Round and Round in a Magic Spell

[kitchen_maid]

By the time they reach the far side of the lake, there is no sign of Amy on the shore, save the boat she had crossed in, tied up to a dock that's the twin of the one they departed from.

There is, however, music coming from the castle in front of them, and it's easy enough to see through the windows of the brilliantly lit ballroom.

The path from the dock leads up to a grand, and apparently unguarded, doorway. Still, it's with a fair amount of caution that they make there way up the path and into the castle.

The door opens onto a small square room, lit by towering iron candelabras in the corners. Tapestries hang on either side of the door in the center of each wall. The door to the left is obviously the ballroom -- it stands ajar, and the host of clockwork guests and serving people move easily around, unconcerned about their observers (at least at the moment).

The door to the right conceals, improbably, a small storage cupboard, with brooms and mops and buckets. Parker, who has opened it, closes it again with a bit of a shrug.

That leaves the door straight ahead, which leads to a long, torch-lit hallway. "That way, I think," Scorpius says, nodding at it, after un-shrinking Sir Harold's book and consulting something in it.

"You go. We will keep Amy safe," X says, to Scorpius and Parker. There's a beat, and then she adds, "Yell if anything is trying to kill you."

"Oh, that's a given," Parker promises. And on that dreadfully encouraging note, they start down the corridor.

Bruce and X move into the ballroom. Around them, clockwork footmen and serving girls carry trays of glasses and plates, clockwork musicians play notably mechanical music, and clockwork noblemen congregate in corners and along the edges of the brilliantly candlelit room.

In the middle of the room, Amy is dancing with a clockwork figure, around and around and around.

Comments

[cutting_edgex23]

"Acceptable," X says, darting into what constitutes the 'front' of said avenue.

There's a 'thank you' implicit in that.

This makes things simpler, if not exactly easy.

But those that get felled trying to get around the tripwire are very easy to put down permanently.

And that buys X a moment or two to push the rest back.

After a few more minute of back-and-forth, they seem to be in what X considers 'the position'.

"Now," she says, sharp and clear over the clanging noise of clockwork.

"Please."

And then she's diving backward, trying to quickly move out of range.

[master_bruce]

Bruce...may have been lulled into a tap-dance routine while she worked. He can't even swear about it' it feels like the most natural thing in the world.

'What?

Oh, right. Yeah.'

One small black bomb is flicked out, closely followed by another. And then he rouses himself enough to run in Amy's direction, in case flying bits reach that far.

[cutting_edgex23]

At that second hint of uncertainty, X spares the time to flick a quick glance in Bruce's direction.

Calling her 'concerned' may be becoming an understatement.

Then she starts moving in his and Amy's direction, pausing only to drop low to keep any stray debris from impacting on her body.

"I think you are compromised."

There's no time to sound uncertain.

Amy is still entranced, after all.

[master_bruce]

He catches a few bits in the back, but it doesn't matter. It pings harmlessly off his body armour, and as soon as he's within reach of Amy, he sweeps her back into their waltz.


'Don't know what you mean.'

[cutting_edgex23]

"Yes," X says, spinning left and taking out another soldier.

"That is the problem."

At least she can keep his and Amy's pathway clear.

You know.

While they dance.

[master_bruce]

He's humming the tune under his breath, and for someone with no dance training whatsoever, he has remarkably good posture. Maybe it's the magic.

But even the magic can't stop him being distracted when the floor starts to shake, and the chandeliers rattle above them.

'...X?'

[cutting_edgex23]

"Bruce," X says, looking up at the wobbling chandelier hanging precariously above their position.

It is a very large chandelier.

X darts forward as the floor stills, mere seconds ahead of the sound of long-frayed rope snapping.

The quick two-step that she whirls Bruce and Amy into is purely accidental.

X would not know a two-step if someone drew a diagram on the floor.

But her timing is impeccable.

[master_bruce]

It really is.

And Bruce, as it happens, seems to suddenly know rather a lot about the two-step. Evidence of this; him doing it with X. It seems even falling chandeliers can't break the spell in his feet.

'X,' he says, and he sounds a bit desperate, 'make it stop?'

If nothing else, it's getting embarrassing.

[cutting_edgex23]

X trips him.

Obligingly.

She'll make sure to disentangle Amy from him on his way down.

It is only fair.

[master_bruce]

...well, that's one way to do it.

(Ow.)

He falls over a tripped clockwork minion, and lands on his face.


'Thanks.'

The danger's not over. More like the need to dance has retreated, and is just circling back in for another go. But there's clarity in this moment, and it's probably a good thing because from the other end of the hall-


'I don't think we're done here.'

He counts six. And they look bigger than the ones they've already taken out.

[cutting_edgex23]

"You are welcome," X says, expression composed.

She slips smoothly to his side, the both of them planted firmly between Amy and --

-- the --

-- clockwork princes?






"Oh."

Beat.

"I think you are right."

The real question is, do they try to drive these newcomers left, or right?

[master_bruce]

He gets to his feet, and checks that Amy is still dancing away. Then, back.


'Split them?'

The only problem with that being that he is obviously not the most reliable at the moment. If he gets distracted again, X would have his three coming at her from the rear. Not ideal.

He pulls out a small, bat-shaped weapon (throwing knife, essentially) and throws it overhand at the nearest prince. It embeds in the thing's head, but doesn't seem to bother it at all.

'I've only got one wire left.'

[cutting_edgex23]

X tilts her head fractionally, gaze narrowing at their new opponents.

"Bait and switch," is her response.

At another time it would be a question.

"Save the wire."

They will probably need it.

[master_bruce]

He nods, and resists the urge to pirouette on the spot.

'See you in a minute, then.'

He grins at her, and jogs forward. The clockwork princes, which had been advancing in a line, split into two sets of three and look to round in on him from either side. Bruce sizes up likely vulnerable spots - much the same as the previous ones, but these have better armour, and some kind of protective plates in the shape of high collars covering their necks.

'Legs!' he calls back, even though she'll already know. He chucks a bat into the knee joint of one, at the front; it creaks a bit, and its movement becomes uneven - who knew clockwork could limp? - but keeps coming.

[cutting_edgex23]

X, who spent the last few seconds scaling the side of a column, does not bother nodding.

Bruce doubtless knows she heard him.

And since he's got them focused in one direction, her job is to approach from the other.

That would be above, behind, and slightly to the left.

She hits the ground hard enough that the sound of her impact is unmistakable. This is not an accident.

In the seconds where the rear guard of the princes tries to turn around, X jams her claws into the knee joints -- left, right, left again -- then darts back to give herself more room.

And to give Bruce more time.

[master_bruce]

As they turn - as one, which is more than a little creepy - Bruce skips to the side of the dance floor, behind the three of them that are furthest from X. If the things are going to behave as a single entity, this should be a lot easier.

He doesn't have a lot of weapons with him - this was supposed to be a trip to a soccer game - but he hasn't been training all these years to be useless with his body. He takes a run up, and launches himself feet first into the back of one, his boots crashing into the knee-joint of the thing in the centre. It goes down with a clatter, and he rolls up and away again as they once more turn towards him.

[cutting_edgex23]

X darts behind a pillar as Bruce crashes into the center prince, scrambling halfway up before launching herself at that same center prince.

She makes a solid hit to its shoulders, hands-first. The flanking princes are turning toward her, while the one she landed on lifts its hands to grab her wrists.

It's at this point that X's legs flash out, the claws on her feet slicing through the protective collars on the clockwork creatures to her left and to her right.

Now all that's left is to wrench herself away from the one she's currently climbing on.

Surely two adamantium claws to the spine will help with that.

At least in part.

[master_bruce]

'X. You OK!?'

He's trying to distract the attention of the other three by passing through their eyeline, because he doesn't like how close they're getting to her. But the things seem to be one creature, and all five of the princes still standing are focused on X.

Maybe a hot shoe shuffle will help. Entertain them away from her.

Yes.

[cutting_edgex23]

"I am not dead," X confirms.

She's currently busy trying to find a position that will let her see all five princes at once, however.

It is more difficult than it sounds (if not more difficult than it looks).

Eventually she gives it up as a bad job, consciously choosing to relax her stance and lower her arms to her sides.

Maybe this will let them be distracted by Bruce.

Of course, it is equally possible that it will result in one or all of them choosing to press the attack.

Her response to that will be plan B.

Plan C --

"Maybe it is time to use your wire. Bruce. While they are looking at me."

[master_bruce]

Focus. He has to focus. Five of them left, and he's next to useless at the moment. They need to be kept together. He forces himself to still, and take a deep breath.

'Right.'

He's next to one of the columns, and the princes aren't far away. He yanks the wire from his belt and loops it around the stone, hoping like hell another earthquake doesn't come and knock the thing down. Then he runs, fighting the spell that makes him want to dance, and circles the robots in a wide arc.

If they see that he's a threat, he assumes they'll turn away from X. But it shouldn't matter either way. When he's nearly all the way around them he sprints in, and slides under the waist-height line running from the column. Now all he has to do is get it tight enough, and attach it to one of them so they'll be stuck.

'Distract!'

If they're looking at her, they won't seem him, and they should have them. She'll already know that.

[cutting_edgex23]

X does not bother nodding in acknowledgment of Bruce's shout.

He knows she heard.

But with the presence of the wire, closing with the princes will only complicate matters.

So in the absence of explosives, firearms, or any projectile weapons --

She improvises.

snikt

Surely the nearby massive column will not miss several large chunks. And even if she has to hurl them two-handed, the crashing sound as the marble hits the tiled floor should provide distraction enough.

Particularly if she times her subsequent approach to Bruce's anticipated battle-plan.

Keeping out of the way is almost as imperative as keeping their clockwork opponents' attention.

[master_bruce]

In this case, the princes' acting in unison works in their favour. They turn towards the sound and Bruce stops, wraps the wire around his hand, loops it around his elbow, and pulls.

They're too heavy to drag into one tight bunch, and he has to move around to accommodate the fact that the wire gets caught on some piece of machinery somewhere. But with a lot of effort, and with the wire cutting into his arm, he manages to get them close enough that their movement is restricted. Then it's just the matter of locking the end of the tether off - he runs it, another slide and manages to attach it to itself just as a clockwork sword whooshes down and embeds itself in the dance floor, right where his head just was.

He rolls away, and heaves in a breath.

'OK.'

He has three bat-shaped throwing knives left. No bombs. But they need to get the weapons off them in case they cut themselves loose, if only by accident.

He points at the sword stuck in the wood. The prince is still holding it, too trapped to drag it free.

'Can you cut its arm off?'

He could use that sword.

[cutting_edgex23]

"Yes."

X's response is simple, and comes at the same time that her claws slash down and sever the prince's arm at the shoulder.

Then she eyes the newly-exposed area warily, just in case the clockwork is capable of self-repair.

Then she picks up the sword, makes a second cut in the arm at the wrist, and pries the fingers away from the hilt.

The newly-denuded weapon she passes off to Bruce.

Dismemberment will likely go faster with two of them working.

For one.

[master_bruce]

He swings the weapon experimentally. It's lighter than he would have expected, a bit like an over-sized child's toy.

'OK.'

He doesn't need to say anything else. They both know what they're doing.

[cutting_edgex23]

Indeed they do.

Starting off back-to-back and working their way around the circle might be the most efficient way to dispose of the princes without leaving their blind spots exposed.

Mostly.

Now it's only likely to be a race to finish deactivating their clockwork enemies before one of them figures out how to escape the wire.

Or thinks to try cutting it.

Though the first one that tries it gets a pair of adamantium claws shoved straight through its central processor.

Or the clockwork equivalent, at least.