NaSty Pixie Tale Part 2.

Once again, I’d like t point out that this is just a work of fiction. I’m not implying anyting about the original NaSties true characters, merely using their chibi’s and general personas to fit my evil purpose. I hope that they enjoy this, and if they don’t they should feel free to tell me to pull the plug at ANY second. To those of you who are not part of the NaSty madness who’s reading this, you can find Kylie’s drawings here – http://woobie331.deviantart.com/gallery/#The-NaSty-Nine They are great! All the characters seen here will make an appearance. 😉

So, without further delay – I present to you part 2. It starts with the sentence of the last post.

NaSty Pixie Tale Part 2

Kylie shook her head but she seemed untroubled. “I’m sure they are around,” she said confidently. “I mean why wouldn’t they be?”

The other two couldn’t really answer her. Antonio’s tail twitched in anticipation and when they looked at it the fur on his face rose with embarrassment.

“Sorry,” he said. “I can’t really control it. It’s just sort of… Me…” He paused. “Did you hear that?”

Kylie looked introspective but Alyssa unconvinced. “What?”

Antonio looked around and fixed his gaze in a specific direction. “I think that I heard a dog bark, Kylie?”

The ninja was still standing very still. “I think I sense something coming,” she said. “Hang on for a moment…” She donned her mask in a flash and leaped into the nearby tree. Alyssa looked after her and then turned a sceptical look on Antonio.

“Sense?” she queried to which Antonio shrugged. “Ninja sense probably,” he offered. “I did hear a dog bark.”

“Hmm,” Alyssa intoned, refraining from commenting. She touched her brow and paused, startled. “Hey!” she exclaimed. “My glasses are gone as well!”

Kylie dropped down next to her with a light thud and grinned. “Hey,” she said cheerfully, “Chibi’s have 20/20 vision remember? We’ve got company.”

Antonio looked at the young woman uncertainly. “Do you know who?” he queried to which Kylie grinned.

“See for yourself!” She said and motioned to the other end of the clearing. Before long a sleek gray figure appeared in the distance, walking on all fours. As they watched, the figure rose up in much the same fashion than Antonio did and motioned behind her. “They’re here!” they heard her call in a voice almost switching to a howl. “Come on Mud!”

Another figure lurched into the clearing and despite her mood even Alyssa grinned when Kylie waved them over.

“Marsha!” She called out across the distance. “Mud!”

The two waved at them and Marsha dropped down to all fours again and trotted their way, her tail held high and wagging slightly and a gleeful expression on her face. Despite her wolf-like appearance she wore a light purple shirt and a loose pair of pants.

“Guys!” She said with a grin as she stopped just short of them and stood upon two feet. “It’s good to see you! Mud knew you were here!” She glanced back at the zombie who was still lurching their way with a patient expression on her rotting features. Kylie grinned and glomped Marsha, laughing with delight when the woman’s tail wagged vigorously. “This is so cool!” the only teenager said as she hugged the older woman then turned to the zombie who had stopped just outside the group, tugging at her fraying shirt to try and hide her protruding ribs. She wore a small smile on what was left of her mouth.

“Mud!” Kylie exclaimed. “You look fantastic! How did you know we were here? Do you have Zombie sense?”

Mud raised her only eyebrow and shook her head gingerly, her hair moving over the half of her face as Antonio stepped closer to her and put a welcoming, furry paw on her shoulder.

“Not quite,” she said dryly. “Though I have other gifts.” She motioned to her companion. “Marsha heard someone scream and lead us here.” Her features twisted to concern. “Was it one of you?”

Antonio chuckled as Kylie finally let go of Marsha and bounded over to them. “It was Alyssa,” he pointed out. “She’s… having a bad hair day. It’s good to see you Mud.”

The Zombie gave him a sceptical look as only a zombie can.

“All the bits of me?” she queried to which Antonio laughed and hugged her gingerly.

“Every bit of you,” he said warmly. “Kylie – no glomping, I suspect the zombie’s fragile. Do you still have that flu?”

Mud chuckled as she returned Antonio’s hug stiffly and patted his furry head. “Let’s juts say I feel like death warmed up. Hello Kylie.”

The ninja grinned and gave her a careful hug while Marsha went over to Alyss, her tail still wagging.

“Bad hair day?” she queried to which Alyssa laughed and shook her head.

“Don’t ask,” she said. “Really, just don’t. I don’t even want to talk about it. Ever. It’s better than yours though…”

They laughed as Marsha spread her arms, inviting a hug. Grinning, Alyssa stepped forward and spread her arms but as she did so her wings unfolded with a snap that startled Marsha and hit something with a sickening – pop! There was a brief moment of confusion before Kylie cried out in horror.

“Oh Mud!” she exclaimed. “Your arm!”

Alyss turned and realized with a nauseating horror that her wing had accidently knocked off the zombie’s arm as she had stepped away from Kylie’s finished hug. “Oh my soul!” she exclaimed and clamped her hands over her mouth. “Oh my freaking soul… Mud I’m… Oh souls. I’m…”

To everybody’s horrified surprise Mud chuckled softly and bent down. The half decayed arm that had been lying on the floor reached up and allowed Mud to pick it up. As they watched Mud simply slipped the arm back into her tattered shirt and reattached it to her shoulder.

“These things happen,” she said in a soothing tone as she watched the NaSties. “It’s alright, see?” she lifted up her hand and wiggled her half skeletal fingers. “Good as dead.”

Alyssa didn’t look convinced with her hand still clamped over her mouth in horror and her wings wrapped around her securely like a shield. Even Kylie looked a little pale and taken a back and Antonio was looking at the spot where the arm had reattached.

“You ah…” he hesitated and cleared his throat with a tiger like growl. “You didn’t feel that?”

Mud shrugged, the bone in her shoulder moving.

“I am aware of my body,” she said. “But I am not in pain. It’s an enlightening experience being dead.”

Kylie finally found her voice and swallowed. “Ah, Mud,” she said softly. “I have to ask… You’re not a flesh eating zombie are you?”

The older woman shook her head patiently and, with a second or two’s thought, lifted up her shirt to expose a hollow stomach cavity. “I’m not an eating zombie,” she said with a light shrug. “See, no stomach.”

Kylie blinked and bent down to peer through the hole. “Dude,” she said. “That’s… Nasty.”

They stared at it for a few seconds. When she dropped her shirt again and straightened it with a slow, practiced motion, Alyss stepped forward as if to touch Mud but recoiled and hugged herself.

“Mud, I’m so sorry,” she managed. “Really, I don’t… I can’t control the wings. Or, I don’t think I can. It just happened, I’m so sorry.”

Mud gave her a half zombie smile. “This is new to all of us,” she said and winked. “You need to get used to being a blond.”

Antonio grinned in response and motioned to himself and Marsha. “We’ll figure it out,” he said. “Tell me, how did you two get together?”

Mud smiled and patted Alyssa’s shoulder reassuringly. “I’ll let Marsha tell you,” she intoned. “She found me – or parts of me.”

Marsha chuckled softly and ran her paw like hand over her wolf like ears before giving them a good scratch. “I came to a couple of miles from here and wandered around for hours,” she began. “It really took me a moment or two to realize that I was walking on all fours.” She glanced at Antonio. “It just sort of came naturally.” He nodded with a smile and motioned for her to continue with the story. “Well,” Marsha continued. “After a while I smelled something that really smelled delicious.” She looked embarrassed as her tail dropped for a moment. “It’s embarrassing really; I just had to know what it was. So, I used this canine nose of mine and set about discovering the source,” she smiled. “It turned out to be Mud’s arm.”

She paused to let the scene sink in. Kylie, with her eyes wide, couldn’t help but ask… “Did you eat it?” To which Marsha laughed. “No kiddo,” she said. “Admittedly, when I saw the hand I had a moment of utter, blind panic. I wanted to run away but when I turned around the hand grabbed me by the tail…”

Alyssa shuddered and put her hand over her mouth again. “I’d have freaked out completely,” she added to which Marsha nodded with a laugh. “I did,” she said. “My first instinct was to turn around and try biting it but it held onto my tail and started crawling up… up…” Kylie shuddered for dramatic effect, though her eyes were bright as she enjoyed the tale. “I stood up on my hind legs and grabbed at it as it reached my neck. I fully intended to fling it away from me but then it snapped its fingers and motioned at me to stop.”

Antonio purred a laugh and glanced at Mud who was standing peacefully, enjoying the retelling. “And you obeyed it?” he queried.

Marsha shrugged with a smile and glanced at her original companion. “I felt as if I had no choice,” she confessed. “I suspect it’s because she’s a dog trainer.”

Mud chucked and shook her head after which she made sure that her hair still covered half of her face. “I suspect it’s because I scared you stiff,” she intoned. “It’s got nothing to do with training.”

The other woman shrugged. “Quite possibly,” she agreed. “So, there I was holding this decaying hand which immediately after telling me to stop, showed me the peace sign. That got my attention so when the hand motioned to me to put it down, I did so carefully and watched in fascination as it wrote down the words in the ground: Find me, I am Mud.”

Antonio laughed again and, after a second or two’s consideration so did Kylie and Alysas. “And once again you obeyed it?” he queried to which Marsha chuckled embarrassed.

“I figured that my day couldn’t get any stranger,” she said. “The arm hitched a ride and once again I used my nose and the now familiar smell to find the rest of her.” Marsha smiled wistfully. “I haven’t run this much in years.”

Kylie shared her smile. “I haven’t leapt into trees like this in like, forever,” she said with a laugh. “So you found more of Mud?”

Marsha nodded. “I found all of Mud,” she said. “She was calmly waiting for me under a tree.”

Alyss frowned and held her wings around her like a blanket, careful not to let them open unplanned. “Was it on purpose?” she queried. “I mean, did you know that she was coming?”

Mud nodded and smiled at her. “Of course,” she said. “She had my arm didn’t she?”

Alyss frowned, clearing trying to figure it out. “But a hand is… well…” She shrugged and her wings twitched in her grip. “A hand. How could you be aware of it? It’s not even attached to your nervous system.”

Mud chuckled softly. “I don’t think trying to work this out scientifically would make it easier Alyssa,” she said. “I spend quite a couple of hours thinking about it with a brain that technically doesn’t exit anymore.”

Alyss made a considering sound but didn’t look as if she was about to let the subject go. None the less, she didn’t say anything and rather turned to Kylie and Antonio. “So, what do we do now?” she asked.

The ninja shifted and shrugged, looking at her friends with a smile. “What ever we want to I guess,” she offered. “I think we should look for the others.

“Others?” Marsha asked.

“Yes,” Antonio said. Kylie figures that all of the Nasty Nine are here and I guess with you and Mud here they must be as well.”

Marsha nodded and glanced at Mud. “She said much the same thing when we were still alone,” she pointed out. “So, how are we going to go about looking? Split up or move in a group?”

Kylie grinned and bounded forward. “I’m sure I can use my ninja sense!” she volunteered. “I sort of sense people. And you two, Marsha and Antonio, you guys can sniff them out and Alyss can fly…”

“No she can’t…” ALyss finished in Kylie’s cheerful voice, who didn’t miss a blink. “She can try…”
“She can’t fly…” Alyss started again but Antonio tactfully stepped in between the two. “Nobody needs to do anything they don’t want to do,” he said. “But we should try and find the others. Splitting up seems like a good idea…”

To their surprise, Mud shook her head. “Sometimes,” she said. “But in this case, I believe we just need to move in one direction – all of us.” They turned to her surprised.

“Why do you figure?” Antonio queried to which Mud shrugged. “Call in Zombie intuition,” she said. “I don’t want to explain it now, but we should all go in one direction and stick together.” She paused and looked around pointing to a place somewhere to their left. “That direction to be exact…”

To her delight, she wasn’t met with scepticism but general acceptance.

“Right,” Antonio said. “Then it’s settled with a unanimous vote that never took place and general lack of any other suggestions. Buckle up folks! We’re going that’a’way!”

To Be Continued…