<meta name="LineWrap" content="true"><TITLE>SR_Bk1 0091</TITLE><A HREF="SR_Bk1-0092.txt">Next (Page 92)</A><BR><P><P>--------------------------<P>CHAPTER 21<P>--------------------------<P><P>"Okay, okay," Daptin said, holding his hands up, walking toward Cup's Club. "Everything's cool. We talked to your friend there. Let's just sort this all out."<P><P>The members of Cup's Club were standing at the ready. Coabler the Sawman pointed one of his saws at Daptin and asked "So where's the Cup of Coffee?"<P><P>Daptin looked over at Granticaine, who shrugged, then back at Coabler.<P><P>"Okay," Daptin said, "I'm gonna be totally honest. Some of it is in me. That is, I drank some of it."<P><P>Coabler looked angry and puzzled. Daptin continued.<P><P>"I mean, it's okay. The thing is, it's a pattern integrity, just like her. It'll go back together. In a while."<P><P>Kesh the Vector moved a little closer to Daptin.<P><P>"Let's assume you're telling the truth," the phantom said. "Why exactly have you drunk it?"<P><P>"Um," Daptin said, "the idea is that, like, when the time comes for it to like, you know, go back, together, it will draw us all back into the regular world. Get us out of this place."<P><P>"I see," Kesh said, sounding satisfied.<P><P>"And you guys can have the goddamn thing when we get back," Daptin said. "The people who hired us used us as pawns. We have no personal interest in the Cup."<P><P>"So why did you guys go on the mission in the first place?" Demolish All asked lazily, looking at her long black fingernails, leaning on a log.<P><P>"We didn't know!" Fake said, sitting on the other end of the log. Kesh looked toward her. They had let her out of her cage on the condition she behaved herself.<P><P>"So what are you saying?" Coabler asked, looking from Fake to Daptin. "You were sent on a mission, but you subsequently discovered that you were being deceived?"<P><P>"Yes!" Fake yelled.<P><P>"Cool it," Classic of Logic said, standing nearby with her arms crossed, glaring at Fake.<P><P>"How?" Coabler said.<P><P>Just then, Daptin felt the vibration throughout his body of Tavmatey trying to talk to him. He couldn't understand it, however. He cringed, and getting a little upset, answered Coabler.<P><P>"Look buddy. Not that it's any of your business, but we could hear a girl's voice from inside the cup. We were supposed to rescue her, but it all went wrong. Or right I suppose, for them. But you guys came along and messed everything up. After the balloon, she told us everything, the girl we could hear."<P><P>"Okay," Coabler said, looking over at Kesh, who nodded. "Just give me your word that you speak the truth, and we can get on to the business of figuring all this out."<P><P>Daptin looked around.<P><P>"Me? You mean me? Yeah. I give you my word. I give you my word that everything I told you is true, that we will give you the Cup if we can, and that we won't attack you, only defend ourselves."<P><P>"That satisfies me," Coabler said. "Come hither and let us discuss many matters."<P><P>With this, Daptin, Granticaine, Wreckage Mallie, Iterator of Rail Avenue, and Pantry Lurkin approached Cup's Club, who had arranged a number of logs into a rough circle.<P><P>As Pantry Lurkin walked past Kesh the Vector and Bith the Silly Train, he looked up and said "I like weirdoes!"<P><P>As Daptin found a log to sit on, he spied Jerald Hapal Hatch stirring a little, sprawled out on the other side of the circle.<P><P>"Whatever happened to him?" Daptin asked Fake.<P><P>"Whatever happened to you?" she shot back. "They just knocked him out. He's still alive though, maybe unfortunately. But what the fuck, man? Where did you find all these new psychos? Did you get back to Agoopish?"<P><P>"Let me explain it all to you later. These 'new psychos' as you call them are my good friends. Just trust me on this."<P><P>"Fine," Fake said, looking away.<P><P>All twelve individuals were seated around the circle of logs, and Coabler took charge of the affair.<BR><A HREF="SR_Bk1-0092.txt">Next (Page 92)</A>