Loooong disclaimer : Lashana and Telca own only themselves and the Line Between Reality and Fantasy. Lashana holds claim over Tvashtar, Kadrith, Shakarei, her original Characters from 'Darkness & Light', 'Kelvita', 'Destined Meetings', 'Darkside of the Moon' and 'Sins of the Father'. All the others belong to someone else.

This is an Author ficcie, which means that it is in no way related to any Harem timeline thus far. It's all in Lashana's POV.

The Line Between Reality and Fantasy

I stared at the little blinking cursor in an almost morbid fashion, my white hair blown into my face by a particularly strong gust of wind through my open bedroom windows. It seemed that WordPad had just as much motivation as I did lately, granted, I never really expected that staring at the computer screen would magically conjure up a fic.

Doesn't mean I didn't try though.

Groaning in mixed exasperation and defeat, I lowered my forehead to the keyboard and closed my eyes as I proceeded to bang my head against the hard plastic. It had been over a month since I had had a decent fic idea, and even longer since my Muses had visited. I was not a happy Author. For one thing, I now had a headache.

Rubbing at the key imprints on my forehead, I rose my head and blinked at the jumble of babble that my repeated banging had put onto the screen, wondering if maybe in my fit of self-punishment I had unknowingly slammed out a snippet of something.

Alright, so maybe I had been staring at the computer for too long. Can you blame me?

Giving up on any hopes of writing, I closed WordPad and went to take a quick look online, sighing when I saw that my numerous email accounts didn't hold a single new email, and that there was nothing new posted on my favourite web pages to spelunk on.

Well, Lashana, I told myself as I shut the computer down and migrated to the livingroom, tugging the drapes shut to block out the still bright sun before throwing myself on the couch and then scowling when a quick scan of the TV channels didn't award me with anything. You've certainly hit a new low. It's seven o'clock on a Friday night and you're already thinking about going to bed in the hopes that sleep will kill the boredom. You suck, girl.

Of course, that faint hope all depended on if I managed to fall asleep. Hadn't been having too much luck in that department lately either. Le sigh.

Grumbling at the lack of anything interesting on TV - over sixty stations and nothing good on! - I exchanged the TV remote for the stereo remote, stretching out on the couch as I thumbed a button and let Evanescence's 'Bring Me to Life' fill the oppressive silence of the room.

Where did this leave me? Friday evening, bored out of my skull, Telca was stuck babysitting her evil sister's brats, and Pedrith was somewhere in the far reaches of Kingston. Really, there was no one else to call. And I hadn't yet reached the level of desperation that would make me call my parents. Nooo.

Thus, I flung my right arm over my eyes and studied the backs of my eyelids, my top lip curling a little in anger when a scream and a thump emanated from my upstairs neighbours. Apartments sucked. They sucked big time.

My pen for a house! Onward, Silver! Away!

Hmm. That was new. And weird. It was official. My mind had broken under the strain. So there I lay, giggling to myself in the semi-darkness of the livingroom while music blared in the background. I suppose that it wasn't that large of a surprise that I didn't notice him until he poked me in the ribs with a talon. Although it was rare that I didn't 'feel' my Muses when they popped up.

Needless to say, the unexpected poke - and the fact that they had aimed right at a ticklish spot - brought about.... interesting results.

Shrieking in both surprise and anger at being tickled, I lunged to my feet on the couch and crab-crawled my way up until I was precariously perched on the back of it, plastered against the wall as I loosed another screech and lobbed the remote in the direction of my would-be attacker as he/she/it turned in my direction, eyes glowing in the dimness of the room.

"Elf! By the Pit! Would you stop that?!"

I paused in mid scream and blinked. I knew that voice. "Dinobot?"

The Beast-Moded transformer Muse folded his raptorial arms over his chest, one taloned claw holding the remote I had thrown as him as glared at me in the fashion that only he could manage. "Who else?"

I blinked again. He had just shown up one night as I belted out the oddity known as 'All this for a Clone?!', accusing me of not keeping up with the timeline. When I was writing, he was like a slave-driver, always nitpicking on details that I either didn't need to know or didn't want to know. It was rare that I ever saw him during the times where I wasn't writing. Once he had popped up during a bought of Writer's Block to try to goad/piss me off enough that an idea came to mind. Do notice that I said 'once'. After he had witnessed one of my more homicidal moods, he had quickly learned not to try his version of 'pep-talks' with me ever again.

But this was new. Very new. I didn't like new.

In the end, after much more blinking and sortage of muddled reactions, I settled on the tried, tested and true method of 'pissed'.

"You piece of slag!" I found that using tidbits of the transformers lingo usually helped me in dealing with him when he got on my nerves. Japanese was also useful. He had learned a great deal of it from the other characters. "Gods be damned, don't scare me like that!"

My scream obviously hit an octave that he didn't like, because he actually winced. "I--"

"And another thing!" I yelled, now fully into the ranting as I climbed down off my couch and advanced on him. "Where the hell do you get off just showing up out of nowhere?! It's not like you or the others have been a big help lately, leaving me to delve into the ever so lovely emotion of depression all by m'self! I swear, if you're here to yell at me at the lack of ficcage, buster, I so promise that I will personally rip you apart and hire someone, anyone, to turn you into an indoor grill!"

Obviously not phased by little old me - after all, his robot form was more than capable of ripping me apart than the other way around - he rolled his eyes and sighed in exasperation, a sickle claw tapping the hardwood floor as he met my gaze and held the remote out to me. "Are you finished?"

Growling, I snatched the remote away from him. "Maybe," I grumbled as I lowered the volume of my stereo system and went over to turn on the lamp, bathing the room in a warm glow. Folding my arms over my chest, I quirked an eyebrow at him and leaned against the arm of the couch, relieved at least, to see that he was keeping distance from my plants. The last time his swaying tail had knocked over one of my African Violets, I had forced him to go and get me a new one, much to his dismay and the S.W.A.T. Team's horror. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"I've come to fetch you," he rumbled out, giving me a hard look when I opened my mouth to comment on that. "If you even think about comparing me to a dog...."

"That'd be insulting the dog, wouldn't it?" Hehe.

The glare that he sent at me made it quite obvious at that if he hadn't needed me in order to ensure his continued survival as one of my Muses, he'd have killed me without any misgivings.

I simply smiled. "You look constipated."

"You are the most infuriating fleshling that I had ever had the misfortune to meet!"

"I love you too. Now get with the explanation O' Snarly One before I get the urge to go through all the MP3s on my computer and find that Britney Spears song that you love so dearly."

He shuddered and relented. Smart raptor. "The others and I must bring something to your attention. It's one of the reasons for the lack of fanfiction ideas you've been having as of late, as well as our continued absence."

That caught my attention. I did a rapid moodswing from annoyed to worried in half a millisecond. "What's wrong? What happened? Are you guys okay?" I rambled off another fifteen or so questions before Dinobot stalked forward and slapped a claw over my mouth, effectively shutting me up.

"We do not have time for this nonsense, Author! Now either agree to come with me or return to your solitude!" He paused for a moment, obviously expecting an answer, then growled. "Well?"

I rolled my eyes and whapped him upside the head with a pillow that I had managed to grab off the couch, effectively freeing myself from his grasp. "I can't bloody well answer you if you won't let me talk, baka raptor."

He gave me a look that would have had most of my Muses running for the hills and grumbled out something that was probably very uncomplimentary. But at least he was smart enough to mumble soft enough that I couldn't hear him.

I giggled. "You sound like a rusty outboard motor." Completely ignoring the fact that he had dropped into that 'I'm about to leap at you and rip out your throat' stance that all raptors were good at, I stepped around him and turned off the stereo, smacking his lashing tail out of my way as I headed for my bedroom. "Just give me a second to get changed and we can go. I'm not gonna go anywhere wearing my grunge." Especially since these jogging pants are starting to tear in all the wrong places.

By the time I emerged from my room, he had managed to achieve something more or less related to 'calm'. Perhaps calling it 'non-homicidal' would be better. Either way, he turned in my direction when he heard the door open and blinked. I frowned in return and glanced down at myself. "What?" Okay, so maybe the outfit of black jeans torn at the knees and thighs along with a grey tank-top that read 'Death' in sparkly blood red letters with a bloody knife as an exclamation point was pushing it. But hey, it was clean, that's all I cared.

Deciding that he was just being odd, I hopped into my sneakers and grabbed a hair-clip, pausing to pin my hair up into a somewhat stylish mess before slipping my black sunglasses on. "Let's motor!"

Dinobot blinked at me again, then did an odd combination of a sigh and a shrug before he walked over to me and grabbed my left arm. "Brace yourself. There will be some turbulence."

Before I could grill him on how much turbulence there was going to be, the world around me tilted, whirled and bottomed out. I was certain that I felt my stomach shoot upwards into the vicinity of my sinuses. I would have tried to scream had I not been afraid that my heart would take that opportunity to escape my poor abused fleshling form. Instead, I settled for making a sort of close-mouthed wailing moan, something akin to a howler monkey being sat on by an elephant.

It was like one of those rollarcoasters where the ride goes to the tip top of a fifty story tower, then shoots back towards the ground at Mach Five. By the time we reached what I could only guess was level, unmoving ground, I was clinging to Dinobot for dear life, hanging off of him like a demented burr that had attached itself to his hide.

Obviously aware that the trip hadn't been good for me, he didn't protest, choosing instead to watch me as I oozed down his side and crumpled bonelessly to the ground. Clamping one hand over my mouth, I proceeded to thump my free fist against my chest, trying to goad my heart into realising that it really should be beating as my mind slowly recovered from the Ride From Hell.

After a few minutes, I managed to string together a partially coherent sentence. Which, given the present situation, was a miracle in itself. "Wh.... wha wh's that?"

"Sorry." And it sounded like he actually meant it. "I don't think an Author has ever been brought here before."

My mind did an odd sort of thing like a car engine trying to turn over before that made sense. "Where's 'here'?"

"I believe you call it 'Erasing the Line Between Reality and Fantasy'." He paused and looked down at me where I was slumped next to his right leg. "Trust you and Telca to come up with a name like that."

"Erasing the Line Between.... Oh. Oh my Gods!" Faced with this new knowledge, I lunged to my feet and wobbled unsteadily before him, dipping my shades lower on my nose to stare at him in mixed shock and hysterical glee. "You mean--?!"

He nodded, amusement showing through his cold exterior. "This is the world you and Telca have created."

"WHAT?!"

I paused.

I grinned.

I loosed a short shriek of hyper joy, then blinked, suddenly aware that my surroundings were rather bleak. Actually, there were no surroundings. Just blackness. I was reminded of that scene in 'The Neverending Story'. "Waaaait.... Why does it look like this?"

"It has always looked like this. When your Muses and characters are not being used in fics and stories, or helping you write, we retire here."

My eyes widened in horror as I spun in a complete circle, staring at the darkness that surrounded us. "I did this?!"

"No! No.... This is no fault of yours. Well, not the creation of it. The lack of upkeeping, perhaps."

"'Upkeeping'?"

"You're the Author. We're your Muses and creations. This place is specifically for your Muses and characters. It's your job to upkeep it."

"My job?"

"You've been wondering why you've had Writer's Block for the past month, yes?" When I nodded, he gestured to the blackness and snorted. "What Muse in their right mind would return to this place? Without Muses, there's no creativity."

And that was the two clicks that made the clue. "Oh. Oh, crap! But I didn't know! I really didn't! Oh shit, oh crap, oh hell! Does this mean they're gone for good?! I don't wanna be left just with you! Er.... no offence...."

He glared at me, but didn't comment. "That is why you have been brought here."

"What the hell can I do?!"

An exasperated sigh left him as he rolled his eyes. "By the Pit you really are daft! You're the Author, slaggit! This is the world you created! You can alter it however you see fit!"

"Oh." I paused. "How?" There was a mumble from the raptor. "What?"

"I said 'I don't know'," he snarled. "You're the Author. You're supposed to know these things."

"Oh, of course," I remarked, sarcasm practically dripping from my voice. I had encountered this at Work too. It was one of those situations where despite the fact that no one had bothered to tell me how to do something, it was still my fault that they hadn't bothered to give me the procedure. Gah.

So now I was faced with a dilemma. Okay, so this was the world that Telca and I had created. I could handle that. My Muses and characters stayed here when they weren't in fics. I could handle that too. The fact that it was now upon my shoulders to turn this place into something liveable.... weeeeeell, that I couldn't handle very well. Mostly because I had no frakkin' clue on how I was supposed to accomplish the job that had been placed before me.

Then another thought hit me.

"Wait a slaggin' minute!" Eyes narrowed, I rounded on Dinobot and jabbed my right finger nail against his chest, completely ignoring the fact that I was now bullying a velociraptor. "Why the hell am I only learning about this now?! I've been writing for almost two years! What the hell took you so long?!"

A definite look of embarrassment spread over his face. "It.... um.... didntoccurtoustoaskforhelp."

I blinked, my mind processing the hasty mumble and converting it into something coherent. The result gobsmacked me. "It didn't occur to you?! It didn't occur to you?! You, the master of nitpicking and of battle schemes and war tactics, didn't put two clicks together to make a clue until now?!"

He smirked. "Perhaps some of your scatter-brained qualities have passed on to me."

Ooo! That means war! "Just you wait," I shot back as I turned, chose a random direction and stomped into the darkness. "The second I figure out how to change this reality around you're gonna find yourself in a neon pink tutu doing ballet while singing 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow'!"

Of course, we all know that the moment I think something's going my way, Fate has to toss an anvil at my head.

"Sorry to disappoint you." Funny, he didn't sound sorry. "But you can only affect the dimension, not your Muses."

I glared at nothing in particular and grumbled out a nice imitation of Yo-Samity Sam from the 'Looney Tunes'. "Fricken' frakin' frukin' pain in tha arse varmit...." As usual, inspiration struck at the oddest times, making me stop dead in my tracks as I grinned. "That's it!"

Dinobot, who had been following me from a distance, looked at me as if I'd grown another head and named it 'George'. "Pardon?"

"You! Go back to my apartment and bring me my notebook and pen!"

"What do I look like?! Your servant?!"

"I thought you wanted me to help you!"

"I do!"

"Then why are you still here?!"

My shriek was still echoing around me when he returned two minutes later, and I wasted no time in snatching the spiral notebook and pen from him, taking the cap off with my teeth and chewing on it thoughtfully as I opened the book to a fresh page.

Recovered, or perhaps just insanely curious, Dinobot edged closer to me and peered over my shoulder. "What are you doing?"

"What I do best," I beamed. "I'm gonna write. Now, knowing m'self, there's probably an entire army of characters and Muses wanderin' around here, so we'd need something big. But it'd have to be somewhere nice.... somewhere where people could relax.... And where they wouldn't have to constantly be trapped with each other, because I know they'd kill each other...." Ideas whirled through my head as I thunked down on the ground, sitting lotus style as I started to write, actually letting Dinobot read over my shoulder as I did so. Usually I loathed having people read over my shoulder, but I guess it's different with Muses.

Well, that and his left sickle claw was really close to my knee....

"Alright. Need somewhere spacious, not a forest, too many bugs and some of the guys would probably destroy it...." I sent a pointed look at Dinobot, who avoided my gaze. "Spacious and relaxing and nice.... Ooo! An island! A big one! Just off the Caribbean Islands! Like one of the ones in Bora Bora!" My pen scratched over the paper as I grinned excitedly, squealing in joy when an island just BAM! ....appeared. I was now sitting on the white sands near a gorgeous clear blue ocean while palm trees and lush plants framed the cove's beach.

Very close to giggling in hysterical glee, I hopped to my feet and clutched the book and pen to my chest, fairly skipping as I inhaled a breath of the salty air, the sounds of waves caressing the shoreline music to my ears as I stared at the thing that I had created.

Fairly trembling, I turned to face towards the centre of the island and scribbled a quick change down onto my notepad, watching as a path appeared in the sands, the ground gently pushing trees and plants to the side as it formed a beautiful terra cotta walkway that was framed by arching palm trees and large pots containing tropical flowers.

Dinobot's jaw looked like it was about to touch the ground.

"C'mon!" Giving up on restraining myself, I ran back to grab his arm and dragged him along as I ran down the newly constructed pathway, my smile widening as I took notice of a few ponds that held brightly coloured fish. A peacock strutted along the pathway to my right, seemingly interesting in we newcomers.

By the time we reached the end of the path and climbed the stairs that finished it, Dinobot had wrenched himself free of me and had taken up the lead, though I seriously doubted that we were in danger of anything except a sunburn.

A quick look around the landscape that presented itself to me and I knew exactly what to do. I used Dinobot's back as a table as I quickly wrote down a few paragraphs, pausing only to smack the raptor to keep him from moving and messing up what I was planning. When I was done, I stepped past him and rose my arms to the sky, grinning like a lunatic as I screamed out. "Three.... two.... one.... HOUSE!!!"

And just like that, a Villa that would have cost upwards of 'it-costs-HOW-MUCH?!' fell from the sky and landed right in front of me with an earthquake worthy 'THUD'.

I left a gaping Dinobot outside as I ran inside, my sneakers making little sound on the gorgeous hard wood floor when I skidded to a stop and stared in awe.

I was standing in the middle of the 'lobby' of the building. To my left was an open archway that led to what seemed to be a courtyard, blocked from view of the pathway by tall stone walls that were covered in what seemed to be thick curtains of ivy's and flowers. To my right was another archway, though this one led into another section of the building. A bar, of all things.

My curiosity took over then, and I silently made my way into the large bar-like setting, a smile spreading over my lips when I discovered that it not only housed the large bar, along with required tables, stools and whatnot, but three pool tables, two dart boards, a row of arcade games and four poker tables. A jukebox glittered to my right where it stood against the wall near the bar, and I took a moment to study it before my gaze was drawn to the huge bay windows that lined the entire wall to my left.

Or more accurately - where the windows should have been.

Instead, I found myself staring out onto a large deck that looked out over the palm trees and thus gave a breath-taking panoramic view of the ocean. More tables were set up out on the deck with bright sun-umbrella, and there were also numerous lawn chairs that lined one part of the deck. The beams that gave the impression that windows had once been there were decorated with seashells and strings of lights, and I was aching to see this place at night when it was all lit up.

A low growl of amazement drew my gaze back to Dinobot as he joined me, and I merely grinned at him in mindless joy. "Let's go look at the rest of the place."

As it turned out, calling the Villa 'huge' was an understatement. Somewhat akin to calling a Blue Whale 'big'

The first floor held the bar, the huge lobby, an enormous living room, three full bathrooms - complete with Jacuzzis - a gym and a kitchen that was twice as big as my entire apartment. The hallway that led from the far end of the lobby led out into the backyard. More palm trees and plants lined the walkway that curled around an inground pool half the size of a football field. More patio sets were set up in various places around it, and I spotted a huge brick barbeque near the open archway that led directly into the kitchen.

Upstairs opened up into a spacious intersection of the hallway, the walls lined with indoor plants and a few relaxation fountains. Straight ahead from the top of the stairs was another courtyard that looked out over the other side of the island. To the left and right were a total of six bedrooms, each one rivalling the size of a normal living room. As well, there were another three bathrooms, and if one took the direct route across the courtyard, they would enter a room completely separate from the rest of the house. A Library was housed there, complete with tables and chairs to lounge in.

My eyes were about to roll out of my head by the time I staggered out of the Library and went to lean on the railing that framed the open space that overlooked the lobby, an insanely stupid grin plastered on my face.

Dinobot joined me a moment later, visibly still trying to absorb what I had created. "Y-you.... I never thought you'd create this!"

"Isn't it great?" I beamed, certain that my smile was about to reach my ears. "I just gotta write up the separate living quarters for the Muses and Characters and I'm done!"

Forgoing my earlier attempts to seem sane, I gleefully slid down the banister, giggling as I dismounted and bolted for the back door, making my way past the pool/small lake to the sandy path that led into the lush jungle behind the Villa. Numerous bird calls greeted my entrance into the greenness, and I grinned in response as I followed the path until it broke off into at least a dozen different directions.

Not having the patience to follow each and every path, I merely whipped out my trusty book and wrote down what I wanted, and where I wanted it. After that, I merely chose a path at random and followed it's winding self to a small clearing of ferns, delighted when I gazed at a large hut. Eee! It worked!

Giggling, I darted inside and looked around, nodding in satisfaction at the large bedroom with connecting bathroom, spacious living room that overlooked the jungle and the medium kitchen.

A loud yell drew my attention then, and I stuck my head out of the front door to scream out a response, turning my attention back to the interior of the hut as rapid footsteps came my way.

"By the Pit! This place is immense!" Dinobot announced as he entered the hut, his gaze roving over the furniture and kitchen.

"Mm. The island isn't that huge widthwise, but it's at least five miles lengthwise, lotsa room. Back at the path, if we had gone straight, it would have led out onto the beach on the other side of the island. There's another snack bar out there along with a few wicker chairs and three changing huts. To the uh...." I glanced around the hut as if to get my bearings, then pointed right. "That way is the docks with seadoos and a few boats and in the other direction is another set of docks, except those are strictly for fishing and the like. All I have to do is make little living spaces for Telca and I when we visit - because we will be visiting and you can't stop us - and I'm done."

Ten minutes later, I had created two identical huts. Now, you'd think that wouldn't be such a big deal, hmm? Well, you'd be wrong! Bwaha.

I was standing at the beginning of a dock that stretched a good fifteen meters out into the ocean. At the end of said dock sat my own personal hut. Resting on a latticework of stilts that keep it a good six feet above water, my new home away from Reality was gorgeous. I knew for a fact that it's living room and bedroom had a panoramic view of the ocean that stretched out for miles, and the knowledge that this was mine was just wonderful. Telca's identical hut sat a half-mile down the beach to my left, ensuring that we both got good real estate while not giving up our personal space, something that was very important to both of us.

It was enough to make an honest Author squeal with glee.

Of course, I was hardly honest, but I did it anyway.

~*~

I took my time as I made my way back to the Villa, absorbing the sights and sounds of the island as I walked along the sandy pathway. The large building loomed before me then, it's off-white, almost marble-looking walls gleaming slightly under the caress of the sun. On an urge, I wrote down a few alterations, then nodded in satisfaction when the hardwood floors of the Villa's main floor changed to beautiful terra cotta tiles.

Not entirely sure where Dinobot went, I made my way back to the Bar, intent on tweaking a few things. As I helped myself to a root beer from the fridge behind the long bar, I let my gaze travel across the large room, eyeing possible problem spots as I rewrote a few details in my notebook. On a whim, I added a stereo system, mounting numerous speakers around the room while the controls stayed behind the bar, safely ensconced under it amongst the bottles of alcohol.

As a final touch, because I knew I'd be dealing with a lot of males, I added in a big screen plasma TV, the state of the art television only five inches thick where it hung high up on the far wall to the right of the entrance. There. That should do it. Oh, an I'll just add a few strings of multicoloured lantern lights here and there, a few more on the deck, add a few torches, windchimes, and indoor palms and.... voila!

Preening with pride, I admired my creation, listening to the musical rush of the ocean as a warm breeze wafted in from the deck, the various windchimes adding a light chorus to the moment. I think I've died and gone to heaven....

Wanting to try out the stereo system, I rummaged through a pile of CDs that I had written into existence and grinned as I placed the 'Evanescence' cd into the player, cranking the volume all the way up as the opening music to 'Bring Me to Life' blared throughout the bar. I think the walls were trembling. Not that I cared. No, I was too busy leaping onto the top of the bar and cackling in insane hysterical joy to notice much of anything.

It would figure that that would be the time for my Muses to find me.

"My Gods, she really is insane!"

"Well, duh!"

The sound of the voices made me pause in my laughing to look towards the entrance, and I immediately squealed in happiness as I flung myself into the air and landed amongst the group of Muses and a Character. "Blackie-chan! Kang-chan! Tvashtar-chan!"

Blackwargreymon arched an eyeridge at the others as I wrapped my arms around his neck and clung like a koala. "Gee, think she's glad to see us?"

"Y'know, I'm not sure." Grinning, Tvashtar grabbed me around my waist and pulled me away from Blackie, hugging me to him as he gave me a gentle peck on my cheek.

While in the fics he played the part of my self-inserted-character's 'brother', outside of the fics, we were simply close friends. Very close friends. There could be nothing more, of course. Muses and Characters weren't allowed to be anything but friends with their Authors. It was against the Laws of Fanficdom or something along those lines.

Not that the lot of us cared. Telca certainly didn't. She and Remy had been dating for months now.

As soon as Tvashtar let me go, I turned my attention to matters at hand. "Guys, I swear, I didn't know about--"

Kang cut me off with a soft rumble that was barely heard over the beat of the music. "We know. We figured you wouldn't leave things like that on purpose. But look at this! You've certainly outdone yourself!"

"Isn't it kewl? And there's over two dozen or so huts behind the Villa. Running water and all, so that you each have your own rooms. I can always write up more if I need to."

"You'll need to," Black grinned at me. "Everyone's coming."

I deadpanned. "Everyone? As in, every Muse and Character that I've ever had contact with or written about?" When he nodded, I sent a sidelong glance over at the bar, where I had left my notebook and pen. "I'm gonna run out of paper...."

"You're gonna run out of room, too," Tvashtar noted. "Draco's not going to be able to fit in here."

"Took care of that already," I answered with a dismissive wave of my hand. "The Villa will alter it's size to accommodate everyone. Read about it in a fic once, thought it was a good idea. It's some sort of dimensional subspace thingy."

"'Dimensional subspace thingy'? Gee, Lashana, I didn't know you could be so technical. You're staring to sound like Mikey."

I smirked playfully and looked over at my four newest Muses, my gaze falling on the one that had spoken. "Shaddup, Donnie. I prefer not to melt people's minds by spouting stuff that would make Websters brain leak out his ears."

The Ninja Turtle in purple returned the barb with equal playfulness. "So you'd rather just turn them catatonic with nonsense?" It was a ritual now, this odd greeting of ours. I liked it.

"It's the only way to go!" I chirped, ignoring the in sync rolling of the eyes that Black, Kang and Leo were doing.

"I can think of a lot better way ta go," Raphael told me as a lazy grin spread over his lips, his right eyeridge rising suggestively.

Holding in a chuckle, I smiled at him and reached out to touch his cheek. "I know, Raph," I murmured, unable to stop my smile from turning decidedly evil as I spoke. "But unfortunately, it's not considered a threesome if it's just you and your two hands."

A shocked hit-upside-the-head-with-a-tree look flowed over his face while the rest of the group, myself included, broke into hysterical laughter. I received many congratulatory slaps on the back for that little comment, mostly because they were glad to see that I had regained something more akin to my usual mood. The last month had been hard for us all.

It was only when Raphael growled and brandished a sai threateningly that we managed to smother our laughter, and even then, the occasional snicker was heard from Michelangelo, despite the fact that he had both hands clamped over his mouth.

It was good to be home.

I spent the next half hour giving the small group the ten cent tour, unable to keep the grin from my face at the dumbstruck looks they kept giving me and the island that I had created. We gathered more people as we went, so that by the time we returned to the Villa, the group was almost twenty strong. I was glad to see that more of my original characters were here, mostly because the majority of them were women. Cassie and Alex from 'Sins of the Father', Shaw, Traz'lilr and Angie from 'Darkness & Light' and Aiden, Esper, Ace, A'Janae, Talia and Kaia from 'Darkside of the Moon'. At least this way I knew that we women could keep the numerous males in check.

However, nothing could have prepared me for what was waiting for me in the bar.

I heard the low roar of dozens of conversations from the backyard, and, urged onwards by an unhealthy amount of curiosity, I cautiously made my way towards it, freezing in the doorway at the sight that presented itself to me.

It was packed.

Muses, Characters, hell, even some people I had only mentioned once or twice in a passing paragraph were gathered there. I recognised Kadrith behind the bar, the draconid who played Tvashtar's brother in the fics staying true to his odd nature. He was wearing his almost trademarked tight faded blue jeans along with a black leather vest, his tail swaying behind him in an almost hypnotic movement as he served drinks to the ones sitting at the bar. As he turned to grab another glass, I caught sight of the tattoo that he usually hid during the fics, the black Celtic arm-band stark against his bronze flesh. Three gold studded earrings were in his left ear, glinting dully in the lights, and I was less than pleased to see that he had dyed the tips of his hair a stark black. Dammit, that'll never wash out before the next fic.... argh....

I took a quick look at the people sitting at the bar, and once I recognised Venom, Wolverine, Duncan and Tasuki, I let my gaze wander away, not wanting to know what Tasuki's hand movements really meant. Mewtwo and R'Kar were at one pool table, while Nightcrawler, Erica and Kaelianna were at the arcade games. A roar of laughter to my right drew my attention to the group of Duo, Slith, Gambit and Iceman. Zelgadis and Xellos were.... well, the couple were tangled up on one of the lawnchairs out on the deck, you figure it out.

Deciding that I could stand there forever and not manage to recognise everyone present, I shrugged and strode into the room, giggling in perverse glee when everyone paused and rose their glasses to me, roaring out my name in greeting before they turned back to whatever they were doing. Gods, it's like an insane version of 'Cheers'!

Expertly dodging limbs, wings, tails and various other people, I made my way over to the bar and sat at the far end of it where I could survey the room with ease, grinning when Kadrith strode over to me.

"Damn, Author, this place makes the Palace look like a mini-mart!" He grinned, rows upon rows of jagged fangs glinting in the light. "You did good. 'Bout time too. So, what'll it be?"

"Root beer," I answered, swatting his hand away when he reached for me. There were times that calling him a 'slut' would be very true. "No touching of the Author."

"Hmpft. Ruin all my fun." Winking at me, he thunked a can of soda in front of me, then went to go serve the duo of Joyrock and the Demon Highlord.

Loud rumbling chuckles made me turn on my stool to grin at the three dragons that were occupying the corner of the room, close to the edge of the deck, and I wasted no time in hopping to my feet and heading over to them. Normally, one wouldn't willingly wander over to a group of dragons that rivalled the size of an eighteen wheeler, but I was special. Well, that and I knew that these three would never hurt me. "Shakarei!"

The black dragon turned at my call and grinned as I ran over to throw my arms as far around his neck as I could, eliciting amused chuckles from the other two dragons.

"And here I thought I was her favourite," Draco mused as he picked up the rain barrel filled with sweet ale and rose it to his lips.

Skie snorted. "You're entirely too full of yourself."

"Besides," Shakarei added as I pulled away and lightly scratched a spot under his chin. "Creations before Muses."

"Ha! You're just jealous!"

"Am not!"

Ever seen a pair of dragons engage in the traditional game of 'who can stick their tongue out the farthest'? It's rather entertaining. I merely grinned and leaned back against Shakarei while I sipped my root beer - which I hadn't spilled - and rolled my eyes as Draco smacked Skie upside the head with his tail, winning the battle. "And people call me insane."

"That's because you are," Skie grumbled good naturedly as he rose a claw to rub at his head. "When are you going to write the next chapter of the 'Q' fic anyway? I've been on standby for ages."

"Ano...." Embarrassed, I rose a hand and rubbed at the back of my neck, blushing slightly. "It's.... been a bad few weeks. I haven't really thought of it."

Sending a glare at Skie, Draco leaned closer and nuzzled my shoulder, purring softly. "Aw, it's okay, sweetie. We know it's been tough. No worries, okay? You write whenever you feel like writing."

"I know. Telca tells me the same thing." I sighed and leaned against the side of his head, resting my cheek against warm scales. "Reality sucks," I stated morosely, listening to the three dragon's worried rumbles as they stared at me. "It sucketh greatly."

Skie exchanged glances with Shakarei before ducking his head towards me. "If you want," he rumbled, eyes flashing a bright yellow with mischief. "I could destroy the office building you work in."

I had to smile at that. "Nice try. They'd just relocate us. Again." But I reached out to pat his snout in thanks anyway, seeing sparks of static electricity dance around my fingers when he snorted. "I'll survive."

"We have no doubt of that," Shakarei grinned. "It's the other people we worry about!"

"Har har, fuckin', har," I growled, half-heartedly glaring at him as I pushed away from Draco.

"Dudette! Man, this place rocks!"

I paled and shrank back against Draco. "Hide me," I whimpered as the Demon Highlord walked over to us. If I could get rid of him, I would. Unfortunately, the fic 'Final Battle' that he was featured in was too important to the fic timeline to destroy. Even more unfortunate - for me - was the fact that Mr. Surfer Demon had developed a crush on me, convinced that I was his Soul Mate for life, no matter how hard my Muses and I tried to tell him otherwise.

It didn't help that alcohol usually made him grabby.

"Yo! Dudette! Hiya!" He grinned, showing yellow fangs, blood red eyes glowing with unnatural light as he waved at me where I cowered against a growling Draco, wondering what I had done to deserve this. "Come join tha party, Lash! It's tubular!"

I ought to mention that only one person can talk in surfer speak and not sound stupid. Last time I checked, this idiot wasn't a Ninja Turtle by the name of Michelangelo.

"I'm fine," I called, not daring to move away from the dragon who had safely enclosed me in the circle of his forelegs. "Thanks anyway!" When Telca finds out about this I'll never live it down....

"Aww, are ya sure, chicky? I thought we could have some fun. Y'know, sing a lil' song, do a lil' dance," he paused and his grin turned rather perverted. "Get down tonight?"

My stomach heaved.

Luckily, before I could introduce everyone to my supper, Shakarei roared and lashed out with a claw, sending El Highlord sprawling through the air. Skie's lightning blast and Draco's fireball sent him into orbit.

The other people in the room all paused, sent glares in the airborne Demon's way, then went back to whatever they were doing.

"I have this sudden urge to scrub my scales with bleach and steel wool," the black dragon muttered as he wiped his claw on the floor, then on Skie, who smacked him.

"Hey! Be happy! At least he's not making passes at you!" I retorted with a grimace. "And drinking makes him grabby."

The three dragons, and various people within earshot, shuddered.

Skie tapped me on the shoulder and nodded in the direction of the deck. "And speaking of 'grabby'...."

I did the stupid thing and looked. "Ugh! Xellos! Zelgadis! Put your clothes back on!"

A blue haired head and a purple haired head popped over the top of the lawn chair, staring over at me with big eyes. "Awww, but Lashaaaanaaaa!"

I pushed away from Draco and glared. "Now." I don't know how they turned into a couple, and quite frankly I didn't really mind as long as they didn't do the nasty in the middle of a crowded room. Xellos was still Xellos. Annoying, perverted and Mazoku. Zelgadis however.... Maybe that one-third Mazoku part of him is drawn to Xellos.... either that or Xellos brought it out, because ever since they've been together, Zel has certainly.... um.... 'mellowed'.

Draco nudged me. "Want me to burn that chair?"

Hell yes. "Please. I'm gonna go.... uh...." I looked at the full room and blinked. "In the general direction of the bar. I need another root beer." I left them to take care of destroying the chair that had been in contact with a semi-nekkid Xellos and started making my way through the crowd. Three minutes later I realised that it was a lost cause, so I chose a random table and sat down, returning the blinks that were now being sent my way. "Oh thank the gods, other women. The testosterone in this place is starting to overwhelm me."

Cassie snickered and passed me a Smirnoff Ice. "Tell me about it! We're fairly having to beat them off with a stick."

A feline rumble of laughter came from a grinning Esper, whose fangs glinted dangerously. "Don't tell me that you do not enjoy the treatment, chica! I saw the look in your eyes when Duncan walked by!"

"Y'know," Ace mused, leaning forward to try to keep the conversation a little private. "I think we should be running this place."

"I was actually thinking of that," I grinned. "Think you and Cassie here could handle the bar with Kadrith? Esper, you wanna help keep the peace?"

"What about us?" Alex asked, drawing my gaze to her, Aiden, A'Janae, Kaia and Talia.

"Ummm....." I glanced at Cassie. "What do you think?"

"Well, we can recruit some of the guys for Waiters and Cooks, especially the ones who cause trouble. It can be like a punishment--"

"Which it is." Talia muttered.

"Right. Well, I could probably use Aiden at the bar.... but other than that....."

"Kewl!" Kaia grinned, doing a high-five with Talia as the two lunged to their feet. "We're free agents! I call the pool table! C'mon Alex!"

A'Janae watched them go with a small smile. "Figures."

"Ah, let 'em go," Aiden grinned as she leaned back in her chair and propped her booted feet up on the seat that Talia had just vacated. "They should get some time to have fun. Besides, anyone watched 'Coyote Ugly' lately?"

If Aiden's grin was evil, then Ace's was Satanic. "I get to throw buckets of ice water at the rowdy people! I call, I call! Shotgun!"

Cassie, Esper and I rolled our eyes, and I had to laugh at the demented look on Ace's face as she grinned. "Well, at least things won't be boring around here," I admitted, turning to Cassie when she snorted.

"Did you actually expect it to be?"

I grinned. "Not really. It just, y'know, feels good to say it."

"Ah."

A'Janae touched my elbow to get my attention. "Hey, can I ask you something about the fic?" When I nodded, she frowned. "Are you going to turn me into the bad guy?"

"Well, I was considering having a twist in the story. The friction between you and the rest of the group is there, it'd be rather easy to turn you into a double agent or have you switch sides. I've also considered having you be the one to save the day, or someone's life, like Esper or Raph. Y'know as a big kick to the head to them. But honestly, A'Janae, I don't know yet. You'll just have to wait and see. I am planning on giving you at least half a chapter to yourself in the near future, just before the first fight with Moira.... speaking of which, shouldn't she be here too?"

Aiden blinked and looked around. "You mean she isn't?"

"Haven't seen her."

Ace stood up, giving her a better view of the room. "There she is! She's out on the deck talking with Beast."

I smiled at that. Despite the fact that Moira played the part of a insane serial killer in the fics, she was actually a very nice person, and very intelligent. She and Beast had immediately hit it off when I had brought her and the other girls from that fic in. It was kind of cute.

Suddenly caught up in the moment, I grabbed my bottle of Smirnoff Ice and vaulted up to stand on the table, hearing Cassie and Ace scream for everyone to shut up as I rose my drink in a victorious toast and shouted : "Welcome to the Line Between Reality and Fantasy!!"

The answering roar of cheers must have been heard for miles.