Argus (Before The Dragons Arrived)

Berry had disconnected from the Hive to restructure his network. With the introduction of the choir, it made perfect sense. There wasn't a time when we would potentially be more vulnerable to each other. It hurt a little that he didn't trust us, ah well, I'll complain after he reconnects. Scix was probably making him nervous, but he mellowed out with all the elves he had to deal with. It was amusing in its own little way, how he refused to kill those he saved. Just a little quirk that made Scix, Scix.

What was less amusing, were the ripples going through space in the Underground. Multiple gates activated at once, then the scream of Aether above. Every personality felt it when the inner walls were torn from their spot. The Aether overflowing and spilling out from a weeping gash that felt as though one space was replaced with another. All was silent for one second, those that couldn't sense magic going about their normal lives as if nothing happened.

That one second, everything was just silent among the personalities, then the first messengers from the Berries arrived. I thought it was a report, a quick briefing on what in the hells were going on. Then I saw the memories, of Lady Cynthia being tortured, Beru barely alive. The blue dragon sneered through the memories. "Yield or die." Was the command, the message received as more copies spread throughout the Hive.

Guards had arrived with the portal, they were already demolishing everything. Everyone connected, and the report came back that the original Berry had perished in his fight with the dragon. There wasn't time to grieve, everything was happening at once. We would grieve and sort it all out later. Now was the time for action, as the new Prince of Berries set aside bugs outside the walls for us to connect to. There was no hesitation, four seconds had passed, as we had a direct link with our Queen.

Gray was still not with us, phalanx CC was dispatched to tell him to hand over all his teleporters as the Queen requested. Most of his vampires were in the South Side, but the ones that had stayed here were very surprised when unnamed copies of the Queen scoured through their hives and took what we needed. There wasn't time to play around, Wyatt was making a damned dust storm and his talent was practically vaporizing everything he flew over.

I called all the available homunculus to me, save for three. CC was sent to retrieve the teleporters, BB and A sent to get the people away from danger. I knew that our Queen didn't want Wyatt to be killed, and that was fine. He had clearly lost it, just like the other guards that suddenly appeared in the Underground. People were dying in the streets, as everyone was caught off guard in this nightmarish situation.

With all the phalanx gathered, not including the other three, we moved to the top of a building to see where Wyatt's path was taking him. Debris and small specks of sand were the problems. That just meant we had to obliterate it with everything they had. Aether was pulled through each of the others, bouncing off each other, as they stained it more and more. A couple of them were dedicated to mind magic to better organize this, while the others conjured flames from nothing and exerted a level of control beyond what any person could manage.

Orange flames turned red, then blue, and finally white. A small ball of condensed flames spiraling in the middle of the air. Dragon fire, forged from Aether, made after what we had witnessed from Bral. The heat radiated off it, as the mind users of the phalanx turned their attention to Wyatt. Calculations were made, and the fire was made to spin faster. Wyatt wasn't the target, it was the area around him. The nova of fire spun faster, and faster as we continued calculating everything.

How the fire would explode, everything it would burn, the trajectory, if Wyatt would attack it with his wind. Then with all the force, they could manage, they sent the spiraling mass of pure white flames at the captain of the guard. The air screamed with its passage, as Wyatt looked over to it. As expected, he attacked, but the mass of flames only slowed slightly. It exploded, the shockwave blasting dust and debris away. The flames incinerating everything around Wyatt. The mind users were sent to better gather the people of the Eastside, to get them in those teleporters and take them to safety.

Even after stealing Gray's teleporters, we didn't have enough to save everyone. There wasn't enough displacer fluid to teleport everyone we needed. |"Scix, we need more displacer fluid. Do you know where Fukuma are?"|

|"Yeah, I see the problem, but things aren't looking better in any of the other sections!"| His reply was instant, |"The Guard is slaughtering everyone. The Minotaur, The Raven, and the tribes are making their moves. It's a bloodbath."| The Queen commanded him to hunt the Fukuma, Prince Berry would find more for him to hunt, while others would help the captured elves escape their prison.

Our Queen's orders were absolute. We didn't give Wyatt a chance to recover as the shockwave came towards us. Each fire Elementalist, and pyromancer teleporting with their limited displacer fluid. Wyatt was still up in the air, while the Queen continued to give orders to the others. We were supposed to subdue Wyatt. We landed on the glass below him, the tidal wave of dust and debris turned to glass or melted together from the heat.

I walked forward, "Wyatt! What are you doing!?" He was keeping himself aloft in the air, his pipe humming. The gnomes were on emergency evacuation, it was more important to get them out. It was awful we had to pick and choose, but the Guard was in the streets continuing the slaughter. There simply wasn't enough of us, and our bugs were occupied with everything. The smarter people figured out that our giants were letting civilians into our warehouses or brothels while keeping up walls of flames.

Wyatt pointed at us, as I tried to make a mental connection. Everyone was trying, but the helmets were preventing it. His armor was glowing with power, incredible runes etched onto the silver. We heard the pop as the metal balls in his gauntlets were blown out towards us. We blasted them with fire, dodging them as best we could. Wyatt didn't hesitate as he flew through the flames a protective bubble of air around him. His studded pipe vibrated as he struck B.

An explosion of gore filled the air, as the pipe came into contact with her. Countless strikes in one swing, the holes catching flesh, the metal striking, even slits for air to cut into someone. It was a cruel weapon, that was mercifully quick. It made it very clear Wyatt wasn't holding back. Doubly so when he carried himself from the strike and flew towards C. We lunged at him, trying to pin him, to tear off his armor, anything to stop him. Anything to buy another second for the people to be teleported away.

Wyatt shot out the rest of his metal balls, after swinging through one of us. The others blasted through as the metal things spun, eviscerating each of us. We woke up in our vats, each of us coughing as the gnomes were running around to gather everything they could. We couldn't afford to mess around, our first wave was defeated, we only had one more then we'd potentially start dying. We had no idea what would happen when there wasn't a body for us to control anymore.

B and C were doling out cyclops weapons we had made, now was the time to use them. I adjusted the few that were still in their cocoons. They were going to emerge today, and we had discovered that we could keep them in a state of being nearly ready to make adjustments as needed. Three of them were going to change their shape to make a large full-body shield. Another two would become a lance after joining together.

We had memories of our Queen's spar with Wyatt, we understood how his talent worked after seeing it first hand. We hacked and coughed the rest of the fluid out of our lungs, our second wave armed and ready. Our bugs told us that Wyatt had used his metal balls to break the glass, so shards were flying below him to make more debris and dust. He was on the edge of the dead zone working his way in, while the guards had the rest of the area surrounded as they slaughtered. Even ghosts stinging them through the cracks of their armor weren't enough to make the pass out. The only option was killing them.

At least it was, until Pandora managed to get one of the helmets off, and revealed a very confused guard. Wait why was she putting it back on!? Wyatt was moving backwards... people were being cut in reverse. I looked at the others, finding them struggling with the same visions and sights I was. Then something gave, and it was as though the world lurched forward the same confused guard. Scix hunting Fukuma, news that Berry died. Reconnecting with the Queen, a new Berry in place.

The feeling of dying to Wyatt's humming pipe. Our second wave shredded because he was looking for our dragon fire. It was strange, to see everything happening in such a way. To witness dying in a body, in reverse. What was the cause? The other personalities were experiencing, but our Queen wasn't. She was anchoring us, not allowing us to lose the sensations and thoughts. I looked out the window, seeing countless fractures in the Aether. Those shifting points in space that most others couldn't even perceive.

They were growing, shifting, then suddenly jumping back to a smaller size. Snapping back and forth, similar to a metronome. We could use this to our advantage if we understood it. What made it 'snap' back? What was happening to the flow of space and time, during these moments? The tears originated above us, implying the source was whatever happened to the inner walls. People outside the Underground were not being affected, but everyone else was. The massacre happened in reverse, then suddenly lurched forward.

If we had not connected with our Queen, if she hadn't backed up the memories as soon as she got them, we wouldn't have noticed. Trapped just like the others, but now we could try different approaches while exploiting it. The second wave sent out when it was safe, eviscerated near-instantly without a ball of dragon fire to melt and incinerate the debris. Only for it to all snap back the taste of blood fresh on my mouth. Our Queen guided us, ordering us to move so our losses were mitigated, our gains sticking.

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How many times had we died? Our second wave pushing to pursue a new course, to stall the unending tide of glass and blood. DD was the first to run out of bodies, her soul trapped inside a random giant. It stuck as time continued oscillating. We knew the fate that awaited us, we could kill Wyatt, we couldn't pull that damned helmet off his head. My shield of cyclops was ready, wings and legs attaching to make it full-bodied. My final homunculus body was brought out.

My phalanx was falling apart, but the gnomes were safely taken away. Scix and the new Berry had acquired Fukuma glands. It was time to shut everything else out, however. Half the Eastside was demolished, Wyatt's talent a force of nature. Darts of fire, specks of ember that exploded came from the alleys. The remainder rolled out the carpet of flame with the giants we had on the scene. I carried my shield and spear, to the open. Everyone else sent off.

Wyatt tilted his head towards me, the weight too much for a simple homunculus to carry on their own. The trick was to use other cyclops to make a sort of suit of armor. Their squishy insides act as padding to keep everything from chafing. The prototypes I had thought I ruined earlier today, now coming to help my lumbering form make one final stand. There were no more bodies, there was no place I could retreat. I was just buying time for the remainder of the phalanx to get the children in the damn teleporters.

The Raven and the Tribes had their teleporters to a certain town. It meant after the children of the Eastside were whisked away, Kobe and his champions were next. There were no words as Wyatt used his magic to launch himself at my position. Shield in front, flames channeled through the vents, fire erupting to counter the blades of win. Momentum spinning the shield, Wyatt's pipe screaming but only hitting each cyclops a couple of times. It gouged their armor, it dented them, making them bleed. We were hardly helpless, not while the cyclops gauntlets allowed me to bash Wyatt in his stupid face.

His helmet rattled a little, even as the fire burnt my skin. His little metal balls were melted somewhere among the glass and other debris. His fist went for my face, forcing me to block. Bastard unballed it and made them into claws just to tear at me better. I kneed him in the groin, sharp kneepad meeting the guard. Wind blades came at my back, and I gave the order to launch us both forward with an explosion of flames. We skidded on the ground, the glass offering little traction.

I was panting on top of the captain, shield discarded and broken. Wind blades cut into my side as I tore off that damned helmet. The dark elf's blue face revealed confusion as he looked at me. "Where am I?" Then his armor lit up, the helmet snapping back into place as we skidded along the glass again. I tore the helmet off again, only to have it snap back once more. The confusion at least bought me an extra second before more wind blades dug deeply into my side.

Fuck it, I thought, grabbing the blue bastard by the collar. The wind tore at me as one arm fell limp. The spear took a few of the blades to keep Wyatt's precious talent from turning me into a mist. I tossed him into the air blasting as much fire as I could. The cyclops spear emitting fire from the bottom. Wyatt laughed, thinking he was free until the spear launched straight into the air. It almost pierced his chest plate, driving up and up towards the ceiling.

Coldness crept through my limbs, as blood left my body. Still, I looked up, forcing all my will through the two cyclops driving Wyatt towards the ceiling of the Underground. I checked the vats looking for another body to use, the dreaded result came back. I knew it ahead of time, this was my last one. I collapsed onto the ground, chest pointing towards the sky as I struggled to breathe. Wyatt disappeared, into the tear in space. I didn't believe for a second that he died, but he was somewhere else now. My eyes felt so heavy, heavier with every blink. The gnomes were safe, I just needed to wait until they got me a new body. Then I'd be back in no time.

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Scix, The Many

Argus has fallen. The news reached all the other personalities, as the fractures seemed to settle down. Wyatt was gone, hundreds were dead. That was hundreds dead per side, not counting the slaughter-fest that was the central markets. The battle was far from over, as I had Irma and the other elves slaughter every Fukuma we came across. The 'prey' as they called themselves were dispatched to retrieve other elves in the chaos. Nothing special, just freeing the elves and telling them to come to the dead-zone to kill every Fukuma we came across.

Everything was used to find the life-saving beasts. Their organs were fed to double mouths, or dispensers, just to get everyone the Queen deemed worth getting out. Pandora was working with Kobe to tear helmets off the guards, the confused guards hit with an explanation from our Queen. Then they were used to repel the tide of other guards, in an attempt to get some semblance of order.

Clarice was doing the same in the tribe lands, working her way towards the center. There was no sign of Gray making any moves, but converting enemy forces into temporary allies was helping. Even if a third of the freed guards were collapsing from injuries or poison. It was clear that the Guard had no idea what was going on, the helmets simply overriding their thoughts, taking over their bodies. Runes were at work, but all we could ask was, why?

For what reason, did Charles do this? To what ends had he made the Guard attack everyone in the Underground? No, those questions needed to wait. My elves were next to leave this place, and I'd be damned before I let idle questions bring about their ruin. The Hive wasn't invincible, even with Beru's existence confirmed by the memories we received. Berry's death is still fresh, and Argus is arguably close behind. We could decide, no more, but then what?

It didn't matter what the reasons were, all that mattered was saving everyone we could to profit from this tragedy. Robert and the Wraiths were already at the town of blood worms. Named Blud'Lee since their main goal was to provide our teleporters and vampires with blood. The tribes would be moved there after things calmed down. Plans were made for how to try and feed everyone we were saving.

Because of that, I needed to kill and devour every Fukuma we came across. Argus was already given to Robert, her soul trapped in a cyclops. Stuck there, until a body could be found for her to use. The rest of her phalanx and gnomes had to wait while we saved their equipment so they could set up. In the midst of all this chaos, we would steal the food before it started to rot. Anything that took longer to perish was on our list after we saved all the lives we could.

The living area was going to be raided to keep the refugees fed and housed. Either the Guard would be stopped, or there wouldn't be anyone for them to slaughter anymore. The whole situation was frustrating, as it was effectively the Hive running away from the problem as a whole. Hoping for the best, and that the criminals of the Underground might have some honor and cooperate after the Queen saved them. I felt disgusted, relying on unknowns like this, but dissenters would be turned into vampires to save more lives.

The solution was as brutal as it was elegant, making our Queen the hero of this slaughter while growing our power. It simply didn't matter how many cutthroats were in the Underground. No one could be prepared for armored men and women suddenly barging through their door. Armor enchanted to repel magic strikes while protecting them from the knives and other small weapons most in the Underground had. All while the whole thing was unprovoked.

Those not associated with a big gang had no one to rally behind once their leaders fell. They were expendable, to be saved last as they would no doubt wonder why they weren't saved before others. Even a child could see that the big gangs were being saved by the teleporters first. That or those in areas associated with our Hive's influence. Their presence carried a risk, one that would be diminished by just saving them last. Not that such weak agents could threaten us with Robert and the rest of the Wraiths.

Fukuma corpses were piled up, two piles made for the ones that had their organs harvested, and the others waiting. The elves didn't question my orders, nor did they flinch when the paladins showed up carrying those that needed to be fed the organs. Slaughter spread like the blood it left on the ground. Filtering out, from all sources in the Underground. The stench of death carried further, as cries of pain and grief echoed through the Underground.

It was a carrion call, telling those scavengers in the dead-zone that food was being prepared. Even on the edges of the new Berry's hive, we could see the surge of bodies creeping closer. Monster and beast alike, mindlessly drawn towards the scent of fresh food. This was the true reason we needed to get each person out of the Underground. I wouldn't be surprised if the portals to the city were 'conveniently' broken thanks to the tear in space and time.

The fracture that was receding now that Wyatt was thrown through it, as some kind of sacrifice. It didn't sit right, but he was too dangerous to be left alone. Argus made the right call there, even if the Queen was going to be mildly upset if he never came back. My bloody work continued with more elves trickling in from various parts of the Underground. The Prey were doing proper work, opting to not fight, but simply release their brothers and sisters as their 'spirit' commanded.

I still felt as though the word wasn't quite right. Their philosophies changed from tribe to tribe, no single word was used to define an idea quite what I would expect. There were connotations, nuance, and more built off of decades of contemplating what it meant to be one thing or another. An elf calling themselves a knife meant their purpose was to cut as their 'wielder' demanded it. A knife was an object, so not a 'prey' or 'predator.' It still gave me a headache, but it had a certain looping logic that simply reflected their existence. Elves had all the time in the world to live and contemplate these arbitrary things. Old age meant their concepts needed a 'solid' understanding to push them forward and build upon.

In their eyes, I was a predator. One that actively collected resources for my goals. One that moved with natural intent, ready to kill for what I needed. To defend what was mine, to protect all that I saw under my power. A herd of Bew could be predators, as they moved from one field to the next, grazing and collecting nutrients from plants. They ate those that merely existed for the sake of such, making plants prey in the eyes of elves.

There was no room for me to disagree with such fundamentals. Likewise, their tribes were less like collections of others born to their tribe, and simply individuals banning together under their guardian. It was why there was less friction between the elves calling themselves predators, hunters, or the like, even if their tribes had feuds. That friction was reserved between those broken elves that only did as ordered, those that called themselves prey, healers, and so on.

Those that refused to kill regardless of reason were prey. Those that were broken, and might need time to heal. The ones I tossed to the chaos because they couldn't help me any other way. I hated the fact that they might die, but it was a necessary evil. Fewer mouths to feed in the coming weeks would be a boon. Even as the hundreds that were slaughtered finally ticked up to the thousands per side. The Guard only having died in the dozens, as the minutes passed us by.

The one thing everyone would want after this was over, was answers. Something Clarice was hoping to find, amidst the blood and death. I only hoped that we wouldn't lose more members of our Hive, not without knowing the reasons behind whatever this tragedy was.