My hands clench tightly as I stare at the thick metal door. Beyond it is the cell that contains Miasma: the Hybrid that me, Elisabeth, and Alicia detained.
Although I want to...see her for myself, that sense of self-doubt has reformed into a swallowing abyss.
“It’s not too late to back out, lad.” Godfrey says to me, the centaur-like hybrid looking at me through the visor of his helmet. “If you’re having second thoughts, I recommend leaving her be.”
“Quiet.” Honora hushes him. The Infernape looking back at me, smiling a reassuring smile. “This is your choice, Chevalier. But I do must ask. Are you ready?”
“T-Truthfully?” I say quietly, my fangs threatening to grind against one another. “N-Not really, but...” I swallow a growing lump in my throat. “...I still want to do this.”
Honora nods her head slowly. “Alright...” She approaches the cell door, pulling out her keycard. She brings it towards the electric lock, only to pause just before she swipes it. “Just...” She starts, her gaze drifting to me once more. “...Keep in mind again, she’s not in a good mental state. If she reacts badly, don’t take it personally...”
Godrey raises his lance-arm, the sharp weapon glinting in the artificial light. “And if the situation escalates beyond our control, I must escort you out.” He warns me, but his tone softens. “However...I do hope you know what you’re doing, lad.”
I wish I did too...
“I u-understand.” I say to them both, my gaze unable to meet their eyes.
“Well, now that’s out of the way...” Honora shakes her head before swiping the card, the lock makes an audible beep upon recognizing the keycard and thus unlocks said door. After stashing the card she pulls the door open and gestures for me to walk inside.
Alright...here it goes...
Tucking my wings in I walk into the room, my mind focusing entirely on keeping whatever composure I have left secured. The...last thing I need is to have another breakdown...
Once inside, the room itself I see is...not too large. The first thing I notice is a small table and chair in front of me, but beyond that is a wall of what looks to be incredibly thick metal. There is a large pane of glass in said wall to grant vision to the interior of the cell, and there’s a solid metal door off to the side that acts as the entrance to and from said cell.
But when I look at the one who’s currently contained, I feel my breath catch.
Miasma...
The four legs on her back each have what looks like large blocks of metal covering her blades, each with a chain that’s attached to the walls of the chamber. Her wrists and ankles are also bound together with metal cuffs, ultimately showing to me that every limb of hers is prevented from moving. Her hood and mask is gone as well as...pretty much any clothing for that matter.
Her cell does have things like a toilet in a corner, but I see no bed or chairs. In fact...it looks like she has no furnishing of any kind, and even if she did...she wouldn’t be able to reach it to begin with since her bonds keep her tight in place. This ultimately forces her to do nothing else but sit in the center of her cell, since...well...she’s incapable of doing anything else.
Honora noticed my horrified expression, seeing how quickly spoke up. “We were left no choice.” She whispers to me. “She was way too dangerous to even roam her cell, so we’re forced to keep her chained until things like...restroom breaks.” She rubs her sides with her free hand. “But even then that requires complete supervision...”
But...that’s still...horrible...
Hearing quiet whispering, Miasma looks up. “Back so soon?” She hisses angrily, her dark blue eyes burning with anger. “How quaint, are you now starting to take pity in m-” Her voice cuts out the second she notices me.
In that moment, I see a mass of emotions fluctuate on her face.
Surprise.
Confusion.
Anger.
...
Lots...and lots of anger...
“YOU!” She shrieks at me, her body immediately lurching towards my direction. However her bonds hold strong, preventing her from even moving an inch.
I flinch at this, taking a step back. Already I’m regretting this entire thing tenfold, regretting every single decision I’ve made that lead up to this point.
“YOU DARE SHOW YOURSELF TO ME?! TO ME?!?!” She screams, thrashing violently against her chains. “WHAT PURPOSE DO YOU POSSIBLY HAVE TO BE HERE?!” She thrashes even harder, her teeth biting so hard that I can almost hear the grinding noise over the chains. “TO GLOAT?! TO LORD OVER ME?! TO TELL ME HOW YOU BESTED ME?!” Her eyes narrow to slits. “TO TELL ME TO CEASE FIGHTING?! I WILL TEAR YOU TO SHREDS!”
The entire time my body has been rapidly backpedaling, but before I knew it my back hits the wall behind me. My eyes are completely wide, my breathing becoming rapid as panic starts to set in.
I didn’t mean for this to happen! I didn’t think she’d react this way! This was a mistake! I shouldn’t have come here at all! Stupid stupid stupid stupid STUPID!
“SPEAK!” She continues to scream at me. “ANSWER ME!”
Godfrey steps into the room, his lance starting to glow as he channels heat into it. “That is enough!” He shouts. “Miasma, silence yourself immediately!”
“ANSWER ME!” She screams again at me, spittle flying from her mouth. “ANSWER ME RIGHT NOW!”
Everything is closing in on me. My insecurities, my regrets, everything. The hopeless feeling that all of my fears are coming true.
Tears start to stream down my face. “I-I-I-” I try to speak, but my voice starts cutting out before the words could even form.
“THEN IT IS TO LORD OVER ME!” Miasma continues, her thrashing causing the areas around her legs to bruise. “YOU FILTHY CREATURE, I WILL REND YOU!”
“THAT IS ENOUGH!” Godfrey yells, raising his now white-hot lance. He turns his head to me, his eyes hardening. “Chevalier, you must leave immediately!”
No! No no no no no! This isn’t what’s supposed to happen! Everything is going so wrong! I just wanted to check to see if she’s okay and ask how she’s feeling and see if I can do anything to help her and-
Gritting my teeth so hard I turn and smash my fist into the wall beside me so hard that I feel the bones in my knuckles break, causing an agonizingly sharp pain to course through it.
“I WANTED TO SEE IF YOU WERE OKAY!” I scream back, the power in my voice fueled by the terror my mind is experiencing and the pain my fist is feeling.
Suddenly...everything falls quiet. Miasma’s rage-filled screams are gone, the thrashing chains are still, it all stopped.
Trying my best to not break down from the pain in my fist I look at the cell, only for the flowing tears to make my vision blurry. I can’t wipe them away because my free hand is clenching my broken fist tightly, leaving me to do nothing but stand there hopelessly.
“See...if I’m okay?” I hear Miasma’s voice say. Although her tone is quiet, I can hear the disbelief and anger in it. “You.... You fucking fool, what do you obviously think?!” I hear the sharp rattle of chains again, but only briefly. “You took everything away from me. You took my home, my family, my daughter. You took it all...AWAY! WHAT MAKES YOU THINK I AM OKAY?!”
I breathe in deeply through my mouth as I crumple to my knees from the pain, holding my broken fist close to my chest. “They...were not yours to begin with.” I say to her, doing everything I can to not let my voice choke. “That town was not your home. Those spiders were not your family. That Riolu was not your daughter.” The pain forces me to reel over, my body writhing as I’m finding it more and more difficult to tolerate it. “They were not yours. But that’s not...why...I’m here.”
I clench my eyes shut, baring my teeth. “When we...beat you, you were dying. I wanted to save you because...you were like me when the GoT found me. You looked like you were alone. You looked like you had no one to be with you. You looked like you had no idea on what to do. You looked...lost” My body bends down, writhing from the torture of my self-afflicted agony. “I-I wanted t-to help y-you. You didn’t d-deserve w-w-what happened t-to you. E-e-everything w-was taken a-away from y-y-you. T-the HWDP t-took your i-i-identity. They t-t-took it a-all a-away. I j-j-just c-couldn’t-” My voice cuts out, replaced with pained breathes as I can’t focus anymore.
It hurts so much. Why did I do it?! I broke my own fist by punching a solid metal wall.
Stupid stupid stu-
My breathing catches as I feel something metal slide under my head as well as a hand under my body. The sensation of being lifted up immediately follows, as well as the firm voice of Godrey speaking. “He needs immediate medical attention!” He says, presumably to Honora. All I know is that due to the close proximity of his voice, he’s...the one carrying me.
A rushed sense of movement follows as well as the loud clops of his footstep, signifying that he’s quickly carrying me out.
N-no! I’m not d-done! I don’t want to end it this way!!
I didn’t want for this to end...like this...at all...
But I couldn’t say anything, I just...couldn’t...
I could only lay helplessly in his grip as he carries me out to the medical ward...
[PoV: Miasma]
When the Infernape closes the door behind her, the entire room is empty once more.
I continue to glare at the door, my fangs gritting together. That Hybrid’s words continue to repeat in my mind, and they make me angrier all the while.
I pull at my chains, despite knowing how futile the action is.
“We are nothing alike.” I hiss. “To hell with his damn claims, he knows absolutely NOTHING!”
My glare turns to my bonds, the shiny metal holding just as fast as it did when they first clasped them upon me.
“I was rebuilding everything, to take what I rightfully DESERVE.” I continue to seethe. “It belonged to me, ALL of it did! He ruined it, he took it all away from me!”
My breathing grows heavy as I feel tears well in my eyes.
“I...was starting to recover, I had a safe place. I was in control, I had everything I wanted...only for it all to be taken away.”
My body slumps, yet the bonds keep it upright.
“Who is he to make such accusations...?” I say quietly, unable to do anything to the small trickles on my face.
After telling Penumbra that I’m going to investigate Bennington, I immediately left Pearldom. Sure I plan to return back there to meet the team they’ll be sending, but right now...I need to gather more information. Currently we still don’t know much at all besides the whole ‘wall of webs’, so I need to gather at least a bit more intel so we have more to work with.
After crossing the fields I eventually came to the treeline of the forest that surrounds Bennington, and I have to say...
It’s definitely a big issue.
Webs.
Lots and lots of webs.
Thick strands of it has been woven throughout the trees as far as I can see, effectively creating a giant barricade. This is not something that a normal spider could do, or at least on their own. Whatever did this is either a very special spider, or it’s a massive number of them.
I don’t know which is worse.
I cautiously approach the webs, eyeing them carefully. It contains a particular scent, however I’m not accustomed enough to spider Pokemon o know if it’s made either by an Ariados or Galvantula. Grabbing a laying stick with my tail I poke the woven wall carefully, the stick didn’t...well...stick to the wall with each tap so it’s safe to assume that they didn’t intend to trap anyone touching it, just keep them out.
In that case...
I drop the stick and quickly pull out my machete and proceed to start hacking at the wall, despite spider silk being very strong stuff slowly proceed to make headway. After a near minute of slicing I finally create a gap wide enough for me to squeeze through, with my machete still firmly gripped by my tail I carefully slink in.
Beyond the wall...is definitely unnerving, since the forest itself is extremely dark and there’s spiderwebs everywhere. Normally forests have a lot of greens and browns, but seeing how that there’s so much of this stuff everywhere...it with there being so many webs I can say that white and gray is one of the new primary colors here. I try my best to avoid some of the strands that hang low, but occasionally some of it sticks to my coat and I’m forced to use my machete slice it off.
The deeper I go the more on edge I feel, since this place is unnaturally quiet. Not a single sound can be heard except for my quiet breathing. I’ve entered a lot of quiet places before, but for it to be this silent in a forest...it’s seriously bad news.
As I continue to stealthily make my way through, I hear a sudden rustle above me. Immediately I stop and lower myself to the ground, using my green coating to try to blend with the foliage around me.
I wait for a long time, not even moving an inch. Silently I count the seconds that pass by as my eyes are locked on the spot where the noise came from, but as the moments continue to fly by with nothing happening...I start moving again. This time however I do so more slowly, keeping myself low I crawl across the ground with a nimbleness and silence like that of a natural predator. Every so often I stop and look around, since the last thing I want is some spider to drop on me from above.
At some point I stopped keeping track of time, but I do know that it took me a very long time to eventually arrive at the town.
And when I thought that the forest was unnerving, the town looked just as bad...if not worse.
The forest opens up to the town itself, which I see numerous buildings completely covered in webs. From the looks of the place it seems like some giant colony made this their nest, and not a single...sign...of life...can be found.
The town itself looks...much less ‘modern’ than that of the past two towns I’ve visited, in fact I seriously doubt they have electricity here. If that’s the case it would definitely explain why no word managed to get out when it got overrun...
In fact, did anyone even manage to escape?
I stay hidden in the trees as I ponder whether to actually head into the town or not, since the area is much more exposed than the forest itself. If I were to enter there...then there’s a high chance I might get noticed by whatever lurks here.
Hmm...
...
...
Heh, I’ve gotten out of worse situations.
With my mind made I carefully step out of the foliage and into the town itself, after briefly looking around for any signs of life I immediately sprint over to one of the nearest buildings. The second I reach it I hug my body to the wall, just barely touching some of the spidersilk that’s stuck to the bricks.
Slinking around the outside I eventually reach the entrance, which has the door wide open and not actually covered in webs. After looking around one more time I quickly duck in, my machete still in the grip of my tail.
Inside is just as dark as the forest if not even darker, but my enhanced eyesight allows me to peer through unhindered. The place is completely messed up, furniture and objects strewn everywhere and spidersilk covering everything. With my machete I hack a path through the silk as I enter deeper into the house, keeping a special eye on the ceiling for any nasties that may be lurking up there.
I can say with confidence that there was a struggle here, in fact one of the doors that lead to the backyard of the house looked like it was barricaded before it was knocked down. Yet as I searched through the entire house, there’s not a single sign of the people that live here.
My frown increases as I make my way back out through the exact path I came from, disliking the lack of...absolutely anything really. There’s no life at all, whether it be spiders or townsfolk. It’s...very suspicious.
I reach the entrance again...but stop, since...I have a very uneasy feeling in my stomach.
I call it the ‘predator’s intuition’, something like a sixth sense. Whenever something is up, I get that feeling. It’s not an ‘official’ thing that the HWDP implemented into me since it’s more like a gut feeling, but due to it having been always right in the past...I’ve learned to listen to it.
And right now, I have a feeling that things are going to get real bad real soon...
Gritting my fangs together I take one cautious step towards the door, just as I’m about to poke my head out I suddenly have second thoughts.
No...there’s a smarter way to do this.
Turning myself around I point my machete towards the entrance, after silently steadying myself I quickly stab the weapon out before pulling it back in...
...And the moment I pulled it back a giant Ariados lands on the spot where I was about to step out, hissing loudly.
This is why intelligence is a very perfect factor in survival.
Reacting quickly I swiftly step towards it and lash out with the weapon again, this time impaling the tip of the blade in its head. The spider lets out an even louder hiss and flails its legs, but the second I twist the blade it immediately collapses in a dying heap.
Yanking the yellow blood-covered blade out I eye the corpse warily, since if one spider knew exactly where I was...then there’s a VERY good chance that the rest have this knowledge too.
Because I’ll be honest, a single Ariados can’t POSSIBLY spin this much silk within a short amount of time...so I am definitely dealing with a colony here.
But the real question is why is there even a colony here to begin with? And of this size too? Ariados rarely go where there’s civilization, that and the colonies are not nearly large enough to completely cover an entire forest and town like this.
So...could the mysterious Hybrid be involved?
“We know you’re in there~”
My body tenses when I hear a silky (pun-intended), feminine voice from outside.
“There’s no point in hiding, we’ve been watching you for a long while now~”
Well...that might explain a few things...as well as create an issue too.
“Really now?” I speak up, my voice controlled yet containing a somewhat playful tone. “So why didn’t you reveal yourself then? It would’ve saved us all a bunch of time.”
“Step out~” The voice purrs, ignoring my question. “Then we can have a proper conversation~”
Well that’s somewhat rude for her not to answer me, nevertheless I let out a snort at her attempt to get me outside. “Step out? So you can ambush me?”
The voice laughs in response. “If I wished to ambush you, then we would’ve done so a long while ago.”
Well...she got me there.
If it ends up actually being a trap, I can make a break towards the direction I went. I’ve created a decent enough path to make it easy for me to escape, so I just need to act fast...
Cautiously stepping out I quickly look around me. I didn’t see anything outside at first, but eventually I notice that there’s someone standing on top of the house I was just in...
The person itself looks like a cross between a Bisharp and a Galvantula. She possess the humanoid body of a Bisharp but the Galvantula traits quickly make themselves known on numerous factors.
Sure her black and yellow body is one thing, but there are other parts that really give it away. Specifically it’s the four massive spider legs that sprout from her back, each ending in a giant scythe-like blade. Her hands consist only of two blade-like fingers and thumb, and located on her forearms are three slender blades lined one after each other.
Her rear has long black and yellow hair extending out, giving the impression of a spider’s abdomen. Around her head is a hood made of white and yellow cloth, and located on her face is what I can assume is a white mask that covers all but her mouth and blue eyes...and said contains multiple large blue ‘gems’ that give the impression of spider eyes.
Essentially, I’m confident to say that I’ve found our elusive hybrid.
“Now aren’t you an interesting specimen~” She coos, the giant legs on her back flexing slightly. “It’s unmistakable that you’ve been created by the HWDP.”
“I can say the same to you.” I respond back with a casual smile, my tail swishing left and right with the machete still in its grip. “Which is more of me pointing out the obvious, since you contain that exotic look only a HWDP hybrid possesses.” I still my tail as I adopt a more serious expression. “Course I need to ask this due since it’s a question that’s been bothering me for a while, which is...what did you do with the people here?”
Her grin widens as she lets out a laugh. “Oh? Now wouldn’t YOU like to know~” She traces her lips with one of her bladed fingers.
Well, no shame in me asking even though I partially expected this. So let’s move onto another question. “How about a name?” I ask. “Since I don’t think calling you ‘spider hybrid’ would be very flattering to you.”
“Now that I don’t mind giving~” She purrs, picking at her teeth with her finger. “My identification number is ‘BIS-05′, however I prefer to go by the name of Miasma, sounds FAR better~” She leans forward slightly, her sapphire eyes peering down on my form. “Now what about you, handsome~? I can only assume that you possess a name as well.”
“Handsome? I’ve heard people call me many things, but never handsome.” I chuckle. “But as for my name, it’s Snakewulf. Made it myself~”
She lets out a hum. “Snakewulf? Oh my, sounds very...enticing~” The two lower spider legs on her back dig their blades into the roof as she crouches down. “You are quite a remarkable creature, you look like a specimen unlike anything I thought they could make~” Her alluring eyes twinkle with desire, of which kind I’m quite...unsure. “I cannot wait to get to know you better during your stay~”
I couldn’t help but let out a snort. “Stay? I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I’m a dog on a mission.” I turn my head slightly to give her a sideways grin, all the meanwhile preparing to make a break for it. “I can’t stay sweetheart, as sad as it might be.”
Her legs dig deeper into the structure she’s standing on, her voice growing husky. “You don’t have a choice.” Miasma hisses. She suddenly raises her arms and the three blades start rattling, creating a shrill ringing sound.
The second it hit my ears I notice movement...and a lot of it. As the sound continues I see tons of spiders crawl out of the buildings, consisting of Feral Spinarak, Ariados, Joltlik, and Galvantula. The numbers continue to grow as they answer the call of their queen, showing that this is fight I have no chance at winning.
Thankfully however...I never intended to fight to begin with.
Not wasting a second I sprint towards the forest, heading for the same path I made to get through here.
“YOU CAN’T RUN FROM ME~!” She calls after me, laughing loudly.
As I enter the web-covered trees, I hear the loud hisses and rustles coming from all directions as the colony fully awakens...
Around me my spiders crawl along the walls and ceiling, conducting their business within the building I have claimed as my throne.
When they returned without Snakewulf in their clutches, I immediately knew that he had alluded them...
I feel myself grin devilishly.
It’s only expected, since he’s obviously a specimen who would outrun my spiders. He would have to be an absolute fool to let himself get caught by them...
Yet I’m not worried, since he will surely return. He has to after all, since whatever business he wishes to conduct here shouldn’t be finished~
The large legs on my back shudder with anticipation.
“Yes...” I coo, clasping my hands together as I adjust myself on the web I’m sitting on. “You will come back to me, where I’ll greet you with open arms~” With a slender tongue I lick my lips. “I’ve wanted you ever since I’ve laid eyes upon you, and when I want something...” I let out a low laugh. “...I will get it.”
A soft whimper gains my attention, causing my head to move over to a web that’s adjacent to me.
Bound by spidersilk is a young Riolu girl, the only parts not covered in silk would be her head, paws, and feet. A very interesting feature about her is that her fur is yellow instead of the normal blue, showing that she’s a Shiny Pokemon.
I slowly lower myself to the floor, my two feet hitting the wooden floorboards with soft clicks. I make my way over to her, my movements slow and containing a confident sway. “My my, someone’s making noise~” I hum, stopping right in front of her.
“Please l-let me go...” She whispers, her eyes puffy and her tears long having run dry. “I w-want to see my family...”
My grin widens as I trace my teeth with one of my clawed fingers. “You want your family?” I chuckle slyly, one of my large spider legs reaching over and softly pressing her forehead with its blade.
She freezes in fear when it touches her, afraid to make any movements due to what I might do to her.
“Your family won’t be coming for you, Sariah~” I coo. “You’re with me now, I’ll be taking good care of you~”
She clenches her eyes shut. “P-Please...” The Riolu whimpers. “I w-want to go h-home...”
“Home?” I place a hand on my hip and pout. “You wish to go home?”
Sariah nods ever so slightly, but keeps her movements faint in order to not cut herself from the bladed leg that’s touching her forehead.
My grin widens greatly. “My baby, you ARE home~ And most importantly, you are MINE!” I pull the spider leg back...and then slash downwards, cutting open the cocoon that’s holding her and sending her falling to the floor. I immediately pick her up, pulling her form close to mine in a tight embrace. “I hope you’re hungry.” I whisper to her. “It’s feeding time after all~”
Her eyes shoot open. “F-Feeding t-time?” She stutters, looking up at me with fearful eyes.
“Why of course, no child of mine will go hungry~” I assure her, but my words make her all the more terrified.
Holding her with one hand I raise my other arm. “Now...it is time to let my other children know that it’s feeding time as well...” With that I start flexing the muscles around my three blades, causing them to vibrate and rattle against each other to create a distinct ringing.
It took only a few moments for the sound to cause my spiders to react, making each of them turn to me in unison. They watch me eagerly, for their queen has a need for them. "Come my babies...” I say aloud. “It is time to eat~”
With the Riolu in my arms I stride out of the building, my lovely spiders eagerly following me. I keep my blades ringing, drawing the attention of every spider within earshot. Eventually it gets to the point where the buildings are literally crawling with Feral spiders, answering the call of their queen.
In my grasp Sariah is shaking, her eyes clenched shut. “It’s okay...” I coo, caressing the back of her head gently. “Your hunger won’t last for long, for Miasma will feed all of her children~”
