT that thing?

I do. I can't abandon my friends. I steel myself and prepare for the worst. Then I catch momentary sight of Omnis. He's waving frantically for my attention - motioning me to go after Saffron I think. Yes - I'm the closest and I think I'm the only one who saw her. He must have heard me after all. Now he draws his finger across his throat in a universal gesture that's unmistakable. He wants me to follow her and kill her. Alright - that I can do. But first I take one quick swipe at the advancing marauder's foremost leg -

Holy shit! Ok, it's not a leg it's more of a thick pincer like what a preying mantis has, and it reaches toward me with alarming speed. Right behind it is the other pincer. One strikes the axe right out of my hands and leaves my right arm numbed and throbbing and the other knocks me backwards off my feet. The giant scuttles forward rapidly and looms over me like death itself. But there's a momentary blinding flash of blue light quite near at hand. Not a lightning strike, though there are plenty of those at intervals - this emanates from a large ball of light that suddenly appeared just beside me.

The warrior is just as stunned by it as I am and scuttles around to get a good look as the brilliantly glowing ball begins to fade, white smoke rising from it. A form is revealed inside - human. Crouching.

He begins to stand, and I recognize him.

Onieronaut Zero.

It used to just be Onieronaut, the Zero must be new. But somehow I know it's there.

He's human again. And he looks pissed. He's dressed as he was before, some sort of SWAT gear with black straps all across his otherwise bare sweat-glistening chest. His teeth are bared in a frightful grimace, revealing the fangs I saw when I first met him. But most noticeable is his new sword. It's a heavy broadsword of some sort, and it's on fire. Like the flaming sword of an archangel sent to wreak destruction. With a savage grin he lifts it and leaps at the spider warrior, taking a two-handed overhead grip and swinging it powerfully downward so that his own momentum is added to the momentum of the blade.

The flaming blade cleaves right through the things head and thorax, which are upright rather like a human torso and head - as if the warrior design is based on some sort of centaur model.

The things armored legs collapse and it falls heavily to the ground. He draws the heavy blade back and thrusts the point of it into the creature's body - his neck muscles all clench terrifically for a second as if he's straining really hard, then there's a blinding flash from the blade and a surge of energy travels down its length and into the monster, which instantly explodes into shrapnel and vapor. Not even a drop of ichor escapes - it must all have been vaporized instantly.

As the swirling smoke clears we make eye contact momentarily - his face is a savage mask of battle frenzy, but he smiles at me briefly before spinning with a howl and leaping toward another of the huge creatures.

I stumble toward the doorway through which Saffron disappeared minutes ago. I've lost the axe - I can no longer see it on the ground and the surging crowd is forcing me farther from where I dropped it. Screw it. I begin to slap some life back into my throbbing right arm and run up the steps and through the double doors into the empty ringing corridor.

* * *

Saffron rounds the final corner - her apartment and sweet relief are only yards away now - but what the fuck is THIS??!!

A dead dog lying in a pool of blood in the middle of the corridor just ten feet from her door. And an arrow laying against the wall nearby. Something has happened here - and whatever it was is not good! All she wants now is a few moments of selfish pleasure - just to close the door and once again open those lovely little jars.. She clenches her fists, throws back her head and screams a brief scream of frustration and pent-up tension. Then she sweeps past the dog and into the apartment where she had birthed the warrior creatures mere hours earlier, only to find furniture overturned, tables broken, and the bedroom door smashed right off its hinges.

* * *

I'm not sure which way she went until I hear the brief scream. Then I run toward the sound. A couple of turns and I suddenly find myself in a very familiar corridor.. of course!! It's her apartment! I had got all turned around and didn't even realize where I was anymore in relation to it. There's poor ScurvySeaMutt lying still in his own blood.

The door isn't locked, so I open it as quietly as possible and slip inside. She's nowhere in sight - but I hear a quiet sound from the bedroom. I almost have to laugh thinking about the last time I was in this room. But then I remember the reason - I had let myself be entranced by a beautiful woman who held powers beyond my comprehension. And now SaffronAxe is just in the next room - which in fact is the very room where Neener had almost destroyed me. Suddenly I have to swallow a big lump in my throat. I'd better be careful.

Some kind of weapon would be nice too.. I look around and lo and behold - there's O's katana laying on the sofa!! Neener must have thrown it down before picking up DeMonica's bow to try some target practice on me earlier. Speaking of Neener - no telling where she's got off to since then or what she's up to. She could still be here. I need to be doubly on my guard.

I take up the sword and hold it behind my back as I take a deep breath and step into the bedroom over the splintered remains of the door DeMonica had kicked in..

Originally Posted by Darkmatters

The warrior is just as stunned by it as I am and scuttles around to get a good look as the brilliantly glowing ball begins to fade, white smoke rising from it. A form is revealed inside - human. Crouching.

He begins to stand, and I recognize him.

Onieronaut Zero.

Aw yeah! Let's get it on!!