+ Reid +

  Reid moaned and spat. He was breathing through his nose, but his mouth filled with more blood and saliva every few seconds, and he had to either swallow it or spit it out. The bucket he had for doing so was half full, and Reid had been a bit shocked when he first realized his altered blood was a blue hue instead of the normal red.

  A raw part of his tongue touched a tooth, and he winced. It was painful every time, but Reid couldn't stop himself from probing the stump of his tongue against the insides of his mouth. He and Win had been rushed off to the clinic, and his arm was set in a cast.

  Reid learned while attempting to take a pain management pill that swallowing without a tongue sucked. But really, everything without a tongue sucked.

  If his goal was to stay under the radar, his arm would need to stay messed up for a while longer - though his tongue would be somewhat better in the next half hour, once the 'resident surgeon' sobered up enough to stitch it back on him. He would probably be able to find some sort of healer or hospital above ground if he really needed to keep up appearances, or he'd be able to heal it himself if nobody was watching them. But either way, it meant leaving the arm alone for now.

  After the enforcers left with their ships, the atmosphere in the cavern had shifted. There was still some revelry going on about the moles being gone - but having your lives threatened and your 'heroes' of the moment trounced and left low tended to make people uneasy.

  Reid had successfully positioned himself as weaker than the enforcer and the power armor he wore - despite his belief that he could've taken the asshole in a fight. He knew he'd done everything for a good reason, but losing his tongue like that was fucking insulting, and Reid would've jumped at the opportunity to pay the man back.

  In a rare occurrence, Amelia - Lycra's former nurse - had let his friend into the clinic to sit with them while they rested and recovered - and waited for the drunk surgeon. The 'no visitors' policy apparently had a weakness for big yellow eyes. Or maybe it was a favor to Win. Amelia had been doting over her and ignoring just about everyone else.

  All around them in the clinic, people whispered theories on why Thad had been taken. In the end, Reid just hoped whatever the man had gotten himself into wouldn't create further blowback for him and Lycra. He found himself wishing they had the rest of the mole skulls - not for themselves, but to prevent as many people as possible from being subjected to the kind of mistreatment the enforcer had subjected him to. Someone else, in his position, may not have survived the ordeal.

  The thought stuck with him through the next few hours, as he was led away to the 'operating' section and his tongue was reattached. It played over his mind as he fell asleep on the makeshift clinic bed, flanked by Lycra and Win - and was still on his mind the next day.

  They'd been treated to a 'picnic' post-operation. The medics and surgeon in attendance claimed it was a good way to get Reid and Win mobile, and to see how Reid's tongue was able to handle swallowing. But what the group really wanted was a round of private storytelling that Win was more than happy to provide. The clinic staff, and a few miners helped them into chairs and served them what passed for foraged food - a luxury in its own right. They were a fair distance from the clinic itself, for privacy.

  Reid watched on once again with a fond appreciation for Win's ability to captivate an audience. She held everyone so tight to her words, they nearly didn't see the new arrival until he was upon them.

  And that was when everything went to shit.

  (---) Jim (---)

  The main cavern seemed more upbeat than he would've expected following a quake, but Jim didn't care. He'd made it - decently hydrated and not quite starving anymore, thanks to the supplies from the cave. He was even a bit rested, from the time he'd spent catching up on sleep. The past few days of waiting, climbing, and traveling blended together oddly, but it was fine.

  More food waited for him. Showers and first aid waited for him. Revenge waited for him.

  Jim put one foot in front of the other until he was close enough to get the attention of a mixed group taking a meal. At least two of them were medics he recognized, and they surrounded a few people seated in chairs, chatting animatedly.

  When the first person noticed Jim and turned to him, they screamed.

  The second did the same.

  Jim looked himself up and down, but there was nothing wrong with him - at least nothing that seemed wrong. Why the hell had he gotten that reaction?

  A rhythmic popping sounded rumbled close to his right ear, and his entire body tensed.

  During his climb out - and after - Jim hadn't used his invisibility. It was just too much of a drain on him while making the difficult climb... and after, it would've halved his progress hiking back to camp. It made sense at the time. It was okay. There hadn't been anything around that he'd seen. Nothing at all.

  Slow and shaking, he turned his head to look behind him.

  Twelve sets of legs and a flower-bulb body greeted him.

  Jim swallowed as his mind raced.

  Had the thing been with him the whole time? Did it watch him while he slept? How had he not noticed it? How had he not heard the thing? Would he be able to get out of its range? The people ahead had medics - so if someone in the group ahead was wounded, maybe he could use them like a distraction. But could he even sprint that far? Could he move fast enough at all?

  A leg lanced out - and tore into his chest just below his neck.

  It was so unfair. He'd made it back. He was going to get his revenge.

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  The pain set him screaming as the appendage dragged Jim back under a salivating mouth. As it dripped down, he felt the wound - and major parts of his body - go stiff.

  His heart pounded. Death descended as the creature's mouth came closer.

  Then something cracked, like an explosion. The beast tensed, and long hair-like growths grabbed onto Jim's limbs. It brought him up and under the body of the creature. He had just enough motion left in his neck to watch what happened.

  Roc - somehow even narrower than before and a distinctly different shade, roared forward and slammed a metal chair into the side of the beast's body. The blow tore off a chunk of flesh, and Jim fell to the ground. He could still feel enough of his chest to know his body was getting colder.

  In the corner of his vision, Roc smashed mangled metal into the creature's bulky frame. It screeched and tried to retreat, but more miners surrounded the thing with their own makeshift weapons. Jim frowned when he realized it was the market muscle - and they'd come to Roc's aid. With more opponents, the bug faired even worse.

  Jim could feel the hatred burning as a familiar form knelt down above him. Win's entire shoulder was bandaged and her arm had a sling-like sleeve underneath it. She probed his wound, and started to bring out a roll of gauze - but stilled. She followed his gaze, over to Roc, then looked towards the tunnel before returning her attention to Jim. Win shouted for the rest of the staff to retreat to a safe distance - she had to practically roar over the din of the battle nearby.

  Jim felt a righteousness grow within him. She knew. She knew he'd been in the tunnels, and that he was following her. He was the one with the power and the control here, for the first time in their relationship with one another. He was the one that could sink her. He flashed a grin and spoke through the painful hole in his chest - and the bit of paralysis in his jaw. It made his words come out slightly slurred, and slow. Still, each one felt like its own victory. He would live and recover and get everything he wanted. The time in the black was worth it, because he'd still seen the bone weapons they'd hidden, and he knew the information from Thad. Win would bend under his leverage, and he would use her obedience to see himself set free. He hadn't just survived - he'd won.

  "That's right. I saw. I know... all... your secrets." He made a point to flick his eyes between Roc and Win. "I'll tell everyone about him, unless you w-"

  In two swift motions, Win shoved the roll of gauze into Jim's mouth, then put two fingers into the wound on his chest. Her eyes were different than any look he'd ever seen her wear. He'd seen fierce - and this was close to fierce, but also had something else in it - something more protective... and dangerous. Her words were ice.

  "No, you wont."

  A spasm spread through him as Win's hand released two short pulses of energy. He felt a tiny ball form, and get shoved down into his wound. Then another. More small balls formed and were absorbed into his body as Win's eyes stayed locked with his own. Jim's vision tinted as blood vessels burst, and one of his eyelids started twitching uncontrollably. Breathing got more difficult, and it felt as though blood was spilling out of him faster and faster. Light began to fade.

  This wasn't right. He'd done everything the way he needed to. He had his leverage. He'd finally won. Win wasn't supposed to be capable of this. She was an old, caring soul. She was a volunteer at the clinic. She was soft, and exploitable.

  In his final moments, Jim found regret. He regretted overestimating himself against the old lizard. He regretted not paying attention to his walk down the tunnel.

  He regretted his life, and he regretted that he hadn't eaten more bread while he had the chance.

  + Reid +

  Jim's arrival, flanked by one of the abominations Win called vicipods, threw the whole picnic sideways.

  Reid wasn't sure where the hell the man had been, nor why, but he sprang into action when he saw the beast ready to end the blue man's life with a killing blow. He'd thrown a rock with his good arm in an attempt to make the beast disengage. His chair - a good chair - was mangled in the ensuing battle. With one arm and instructions to 'take it easy', Reid let the other muscle that swarmed forward join the fight, and used it as an opportunity to watch how they engaged the creature. He was surprised to see just how many of them got injured - and by the end of the battle, there were two people in need of immediate medical attention.

  #

  Win's face had been a calm mask as she rose and pronounced Jim dead. Reid knew her well enough to see that she had more to tell about what happened. Hours later, they sat together on the cavern floor, away from prying ears.

  Jim had been abrasive and nosy, and Win's explanation of events fit well with Reid's understanding. Jim hadn't been seen at camp for as long as the rest of them had been missing. He came back, shortly after their return, and one of the first things he'd said to Win was that he knew their secrets. It stood to reason that the man had somehow watched them while they were in the Den, and was prepared to either blackmail them or to just burn their reputations down.

  He'd shown an obvious hatred and distain for Reid during his final moments, and Win let Lycra and Reid in on a fact she'd held to herself for a while - the man used a fake accent. That seemed odd, and painted Jim as probably mentally unstable. So a hateful, angry and potentially ill man had threatened to expose them all - and he died for it. Reid was entirely okay with that.

  "So that's it. I made the choice, and I believe it was the right one."

  Lycra hug-slammed her thigh. "You protected. Thank you, Win."

  Reid put a hand on her uninjured shoulder. "Whaw wlicwa red. Fanc wou." (What Lycra said, thank you.)

  Even stitched back on, his tongue needed time to properly heal - at least if Reid let it take a natural course. Talking like this was... tough.

  After a few moments Lycra stepped back, and so did Reid. Win gave them a thankful smile, and the three of them sat in silence for a bit before Win donned a concerned expression.

  "Whaw wronn?" (What's wrong?)

  Win stared down. "It doesn't make sense that there was only one vicipod."

  Lycra tilted his head. "Why?"

  Win bit her lip. "So hive mothers, they're like a... fake queen. Their entire drive is to take over as many nests of creatures as they can by using a combination of chemicals and a bit of innate mild influencing magic. Vicipods and vicipod queens are pretty easy to control, so they use those the most, and vicipods make taking over subsequent nests easier because of the paralytic saliva. When a mother takes over, they always make everything more aggressive, make creatures move and fight in pairs, and just generally send minions to their deaths. It's all fight and swarm in how they control the minions, There are no tactics."

  She got up and paced.

  "Jim was never fast. He definitely didn't outrun a vicipod, and it's too coincidental that one caught him right as he got back to the main den. There's no way that just coincided perfectly. And if it isn't a coincidence, it means the vicipod was pacing him, not hunting him. Which means the hive mother told it to do that."

  She put a hand over the front of her mouth that slightly muted her speech, but Reid and Lycra let her continue on. At this point, she was talking to herself as much as she was speaking to the two of them.

  "So, let's imagine what that might mean. This hive mother doesn't play by the rules, then maybe she also didn't make her minions fight in pairs. So only one vicipod came up, and now its dead that that means everything is fine. Or- maybe she keeps the pairs, and ignores the aggressive death rule? A pair of vicipods followed a living thing all the way back here. One stayed to fight, and the other... ran away, or is still hiding maybe. But why wait until Jim got here, it's just more pe-"

  Win stopped mid-stride.

  "By the all-god. They weren't hunting Jim, they were searching for where he came from. We have to warn everyone - they're going to send a whole army of those things up here."

  She lifted her head, and there was horror in her eyes.

  "The hive mother thinks this cavern is a nest."

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