“Hunter of Prey, you explained your traditional way. Now tell us what happened to turn the city the way it is now.” Diana said. Soon they would arrive at the hideout and some decisions would need to be made.

“I told you about the Traditionalists and Collective. Over many generations more and more Chtonarix thought our ways were inefficient” A wave of second-hand anger swept through the telepathic link, a storm of emotions not originally Diana’s. Her jaw clenched and she felt her fists close. The borrowed sentiment caused a response, whether she wanted it or not. It was disconcerting to say the least, and pointed to some interesting possibilities.

“They threw everything away” The plates on his back started vibrating, making a different sound than before. It had a definitely aggressive note to it. “The Hive Mind they proposed went wrong. As it was bound to. This city was our capital and they implemented it first here. Everyone who connected to the Hive Mind had their self taken away. They gathered and built those abominable nests. The Traditionalists debated in the Pyramid. I was not privy to that.”

“What happened next?” Hector prompted, engrossed in the story.

“After a few days they exploded out of their towers like a river of corruption. They acted together in a way most unnatural to our species. Almost like you fight.” A bit of disgust got over the link. Diana rolled her eyes, it was a marvel that creatures so opposed to cooperation managed to build a society at all. “They caught everyone they could and dragged them back to the nests. Those who escaped took shelter in the Pyramid before we activated the defense mechanisms”

“The glowing runes?” Mia guessed “What do they even do?”

“They don’t let anything in and out.” Hunter of Prey answered “They also block any magic attacks”

“How long have you been there? How do the runes work? How do we get in if it lets no one in?” Diana rapidly fired her questions.

“No more than two xar. Cooped up like some… mammals” Damn bug certainly lacked some social graces. ”I don’t know. I know of a way and won’t tell you until we're there.” Hunter responded.

“Two xar? How do we translate it into our time units” Hector said.

“Can you detect my heartbeat?” Diana asked Hunter.

“Yes,” Hunter said simply.

Diana counted for a while in her mind. “Currently my heart beats at about ninety beats per minute. Can you compare a minute to a xar?”

It was the Chtonarix to count for a while, Diana coils sense the ghosts of those calculations in her mind. “About one thousand eight hundred. Rounding up.”

“So thirty hours, but that makes no sense. We’ve been here much longer” Frank said.

Diana motioned for the other to be silent. “We need to discuss among ourselves. We’re at the hideout anyway.”

It was true, they talked almost all the way to their base. Now she just had to convince the others to follow the bug. Frank seemed to be the most on her side. She needed to focus her efforts on Hector and Mia. Diana looked at the warrior, he was still casting wary glances at their soon-to-be guide but they were less often. Being on his guard for long periods of time was definitely not one of Hector’s strengths.

“I’m not letting him into our base” Hector said, crossing his arms with finality.

Time to make some concessions. “Hunter of Prey, can you hide somewhere nearby? We will rest after the fight and talk among ourselves. We will be out in … a third of a xar. Is that acceptable?”

“Yes. Don’t take longer.” The Chtonarix scuttered onto the wall and disappeared into one of the holes and was apparently also a door.

“Well, well, well, look at Mr. Twenty-Leg Sprinter over there. He was really eager to leave.” Frank quipped.

“Yeah, we are just disgusting mammals to him and apparently his idea of a proper distance to hold a conversation is a different floor, so no wonder” Mia said with a shrug.

Diana didn’t say anything. Instead she motioned for the others to join her. They all huddled together, and the Enchantress, using pantomime and mouthing the words, managed to convey. “He can still hear us. Watch what you say.”

A round of surprise and a couple of solemn nods later they entered their hideout.

“Damn, I never thought I would be so happy to see a dump like this,” Frank said.

“Home sweet home” Mia answered, her shoulders slumped from exhaustion. “I just wanna lie down.”

“We need to talk first.” Hector’s determination was clear. “ I’m not following that guy anywhere. It's clear he wants to lure us into a trap.”

Convincing morons that I’m right is nowhere in my job description. But oh once more unto the breach. Step one, take control.

“Calm down we will talk, but let's start a fire and sit down and eat something first” She said with an amiable smile on her face. The corners of her lips went up a bit more after she saw that everyone followed her suggestion.

She groaned audibly as she sat down, it was only about half faked. She started the fire with her magic and watched the men go grab some meat they cooked before. It should still be okay to eat.

Diana knew she would have to work on Mia quickly, she needed to convince her before they all sat down to eat.

“Think we should share with Hunter?” Mia asked. A good sign, she was anthropomorphising him so might be more accepting of following his lead.

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

Step two, make her unsure.

“Nah we don’t know what he eats and don't want to offend him by offering him the corrupted meat of his fellow citizens” Diana countered with a bit more bite that she wanted too. Mia blanched at her response.

“Oh my god i didn’t mean to…” The ranger said quickly, glancing at the walls around her.

Step three, leverage.

“It’s fine, we just have to remember that he’s … different. But we can get us to our goal, you want to go home right?” Diana raised her eyebrow.

“Obviously yes, you know that.” Mia said as she sat down.

“Look, this place is designed like a level in a game, there is no escape, we need to beat the level to go home. And Hunter of Prey is our only way to get to the pyramid” her explanation was fluid and designed to calm Mia down. She needed to pull her in before the men came back.

“I guess …” Mia played with the string of her bow. “I'm just not sure we can trust him.

“There is just no other way, we checked. We can’t hesitate now that we’re so close to the end. We could be home soon. Can I count on you when we discuss it?” Moment of truth.

Mia looked her in the eyes and nodded.

Hook line and sinker, and just in time.

Diana nodded in response and watched Frank and Hector sit down and hand out their meager meal. The warrior still looked somewhat pissed and combative but to a lesser degree than before. She would have preferred some extra time to work on Frank but you play with the cards you’re dealt.

“Go ahead Hector, you were saying” Staying in control was paramount now.

“Yeah as I was saying … uhm…” The man stumbled for words, suddenly putting him on the spot tended to have that effect.

“You were saying you're not going to follow Hunter underground.” Frank offered helpfully.

“Yes! I Don’t trust that bug, we’d be better off just killing him and getting stronger before we try to force our way through and Brutes on the surface.” He waved his meal as if it was a club to underscore his words. “Why are we so desperate to get to the Pyramid in the first place, its not like we know for sure that it's the exit .”

Diana stopped the eyeroll with an epic effort of will. Not only did Hector manage to forget that Hunter of Prey could probably hear them but he was painfully oblivious to their current situation.

“The Pyramid is our only possible way home Hector. We discussed this already” Mia jumped in which made Diana smile, her hasty efforts were bearing fruit, if the arguments kept coming at Hector from different directions he would cave in in no time. It was time to add her own.

“Don’t forget that our time is not unlimited here.” She pointed to the discoloration on her arm to drive the point home.

“That still doesn’t mean that we should listen to that … that creature! How can you think about trusting it!” Hector almost rose.

Time for some gambling.

“I know we can trust him, I felt his honesty over the link. Some of his emotions leaked through. Did you guys feel it too?” She looked at Frank hoping he would support her on this.

“I didn’t get anything, what are you even talking about?” Hector glanced at the others, Mia was just as surprised as he was.

“Yeah i got some of those too, mostly anger at the Hive Mind,” Frank admitted.

Jackpot.

“Really? All I could hear were some half garbled words.” the warrior said, suspicious.

“It seems we got more exposure to High Speech or it developed faster in us” She pointed to herself and Frank “Or maybe it's my affinity to magic that makes me more sensitive.”

Damsel in distress.

“I could feel his rage too.” She continued in a quiet tone. Pretending to shake a little from the memory, which honestly wasn’t all that hard. “It was awful. For a moment I couldn't distinguish between his emotions and my own. It made me feel somehow … violated”

“Oh my god I’m so sorry Diana i just didn’t know” Hector interrupted his friend, paying him no attention. He stood up and hugged Diana. Damn he really can’t control his hero complex.

Diana cast a quick glance at Frank while she let Hector hug her. The expression on his face was definitely suspicious but he didn’t seem outright angry, so the whole situation was developing according to plan.

Diana broke off the hug and looked Hector straight in the eyes.

"We're a team, right?" she said, placing emphasis on 'we'. "A team that trusts each other. I need you to trust me on this. This could be our ticket home, don't you want that?"

Mia chimed in "Diana's got a point, Hector. We can't afford to ignore a potential way out."

Hector wavered, and Diana seized the opening. "Imagine, Hector, we get back to our world, everyone back in one piece, everyone safe." This she emphasized ‘safe’.

Pressing his buttons is so easy I almost feel bad. Almost.

The flames reflected in Hector's eyes, mirroring the internal struggle. He sighed, defeated. "Alright, Diana. I’ll trust you, but I will keep a close eye on the centipede."

“Frank, what about you? We need to all agree to this” Mia asked.

“I don’t see other viable options, so I guess this is good enough for me. Also if Hunter bugs us over I will help you gut him, Hector.” He twirled Pain in the air with a really ugly grin.

Diana smiled with relief, Frank has become a bit of a wild card and she was unsure how to manipulate him. She needed to get closer to him somehow, then a thought struck her.

So obvious. And two birds with one stone, a girl has her needs.

With the big talk finished the party settled down for the night, finding their spots around the flickering embers. Mia took the first watch and Diana waited till the men were asleep.

With Hector’s regular snoring in the background she walked over to Frank, her mind made up. "Mind if I join you?" She asked, a small smile playing on her lips.

He glanced at her, instantly awake, a hint of surprise in his eyes. "They say sharing is caring” He made an inviting gesture.

She shrugged, laying down beside him. "Just need some company, Frank."

He grinned, making room"Company, huh? Sleeping here comes with complimentary company.” After a short pause he added “and some extra benefits, if you're interested."

At least he didn’t wink.

Diana slipped next to Frank and pulled him close, there was comfort in his warmth. Their lives might be full of uncertainties, but in that moment, lying next to Frank, there was one thing she was sure of.

“Oh I was hoping for some actually. ” She said as she touched his face and kissed him.