He dashed into the front bedroom to look out the window onto the street. Sure enough, a squad of purple-clad people strutted menacingly down the sidewalk toward Betty's house. Robin even spied a couple raptors circling in the sky overhead, but there was no immediate sign of anything else. He ran back to the living room.
Zebryl looked up in shock at whatever Yarya had just told him, red eyes wide and literally blazing with tiny flames. “Raflili? Why was he there?” He began to hand his sister red Fear
Ashalina had come inside and stood perfectly still, as always. If the panic of the situation affected her, she did not show it. “They are here,” Ashalina pronounced flatly pointing to the back lawn through the open patio door.
Robin leaped to the back door and slid it shut with a bang.
Turf tore apart in a dozen places like graves being exhumed from below. Chunks of wet dirt and grass flew into the air as hideous, grey-skinned humanoids crawled out of the ground. Five of the ghastly figures appeared to have once been human — whether beigeFolk or Players
“Mother fucking fart sparkles! Devils can be Undead
“Undead
Ashalina dropped another monotoned bomb. “As we flew here, I not only smelled those UndeadFeyFolk
Robin took a second to think as Ashalina came to block the back door before the other UndeadFuckity fuck fuck! “And not to make y’all panic even more, but I saw a pack of Ferals
Martiposa chuckled. You know, you could very easily improve your situation if you simply released me right now.”
. Though, we’re probably gonna die anyway, so…
With the sound of cartoonish demolition, the patio door was ripped from its frame by the hulking devil-wight. Luckily, the resulting explosion from the triggered ward was directional and left Ashalina and Robin out of the blast zone. The huge wight was shredded by fire and shrapnel and at least two of the lesser human ghouls behind it were obliterated. Robin could not see through the smoke if the other three had been hurt.
Ashalina, with no built up momentum or body action, snapped one arm out to punch the undead devil in the head like a first-grader mimicking an MMA fighter. Her fist finished the job the ward started to pulp the ghoul’s noggin’ like a sun-rotted melon. Gore splattered her red hijab as her arm dropped back to her side. Maybe they were going to be alright after all if Ashalina could so easily take out opponents.
Unfortunately, the three remaining ghouls rushed the entrance and Ashalina did not have the speed to get out of the way. Either they were too dumb to realize or didn’t care that they had just technically made themselves CaptivesZeb’Itzya Cabal. Robin had become so accustomed to seeing dice mystically appear out of thin air and roll across the ground he barely noticed the sheer number of them coming off the tussling Undead
He immediately unleashed a ZingZap
ROBINS’s RESULTS: QUALITY = 29
ESN d6 = 5
ZingZap d10 = 9
ZingZap d8 = 8
ZingZap d6 = 7
“Holy shit!” he crowed. Another near-maxed out set of dice rolls. Maybe he was finally getting the hang of this magic shit. The ghoul, who looked to have once been a gym-bro given its stained tank top and workout shorts, stopped in its tracks and sizzled. The sound was like a hot dog jammed in an electrical outlet. Its pallid skin popped like opening a tube of Pillsbury biscuits. Robin snatched his Santa Sack
Ashalina had been fully tackled to the ground by the other two. Ghouls must have super strength too as the zombie was not immediately able to throw them off. Her head wrap had been ripped away leaving her lank hair wetly mopping the linoleum floor. The zombie strove to get a good grip on her assailants but remained pinned.
Robin dared not fire another ZingZapCharmUndead
He was too used to being told what to do and how to act and had often been complimented on his willingness to take direction in plays. He’d never had the balls — or honestly, the desire even — to direct. Sure, there were times he’d had opinions about choices made on his character’s behalf by a micro-managing director or producer, but he had always been the good soldier and done as told.
If they were to survive this current one-act-play of mayhem, someone needed to step up and do amazing shit and do it real fucking fast. The house could probably withstand some battering, but once the three entry doors had done their exploding thing, they were out of area-of-effect defenses. Desperation clenched the back of Robin’s throat. “Zebryl, come on, man! What are we going to do?”
The devil turned his sharp glare upon Robin. “I will be tending to my sister. You will have to deal with the rest of it.” He seemed fully unbothered by the tussling Undead
“The rest of it?” Robin sputtered. “Hordes of supernaturals are coming to huff and puff and blow us down and you want — the newbie — to simply ‘deal with it’?”
“Pull something out of that sack of yours, human,” Zebryl snapped. Yarya appeared to be stabilizing somewhat so Zebryl scooped her up in his arms and headed to the master bedroom.
Robin threw his hands in the air. “Fucking great. Thanks, dick.” He returned his attention to Ashalina’s situation.
Strikingly, the Undead
Martiposa looked up casually from checking his delicate fingernails as smoke billowed into the living room. “That, I believe, would be my people.”
“Are they fucking commandos or something?” Robin demanded.
“But of course,” the pixie said as he stood and dusted off his pants. “The Green Beret Flower Force Five are our most accomplished strike team. In fact, my daughter is one them.”
“That’s fuckin’ fantastic,” Robin groaned slowly.
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
The fairy squad had breached the perimeter without hurting themselves. Through the open-sided knick-knack shelves Robin could see them forming up on the front stoop, crafty enough not to enter just yet. Clad in fashionable green fatigues, they were, indeed, winged fairies — or maybe pixies, Robin had yet to learn the difference. Some appeared unarmed while at least two of them wielded wands or staves primed with glittering magic.
“Master Martiposa,” one of them called out commandingly. “Are you free to move? We have engaged the beasts on the street and we need to get you out of here.”
“Most assuredly,” the fashionista declared.
“Make your way to the front of the house and we will escort you home.”
Martiposa turned, bowed slightly to Robin, glanced at the ongoing Undead
All Robin could think to do was stall and hope Zebryl might return. “Can I, uh… gift you something before you go?” Martiposa might refuse but at least Robin was a MysticFeyInfernal
The pixie looked somewhat surprised at the offer. “I suppose I could accept a little token of your… shall we say, esteem?”
“Father! Are you coming?” called a female voice from the smoking front door.
“Go home, sistah. Your daddy’s having a private moment,” Robin shouted at Marti’s child mustering all the campy drag queen sass he could. He reached into the SantaSack Bohditried his very best to think nice thoughts and treat the exchange as if diplomatically interacting with a drunken bridal-shower-brunch-bitch.
He pulled out a pearlescent frisbee, one of those hard rubber ones shaped like a ring.
“Father, we’re coming in,” the girl announced.
“Prepare to GlitzKrieg the property once the target has been retrieved,” the fairy commander called out to the front yard.
Figuring the fey commandos were preparing to level the house so as not to be made Captives
The spinning portal flashed brightly as Martiposa’s daughter, flying through the foyer on bright wings, drove straight through it, unable to dodge out of its path in time given the tight confines of Betty’s entryway. Martiposa flapped swiftly off the carpet one hand outstretched in desperation to save her. The portal swallowed the pixie girl then vanished in a poof of pastel steam. Martiposa flew through the empty spot where she had just been. “Wait! Come back. Take me, too!” He collapsed to his knees, sobbing.
Robin had no time for regret or pity at having vanished the pixie’s last relative on this world. Hopefully it wasn’t permanent. A ghoul body hurled past him to land on the couch. A meaty, smooshing sound like a barrel of fresh ground beef hitting the floor came from the dining area behind him. He turned to see Ashalina using both arms to pound the other ghoul into mince meat spattering gore everywhere.
The couch ghoul rolled rather adroitly to its feet and made to lunge at Robin. At the same time, there came hoots and howls from the front yard. Fairies called out desperate commands to regroup in the foyer. It sounded like FeralsFeyFolk
Robin expended another d6 BodhiZingZap
ROBIN’s RESULTS: QUALITY = 21
ESS d6 = 5
ZingZap d10 = 10
ZingZap d8 = 4
ZingZap d6 = 2
GHOUL’s RESULTS: QUALITY = 17
END d10 = 10
Magic Resistance d = 6
Innate Tenacity = 1
The two [10] results cancelled each other out as the ghoul’s MagicResistanceEssence
The couch ghoul surged forward to clamp both clawed hands around Robin’s arms. His StageCombat
ROBIN’s RESULTS: QUALITY = 29
AGL d10 = 8
Stage Combat d12 = 7
S
tage Combat d12 = 7
S
tage Combat d10 = 7
GHOUL’s RESULTS: QUALITY = 21
AGL d10 = 7
Super Strength d12 = 4
Super Strength d8 = 4
Super Strength d6 = 6
Robin had rolled four successes, all of which beat out the ghoul’s 2 successful dice in its attempt to grab him. Robin kicked the monster in the gut as hard as he could to send it stumbling backward a step or two. It didn’t appear he had damaged it much, if at all. It lunged again.
Luckily, Ashalina had stepped into the living room. She grabbed the couch ghoul by the neck lifting it off the carpet like a sack of groceries. She turned slowly, walked to the back door and hurled the ghoul so far into the yard it collided with the back fence. A whole five foot section of the wooden barrier collapsed under the impact. Robin’s attention got yanked away by screams and growls at the front door.
A male fairy in green fatigues crashed though the thin wall of knick knack shelves separating the foyer from the living room. Betty’s lifetime collection of tacky tidbits scattered everywhere. As if in slow motion, Robin’s attention fixated on a small rabbit figurine as it landed safely on the recliner. He smiled thinking Betty would be glad at least one of her collectibles would remain intact no matter what sort of wreckage became of her house.
Standing in the ruins of the foyer loomed the same wereBear that had led the assault on Zebryl’s nightclub. Or at least it looked like the same one as it wore a threadbare smoking jacket. StinkPew had called him Kurtman, if he remembered correctly. The ursine shifter let loose a roar so deafening everyone was forced to clap hands over ears. Walls rattled and kitchen crockery shattered.
Martiposa, the first to regain composure, helped the Green Beret feyFellow to his feet. They both looked petite standing bravely in front of the hulking wereBear. The militant fairy aimed his glowing rodStick to unleash a jet of yellow pollen and bright pink flower petals simultaneously alongside a blazing display of sparkles from Marti’s wand.
The wereBear coughed gagging on the torrent of pollen and petals while madly rubbing at his flash-blinded eyes. Robin watched in horror as the bear’s eyes first streamed tears from Martiposa’s glitterBang Feral
“Come, I’m removing you from the arena to safety,” the fey commando instructed Martiposa. “My team will handle the rest of the rabid beasts outside.”
Martiposa shook his head. “No, my friend. I am choosing to stay.”
Aghast, the fairy captain blinked uncomprehendingly. “But, we came to rescue you. You’ve been made Captive
“True, true.” The fashion pixie turned an esoteric look to Robin, then his eyes fell on the SantaSack
Unconvinced, the commando gripped Martiposa’s upper arm. “You know there will be salt to pay if I don’t bring you back. I really must insist you come with me. Now.”
Martiposa pulled free and moved dejectedly to stand by Robin and Ashalina. “No. You should go. I will be finding a way to join Barbaraleta. I think this Mystic
“But that’s where I’m taking you. Home,” the Green Beret insisted, confused. If he was upset at the loss of one of his team, he didn’t show it. Probably professional stoicism in the heat of battle kept him focused. Robin wished he could say the same about his own whirl-winding emotions.
“No, you misunderstand me, Capitan,” Martiposa intoned. “I mean Paradise. True home. I saw it.”
“That’s ridiculous,” the fairy spat. “No one leaves this world. You’ve been enchanted by this… this… bizarre human bumpkin.”
“Hey, that’s rude,” Robin yipped.
“I assure you, I have not. Please go. Assist your team and leave me here.” The soldier started to object once more but stopped. Martiposa nodded. “This is of my own choosing, Capitan. Please. Go.”
The Green Beret gave one more set of disbelieving blinks and opened his mouth only for his next words to be cut off. A fiery whip wrapped around his neck from the bedroom hallway. Zebryl had lashed out with his weapon of choice his pink face a nest of fury, eyes ablaze with crimson fire. He pulled the whip tendril taught.
The fairy commando dropped his rod to futilely grasp all ten fingers around the flaming rope not caring how badly he was burned. Zebryl callously — violently — yanked once snipping the fairy’s head off like a dandelion bloom.
Martiposa yelped in revulsion.
Robin puked.
Ashalina stood still.
“We are leaving,” Yarya pronounced definitively as she emerged haggardly from the hallway. She still looked the worse for wear, but had at least changed clothes. Ragged scars could still be seen criss-crossing her arms and chest given that her fresh vest still covered little actual flesh. “This place is lost. The FeyFerals
The clamor of FeyFeralSantaSack