Chapter 46

Meulin took out the coins from her sylladex and looked at them, exiting her hive and standing on a pier that overlooked the sea she had just come from to get back here. Shipping coins. Quarters had had to be lying when he said that. Aranea herself hadn't explained what the coins were for, either, but she said that she could use them to "interog8 Damara," so maybe they brought people together or something. There was only one way to find out, she decided, and that was to do it. But she wished it could have been someone besides her. Or maybe the coins were meant to be in the hands of someone that was a bit unstable?

She flipped the dark red and fuchsia coin, assuming that it was Damara's, and it landed on the dark red side. Damara appeared, not as surprised as you would expect someone who had just randomly been teleported from another place to be. Meulin, Damara thought as she looked at who had summoned her, was no threat.

"(Why have you brought me to you? And who gave you the coins?)" she asked.

"My exile, Quarters," Meulin answered. She probably would have said "Quarpurrs" if she were in a more feline mood, but now she didn't really care much for cat-puns. Damara chuckled.

"(I see that my Lord has plans for you)", she said.

"What sort of plans? And why me?" Meulin asked.

"(I once went in time at his orders to study your relationship with Kurloz—I haven't met him yet, but I see why he wishes for you to have the role you do. You are fickle, torn between your loyalty to Kurloz and your inherent sense that something is horribly wrong with your matespritship. But"), Damara's tone began to turn more sorrowful, ("It does not matter what you think, for in the end it is he who has the stronger will and the resources to keep you under his control.)" Damara blinked back tears as she said this, but Meulin didn't see them.

"What are you talking about? I'm flipping the coins and bringing you here because Arowlnea asked me to, not your Lord—who is he, anyway? And why do you serve him? And why are you killing people just because they had some romantic problems with you?"

("Wouldn't the little shipper like to know?") Damara remarked wryly. "My Lord is the true master of this game, of time, and of fate. I will not say much because there is little to say about him, other than that by resisting him and your allies condemn yourselves. I serve him so that I will live forever, and can have the capability to punish those that I despise. It is through my Lord's efforts that I was able to kill Rufioh and Horuss. But I will spare you because I see that your time is not through yet,") Damara said. She then took her own coin and flipped it again, vanishing in time before it landed on the fuchsia side, and Meenah appeared before Meulin, her 2X3dent in her hand. Meenah looked pretty ticked off at having been summoned for no reason.

"WHO TH—E SH—ELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, BRININ' ME OVER TO YOUR PLACE FOR NO R—E—ELSON?!" Meenah cried angrily.

"Sorry! I don't really know how these coins work!" Meulin replied weakly, her eyes not leaving the sharp tips of Meenah's weapon. They looked like they could skewer her, and they were really shiny and golden…

"Water these cheep-cheep thangs, the coins you sayin' you used?" Meenah asked. "These ain't worth carp! Chum coins these are."

"I don't think I buy stuff with them. Quarters said they were shipping coins, but he obviously lied to try and get me to use these earlier. Now I'm usin' them to help Aranea." Meenah's jaw dropped in surprise, then she giggled.

"Aw, I sea! Serket wants you to krill me. Shell learn schooner or later that it ain't gonna work," Meenah said, taking her 2X3dent and pointing it Meulin.

"No, wait!" Meulin pleaded. "Aranea wanted me to use these to summon Damara, not you!"

"Nice try. She'd never know if Megido was messin' things up, even if I told her. Chum fronds we were. Oh whale. Maybe we can make up once I krill ya again!" Meenah jabbed her weapon at Meulin, but she blocked it with her cat claws, her reflexes surprising both of them.

"Wait, again?" Meulin asked Meenah angrily, rage blazing in her eyes.

"Aw, shell. Wasn't supposed to spray that," Meenah muttered to herself.

"I've had my dreamself killed by you for no reason—" Meulin angrily began.

"It was to mess with Kurloz!"

"—Giving me nightmeows for almost the whole game, had my hive split apart, been brainwashed for sweeps without even knowing it, shipwrecked, and forced to row all the way back here! Don't you think I might have ENOUGH TROUBLE ALREADY?!" Meulin cried, using her other cat claw to slash at Meenah. She quickly dislodged her 2X3dent and tossed it over the edge of the pier and proceeded to slash at Meenah's face.

"Where did you learn to fight like this, girl?!" Meenah demanded, using all of her strength just to get Meulin off of her. Giving the cat-troll a sharp kick in the ribs, Meenah dove down into the water to retrieve her 2X3dent. Meulin knew she was helpless now, but when Meenah surfaced she said:

"Don't see much point in fightin' you know. Tell Serket to lay off! I'm the best at battles, and she knows it!" Meenah then dove down underwater, evidently searching for the gate back to her world.

"If you're so great, then why did you not finish me off?" Meulin asked. "Probably didn't want her purrecious face to get ruined anymore."

Meulin decided to flip Cronus' coin next. Maybe he could give some insight as to why Meenah was so suspicious about people lately.

"And he purrobably needs a furriend," Meulin said as she flipped the brown and lavender coin. But instead of landing on lavender, it landed on Rufioh. Meulin screamed in horror as she saw Rufioh's decapitated body, kicking it off the edge of the pier into the sea. She tried again to summon Cronus, and she was successful this time…but Cronus was dead, too! Meulin kicked his body off into the water, too, terrified at having to look at 2 corpses like that.

She remembered hearing from Damara that she had killed Horuss, and since she had been honest about killing Rufioh it was likely that she was honest about that death, too. Plus she didn't want to flip her own coin. She had no idea what it did if it landed on her, and she didn't want to find out. So she messaged back to Aranea and gave her report:

Anthropomorphic Complexity (AC) began trolling Arachne's Gift (AG)

AC: Hey, I'm done with the coin stuff.

AG: And what did you find?

AC: Damara kept talking about her "Lord" or somebody. She said that it was pointless to resist him. I'm kind of scared. Especially since Kurloz is working for him, she said…is he a killer like she is now? And the whole time I was completely unaware.

AG: Me too, 8ut it doesn't matter now who's on who's side. I'm planning a meeting where every8ody—and I mean every8ody—can air their grievances with each other and settle their conflicts. Moder8ed by Kankri, of course, he's good with that sort of thing.

AC: Ok, but do you think it will work? And will you listen to me when I talk?

AG: What do you have to talk a8out?

AC: Kurloz brainwashed me.

Critic of Generality (CG) has joined the chat.

CG: N9w, Meulin, it is quite an accusation t9 declare that s9me9ne has "6rainwashed" y9u. Plus, such a c9ncept is entirely scientifically imp9ssible. H9wever, it is p9ssi6le that he c9uld have c9erced y9u int9 thinking a certain way 9n a certain t9pic…

AC: No, I mean he hypnotized me so that I wouldn't know how crazy he really was!

CG: Meulin! T9 call y9ur 9wn matesprit crazy is als9 an9ther 69ld accusati9n. I w9uld suggest n9t t9 c9ntinue this discussion until we can have a civil dial9gue 9n the matter with all c9ncerned parties present. Including, 9f c9urse, Kurl9z, the accused.

AC: No, he'd just do to all of you what he did to me!

AG: I 8elieve you may 8e overreacting, Meulin. We can discuss this further at the meeting. Now, what else did you find in regards to the coin shenanigans?

AC: Well, Cronus, Rufioh, and Horuss are dead! Not quite sure about the last one, though.

AG: Oh, yes, we are aware of that already.

AC: You were!? Why didn't you tell me?!

CG: It was n9t relevant t9 y9u. Their affairs are 9f n9 c9ncern t9 y9u.

AC: I may not know them very well, but this crazy killing stuff has to stop! And all you guys are doing is sitting around and making plans to negotiate! People like Kurloz, Meenah, and Damara don't do that! They just kill whoever they want!

AG: Meulin, these people may have an unfavora8le track record in terms of troll rights, 8ut I will not have you laying this accusation on my friend Meenah! She is simply misguided, and I have taken the liberty not to correct her further only 8ecause it is too much of a hassle. She is dangerous, yes, 8ut if we can harness her properly we can use her a8ilities to 8enefit us. 8esides, she only killed Cronus. Damara killed 2 people, and Kurloz dozens of Dersites.

AC: Is that all Meenah is to you? A weapon? And does Cronus not even count as a troll? And Kurloz…I can't believe he did this! And you still want to negotiate with these murderers! They'll kill you!

CG: N9t if give them n9 reason t9. If we all put 9n 9ur 6est 6ehavi9r at the meeting—which shall d9uble as a party in cele6rati9n 9f the 9ne sweep we have 6een here, by Aranea's estimati9n—then things sh9uld g9 sm99thly. All c9nflicts can 6e settled with civilized talks.

AC: I can't believe that. Not after what I've been through.

Anthropomorphic Complexity has ceased trolling Arachne's Gift

CG: I see. It is y9ur 9pini9n, and I will n9t trigger y9u 6y de6ating the efficacy 9f peaceful measures. I came here t9 rep9rt t9 Aranea that the fr9g-6reeding is c9mplete. The Genesis frog has 6een 6orn, and he is certainly quite the specimen, if I d9 say s9 myself.

AG: Gr8! What does he look like?

CG: 6lack with stripes 9f red running d9wn him. There als9 seems to 6e a patch 9f green with a white sp9t 9n it. Is this t9 y9ur liking?

AG: I don't care, it's pro8a8ly fine any way at all, so long as it can grow to 8ecome a new universe. See you at the meeting/party!

CG: Quite. Stay safe 6ack at y9ur hive!

AG: I will!

Critic of Generality has ceased trolling Arachne's Gift

. . . . .

Latula woke up on Prospit, feeling unusually happy.

"H3Y TH4R!" Mituna cried, giving her a hug. "H0W3 W45 FL3333P?"

"awesome! I feel so refreshed and peppy! and I dreamt I was in Kurloz's hive! He was really nice."

"Y34H. H3'S N1C3. BUT H3 5T3415 H4ND5!"

"he didn't steal mine."

"600D. D0N'T 13T H1M."

Mind. Why can't I say mind? Guess I can't even answer cryptically in a way that the voices would not care about. Now she'll never figure out about Kurloz. Not that I did before the damage. My head hurts so much…stop it, you stupid monsters!