Chapter 29
Spirit of Vwengeance
"I am sorry Vwriska… I should havwe killed her…"
"She is sadistic and insane… You can't just let that woman get away anymore…" Vriska sighs looking at Dualscar through the husktop screen. "I am not mad at you though… I know the Mindfang you knew was different… but- but that Mindfang is dead Dualscar. You have to understand that!… You can't slip up like this again… You can't spare her again… Please… Kill her when you have the chance…"
"She knowvs wvhere ye livwe nowv… Ye need to find a safer place to stay… Next time she could attack ye… Ye need to stay safe…" he pleads.
"No! I am so sick of being scared and running away from what I can't handle… I hate living my life in fear like this… I am going to get help…"
"From wvho…"
"Well, back at the palace the Condescension told me I should enlist the help of the Grand Highblood. He coul-"
"NO! Vwriska wvhatevwer ye do, do not go near that man. He is merciless and he wvill kill ye! He wvill see ye as a play thing and tear ye limb from limb!" he yells.
"But he could easily capture Mindfang for us! He has his mercenaries everywhere. We could easily get word of where Mindfang is! He can help us, Dualscar!" she shouts back.
"Vwris… Don't! Ye wvill get hurt… Please… I can't stand to let that happen… Wve can handle this ourselvwes… Wve wvill do fine wvithout help… Please… Don't go near that man… I am beggin'…" he sighs his fins drooping.
"…. Fine. I won't…" she mutters softly.
"Okay. Please get some rest and be safe. I wvill be back in a fewv wveeks… I lovwe ye, Vwriska… Remember that…" he stated.
"Love you too… See you soon enough… Bye…"
With that she closed her husktop and stared out the window with a stern look in her eyes. She stands up and grabs a back pack beginning to pack it with supplies for a trip. Equius looks at her concerned and grabs her shoulder as gently as he could, stopping her from moving.
"What are you doing?" he asks in a soft tone.
"Packing for a trip. I am going to see the Highblood," she stated.
"Dualscar said not to," he grunted.
"I am not going to sit around and wait to be killed, Equius," she snarled.
"That doesn't mean you have to go out and get killed," he sighs.
She sighs, "I am not going to stand by and let people I care about get hurt by her without doing anything."
"I understand that, but if I were you, I would listen to your matesprit…"
"Equius… You know I was never good at listening…" she chuckles sadly. "Do you know where Gamzee is? He has been to his Ancestor's place, hasn't he?"
"He is probably in his hive eating sopor as usual. He is a highb100d… He shouldn't act that way!" he groaned.
"Okay. Good," she says grabbing her sword.
"Let me come with you if you are so insistent on going," he replied.
"No. This is something I want to do on my own… I only need Gamzee to get me there," she states slinging her bag over her shoulder.
"But I cannot in good conscious let you get hurt," he huffed.
"Fine if you want to do something for me you can watch my place. Keep an eye out for intruders," she says heading towards the door.
"You will be back sooner than a sweep, right?"
She chuckles, "Didn't know you had a sense of humor."
He sighs softly, "I know it is in your nature to be reckless, but please do refrain from that. You may not think so, but we would be sad if you got hurt again…"
She stops glancing over her shoulder. "Well… tell them not to worry."
Vriska walks out the door and heads down along the beach over to Gamzee's hive. She scowls at the litter around his hive, looks like Gamzee hadn't changed too much over the sweeps. She steps over a few discarded faygo bottles in the sand and knocks gently on the door. After waiting a few moments without getting a reply she took it upon herself to open the door and barge in.
"Hey Gamzee. You in here?" she called out.
She steps in the hive, her shoe landing right into a tin of old sopor slime. A scowl crossed her face as she shook the slime off her shoe and continued walking into the hive. The hive was in a rather sloppy state and had a weird musky odor to it, Gamzee was never really one for cleanliness. Too focused on searching for the lazy clown, Vriska didn't notice she was about to step on a horn. Hearing the loud honk made her jump up in a startle manner and crash down on large pile of horns.
"WeLl HeY tHeRe SiS," Gamzee chuckles his head popping out from under the pile.
"What the fuck are you doing?" she snarled.
"JuSt ChIlLiNg SiS… bEcOmInG oNe WiTh ThE hOrNs. YoU sHoUlD tRy It," he says with a laid back smile.
"Yeah maybe some other time…" she scoffs standing up, dusting herself off. "I need your help."
"WhY mE sIs?" he asks crawling out of the pile.
"You know how to get to the Grand Highblood's place, right?" she asks looking over at him.
"YeAh, BuT yOu DoN't WaNt To Go ThErE…" he mutters.
"Why?"
"He'S a ScArY mOtHeR fUcKeR…"
"I need to talk to him… Can you show me the way to get there?" she asks walking up to him. "Please. I need your help…"
"I cAn'T sHoW yOu…" he mutters fiddling with a horn.
"Why not?" she huffs.
"BeCaUsE i WiLl GeT iN tRoUbLe… He DoEsN't WaNt StRaNgErS kNoWiNg WhErE hE lIvEs … EsPeCiAlLy A sErKet…" he replied.
"Damn it!" she growls.
"SoRrY sIs…" he mutters. "WaNt A fAyGo?"
"No… there has to be something… What if you blind fold me and take me there yourself?" she asks.
"I dOn'T tHinK jUsT a BlInDfOlD wIlL wOrK…"
"Why not?" she snarled.
"YoU aRe ThE kInD oF sIs WhO iS iMpaTiEnT… I kNoW yOu WiLl PeEk…" he replied.
She huffed, "I promise I won't…"
"I cAn'T rIsK iT… He GeTs MaD eAsIlY…"
She groans sitting down on the horn pile causing a loud honking sound. "Fuck."
"I hAvE aN iDeA…" he says grabbing a fresh pie in a tin. "EaT tHiS…"
"Uh. No way… That stuff will rot my brain…" she hissed.
"YoU wIlL bE oUt oF iT… YoU wIlL hAvE nO iDeA aBoUt AnYtHiNg…" he says holding out the pie.
"Won't I end up like… you?" she asked cautiously taking it.
"OnE tImE nEvEr HuRt…." He chuckles.
"Fine. If this gets me to the Grand Highblood…" she replied.
Vriska looks down at the tin, swishing the thick green sopor slosh around in a circle. She gulps lightly putting the tin to her lips, drinking some of the slime. The taste was horrible and she almost wanted to puke, but that was before she felt her mouth go numb. Her movements became slow and she turned to look over at Gamzee. He was so colorful and blurry, then it all went black.
When she opened her eyes she saw an ocean that was a mix of all the blood colors in a beautiful display of what one might refer to as a rainbow. She cupped some of the liquid in her hands, watching as it squirmed to her touch and begin to fly upwards towards the sky. She looks up at the sky watching the clouds shake and distort into three figures of people. The first was the cerulean girl she had killed on Dualscar's ship with a sword in her chest, another was the doctor holding his own severed head, and the last was the first mate, chopped into pieces. Cries of the wounded could be heard, blinded teal bloods, crippled rust bloods, dying burgundy bloods, all screaming, wailing in agony.
This was all her fault, it was always her fault. She was evil! She was a monster, finally being hunted down and torn apart by the humble villagers whose lives she plagued like a filthy disgusting disease. She was a disease, a virus, infecting everyone she came into contact with. The figures in the clouds dissipated and two large eyes opened up staring down at her. A metallic hand reached down and grabbed her, lifting her up into the sky before slamming her down on a rocky shore. Everything went black, again.
"What do you think you are doing, wriggler?" a shrill female voice asked.
"Huh?" Vriska groaned.
"I told you if you ssssleep too long you will end up dead," the voice hissed.
Vriska slowly opened her eyes, everything a bit blurry. "Who said that?"
"I am hungry… I told you thissss would 8e your fate if you failed to feed me…"
"Feed you?" she gasps her eyes widening.
"YOU ARE A FAILURE… THE ONLY GOOD YOU CAN DO ISSSS 8Y 8EING MY MEAL!" the voice screamed.
The face of Spider Mom appeared in front of Vriska's, drool dripping from the fangs before lunging towards her. The blue blood woke up on a black stone beach panting heavily, and clutching her chest. She looks around seeing the sea out past the beach in front of her and a large black and purple palace behind her. With a long sigh she stands up, making sure she had all her gear on her.
"I am so sick of having nightmares…." She mutters walking towards the palace.
After knocking a few times with no answer she decided to enter slowly and carefully. This wasn't a smart move, and she knew this but she had to continue her quest. She grits her teeth at the amount of blood everywhere; the sight just sent chills down her spine. She shook her head trying to rattle off nerves, she had to remain calm because a primordial behemoth like the Grand Highblood would only go into a frenzy if he could sense fear from her. She walked down a long dark hallway looking at the dried blood splatters in slight awe. She had always thought she was a terrible murder for luring all those innocent trolls to be devoured in the jaws of an enormous spider, but this mad man had one upped her by a long shot.
The atmosphere was rather ominous with heavy air that felt like a ton of bricks and death literally clung to the walls. She soon approached the throne room, but it was empty with no sign of a gigantic murderous clown troll in sight. Walking up to the throne she touched the seat, feeling that it was still warm. Either he had just left before she entered the palace or he was somewhere near by lurking in the darkness which made her uneasy. She turned around seeing a giant spiked club about to slam down on her skull, however she just barely dodged it, a sharp spike grazing her left cheek. Her instincts told her to run, but her feet wouldn't move, as if she was stuck in dried cement. He goes to strike again and with pure adrenaline she managed to dash into a long corridor, with columns lined against the wall, hearing the giant troll chase after her. She sees a larger pillar quickly hiding behind it just before the Highblood entered. He stopped smelling the air, a loud rumbling growl coming from his gut.
"OH LITTLE GIRL…. Where did you go? NO ONE ENTERS MY HIVE WITHOUT PERMISSION! Come out and I will make your death quick. YOU THOUGHT YOU COULD TRESPASS WITHOUT CONSEQUENCES!? Why did you enter to begin with? ARE YOU TRYING TO COMMIT SUICIDE?! Come out and I can help grant that wish…" he snarls.
Vriska's hands shook, but she quickly balled them into fists. Spider Mom was right about one thing, don't show fear, especially to the ones who want to kill you. She grits her teeth knowing she was in quite the predicament; she had to play this smart. She quietly reached in her bag and grabs an eight ball out of it before peeking around the corner. The Grand Highblood was slowly walking down the corridor smacking each pillar with his club.
"COME OUT. Come out. WHEREEVER YOU ARE…" he snarls.
When he wasn't looking she threw the eight ball in the other direction making a loud sound as it hit the floor and shattered. The Highblood growls running after the sound giving her the chance to sneak down the hall, hoping there was a way out. She quickly turned a nearby corner, however she froze realizing she had entered an execution chamber.
"Well well well you have seemed to make a wrong turn… OR WAS IT THE RIGHT MOTHER FUCKING TURN," he snarled grabbing her shoulder tightly.
"Wait… wait… I came here to talk to you…" she gasped.
"Talk? WHAT WOULD A MOTHER FUCKER LIKE YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT?" he roars.
She pulls away and turns to face him, slowly backing up against a bloody butcher's table. "Well, I have a favor to ask."
"Favor? WHY THE FUCK WOULD I HELP YOU?" he growls grabbing her by the neck.
The behemoth hoists her up off her feet causing her to gag and gasp for air just from the sheer pressure and strength of his one hand. She grips at his wrist clawing it some before letting go of it realizing that would be useless. Vriska then reached for her sword, pulling it out of the sheath before swinging it at him. If she was going to die she wasn't going to die without scathing him. The Grand Highblood grabbed the blade with his free hand, stopping it in mid-swing. He narrowed his eyes feeling a stinging sensation on his palm causing him to look down and see blood drip from it. He huffs dropping the smaller female and the blade to inspect the gash on his palm.
He growls glaring evilly at her, "You fought back…"
She sits up coughing, "W-what?"
"YOU FOUGHT BACK!" he roars.
Vriska hissed grabbing her sword and pointing at him. "Yeah… so?"
"No one has ever fought back. THEY ALL COWER LIKE MAGGOTS. I misread you, little wriggler," he huffed.
"What are you talking about?" she asks panting as she slowly stood up.
The indigo blood grunts leaning in and grabbing her chin roughly. He runs his large thumb across the cut on her cheek smearing the blood cobalt blood dripping from it. She pulls away some slightly uncomfortable from being touched by his large rough hands. He stares in her eyes for a long time before stepping away, his own rage subsiding.
"You are in a lot of pain aren't you?" he asks picking up his club.
"What?" she asks hesitantly sheathing her sword.
"I can see it in your eyes. They tell a story of pain and sorrow… A little young to be tortured by your own personal demons aren't you?" he chuckles lightly.
"How do you know?" she asks slowly approaching him.
"I kill people for a living… I know what personal demons are like…. You said you had a request. I am fucking curious now. Talk to me in my throne room," he growls walking off.
Once he left the room Vriska took a moment to collect her thoughts and tried to figure out what just happened. He just spared her and not only that, he was actually going to hear her out. She hoped that this wasn't some cruel joke and began to walk back into the throne room. She looked at the rubble from the pillars he had knocked down in just single blows, and thought how that could have been her. She returns to the throne room seeing the large man was sitting upon his throne, tending to the gash on his palm.
"Uh… Sorry I made you destroy those pillars I guess…" she mutters not sure how to begin this conversation.
"Doesn't matter… I destroy that shit at least once a week… Sure it pisses off the people who clean my messes, but what the fuck are they going to do? Quit? They know what happens if they quit," he laughs darkly.
"Oh um… okay…"
"Now the little Serket is all quiet… What happened to the crazy motherfucker who cut opened the palm of the Grand Highblood?" he huffed resting his face in his uninjured hand.
"You know I am a Serket?"
"Who can't tell with fucking horns like that? Those motherfuckers are one of a kind for sure… So are you going to stand there and waste my fucking time or are you going to tell me what you want? IT IS VERY RARE I ACTUALLY WANT TO LISTEN TO SOMEONE SO DON'T MAKE ME CHANGE MY MIND!" he growls.
"Oh… Well you see I have been betrayed by … well… my own ancestor… Mindfang," she says softly.
"I FUCKING HATE HER! SUCH A GOD DAMN PAIN IN MY ASS! FUCKING WITH MY MOTHERFUCKING BUISNESS. FUCKING CUNT THAT'S WHAT SHE IS," he rants slamming his fist down before realizing what she was talking about. "Wait… betrayed you? You are her blood. WHY THE FUCK WOULD SHE DO THAT? YOU MUST BE LYING! I DON'T LIKE BEING LIED TO."
"No I am not… The woman turned me into a slave and I want to stop her before she hurts anyone else…" she replied.
"What all did she do? I am fucking curious… Did she beat you? Hurt you? Whip you? Put a little bitch in her place?" he chuckles trying to get a rise out of her.
Vriska grits her teeth trying to keep cool. "All you need to know is she did me wrong."
"Hmmmm…" he grins evilly. "Did they touch you? A bunch of hungry greedy men… She didn't protect you like you thought she would?" he chuckles.
"Shut up!" she screams holding her head. "I-I don't want to think about it! I just want to see her dead. I want to cut her fucking head off!" She growls.
He chuckles, "That bad huh? Why do you want my help?"
She sighs, "Well the Empress told me to talk to you… Maybe you could capture her if you or your people see her…"
"And why do you want me to capture her? Why not kill her? That is basically what I do for a living. Execution," he says smirking softly.
"Because I want to be the one to cause her last breath…" she hissed.
He laughs loudly, the ground rumbling some. "Excellent… Such a vicious broken hearted little girl… I love seeing rage blossom from betrayal… I want to see you win tiny spider, which is rare…"
"Wait… You are going to help me?" she asked a bit shocked.
He grunts yawning loudly, "I got nothing better to mother fucking do..."
"Wow… this… this turned out better than I thought…" she muttered.
"HM?" he grunts looking down at her.
"No offense but I thought this would be like dealing with a beast… didn't expect you to act as…. Civil," she chuckles nervously.
"That's how most mother fuckers view me…. I guess it is what to be expected… I take after our feral ancestors more than most… I am larger and more aggressive than the others… I am a scary guy… One reason I got this position…" he shrugs.
"Growing up I always thought I was scary and tough…. I am getting proven wrong more and more each day…" she mutters.
"That's life…" he growls. "By the way how did you get here?"
"Oh your descendant brought me here…Don't get mad at him… I honestly have no idea where this place is…"
"Ugh Gamzee I assume… Idiot could be a proud powerful subjugglator, but he eats way too much of the pie… It is supposed to be used for visions, but he eats it for fun," he grumbles.
"Sopor… I had some… I didn't like it, but that's how I got here without knowing where I am…"
"What did you see?"
"A bunch of colors… then regret," she sighs.
"It's different for everyone," he replied shrugging. "Sometimes it is memories, sometimes it is a bunch of symbolic nonsense."
Vriska nods sighing softly as she rubbed her hand on her cheek. At least the little cut won't leave a scar, that is the last thing she needed, but then again, she could match Dualscar. Thinking about the Ampora made her start to think about the Highblood's anger towards him.
"Do you mind if I ask you a question?" she asks looking up at him.
"What?' he groans.
"Why do you hate Dualscar?" she asks.
"UGH! HE'S A POMPUS ASSHOLE WHO ONLY CARES ABOUT GETTING NOOK," he shouts.
"What do you mean?" she looks at him.
"We were once friends… long long ago when we were little wrigglers… but the minute a pretty little female gave him attention he treated me like shit, like he was royalty that deserved the finest treatment…" he scoffs before laughing. "Then I grew big and he feared me… because he knew… I would rip his blood pusher out of his chest with my bare hands if given the chance!"
She sighs, "He's different now…" She wasn't really trying to convince him, but herself.
He snarls, "HOW DO YOU FUCKING KNOW?"
"… He saved me from her… He denounced his black lust and began to take care of me… He isn't perfect… but he is trying…" she says.
He scoffed, "Sure he is."
"… Could you try not to kill him anymore?" she asks, knowing she was overstepping some.
"ASKING ANOTHER FAVOR?! Fine… only if you do me something…"
She gulped some, her brain racing with thoughts of what he could want. "Yes?"
"Tell me a joke…" he says with a wicked grin.
"Oh… alright… I can try…"
"You better make me laugh… or else… Now say something funny…" he chuckles.
"My mental health," she scoffed without thinking.
"Damn, that's dark," he replied laughing.
"Oh… Um… does that count?"
"Nah. Come on a real joke…."
"Okay…" she says thinking. "So… I chopped of Mindfang's left arm, but it's okay… She's all right now," she says giggling some.
He rolls his eyes smirking some, "Alright… Cheesy… but alright… You seriously chopped her arm off…"
"Yeah…" she says still laughing lightly.
"Hm. I'll leave that idiot Dualscar alone… BUT IF HE DOES ANYTHING TO PISS ME OFF I WILL KILL HIM…" he roared.
"Please don't," she mutters softly.
The Highblood glared down at her and let out a loud huff. "I got to get you home… Don't I?"
The little blue blood nods slowly. "Yeah…"
"Wasting my whole mother fucking day, sis… I will have a worker take you home…" he yawns stretching out.
"Thank you so much," she says smiling lightly.
"Yeah yeah. Piss off, you little brat," he grumbles.
Vriska was escorted home by a sketchy indigo blooded ne'er-do-well wearing ragged clothes, and the skull of some poor low blood as a mask. All though she was a bit uncomfortable on the trip home, she was happy she was getting one step closer to ending this living horror story. Once at the docks she could feel the stares of her peers in the distance. It was almost as if they didn't think she was coming back this time. The indigo worker quickly left returning to the black rock island and Vriska began to walk to her hive. She was soon stopped by Eridan.
"Wwhere havve you been?" he hissed.
"Oh, you are talking to me again?" she scoffed.
"Cut the shit, Vvris. You wwere gone for a wweek!" he shouts.
"Wait really? … I am never eating sopor again," she mutters.
"You are fuckin' eatin' sopor noww too?! Wwhat the fuck is a matter wwith you!? YOU'VE COMPLETELY CHANGED," he shouts.
"Shut the fuck up. As if you care! You refuse to talk to me ever since you found out I am red with Dualscar! Ohhhh big wooop! I'm fucking your ancestor! DEAL WITH IT! BE HAPPY THAT HE'S THE ONE THING KEEPING ME FROM THROWING MYSELF OVER A CLIFF!" she screams.
"If I didn't care about you I wwouldn't be comin' to see wwhere you'vve been! AND I AM MAD ABOUT DUALSCAR BECAUSE YOU LIED TO ME! YOU FUCKIN' KEPT IT A SECRET WWITH NO CARE ABOUT HOWW IT WWOULD AFFECT ME! THANKS TO YOU I CAN NEVVER HAVVE A PROPER RELATIONSHIP WWITH HIM!" he shouts.
She chuckles running her hand through her hair. "See I haven't changed completely… I am still an asshole, who fucks everything up."
Vriska pushed him out of her way and went up to her hive seeing Equius standing in the doorway. "Everything go well…?"
"Yes, but I still fucked up," she says.
"What do you mean?" he asked following her.
"… Nothing," she sighs grabbing some rum from the kitchen.
"Dualscar had been blowing up your husktop… I finally answered him…"
She drinks groaning loudly, "What did you say?"
"I told him what you were doing… I would never lie to him," Equius replied.
"Just… Great…" she takes a big drink.
"That isn't good for you, Vriska," he says.
"Well, I have never been one for making good choices now have I, Equius?!" she scoffed.
Vriska looks at the bottle of rum and sees the reflection of herself in the glass. She had dark circles around her eyes, she had no makeup on and the cut on her cheek was dark blue from irritation. She tears up some, closing her eyes tight, tears welling up once more. Crying just came so naturally to her now and deep down inside she was disgusted by it. She was doing all this work to become stronger, but she was weakest she's ever been.
"… Thanks for everything, Equius…" she mutters. "Please leave… I need to think…" she sighs pinching the bridge of her noes from under her glasses.
"Come to me if you need anything… Okay?" he says.
"Please go… We'll talk later…"
