Mimi

I moved into the territory of one of the Fukuma packs. Four of them attacked from different directions. I had to enter my combat form while swatting two of them away with my wings. Their claws rended my wings, as one of them went for my head, and another the back of my neck. I stung the one behind me with a yellow stinger, which caused it to blink away before the poison took affect. The other one I attempted to grab as it's claw scrapped against my shoulder to no avail.

I half crushed its windpipe before it teleported to another position gagging. The other two that struck my wings were gone before I could ready an attack on them as well. The one I stung fell to the side on the ground, but still managed to teleport away without moving its body. One was down at least, but this also gained me the ire of the others in the pack. Richard stood well behind me in the territory we started in, while I continued to fight. It was a blessing that they respected territory between each other so much.

I likely wouldn't have been able to handle ten of these things at once, but I was fighting eight while their Alpha rested on top of a roof watching me fight. I had to duck, spin, strike, and block with my ever dwindling wings. They were used to hunting with each other, oppressively striking at different angles as one took a swipe and disappeared to have another come just to the right or left of where the first was. Even with all four of my arms out, the upper ones had to be used for defending while the lower ones attempted to strike through anything I could touch.

I smiled under my mask, since I was feeling an all too familiar pressure for the first time. Their claws scraping against my armor, leaving tiny scratches where it was thin. My own hands just barely catching them before they teleported to safety, mere centimeters from death. They didn't stay in one place long enough for me to connect to them, and they simply rejected any attempts by virtue of being so simple. I made jabs with my stingers at those that attempted to attack me from behind, and they were afraid of even my healing stinger due to what happened to their pack mate that was stung. It was an empty bluff of course, but I did sting them with acid and paralysis where I could.

The more we fought, the more I learned their patterns of attack, and began striking where they were going to be. I caught the head of one of the creatures, before severing it with my strength. I turned to deliver a kick into the ribs of another that teleported to my side, caught off guard by their companion falling. Those same ribs cracked as blood erupted from its mouth, the other members of their pack backing off at this. The Alpha finally stood, it's fur bristling to make it look even large compared to the others beside it.

Then it leaped from the roof, teleporting to my side, as I used my upper arm to block it's claws. It managed to scrape against my armor, before a talent flared up. Then that scraping became a very smooth cut, as it severed my arm below the elbow. Richard quickly grabbed one of his bombs, throwing it at the Fukuma in front of me. It teleported away, but Richard's aim was off. I managed to grab the bomb before it hit me, and spun to throw it much faster at the Alpha as teleported out of my reach to the other side of me.

The bomb hit it square on the chest, glass shattering from the force as it yelped. The explosive liquid coated it's side and chest, as I sent emotions to Richard asking him to keep the explosion small enough to only hurt it. The explosion went off, launching the beast back into the wall behind it. The noise loud enough to spook the other packs, making them run away. I stung my arm quickly, and it grew back rapidly. Not what I wanted, but Richard panicked because he saw me get hurt. I grabbed the two bodies laying close to me, before walking over to the Alpha that was just barely breathing, it's rib cage blown off, and lungs filling with blood. I swiftly crushed its throat, not wanting to see if the explosive would count towards it being my kill or not since it was made from my Hive's bombers.

Richard ran to my side shaking, no doubt very worried about the loss of my arm. Which had grown back fully by the time he came over. "Are you okay!?"

I showed him the repaired arm before grabbing the alpha corpse. "Yes, I'm fine. This isn't the first time I lost a limb in a fight. I would have been fine, if not for this one having a talent that managed to cut through my armor." I was a little upset over it.

"You could have died!" He looked at me, eyes already starting to water.

"I could have, just as you could have. If it went for my neck I might have. Yet it didn't, and I am standing here because you threw a bomb at me."

He shook his head, "I wasn't aiming for you." Then he started to look down. "I'm sorry."

I pulled him into a gentle hug, "You did well, and even though you were afraid, you moved to try and protect me. I am strong enough to survive my own explosions, and the bombs we made. Things like this happen in a battle, so please do not worry so much."

Richard nodded a little, before wiping his face. "Thanks, I needed that." We pulled away from each other, "You think the noise scared them away?"

"Certainly, and we killed their Alpha. We'll rest here while my escort comes. Shouldn't be long now, I'll make them carry the bodies and they will protect us." I grabbed the other bodies, and my severed arm before sitting beside Richard who cut the dead body he was carrying, free.

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Richard Adams

My hands were still shaking, even while I set beside her. Even as we sat next to each other, I felt insignificant compared to her. She was able to do battle with an entire pack of these beasts that gave entire gangs trouble. Not only that, but she was able to actively win against them, and when she ate them she would become stronger. All while I was sitting here, unable to even throw a bomb right.

I lowered my head, keeping myself from crying again. She sensed my emotions, and gently tried to comfort me, by rubbing my back. She let me feel some of the pride she felt towards my actions, and that she was happy with me. Though I knew she could easily just fake it. I needed more practice, and I needed to actually learn how to fight. I knew this from the start, when I agreed to come with her. I just didn't know how vast the gap between us was.

A few minutes passed, before I was able to compose myself again. Then I saw a carpet of fire moving towards us. Mimi was smiling at it, and I squinted to see an army of the biggest beetles I ever saw. They were all the same size as Harper spiders, just like Mimi told me. Save for one especially huge fucker that had glowing red and orange stripes on it's back. They marched on eight legs, with two pairs working together to make it seem like they were walking on four. The huge one was clearly leading them, easily the size of a large buckler that could cover my torso.

These giants as Mimi called them, were casting a magic fire above themselves, and controlling it so perfectly that it looked like they were fire beetles. Each beetle was round, with compound eyes like that of a fly. Most of them were orange with black spots and extremely durable looking shells. Their antenna seemed to be tucked behind their heads into those same shells for protection. When they arrived before us, they allowed the fire to extinguish before all lowering their front ends towards Mimi, in a sort of bow. Mimi smiled at them, and they rose up clicking their mandibles happily. Mimi loaded the bodies onto the groups, which worked together to carry such.

I had to know what was underneath them, so I looked at Mimi. "Would it be okay to flip one over?"

Mimi chose to tear off her ruined wings just then, making me pale a little. She tilted her head, while wrapping her severed arm in the ruined wings. "Sure, I'll look as well just to confirm it myself."

One of the beetles scuttled right up to me, and I gently grabbed it before turning it over. The underside was completely black, and soft to the touch. Clearly their only weakness, but given how round they were, it would be hard to actually flip them over. Not to mention the fact that they could control fire in a way I didn't think was possible. I pulled my hand away, as the thing moved it's legs back and forth to rock. It managed to get back on its feet after a couple attempts. They were kind of cute in their own way, since they were completely covered in pretty armor.

The biggest among them scuttled right up to Mimi, rubbing against her leg. She smiled, before kneeling down to pick it up. She held it out to me, so I could look it over as well. "This is Argus, she wants to be my shield while in the Underground. She's an elite giant, and says it is very nice to finally meet you." Argus waved at me, shattering all thoughts I had about Mimi's bugs not being able to think for themselves.

I really thought she was showing off her abilities to make them do what they wanted, but this one had a name. Mimi wouldn't lie about it wanting something either. I knew she wasn't because of the warm look on her face. I waved back at Argus, who nodded her head in return as a sort of formal bow. I looked back at Mimi, "Hey... do they understand anything I say?"

Mimi stood up fully, with Argus resting on her shoulder. "Yeah, the smaller ones can't, but elites and officers can. Giants are different because they use a lot of brain power on their own. They can understand it, but Argus here is the one sorting through everything important." She offered her hand to me, and I took it.

"So... are there more out there? How many are there right now?" We moved through the sea of beetles that parted as we walked. The fire lit up around us, and was quickly adjusted so we only felt warm. The bodies and other things were kept safe from the fire as we started to slowly walk back.

Mimi laughed a little, "The only ones that can understand things like we do, are those with names. It's so much easier than controlling all of them all the time."

I briefly considered how terrifying it might be to see a literal pair of people walking with a sea of beetles and fire around them, while carrying four dead Fukuma. I would honestly run, or try to join their gang at such a display. On the other side of that, I was actually worried the flames might burn us, or something going wrong. I gained an respect for those leaders that put the effort in to at least look badass, even if a few died trying. "Makes sense to me. I don't think you told me much about your gang though. You explained bits and pieces."

Mimi laughed a little, "That's because it's going to be a slow thirty minute walk back to the warehouse." Mimi explained the idea behind her gang, and how she was the shadow leader. She also explained that despite being twenty members strong, she had her hive in the Underground. Which more than made up for it clearly. I was a little uncomfortable with the fact she'd have to call this Robert guy her master, but that was only if he had guests from outside the gang over. Otherwise everyone in it, would call her boss. What shocked me most, was that Oswald's family dueled her after his death. That she took almost all their coin, and bankrolled everything.

It made me smile a little, to know they got what they deserved in the end. Mimi caught me up on what was going on in the Underground, and told me that she planned on entering the Minotaur's arena to grow stronger. That was after she bought everything she could want to eat through the black market. I was relieved that she didn't plan on eating people, or slaves. Then I realized she might only get magic from them, and it would just be better for her to eat a monster with that magic instead. Monsters cost less, and offered her more.

It was a pleasant stroll to the warehouse. I recognized the dead-zone with all the bugs. They seemed to respect the fire Mimi's giants had around us, and left us alone. Then I saw the warehouse, a large one that likely was picked clean in the past. There was probably thousands, or even millions of bugs nested there, but as we walked towards it, I realized people were moving in and out of it. A few saw us and waved, before leaving to go handle whatever they needed to. This warehouse likely had five floors, and extra rooms built to house people just fine. The kind that would be a strong hold, if it didn't hold cargo.

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What was probably more impressive, was the fact that there were no stray bugs buzzing anywhere close to the warehouse. I even saw a few different bugs turn right around despite flying in the air. As if there were a barrier, or they were repelled by some kind of smell. More giants clung to the outside bottom of the warehouse itself. They were all red, orange, dark blue, or light blue. All of them arranged in different patterns to make it seem like the warehouse was painted and alive. The best part was that they would light up and glow, before dimming making it a form of crude magic show made out of bugs.

Then I saw this strange bug flying out of the warehouse in looping circles as it made it's way towards us. It was extremely fast, and seemed to jump back and forth as it came closer towards me. Finally it stopped right in front of me with its four wings. It then flew to Mimi's outstretched hand, before landing on it without so much as a sound. The thing was slender, and slightly larger than her warriors. It had two yellow stingers, and a black one that all folded together to make it look like it had just one. On it's back was a white hour glass. Everything else about it was black, without a single spine on the thing. Mimi brought it to her other shoulder where it started to rub against her neck.

"This is Scix, my only elite ghost at the moment. He's actually very capable at killing people. His black stinger is actually like a blade that he uses to cut small gashes and bleed people dry as they don't feel it. I think he has already killed ten people without any help from other hive members. He doesn't bother me with reports about that, since he has a bad disposition towards people not in our Hive. Don't worry, he won't hurt you unless you try to hurt others in the Hive." The little thing looked at me for all of a second before dismissively turning away and rubbing against Mimi's jaw line.

The escort marched past us, their fire already gone, after crossing a certain line. I just nodded, before watching them march to switch spots with those already on the wall. Like some kind of crazy rotation. If anyone tried to attack the warehouse, they would just think the beetles looked pretty, before they did their magic. It was crazy how many people would fall for it, and something told me that no one would be able to escape Mimi's Hive, not once she had their scent.

A man walked out of the building with a small smile. He was dressed well in a dark trench coat, with dark leather armor covering his torso and pants. The classic attire of a new gang leader, expecting a knife in his back at any moment. He wore a small brim hat, where the material fell over the hat itself. He took it off, before doing a deep bow towards Mimi. "Welcome home boss. Eris is still preparing supper as we speak. Is there anything I can do for you while you're here?"

Mimi gently nodded, "I want you to take care of Richard, and help him get comfortable. You can tell him anything, since he was the first one I accepted into our Hive. I will be taking these four corpses and eating them. I would prefer not to be disturbed during this time. Anything important can wait since I'll need some time to recover."

He looked up at Mimi holding his cap to his chest, "Recover?"

Mimi gave me a small nod, "Richard will explain. This may take anywhere from thirty minutes to a few hours. I'll be very hungry after it's done, so please make sure to refill our pantry with more food. Thank you for the help, by the way Robert."

Robert smiled a little, before bowing again. "And thank you for giving me a chance boss. Is Richard the one you saved Henry for?" Mimi gave a small nod, before grabbing the bodies and heading inside. Robert let out a small sigh, "I see." He turned to me with an honest grin. "Pleasure to meet you Richard, my name is Robert. If you have any questions feel free to ask them."

I nodded slowly, "Who's Henry?"

Robert turned around with a small cough, "He's an alchemist that Mimi saved. He was given a lot of coin to fund a lab in the basement. A little off, but the man knows how to make a lot of different things. I believe he's supposed to help you learn a thing or two about alchemy."

It stung to think she did so much for me. I followed behind Robert, as he put his cap back on and adjusted it. "So, how long have you been in the gang?"

"I started it with Mimi's directions. She wanted it, and I needed a way to save my wife. We didn't start off on the best of terms, but I learned very quickly that she keeps her word. May I ask you the same?" We walked past the front door, and into the warehouse properly.

I was stunned for a moment, just looking at how the first floor was a living space with a woman happily cooking. There were little kids helping her as she did. I could see toys strewn about on the second level, suggesting that they actually lived there, but had to come down to cook. A room that would be used entirely for crates was turned into an extremely large pantry with cheese wheels lined along the outside with barrels of who knows what. Another room was sealed shut, but when a child opened it, I saw cold air filter out in wisps, as they grabbed frozen food from it. I turned around, to find the wall absolutely lined with more giants. They were everywhere, including the underside of the walkways. Forget about sneaking in, if anyone made it through the outside, they would come face to face with a standing army of magic bugs at least thrice as much as outside.

I blinked, as Robert stood there letting me take everything in. He probably understood what I was feeling right now. "There are even more on the second floor, but they are not giants. When Mimi gave me her small amount of bugs, I never thought they'd grow this fast. Right after the ball, she handed me a purse with one hundred gold coins and told me to buy all the food I could for her hive. I thought she was testing me at first, but I soon realized how quickly they were multiplying. It came in waves, first three hundred workers, then another two fifty with fifty breeders. After that it was more workers, then even more, with more ghosts coming out. I had the others raiding trash cans for discarded food, just to not make people think I was hording all the food for some reason." He smiled as if remembering a fond memory.

"Sounds like you've both been busy." I blinked at him, then looked at Eris to see a small bulge on her belly.

Robert laughed softly, "We aren't forced to stay here, but we're allowed to leave whoever we want. No body wants to fight over a dead-zone, and no body knows about all the furniture and stuff we have here. We are like ghosts, and I couldn't be happier. I don't have to worry about if I'll eat tonight, my wife is safe. I have the support of others who appreciate what Mimi gave us. This is our second chance, and we'd die before we ruin it for each other." He wiped his face.

I nodded slowly, it really was a miracle to have this much protection for someone that wasn't even a powerful gang leader. "So how do you guys make coin exactly?"

Robert smiled, "However we choose to go about it. It is all shared, and we just need to meet enough to feed ourselves. Some of us have even joined other gangs, to give Mimi information on their movements and what is going on. When someone is taken, they are released a few days later as the Hive goes looking for them. Everybody thinks it's Mal's gang, so they back off."

I could see magic scarabs being linked to Mal, pretty easily. It was great cover, but Mimi would have to be careful not to attract his attention. Robert led me to the dining table where Eris started to serve us food, while the kids got their plates and started eating. They were healthy and growing compared to the scrawny little kid I was when my dad took care of me. Robert smiled, "This is beautiful isn't it? All it took was a monster to make this miracle happen. I know she doesn't like being called that, but we have to accept her for what she is."

"Yeah, she is a monster, but she's better than that. I don't know how to describe it, but I think she's better than the King even."

Robert chuckled at that, since it was an admittedly low bar. We talked about who we knew, and ate from the same table. Eris sat down with us, rubbing her stomach now and then. I didn't bother asking if something was wrong with her head, it was clear there was. Though she seemed so happy just to have a baby on the way. I blushed a little when she flashed her tits, wondering how happy Mimi might be if she ever got with someone. I shook my head, realizing she was way out of my league.

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Mimi

Argus' hive was bustling, with its food stores topped off. I was given a wave by the little ones as I passed, though it was clear they wanted to hug me for some odd reason. I was carrying four dead predators, and they still clearly wanted to display affection. I agreed to let them do so, after I finished my 'nap.' I climbed to the third floor, where my room was prepared. It was a large room filled with various blankets, towels, enchanted silks, and more. There was a room attached to it, that had rations stocked properly.

I gently sat Argus and Scix down, so they could protect me while I went through a long overdue evolution. If my theory was correct, I may have made a terrible mistake when I ate all those different poisons and toxins. That was the part I really wasn't looking forward to, since growing new stingers was always the worst. I locked the door, and moved to the center of the room. I bit into the flesh, feeling slightly happy Richard didn't cook for me the past few months. It helped me want to eat all of this raw. When I started to feel full, I merely pulled more silk from my mouth, wrapping it in bundles.

I could feel my body adapting to the binge, as I ate and ate. I wasn't sure what part of the Fukuma allowed it to teleport, so I ate every last bit of it. Finally, after eating the alpha last, I felt pain washing over my body. I gripped the bundles of silk I spun earlier, falling on my side as I squeezed them for relief. My upper hands growing slightly thicker, as the fingers grew more segmented. Parts of the chitin growing back towards the back of the hand in sharp edges. Those same fingers growing sharper, like proper claws. My lower arms and hands remaining unchanged.

The roof of my mouth burned, as pressure built behind my teeth. Two of them falling out, as the thought of growing saber teeth made me laugh. I was thankfully proven wrong as hollow fangs grew in the place of those teeth. They were retractable, and no one would notice them, but they were for draining instead of administering venom. I forced myself to eat the silk bundles close to me, to see if actually eating something while this happened helped anything. To my dismay it only slowed the process down, as my body rapidly broke down the silk before continuing.

I could feel pressure inside my body, as a new organ was produce. This suggested that the Fukuma needed this sac for their teleportation to work properly. I couldn't feel it as my body adjusted to the new organ inside me. I would need to test it out later, but it also meant that my Hive wouldn't benefit from it at all.

Then my shoulders started shaking, as my new wings grew back. They were no longer pitch black, but red with black and purple swirls moving in an almost hypnotic pattern. Overall, this was one of the easier transformations I ever had.

I pushed myself off the ground, blinking slowly. I smiled a little, as the changes started to settle down. It wasn't much this time and I was happy to be wrong about the other stingers. Then blinding pain struck the back of my head, as I slammed my face into the floor. There was a hole as I covered my face with my mask to keep me from hurting myself. I rolled onto my side clawing at the back of my head. The pressure building to an unbearable level. I ordered Argus to find me something sharp and sturdy enough to pierce my chitin. The new stingers weren't growing in right, because I had no idea how many sets were coming at once. I forced my face shut with the mask, so all I could do was breathe, despite the pressure on my eyes. I could feel the new stingers slowly and painfully growing down my neck, along my spine.

It was far better than explosively pushing my brain out through my eye sockets, and nose. Which is why I put my hands over my ears, and eyes with the elastic chitin pressed against it with as much pressure as I could manage. The pain and pressure so extreme that I could swear I saw nothing but white, despite knowing my eyes couldn't see a single thing right now. My body was chirping loudly in pain, as I writhed on the ground. I couldn't hear anything, or see anything. Everything I knew was pain, as the voices of my Hive were drowned out.

The concept of time lost it's meaning, as I rolled on the ground chirping still in pain. The worst of it subsiding as I clawed at the back of my head. My stingers grew in poorly, and I could feel them running down my back. I had to fix them by breaking a hole in the back of my skull and chitin, and dragging them out one at a time. From what I could feel, there were nine stingers tucked in my back beneath the skin. I lost all feeling in my legs, as well as one of my lower arms. There was likely brain damage, but I was able to use the giants nearby to regulate anything important.

I looked through Argus' eyes to see Scix trying to poke a hole in the back of my skull, but he wasn't strong enough. The others that heard me were in the room looking terrified as my body laid there still chirping in pain. I was extremely thankful Douglas was an Entomancer, and I was able to explain the situation to the others through him. They weren't exactly thrilled, but after some searching, they were able to find a small runic ice pick. It was bought to break off any ice the built up in our self made freezer, enchanted to withstand magic backlash and explosions.

I never felt happier to hear that we bought something that was overkill for the job required of it. Robert handed the pick to me, and I asked everyone to leave the room while I set to work. Richard chose to stay, which also meant Robert wanted to stay. The others thankfully left, closing the door once more. I drove the pick into my skull a couple times before pulling at the new stingers. Deciding the quicker the better, I continued to make more holes around the other stingers. Then I struck between them, exposing my brain to open air, and releasing all of the pressure.

Thankfully my blood was thick enough, and I was able to monitor how this part of the impromptu surgery was affecting my body. I had Scix make a few cuts on the flesh of my back so I could more easily pull the stingers out. After a good five minutes of tugging and pulling, with a few spasms. I was finally able to get my stingers where they should be. A healing stinger to the back of my neck and to my brain directly had me healed up within ten minutes.

I sat up, covered in my own blood, blinking and making certain everything was right. Richard and Robert just stared at me, barely able to keep their meal down. I couldn't quite understand why people were so squeamish about these things.