Tiger, Tiger, Burning Bright - Part One

This is a fictionalised version of a mission which took place several weeks ago, involving several members of the Cirque de la Lune. All events portrayed in this story actually took place in-character.

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"Tiger, tiger, burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

In what distant deeps or skies
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand dare seize the fire?

And what shoulder and what art
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And when thy heart began to beat,
What dread hand and what dread feet?

What the hammer? what the chain?
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? What dread grasp
Dare its deadly terrors clasp?

When the stars threw down their spears,
And water'd heaven with their tears,
Did He smile His work to see?
Did He who made the lamb make thee?

Tiger, tiger, burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry? "

The Tiger - William Blake. 1757–1827

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Ellie swooped in from the sky and landed lightly in front of the warehouse doors, amongst her fellow members of the Cirque; Jester, Magenta, Zero Cain, Dark Remedi, Legend, Inago, and her fiancé, Jess. This was to be Inny's first mission as team leader, she hoped it went well. The Madame of Mystery was back again, and Ellie doubted she'd go down without a fight.

With a nod to the others, Inago opened the warehouse door, and they entered silently. Inside, the strains of carnival music could be heard in the distance, this was the place alright. Jester turned to the group and began his usual speech to inspire the troops. When he reached the part about destroying their enemies, Legend looked at Ellie, her worried expression hidden by her helmet, unsure of what Jester implied.

"Kill?" she asked.

Ellie returned Lyn's look with a worried one of her own. "It's... The only way... to set them free..."

Lyn hesitated for a moment, pondering this. "How about... No."

Jester glanced from Ellie to Lyn, a frown evident on his face. "Make her understand, Tiger White." Then, calling the others to arms, he turned and entered deeper into the warehouse. Ellie waited until the others had gone, then turned to look at her friend. "Lyn... They're already dead,

once they put on those masks they can't be saved. All we can do is free their souls."

Lyn looked down at Ellie, unreadable in her helmet. "You have proof of this?"

Ellie looked down at her feet, trying to think of a way to make Lyn realise the truth. "No tangible proof no, but Jester explained it to me... and I trust him."

Lyn looked down at Ellie from her impressive height, and reaching up, unclasped and removed her helmet. "Ellie, look into my eyes, straight into my eyes, and tell me we are doing the right thing."

Ellie sighed as she looked into Lyn's pale face, "We ARE doing the thing Lyn. Someone has to..."

Lyn stared down at Ellie, her expression harsh. Then, without breaking her gaze, she lifted her helmet and placed it back on her head.

With a nod, Ellie turned and, charging her shields, headed towards the sounds of battle, Lyn close behind her.

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As they rounded the corner, they were just in time to see the last of a group of Carnies, an iron strongman by the look of him, fall to the floor; Magenta's mace buried in his helmet. As she pulled the mace free, gore dripping from it, she looked up at the late comers.

Ellie looked at the mess on the floor with a grimace, "Sorry guys"

Magenta grinned at Ellie, her face flushed from the combat, "No probs Ellie, you two all set now?"

With a smile, Jester nods to Lyn, "We having fun yet?"

Ellie frowned and shot Jester a look. "Jest... This is NOT fun... Let's just get this over with so we can go home."

Jester nodded, and wiping the blood from his ears, called out the battle cry of the Cirque. "Send in the clowns!"

With a roar, the assembled clowns charged. Ellie held back a moment and with a massive surge of power, transformed into the form of Kurukt, the white dwarf, before entering the fray.

Quickly, she was confronted by a group of iron strongmen, smashing their hammers into her armoured form for all they were worth. It was futile, their blows barely felt. With a wave of her massive arm, she knocked them aside, and headed for the group of harlequin jugglers menacing Jess.

With a roar, she slammed her powerfull hoofed foot into the ground, sending a massive surge of power through the very earth and knocking the carnies away from her lover. Then, yelling to leave Jess alone, she laid into them, knocking several unconcious in a single blow.

Behind her, Cain saw the carnies fall and extending his dark powers, ripped the life essence from those fallen, forming them into dark servants to do his bidding. with a grin, he lept into the fray, killing carnie after carnie in his ferocity.

Jester was busy facing down one of Madeleine's dark ring mistresses. Extending his powers he fired a massive blast straight into the carnies head, burning straight through the mask and enveloping hear head in a ball of shadows. Seconds later, she fell with a piercing scream as the dark energy consumed the life within.

Meanwhile, Inago was busy fighting alongside Magenta. As she crushed foe after foe with her mace, blood splattering in all directions, Inago was busy, delivering crippling kicks to the bodies of those before him. One carnie, a strongman, slammed his hammer into Inago's back, knocking him to the ground. Inago was quicky back on his feet and leapt at his assailant, his powerfull legs propelling him with such force that his knee smashed through the strongman's armoured helmet and crushed the skull inside, shattering the mask inside in the process.

Lyn looked back from her fight with another strongman, her sword parrying a blow from his hammer, just in time to see Inago make his first kill. Pulling her sword free from the hammer, she delivered a punishing kick to the strongmans groin and turned to help her little brother up from the ground.

Remedi, meanwhile, was watching the fight, ready to heal her comrades should they be harmed. So far, there was no sign of ayone getting injured.

Suddenly, in a blur of purple and yellow, Grav appeared by Remedi's side. Positioning her shield to block a blow from the fencer Remedi hadn't seen, After giving her a fast nod, Grav raised her hands to cast a spell at the carnie, who instantly dropped to the ground, her soul freed painlessly from it's torment.

As the battle progressed through the dark corridors, it quickly became plain the carnies were no match for the combined power of the heroes. They cut through the opposition as if they weren't even there, neither stopping for pause, nor slowing down, as they ripped through their enemy. Ellie used her bulk to block blow after blow intended for her compatriots, virtually immune to the blows raining down upon her. As each carnie fell before her blows, knocked senseless, Cain or Jester were quick to destroy the masks, and end the tortured life within.

Finally, amidst the confusion, Inago called out. "Madame of Mystery! Nante kouun nano!"

Despatching the last of the opposition, Jester turned to face his nemesis. Madeleine Casey, the Madame of Mystery.

She turned towards Jester and cast her imperious gaze upon the assembled heros. "So, you have learned the truth! Fool! You will never recover your precious friend Madeleine! I am part of the Carnival now!"

Inago glared at the Madame, his face flushed from the fight and his breathing heavy. "Tanoshimou ne!"

Jess looked towards Jester, concern evident in her voice, "I don't think she's in a mood to talk, Jester..."

Jester turned to look towards Magenta, who was snarling at the Madame, her bloody mace at the ready. "Hold her Magenta, I will try and get past the mask."

With a nod, Magenta released a blood chilling yell and leapt at the Madame, closely followed by all but Jester, as he used his mind to try to batter through Madeleines' psychic defenses.

Bursts of light and energy coruscated all around the battle, making it almost impossible to see. Ellie took several punishing psychic blasts but her mental shields held, glad that she and Magenta were taking the brunt of the Madames barrage of psionic power. More and more power surged from the heroes, blasting into Madeleines' body, concentrating on the mask and the malevolent spirit within.

Finally, with a titanic blow from Jester's mind, the Madame of Mystery fell, and with a quiet whisper, she muttered, "Free. Yes. You have freed me.", before fading into nothing. With a muffled clatter, the mask fell to the ground and lay there, it's empty eyes glaring blankly at the heroes who had defeated it.

Jester walked slowly to the mask and picked it up. Looking up at the others, blood flowing from his ears and his eyes as black as coal, he spoke.

"Well done, all of you."

Lyn threw down her sword and started to fumble at the clasp of her helmet franticly as she started to retch, unused to what had happened. Inago's pale face looked franticly around as he started to back away, "I.. I'm gonna have to go outside..."

As Inago brushed past the others, Ellie glowed brightly as she returned to her human form, her expression unreadable.

Jester closed his eyes for a moment, "Magenta, can you lead them out?"

Magenta nodded and turned, ushering the others away to leave Jester alone, holding the mask. As they trooped through the now quiet building, signs of the battle were everywhere... Smashed boxes and equipment, holes torn in the walls, and blood everywhere... The walls... the floor... in some cases, even the ceiling; but of the carnies, no trace could be found... The bodies were gone.

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@FloatingFatMan

Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.