Chapter 33: Beetle Juices.

“You better start explaining yourself right now, kid. This isn’t my idea of a joke.”

“I assure you I’m not joking Mrs. Fletcher. I can see the future and I know where your kids are. I even know how to get back to our worlds in time to save them.”

Which was a slightly liberal interpretation of the truth, all things considered. Why, other, less informed individuals might even accuse me of lying. Thankfully, Monique hadn’t told anyone in here about Jimmy or Ben. Me knowing about them, Roy, Natasha and the situation on her home had gone a long way to bringing down her guard.

Now if only she was smart enough to fear Dusty and Slab.

The two giants stood in front of me. Not quite snarling. Yet.

The mere suggestion that my [Precognition] was faulty had rubbed them the wrong way. Indeed, just about everything Monique said rubbed them the wrong way.

I was coming to realize that any kind of dissenting opinion or lack of faith got under their skin. Dusty was massaging two of her throwing knives under her palms while Slab’s breathing was steadying. Both were ready to strike at a moment’s notice, should Monique try any funny business.

Having my own cult of personality was more of a headache then anything else thanks to their, shall we say, abundant enthusiasm. I had to choose my words far more carefully, lest they interpret a slight cough as an implied execution order.

“Very well. What’s the catch?” She finally asked.

“Now now. There’s no need for that. We’re not some shady group or anything. All we want is to rescue the people caught by the gnomes. There should be around a hundred or so. Besides that, I have come to learn that they guard a safe zone nearby. If we join forces, we could get rid of one of the biggest dangers in the Labyrinth, save a bunch of innocents and secure a permanent base in one fell swoop.”

Monique grunted. Holstering the broken remains of the shotgun she’d once threatened me with.

“That’s all well and good, but it doesn’t explain why you need me.”

“We need you because you’re powerful and reliable.” I fibbed. “More hands mean a better chance at victory.”

“If that’s the case then you should be good to go. There are enough monsters here to kill me fifteen times over. Even without counting the robots and the gnomes. They can do what I can do and a few can do it much better. There’s no sense in bringing me along after what I did to you.”

“What you did to him?” Dusty inquired. Searing venom creeping into her tone.

Slab’s hands went to his own knives faster than I could blink. Behind us, Borislav recognized the telltale signs of oncoming brutality and threw himself to the ground.

“NOTHING!” I interjected before we had another awkward situation. “Nothing happened. We had a talk and we decided to go our separate ways. That’s ok. Its normal. Not everyone is going to get along the first time they meet.”

The ogres relaxed a bit. Monique looked confused, not realizing how close she’s come to experiencing intense cranial trauma.

“Look, Monique.” I managed with some effort. “Neither of us can change the past. What’s done is done. None of it changes the very real threat the gnomes pose. Nor does it change the fact that your kids need you.”

She bit her lip in frustration. Clearly not trusting my forgiving nature. I cursed inwardly and decided to lay it on a little more.

“I get why you’d be worried. None of us have know each other for long. Its normal to be suspicious. Its normal to second-guess the people around you. Despite what people say, paranoia can be a very healthy instinct. With all that in mind, I’m going to put my best foot forward. I’ll tell you where your kids are right now. No strings attached. I’ll even tell you how to get to them. After that, you can decide whether or not to go with us or stay on your own. No matter what you choose, we won’t judge.”

Her eyes, which had been so cold up to that point, wavered.

‘I have her.’

I knew it, even without [Sense Thoughts].

“Your kids went to Denver.”

“That’s insane. Natasha would never…”

“She got a tip. About a family of filthy rich preppers. They have a doomsday bunker under a red mansion in Shady Acres. You’ll find it if you go right when you’re about to pass the trailer or truck filled with fireworks. It’ll be on the main highway leading into the city.”

Monique did not respond. Mulling over the words in her head.

“You’ll be able to find them after another month. If we manage to take the safe zone.”

That last part wasn’t technically true as far as I knew. None of the memories I’d see mentioned a requirement beyond lasting two months inside the maze. However, I figured I might as well sprinkle in some extra incentive.

This didn’t make me a bad person. I was getting help to save people and to change my Type. No, I was a good person. Any good person would have done the same.

Monique leaned back her head. Groaning loudly.

“I swear, this is so shady.”

“How dare you! The Shepherd’s shown you nothing but kindness and goodwill and this is how you repay him!”

“What? Shepherd?”

“PET NAME!” I interjected, before all my diplomatic efforts vanished like so much smoke. “Its Dusty’s Pet name for me! Ha ha! She, uh. She’s so creative. Affectionate too. Please forgive any protectiveness she shows towards me. She can’t help it.”

Monique snorted.

“Whatever. None of my business. Count me in for the raid.”

“Fantastic. Great to have you. You won’t regret it.”

I summoned both my backpack and Granny’s cooking set using their rings. Inviting our new colleague to partake in our supplies.

Say what you want about the feathery shopkeeper, her goods hadn’t disappointed. Fresh cuts of eel meat spread their succulent aroma throughout the tunnel. Warm as the hour when they’d been cooked and prepped by Dusty. With the added benefit of being completely poison free, thanks to the mechanical cooking kit. For the first time in our conversation, the Projector’s stoic demeanor crumbled.

“Oh yeah. Security isn’t the only perk to joining up. At least three-square meals guaranteed.”

“Yes! Marvel at the Shepherd’s generosity!”

“Truly! He is a paragon of virtue!”

“Which is why we all agreed to call me by my name. Right guys?” I insisted. With a bit more bite than I’d intended.

“Right. Sully.” Dusty corrected herself, blushing slightly.

“Of course, Sully. You’re right.”

Borislav did not comment. He approached slowly and carefully. Steering clear of the sibling’s reach for the most part. Then he grabbed a cut of meat and retreated to the relative safety of Dolce’s back.

Monique was, thankfully, too busy chewing to notice.

So passed another hour of respite. Five people relaxing together behind palisades of expendable troops.

After we finished up, Dusty took her axe to a couple dozen of the bigger centipedes, insisting that they were the tastiest. I lent her the miracle grill ring and watched in fascination as the thin steel dendrites sliced and diced their way past creatures in quick succession. Once our next meals had been prepared, they went into my backpack ring and we all set out with renewed spirits.

“Are there any other warriors we should find?” Slab asked once we’d gotten moving.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“Yes. Charlie should be out there. Maybe, twenty odd minutes west if we keep going straight. I’ve already dominated all the monsters and disabled all the electronic traps inside my range so it should be safe.”

Slab nodded thoughtfully, moving a giant calloused hand to scratch his crimson beard.

“As you say. I’m looking forward to meeting them, given how highly you’ve judged their prowess.”

“I’m sure it’ll be a meeting to remember.”

‘In that I hope you’ll remember to keep your mouth shut.’

In all honesty, feeling that much annoyance at the two’s antics probably wasn’t altogether fair. They were straightforward people who told you exactly what they thought and they placed a high value on human life. All qualities befitting true heroes.

Until they almost killed Borislav and almost ruined my recruitment speech.

‘Don’t think about that Solomon. It doesn’t matter. Things worked out. You’ll save those people. You’ll be a good person. You’ll get a second Type. Believe in that and keep your chin up.’

‘Exactly! I believe you can do anything you set your mind to! Because you’re the very best there ever was!’

‘Thank you, Buddy. I can always rely on you to cheer me up.’

‘No problem! I’d do anything for you! Because I’m your suit and I love you!’

‘I love you too Buddy.’

‘Do you love me?’ Dolce interjected.

‘I’d like you more if you hadn’t tried to eat me.’ I snapped. ‘Stay out of my conversations from now on. Unless I specifically ask for you.’

Dolce felt defeated.

I was starting to wonder whether being mean to our most reliable means of transportation was a good idea when other thoughts start streaming in.

The fog carried powerful emotions into mind, small debris amidst a purple-grey swirl.

Anger and fear and desperation all mixed into one.

Sadly, it is cocktail that I’ve become all too familiar with.

With a start, I realize that there’s more than one person in that direction. I sense six minds having coherent thoughts, dissimilar from the emotional impressions the centipedes gave off.

Suddenly, there are five minds left. A surge of terror travels from them and into me.

“Dolce! Survivors in trouble! Marked on my map! Full speed ahead!”

Whatever was going on, there were people that needed help.

[Domination] lunges forward with untold ferocity, a thousand spectral arms. Hooked fingers searching for a target to shatter into oblivion.

I find it within a heartbeat.

Aggression swirls around it like a thick broth.

It coils and oozes with bloodlust and hunger as it sizes up the group before it.

There is no coherent thought to be found inside of it. Only raw emotion. A lust for violence and an eagerness to sate it.

I let my power take its course. Then I stop in my tracks.

Against all odds, my target isn’t subjugated.

Staggered and suffering yes. But not broken. Not yet.

Instead, I’m drawn into a war of attrition inside its skull. Draining Psy faster than I’d like as I give edicts and trample on its willpower. Given enough time, I might be able to beat it into submission. Sadly, time was not in abundance.

I’m focusing on the chatter radiating from the party now. Five distinct voices brimming with newfound hope. Three of them come in clearly.

‘Holy cow! It stopped! Quick, do something!’

‘My arm! My arm!’

‘Hold on! You’ll be okay. Just hold on!’

The last two though. There’s something there. One is plainly Charlie. As arrogant now as he was while walking the docks of his hometown. The other is a tad more clouded. She wields a ruthlessness of sorts. An alien predisposition for violence that clouds her humanity.

That one marches forward, devoid of hesitation. I feel her gathering power into her hands. I feel her muscles tense up and grow. I feel her own bloodlust leaking as she hammers the monster with a…

A claw. Then another. Her fury castigates the stunned beast.

At the same time, Charlie mounts its head. Landing a volley of kicks into its gigantic mandibles. Persisting until the rightmost organ crumbles.

It, the beetle, roars in indignation, so loud the sound reaches me even without my power. Literal kilometres away.

“I’m guessing that didn’t come from one of your pets?”

“No.” I confirm, not willing to waste time talking.

Dusty, Slab and Borislav began to prepare for battle in earnest. Monique merely flexed her Psy, causing ripples in the surrounding light.

Dolce is dashing through the stale air. Through any apertures big enough for his sizable bulk.

Not content to sit around, I launch [Fever] in the beetle’s direction, making sure to overcharge it before release.

My once trusty trump card does next to nothing. I mean, the monster barely felt it. I panic for a second, following up with a round of [Delusion], envisioning a baleful fire engulfing the unnatural creature and it alone. My target recoils in turn, its own emotions flaring higher and higher.

Lancing streaks of white-hot agony get back to me. A song of anguish and revulsion. The beetle doubts its own victory for the first time in its life. It doesn’t appreciate the taste of doubt.

My army has remained on the move the entire time. Inching closer to the fight in spite of the dead-ends and too-narrow openings.

The creature swings something, maybe a leg, maybe a bladed wing, at the girl. It misses due to Charlie’s interference. He pushes her aside and punches one of the thing’s eyes out.

There is another pause. The monster unable to cope with the torture I was administering and Charlie’s onslaught at the same time.

In response, she closes the gap once more and delivers a staggering blow. Once more the insect bellows.

However, this time it doesn’t swing wildly.

Instead, it takes two heavy steps backwards.

An outline starts to appear within my swirl, defining features now standing out more and more the closer I got. Its definitely a beetle or beetle-shaped at least.

The first thing that stands out is its size. Where the larger centipedes were comparable to a fully grown person, this specimen is easily 5 to 6 metres tall and twice that in length. Proud horns protrude from the front of its shell while serrated spines adorn the rest of the carapace. The only weak point I can detect is located underneath it, where fresh wounds drip liquid ichor down into the stone floor.

The colossal bug hugs the floor with six muscular limbs and energy begins to gather in them. It lights up the thing within my fog. So brightly that I can actually see it as if I were looking with my eyes.

Its, Psy.

I’m looking at Psy moving within a living being. Shining like a collapsing star.

[Premonition] activates without my input. Goosebumps break out all over my skin. New instincts warn me about incoming danger. That there is something dreadful ahead.

With a resounding buzz, its shell opens, wings alive with movement.

I struggle to understand its intentions. What good would wings do in this confined space?

To my astonishment, the answer comes with the silencing of one human signal and the muffling of the girl’s. Dread blooms from the three others. Charlie included. It happened so fast that neither my ability, nor his own reflexes react in time.

The monster had gathered momentum while holding close to the ground. Then it charged. With unspeakable force.

Wild exultation now emanated from it, as it felt the promise of carnage fulfilled.

I respond by gnashing my teeth together and searching my own screen. Looking for the description of my third unique ability.

“Damn it. How could I have been so stupid?”

I’d been so overconfident ever since gathering my horde that the idea of backup plans hadn’t crossed my mind.

Despite being 5 points lower on my screen, [Solomon’s Inexorable Suppression] wasn’t any less useful than [Domination]. It was merely a matter of picking the right tool for the right job.

The beetle would get its comeuppance.

I was perfectly safe from it.

However, it wasn’t safe from me.

Not by a longshot.

I call upon my reserves. Summoning the cord from beneath my lake.

My fog captures the monster overflowing with satisfaction as it stands triumphant over the wounded girl. It notices her mending flesh in the same moment I do.

Then it thinks of nothing.

My power is unleashed.

An entire psionic continent fell on a single living creature. The sheer weight of it swallows my prey’s immaterial signature like an amoeba. Squeezing tighter and tighter. Till all hope dies.

Emotions rush into me from the Charlie and the other two waking victims.

Shock, panic, awe.

It is then that I, Borislav, Dusty, Slab, Monique and Dolce emerge from behind.

Part of me was tempted to control it. To make sure it was the very first thing the freaking gnomes saw when I rammed my great host into their lair.

Thankfully, cooler heads prevailed. Charlie was needed if I wanted Sarcophagus Solomon to hold up his end of the bargain and Charlie wanted the beetle dead.

Overall, one more flunky for the meatgrinder wasn’t worth the risk of alienating him. Speaking of which, the man in question appeared to be quite stupefied. Gazing incredulously while Dusty and Slab did away with both wings with blows of their own. Mighty as the insect was, it could not stand up to either without its passive and active enhancements being active.

At the same time, Dolce’s gaping maw closed around the armoured hindquarters. Tearing prodigious chunks of flesh and chitin away with the greatest of ease. Monique opted for the legs. Doing away with them via fiery missiles.

Borislav ignored the skirmish in its entirety. Following my suggestions and moving to heal Charlie and the unconscious girl.

Both them and the three others had received basic care by the time their tormentor expired. Not with a defiant screech, but with a pathetic wheeze.

Hidden Objective Completed:

Wandering Boss: Azure Moonlight Beetle has been slain.

All Students in Tutorial Instance gain 5000 Store Tokens.

All Students involved in slaying the Azure Moonlight Beetle split a reward of 200, 000 store tokens based on contributions.

The three highest contributors gain a choice between 1 Inferior Symbiote or 1 Equipment Upgrade Token.

Dusty raised her axe overhead and brought it low with a meaty thud. Cheering immediately after alongside her brother, whilst I walked up to touch our kill.

Azure Moonlight Beetle.

A Mutated Scourge Beetle. Level 110

This creature has access to Enhancer, Shifter, Projector and Telepath abilities.

This creature’s highest-level ability is [Mind-Body Fortitude III] 15.

This creature’s death will grant 200, 000 Store Tokens.

“Yeah. That sounds about right.” My hands went to my forehead. There, they began rubbing the soreness out.

‘Buddy, tell me, how was anyone else but me supposed to survive this?’

‘I don’t know. Maybe run away?’

That made me stop and think.

“Hey, you there. Charlie, is it?”

The man in question turned my way. Apparently wrestling with the suddenness of our intervention.

“Ah. Yes. That’s me.”

“Did you try to run from the beetle before we came?”

“Course I did. It was slower than a fat drunkard. But they…” He pointed at the three others. “Were a wee slower.”

His Psy sharpened then, imagining criticism where there was none.

“That was very valiant of you. Proper hero behaviour.” I cut in before his mood could sour. “In fact, it was so impressive that I’d like to invite you into my team. We’re gathering people to raid the gnomes in their base and free all their prisoners.”

“Those freaks take prisoners?”

“They do.” I confirmed grimly.

Charlie winced. He placed his bloody hands on his hips, his wispy blond hair swaying as he drew back his head to sigh.

“Sure. In that case, count me in. I’ll be right with you after a wee break.”

“Fantastic! Great to have you!” I beamed. Before quickly adding:

“I also know where Mr. Whitmer will be and when you’ll be able to get him. You might want to catch him before he burns down your orphanage and kills everyone you’ve ever loved.”

“WHAT!?”