Mimi

"Let me get this straight, you met a Wisp Mother and now you want to see if these wisps can curse our guns?" Don asked, after my report. It was nice to give him such every other day. He struggled to keep up with everything, even when others ran his gang for him.

"Yes, that is what I have been implying. Fis'Ton had a surplus given how it was easier to desert from the war with the elves, versus returning through the landbridge. Weapons that are under your control due to having the support of the locals and contacts with the wealthy." I gently explained, pouring him a glass of wine.

He was sweating, even as he sipped the wine. His men had reported what happened at the pier, he was waiting for that hammer to drop. "I see, where did this fit into all your plans? Why isn't it simple?"

A soft sigh escaped my lips, "Because, Don, the plan never survives the application. Spreading your options out will give you more tools to use on a specific problem. Much like how you have specific groups of men for certain jobs working under you. Getting a Wisp Mother to work for me wasn't planned, yet the potential she has serves me more than eating her."

"E-eating her?" He looked me over again.

I gave him a wolfish grin, "Yes. Monsters taste delicious to me. People have less flavor and come with their own problems, but this monster is especially weak to my methods. I can, and will, erase her if she proves to be an issue later. Now, onto more pressing matters. I know you want to hear what we should do going forward."

Don swallowed hard, drinking half his glass. He swirled it, keeping his composure as best he could. "Train the slaves up to replace the men we lost." I squinted at him, "Former slaves..." I gave him a curt nod, letting him continue. "You'll convince some of the pirates guarding the warehouses to attack a church and burn more of their relics. Then I swoop in and tell them I acquired the rest of the relics and want to work together to cast the pirates out?"

"Close, you're going to provide a map of where they are located. After, you return their trinkets to them. The church is suffering internally since they tried to burn a few of their members that were in confinement. They aren't unified, but with a common enemy, they will be forced to act. The Church isn't enough to cast out the pirates, but they are enough to severely damage them. We'll also get access to their armor as we pick up the scraps left after their battle."

"What about the others? They are called the guilds for a reason, you expect the cultivators and legion to stand by all idle like?" He finished his glass.

I poured him another, "The legion was divided before I even got here, their official leader in charge of the Wyverns as I understand it. Cultivators are more of a problem since I can't read any of their minds. If they make a move, then we'll just have to respond as it happens. From what I've seen, however, they are more inclined to let the other groups fight it out while winning the support of the people. They'll be one of the groups surviving the famine we have approaching."

Don blinked, "Famine?"

"Yes, I'm feeding a lot of mouths outside the city. I targeted warehouses filled with food, I have pirate ships out there fishing and capturing fishermen in a blockade to lessen the amount coming in. You don't need to worry about it, because I am storing enough for you to keep your men fed and happy. It's simply another catalyst to nudge the groups to the inevitable conclusion." I hummed a little at the end, watching his hands start to shake.

Gently, I grabbed his hand. He took a deep breath to steady himself, "How many people are going to die?" He stared blankly ahead, eyes downcast as he assumed the worst.

"We both know you cared more for the locals than the foreigners coming here to stake a claim. People will die no matter what choices you or anyone else makes, the question is merely how many you would like to die. I assumed the least locals compared to the foreigners, but I can adjust that if you'd like. I could start getting your men to attack the Wyvern gang and the cultivators while declaring they are siding with the pirates. It'll be a blood bath, but the strongest will emerge from the ashes."

He paled at the thought, gripping the glass until it shattered. "Please, don't." He looked at me, his eyes pleading. I grabbed a rag and slowly cleaned up the mess while pouring him another drink.

"Then I won't. Those close to you will be kept safe, while your enemies suffer. It's in my interest for Winston Jr to take over with your blessing, as he is a well-known figure that could slowly bring the locals together thanks to his history." I pocketed the glass in my shadow, happy to let Brick play around with the fragments later.

Don's eyes went wide, "You captured him, didn't you?" He whispered, barely keeping himself from shouting it. My lack of denial convinced him of the truth, as he stared at his wine with a slack jaw. After wiping his face, he downed the entire thing. I poured him another, then another.

After he calmed down, I started speaking, "Yes, he is touring my territories. The pirates helped to warp his heart, but that just makes it easier to convince him that my methods are simply better. He's a young man, looking for a way to make sense of the world. He is being assured that he can keep his people safe, while we deal with any pirates that come our way. He'll also be the one to end the famine, with a small fleet of boats filled with fish."

"That's why you're pushing the church to attack the pirates. Clear out the enemies, then topple both while they're at their weakest." He finally got it.

"All while you 'hear' of his return and move to keep the others from interfering. If the guilds are dumb enough to attack the man ending a famine, then no one will question it when we wipe them out. By then, my bugs will be in every corner of this city. Your men will be armored, they'll be carrying more powerful weapons, and you'll have the full support of almost everyone in the city. We don't even need to slay the people in the guilds, only drive them out and let the forest do the rest."

"We won't be accepted by the Kingdom of Fire." He made a sour face at the realization.

"You won't, the runic guns might not even work anymore. If I find one of the guild factions to be agreeable, then the plan will change. As a situation develops, you need to make plans for the most likely outcomes. Anything could happen, but should I end up elsewhere I want you to be able to carry on without my presence."

Don nodded, "That makes a whole lot of sense. You mentioned other territories, how many forces do you have under you?"

I shrugged, "Depends on your definition of forces. Most of my fighting entities are vampires and bugs. I have a few heavy hitters, but they'd have to be made aware of the situation before I brought them here. Number-wise, we could probably lay siege to the city and claim it. Though that would cost more lives for all parties."

"You're joking, what do you mean by heavy hitters?" He leaned forward, finishing the last of the wine I was going to pour him today.

"Just those powerful enough to fight off two of the Underground gang leaders. They wouldn't necessarily win, but they could do enough damage to leave scars or such. My elite vampires are a heavy hitter when they work together, the three dark elves I am training will be on par once they work together. For reference, I'd expect them to go against twenty of your men and come out on top despite the runic guns." I was downplaying them a little, but Don appeared to be having a hard time understanding it. I didn't need to make him feel inadequate.

He smirked, "You won't tell me how many you have, only that it's enough to overrun this city. I don't need to test you, I'll be staying on your good side for the foreseeable future. Same time in a couple of days?"

"Sure," I gave him a small bow before leaving. A few of his men were slowly becoming aware of the act, only it didn't matter. If they tried anything, I had bugs at the ready with those that already knew. A quick hop through the shadows and I made it back to my little base. I sat on my metal throne, resting my eyes while directing others in the Hive.

Then it happened, exactly at the same time Eclipse had the spatial tear two weeks ago. That dark dome cast itself over the city, while my bugs poured out of it. Thousands dumped onto the fields between the two walls at a time. Millions of my hive-mates were cast out of the dark dome that started to shrink. The city exactly as it was two weeks ago, while I waited for Gray and Silver to arrive. I kept waiting, as the minutes passed.

People on the streets were confused, as a few of them noticed the receding dome. The older people appeared to know what it was, only they refused to say anything. Twenty minutes passed, as I tapped the armrest. Teleporters were sent into the shade, as my bugs were quickly moved. Their memories were accepted as they completed. I refused to believe what I was seeing.

Even as the dome shrank and disappeared with an anticlimatic pop, I still waited. The metal groaned as I gripped it, bending and twisting as I went through the memories again. The other personalities took notice, each of them slowly going through the copies I made. The men in the room jumped as my combat form took over. Four masked Grays were left in the shade, the mask forcing them to always be connected. Gray spoken thrice as he was called by the others.

They were the only ones left from the war. The original had died with a few other copies. Shades as he called them, the survivors corrupted by a talent and forced to march with the human army. All of them were stolen from me, and Silver was probably taken as well. He better have been taken so I can bring him back.

All that happened during the battles that took place, every thrall they had made. All of it was recorded and stored lovingly in the bugs that came out. The ones Gray had been certain were not corrupted. I ordered every node to patrol for the army that stole them from me. I memorized every bit of information that Gray knew was accurate, that spider still only thinking of others. My humbled little spider.

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Rage and sorrow warred as every bug in the Hive started to slowly chirp their pain. We lost Argus and Gray, it was too much to keep holding back. I left Fis'Ton, teleporting to the ruins of my shack. The building was destroyed and looted for the crystals that produced water and fire. They didn't find the secret tunnel, though anything important had long been taken out. Why had I come here?

I broke through the floor, crashing into the tunnel unsure why I was crying. It had been a great death for them, they died in a way they could be proud about. My body was stumbling as it ran its fingers over the first bloodstains from their first kill. A single tally for each of them, I hadn't even consciously done it. Those bodies had just been leftovers for the Hive, for my bugs to grow from.

If the army was found, we could try to remake him. I already planned on doing it for Argus, if I was fast enough it could be done for him. A thought twisted in my chest, something cutting me far deeper than it should. Deep down I knew it wouldn't be the same, they'd be clones just as Prince Berry was. The copies wouldn't be the same, the souls were lost. That realization made me stop, they were gone.

They were stolen from me, their souls lost. They weren't given a choice, they died when I wasn't connected to them. I couldn't thank them for all they had done, I couldn't tell them how thankful I was for them choosing to stay and develop with everyone. So many things left unsaid, so much potential wasted. Trying to remake them would only ruin some of the other potential personalities. The ones yet to develop properly from the chorus. I couldn't do that to them.

What could I do? The carpenters got to work repairing the damage to the floor, this shouldn't matter to us. It was just to be the same as them choosing to pass on instead of staying. Why was the lack of a choice so important? Black tears blinded me, as I had to make ducts for them to escape. I took them, writing the three names on the wall. I stained the stone we had moved there, then guided the trappers to make silken knots to remember them.

I wanted to see the soot marks left by Argus when she first practiced fire in our warehouse. The one we abandoned. I wanted to see if the little cup we had for Berry still lingered. It was simple sugar water, but something was compelling myself. Prince Berry had worked with Brick to secure tunnels that led to the Underground from the Underneath. I tapped into their network to teleport as close as I could.

The Underground was so much different now. Those buildings made from rock, carved by magic were destroyed. Their formerly vivid colors were muted by the debris and blood-soaked dirt. Mindless monsters fighting for territory with the beasts. I took a step forward, only to have the Phalanx appear behind me. I looked at the survivors, their magic no longer able to change because Argus wasn't here. They used one of their two daily teleports to come here. "Why..."

"We're coming with you." CC the more articulate one spoke first. She had a Cyclops shield and a short sword. She and the others had foolishly let the Cyclops bite them and drink their blood to bring them here. It had worked, but their bodies wouldn't regenerate the loss for a week. Each of them were pale, unable to hold up their Cyclops weapons without shaking.

"Leave, let the gnomes heal you." I turned to face them, to let them know the thought alone had been more than enough.

The fools... my foolish Phalanx just readied their weapons and stood with their shields raised. "Did you not hear me?"

The laugh of a whisper wolf answered for them, as a pack of them appeared beside us. A Speaker bug spoke, "They did, what of it?" The thing clinging to one shoulder of the alpha, while the rest just had double mouths running along their backs. A crude filtration system in place to keep the beasts alive longer, "Aren't we supposed to make our own choices, Queen?" Scix circled once before all of them sat at the same time.

I looked at him, as each of the wolves tilted their heads at me in unison. "It's not safe for either of you. We don't have enough information about what we're about to face. This entire thing is pointless, it'd be quicker if I just moved by myself to get this out of my system."

"What about us?" The alpha laughed while the Speaker bug did its job. "It's obvious you'll get mad if there's nothing left, then destroy whatever is nearby. This is a perfect opportunity for me to gain more bodies, the toads are too slow and my Fukuma already died. Even if you try to leave us behind, the Phalanx will follow and I'll pick off the bodies I want. Were you always this short-sighted? I thought you were the wisest."

He didn't mean half of what he said, but his sharp words were cruel and to the point. I pushed on his network, forcing him to lay on the ground. I did the same to the Phalanx, making them kneel as they struggled to keep each other from falling. "Do not try me, I said..."

Marching interrupted me, as Prince Berry helped the others up, taking on the pressure I had given the two. A chorus of giants crawled with towers of wax built upon their backs. A crude wagon made from a teleporter slowly making its way towards us. |"With all due respect, goddess, they are hardly alone in their desires."| He sent a different message to the others, his skills adept enough to keep them secret from me.

I pursed my lips, trying to motivate myself to suppress the three. This was stupid, it was completely emotional, yet there were benefits each of them could gain. Each of them stood their ground beside me, not one of them backing down. "It's not..."

Another teleporter landed next to Prince Berrie's carriage. It opened as Trappers, Silk Singers, and Clarice emerged. She stretched her legs, before languidly crawling to the top of the carriage. I waited for her to say something, only she simply licked her legs clean.

"There's nothing in this for you, I can't even imagine what you might get, Clarice." I rubbed my temples

|"And?"| She didn't feel like explaining more, acting as though that explained everything that needed to be said.

My combat form dropped as I started laughing, those same black tears still spilling down my cheeks. "What is wrong with all of you? Is anyone else coming along?"

Prince Berry marched his wings, |"Nope, Rose is tending to her flowers and Brick isn't a fighter. Not a bad menagerie that's been gathered. I'm sure they want to go about it in their own way, just as you intend to do. Only, it seems our methods align when it comes to reclaiming what belonged to the Hive."|

The Phalanx raised their shields, "We promise not to die!" CC exclaimed.

"If they can make that promise, then I suppose we're impossible to kill." Scix chuckled, "Aren't we a sorry lot of fools?"

A sigh escaped my lips, as I looked them over. "Richard has had too much impact on the Hive, being an idiot must be contagious. Just like him, you are all my idiots. As your Queen, I forbid all of you from dying. Am I clear?"|

|"YES QUEEN/GODDESS/Mistress!"| They all sent in unison as I turned my back to them. I wasn't going to let them get it in their heads that they had to lead. My combat form slid back into place as my body continued to weep. Still, I had a grin under my helmet. One that only grew wider as we saw our first enemies.

From the stray Burrow Worm to the lumbering Troll, we carved our path through the dead-zone. We subdued what was useful to Scix, while killing the rest and carrying them with us for Prince Berry's hive to start building a node from. A walk that would have taken an hour from the tunnel to the warehouse, before the Underground fell, had taken us eight.

Each battle helped us refine a level of understanding of formations. How best to aid each other, to suit the unique things each of us brought to battle. The Phalanx could conjure fire greater than mine, allowing them to vaporize slimes and other monsters. Scix's pack tactics allowed him to disorientate things bigger than whatever he brought, striking at precise moments to cripple a foe with minimal risk. Prince Berry had a mixed bag of tricks given that he brought all the castes in the Hive against any opponents. Clarice was more than happy to simply bind and impair the enemy, or dig a clever pitfall to give all the others a chance to act.

Nothing we fought had been exceptionally difficult, though a few of them would have been difficult to deal with in tunnels. The real problem would come when we fought something with a powerful talent. We hadn't run into anything, but we did see the warehouse. The building was half broken, with a colony of Bone Splitters. The hulking brutes covered in bone armor with black leathery skin and ruby eyes. They roared as we entered their territory, monsters giving us a chance to back out.

I looked over my shoulder at the tired personalities, they had pushed themselves to get this far. "You can head back, I'll handle them myself." I wasn't worried, as I stepped forward to meet the new challenge. The Bone Splitter screams grew louder as the ten-foot (305 cm) tall apes jumped down and started to charge. My fist slammed into the first, stopping its attempt to pin me with a lunge. It was dead, as I moved on to the next, then the next.

Three were on the ground in their death throes, but there were at least twenty more in the warehouse. Groups of three came out to join the fray. Before I could rush forward, the others did, not content to let me do all the work myself. I couldn't be mad, since they felt this was the proper time to test what we had practiced. A wave of fire surged past me, as I used my magic to help guide it. It blasted back the approaching three in the front.

Scix took the group on the left, his wolves much too quick and coordinated to be caught. The Phalanx members that couldn't use fire were processing all information and feeding the relevant stuff to everyone else. Clarice and Prince Berry took the three on the right, even as the carriage shattered. The brutes let out a pained scream as some of the bugs went right for their faces, carving right into the eyes.

That was only nine, and I was the only one capable of quickly ending them. I surged forward, trusting the others to keep my sides free. Each strike broke bones, every kill helping me let off a little more stress. Three more dead, as I tossed the bodies at their companions to help out the others and keep their focus on myself. The Phalanx shot fire darts to help Scix, while Clarice and Prince Berry were able to subdue one with some clever string work.

We didn't let up, even as the alpha came out. It hit just like a fiend, while trying to dig shards of bone through my armor. One of the few lucky hits they managed to land on me. I held back a little, just to push the others and get some payback for forcing themselves to come. With all of the pests dead, we finally pushed into the warehouse itself.

The building was absolutely filthy, with crude sacks of bloody meat hanging from every possible surface. Bone Splitters were at least intelligent enough to use crude storage methods, even if it stained everything. It frustrated me to no end that the soot marks and nectar cup were utterly destroyed. Still, I stopped crying as soon as I entered the threshold. The memory seemingly enough to help dull the ache of loss.

Scix dragged the bodies into two piles, while the Phalanx helped put the subdued beasts in another area for him to get to later. Prince Berry set his carpenters to work to remove the stains and start rebuilding. Clarice dropped on top of me from above via the ceiling. |"Could use a bit of work, I'm sure we can defend it at the very least."|

I nodded slowly, just watching the others work. "It's always helpful to have a safe house to move others. One that only our Hive knows about."

|"We'll make it better than it was before."| She softly assured me, crawling to my shoulder before moving to my arm so I could cradle her. She was tired, after all, it was only right she get something out of this.

My fingers idly traced over her sleek carapace, as I looked down at her. "What makes you so sure? We might lose this tomorrow if something we can't handle comes along."

|"Call it intuition. We won't lose this place again."| She started to fall asleep but forced herself to stay up a few seconds longer.

Brick arrived in a teleporter, carrying a statue carved lovingly in the memory of a certain spider. He left before I could say anything, then brought one for Berry as my lip quivered. I was crying again when he brought out the third and final one for Argus when she was a Giant. The gnome hugged my calf, before looking at the collapsed walls. "The Hive will never forget, this will be the best place for those lost to rest." He had his back to me, too stubborn to cry.

I bowed my head, "Glory to the Hive."